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.
In order to continue to feel satisfied with your progress as you get older, I would suggest trying out the following:
1) Set goals (but be realistic). What do you hope to achieve in a year, or even in 5 years? What do you need to do to achieve these goals and can you do what it takes to achieve them? Make sure these are realistic goals, however. If you were an NCAA DI competitive swimmer over 30 years ago and quit swimming for 20 of those years, it's not realistic to hope to achieve a lifetime best. Which leads to the second point...
2) Try not to compare your current times with previous times from years back. Instead, start by comparing them to recent times you were able to achieve within your current age group. If you surpass those times, wonderful - you then know that you can set a slightly higher goal for yourself. But comparing yourself to a previous stage in your life when you were training every day twice a day in college is a recipe for frustration - and failure.
3) Keep track of your progress. Whether it's in the form of a yardage chart, or a time log for meets that you attend, keeping track of your progress will help you manage your expectations and feel more satisfied at progress you make. It will also keep you in the here-and-now instead of dwelling on your much faster past swim life.
"Finding the Motivation to Train" can offer you some more extensive tips to help you progress even as you get older - I wrote this with this forum thread in mind! www.swimspire.com/.../
In order to continue to feel satisfied with your progress as you get older, I would suggest trying out the following:
1) Set goals (but be realistic). What do you hope to achieve in a year, or even in 5 years? What do you need to do to achieve these goals and can you do what it takes to achieve them? Make sure these are realistic goals, however. If you were an NCAA DI competitive swimmer over 30 years ago and quit swimming for 20 of those years, it's not realistic to hope to achieve a lifetime best. Which leads to the second point...
2) Try not to compare your current times with previous times from years back. Instead, start by comparing them to recent times you were able to achieve within your current age group. If you surpass those times, wonderful - you then know that you can set a slightly higher goal for yourself. But comparing yourself to a previous stage in your life when you were training every day twice a day in college is a recipe for frustration - and failure.
3) Keep track of your progress. Whether it's in the form of a yardage chart, or a time log for meets that you attend, keeping track of your progress will help you manage your expectations and feel more satisfied at progress you make. It will also keep you in the here-and-now instead of dwelling on your much faster past swim life.
"Finding the Motivation to Train" can offer you some more extensive tips to help you progress even as you get older - I wrote this with this forum thread in mind! www.swimspire.com/.../
