I just got back from the SPMS meet and I am in a funk. I have talked to several of my contemporaries who share my dysphoria at getting slower. From age 50-62 I slowed down very little. Ages 63 and 64 were one injury or illness after another, but at least there was a cause and I felt I would do better. Age 65 I aged up and for most of the year was healthy. That was a great year,but my times were all significantly slower than at 62. Since then it is very unusual to have one swim that is faster than I did the previous year.At 67(almost 68) I am notably slower than at 65. I have seen the graphs of how times slow with age, intellectually, if I am staying at the same rate of decline as my peers I should accept it, but I don't like it. I know most forumites are much younger and what I am saying may seem like something natural that I should just acknowledge and go on, that is what I thought until I was 63. I know that our having age groups every 5 years is a partial solution to the problem, but there is more difference between a 65 year old and a 68 year old than between a 40 year old and a 50 year old, in my experience. How do the other older swimmers out there cope and have a good attitude? The common saying in Masters Swimming is that "you are only competing against yourself",but my slightly younger self is kicking my butt and I am tired of it.
I think you are working out a lot and maybe that IS breaking you down. If you've got a championship meet coming this spring I would stay the course for now, but think about changing things up after that, especially if you don't swim as fast as you hope to. You may just be stuck in a rut. Try more race-pace training. It doesn't have to be USRPT, but do more fast swimming with more rest.
I also don't believe in beating your head against a wall. If you are not making intervals I see no problem in stopping to regroup.
Makes sense to me. I do moderate swims and more sprint swims with longer rest. I looked at the NT's and the only stoke I within 10 seconds is 100 yard breaststroke.
I think you are working out a lot and maybe that IS breaking you down. If you've got a championship meet coming this spring I would stay the course for now, but think about changing things up after that, especially if you don't swim as fast as you hope to. You may just be stuck in a rut. Try more race-pace training. It doesn't have to be USRPT, but do more fast swimming with more rest.
I also don't believe in beating your head against a wall. If you are not making intervals I see no problem in stopping to regroup.
Makes sense to me. I do moderate swims and more sprint swims with longer rest. I looked at the NT's and the only stoke I within 10 seconds is 100 yard breaststroke.
