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’m not competitive (except with myself). But what is an OK time for off-the-wall and flip turn for various crawl and backstroke distances for a 69 year-old? All I can find are records but that ain’t gonna happen.
I'm 68.5 and a middle of the pack swimmer. I hear you about the records and qualifying times - I don't think I will ever be able to get back to that kind of performance, although I haven't quit trying yet.
Crawl - For 50 scy free from a push during repeats >5 I try to stay under :50 and can go around :45 for 'm about :33 to :35. For 100 scy repeats I'm trying to stay under 1:45 swimming them on 2:00 si. I can go around 1:17 in a meet. For 200 scy I can go around 3:15 from a push in practice swimming on 3:30 si but my limit is about 2- 3 before im doa for the rest of a 200 set and need to stick fins on to keep up. In a meet I'm under 3:00 for a 200 and have gone faster a few years back. I'm dreaming about a 2:30 for a 200 and under :30 for a 50 from a blocks, but who knows if I'll ever get there. I'm swimming 3x per week about 4k each time in a team practice where I'm the pokiest but also the oldest by far. I would need to kick that up to 4x or 5x times per week to go faster. but I'm not sure if I can handle that and recover.
I don't have much to share on backstroke times, cause I don't swim it for 50s or 100s very often - too much water going up my nose during the turns and aggravating my already testy sinuses. In a meet I think I'd be around :40 for a 50 bk and in practice doing repeats trying to hold about :55 or :60 might be realistic for me for 50s. I just don't seem to be able to generate speed on my back anymore, possibly cause I don't practice. :) My 100 bk would be very slow.
In my opinion there are a lot of very good swimmers still at it in our age group, so don't get discouraged. My theory is that only the best of the pack remain at this age. My mistake was the 40+ year hiatus and waiting too long to be able to get back what was lost. So, I just compete with myself and try not get any slower.
I’m not competitive (except with myself). But what is an OK time for off-the-wall and flip turn for various crawl and backstroke distances for a 69 year-old? All I can find are records but that ain’t gonna happen.
I'm 68.5 and a middle of the pack swimmer. I hear you about the records and qualifying times - I don't think I will ever be able to get back to that kind of performance, although I haven't quit trying yet.
Crawl - For 50 scy free from a push during repeats >5 I try to stay under :50 and can go around :45 for 'm about :33 to :35. For 100 scy repeats I'm trying to stay under 1:45 swimming them on 2:00 si. I can go around 1:17 in a meet. For 200 scy I can go around 3:15 from a push in practice swimming on 3:30 si but my limit is about 2- 3 before im doa for the rest of a 200 set and need to stick fins on to keep up. In a meet I'm under 3:00 for a 200 and have gone faster a few years back. I'm dreaming about a 2:30 for a 200 and under :30 for a 50 from a blocks, but who knows if I'll ever get there. I'm swimming 3x per week about 4k each time in a team practice where I'm the pokiest but also the oldest by far. I would need to kick that up to 4x or 5x times per week to go faster. but I'm not sure if I can handle that and recover.
I don't have much to share on backstroke times, cause I don't swim it for 50s or 100s very often - too much water going up my nose during the turns and aggravating my already testy sinuses. In a meet I think I'd be around :40 for a 50 bk and in practice doing repeats trying to hold about :55 or :60 might be realistic for me for 50s. I just don't seem to be able to generate speed on my back anymore, possibly cause I don't practice. :) My 100 bk would be very slow.
In my opinion there are a lot of very good swimmers still at it in our age group, so don't get discouraged. My theory is that only the best of the pack remain at this age. My mistake was the 40+ year hiatus and waiting too long to be able to get back what was lost. So, I just compete with myself and try not get any slower.
