celebration!
I know there is something unseemly about bragging about ones swimming times. I think for many masters swimmers, a sense of personal accomplishment is best savored inwardly. John Wayne, were he to have taken up masters swimming, certainly would never have jumped up and down in giddy pride over a personal record. Nor, I suspect, would Clint Eastwood.
Having said this, I would just like to take a moment to jump up and down in shameless giddly pride over a recent swim I had!!!
At Y nationals in Ft. Lauderdale a couple weeks ago, at the age of 49, I swam the best 200 yard freestyle of my life--a 1:55.11, which beat my high school and college time by nearly a full second. I realize this may actually say a lot more about my former mediocrity that it does about my current prowesss, but the fact remains that as I near semi-centenarian status, I was able to whoop my teenage self!!! (Sorry about that, youngster Jim; you just didn't know how to race smart back then.)
I went into the race hoping just to break two minutes; I had never before broken 1:56, and this didn't even enter my consciousness as a possibility. When I finished the race--splitting 57 and 58 respectively--I wasn't even all that exhausted. I looked over, saw my time on the big board, and I have been ludicrously, bumptiously proud of myself ever since.
Anyhow, I'm hoping that rather than annoying my fellow masters swimmers who may read this post, this exercise in self-congratulations/aggrandizment will encourage others to pen their own moments of personal satisfaction. Where better to celebrate than here, where your fellow swimmers actually know about swimming times and (unlike the world at large) conceivably even care?
Former Member
Now you've done it, Jim. Just when I had given up on the idea of ever achieving lifetime bests, you've thrown down the gauntlet and convinced me that it may still be possible. I don't know whether to thank you or curse you.
I only know times from three events from Junior College Regionals, prior to Nationals in 1971, from an old newspaper clipping, but I'm sure they were my best times. I always thought they were attainable again, since I now swim more yardage and I'm not "partying" as we did in 1971 (those of you who were there should know) so our team's results from that era were not near our potential.
Now I have to reset my thinking and start looking at those times again as realistic goals.
Thanks a lot, Jim. No rest for the wicked.
We're all adults here, Jim. No one should take offense at your sharing the tremendous accomplishment. Congratulations! As someone who considers the 200 his favorite event, I only have a suggestion for your goal at that next shave meet: take the race out faster (:55 or :54!!) and come back in a stong :57. Oh, and make sure someone has a video camera trained on your face when you look at the big board.
Again, congrats!!
Congratulations Jim,
Your splits indicate one way that us old fogies can still do ATBs (All-Time Bests) - swim smarter with great pacing.
There are other strategies that I am trying:
1) While I don't expect to do any ATBs in the 100 or 200 fly (If I did, I would be a 'Smith-Class' vessel), every time I improve my 50 fly I consider it a ATB, since I have no memory of ever having swum that event.
2) The Backstroke turns are a lot faster now than they were (at least the way I did them), and that can make up for some slower swimming. The underwater kick is also a potentially big advantage for a butterflyer like me. I am only 0.4 off of my ATB 100 back time, and there is a chance . . .
3) Anything with Breaststroke in it is a candidate for an ATB, both because of strategy 1) and also because I have the time now to improve my off-off-stroke.
4) While my peak yardage then was *way* more than I am doing now, I never swam year-round before. That means that now I don't waste time gasping while I try to get back in shape. That should help, I think.
5) I don't think *all* of my increased weight is fat - - some weight training, which I don't do yet, will help alot, too.
6) I am one of my coaches, now, because I spend lots more time analyzing and working on my stroke, and taking charge of what and how I am swimming. That increased maturity has made me a better, if not faster, swimmer.
Now, if I only didn't have to work . . .
Jim,
I think you can tell by the overwhelming response that most of us are thrilled and inspired by your PR, and not put off by the strutting. (It's hard to object to someone "dissing" his younger self.)
Thanks to folks like you, I too have some hope to eventually take down some high school/college PR's. I thrilled myself last August when I figured out that my 400m time, converted to 500y, beat my best time from high school. (Now, the all time, college PR is another story.) In the beating my younger self competition, I don't count events that I never swam in HS or college, but those fly times are looking soft, and my meters PR's are a possibility since all my shaved, tapered swims were SCY.
Thanks for the note,
Matt
Way to go, I'm very happy for you. It really gives me hope that I can equal my best times.
I imagine by now you are starting to think about breaking the magical 1:50 barrier next. I hope you do.
It's really neat when you can set a personal record in an older age group.
I am in the 65-69 age group and had two personal records in the butterfly (the 100 and the 200) at the recent Y nationals. It helped that I didn't swim fly when I was a kid (always thought that fly with a frog kick was a pretty silly stroke). Anyway, I improved my 100 time by 4 seconds and my 200 time by 6 seconds. I remember that last year I was delighted when I swam the 100 in 1:49.99, which was the first time I broke 1:50. So you can imagine how delighted I was when I swam the 100 in 1:46.19! I didn't believe the electronic scoreboard and asked somebody to read the time for me.
Yes, a personal best is a wonderful thing!!
Congratulations, Jim!!
I certainly cannot brag about any single event achievement, as I am still building the strength, flexibility and technique needed to run a *really* good race. (I am 44 and just started swimming a year ago; I train with an age group team in a pool located an hour and a half from where I live.)
However, I just returned from my first LCM meet of the season, having only ever swam two prior to this, and of the seven events I swam, six were repeats. From those six events, I shaved a cumulative 51.59 seconds - 20 of those in the 200 Free!! (Yes, I am proud of that!)
It was my first three day meet, as well, and by the third day the wear and tear of anxiety and nervousness was wearing me down. It was a USS meet, as I do not live where there are many opportunities to attend Masters' meets. This was the first time where I was in the single digit seconds behind the high schoolers.
(As a side note, another moment of pride stems from the fact that my 14 year old daughter shaved 38.12 seconds, cumulative, off of her nine events)!
I love this sport!!
Originally posted by jim thornton
celebration!
I know there is something unseemly about bragging about ones swimming times.
...
Not to me: to me this is the meaning of life.
Originally posted by jim thornton
...
At Y nationals in Ft. Lauderdale a couple weeks ago, at the age of 49, I swam the best 200 yard freestyle of my life--a 1:55.11, which beat my high school and college time by nearly a full second.
..
That's impressive.
Looks like cranking up the yardage to 15,000 yards per week like you mentioned in a thread, paid off as far as comparing it with recent training regimen goes. Regarding this being a lifetime best, including High School and College, I don't know what to say, except again that this is impressive.
It is a great feeling, n'est pas ? But you realize, of course, that if you get older and faster at the same time you are immortal. That is what my wife told me, anyway......... (or was the word immoral). She has used both.
Don't ever stop being proud. ;)
Way to go James!
Just this last weekend a friend and I were talking about
going faster as we get older (I'm 49). I'm
not back to ATBs yet, but I'm swimming distances faster
than I did 12 years ago.
Did you see Laura Val in Swim? She's 50, just did a
:53 100 yard free--her ATB!!
You can get older and faster!:D
