I'm slow, but at almost 69 I'm OK with that since being here at all is something of a triumph. What I'd like to know is what percentile I might fall into for my age group and then eventually figure out what I need to do to improve. I see here all sorts of top 10s, motivational times, and personal bests, but I have not seen a percentile spread by age. I don't come close to the "motivational" times. I'm a fitness swimmer with no past performances to compare. I have never done a pool race and only 1 OWS where I intentionally held back from the start to complete it comfortably. I intend on doing the USMS 1 hr swim on my 69th B-day in January.
I have a Swimovate Poolmate watch so I can track data. At a casual pace it tells me I have an effiency between 50-60. The help info. says that's "average", but avg for whom? Would that be everyone, all ages? I don't care a whit what a 28 yr old can do. I'll do 500y at 12+, 1000y in 25+, a 1650 in 42+, and the 1 mile OWS was about 48. My all-out 50y is 55 sec. and a 100y in 2:03. So where might that fit in with my peers?
What I'd like to know is what percentile I might fall into for my age group ...
Percent of what? Percent of all masters swimmers in your age group who compete in USMS meets? That's the only thing we can measure accurately. But it only counts a small number of people, essentially all of whom are very good swimmers. And it doesn't mean anything except with respect to that small population.
Percent of fitness swimmers who don't compete? People who actually swim in the pool every day? There's no way to know how many fitness swimmers there are, or how fast they are, so you can't calculate a percentage.
How about the whole population, including people who don't swim? Glenn got it right. You're right at the top. 3rd percentile. :)
You're lapping everybody who's sitting at home on the couch. Keep it up!
What I'd like to know is what percentile I might fall into for my age group ...
Percent of what? Percent of all masters swimmers in your age group who compete in USMS meets? That's the only thing we can measure accurately. But it only counts a small number of people, essentially all of whom are very good swimmers. And it doesn't mean anything except with respect to that small population.
Percent of fitness swimmers who don't compete? People who actually swim in the pool every day? There's no way to know how many fitness swimmers there are, or how fast they are, so you can't calculate a percentage.
How about the whole population, including people who don't swim? Glenn got it right. You're right at the top. 3rd percentile. :)
You're lapping everybody who's sitting at home on the couch. Keep it up!
