Hello All:
This past week found me back in the pool for a coached workout for the first time in 30+ years. I swam high school & college but my college career ended strangely largely due to the fact I had undiagnosed asthma. I didn't find out I had it until 15 years after I hung up my suit.
So I stayed away from swimming for some reasons that don't make a lot of sense anymore. A month or so ago I went to a local pool & swam a bit. I found out I really missed it. A lot.
So just over a week ago I found our local USMS club, joined, and this week just past swam my first four workouts in decades.
I really love it!:banana:
I would enjoy hearing from others who took a long or longer break from swimming & returned. What's was it like to get back in the pool after so long? How is it for you now?
Thanks!
--Zwemmer (simply Dutch for "swimmer"), also known as Benjamin.
Welcome back to the sport, Zwemmer! Like you, I swam through some undiagnosed respiratory issues as a youth. I was not a great HS swimmer, but I was pretty good. Not good enough to swim for any major conference college program, but I had some partial scholarship offers from smaller schools. For better or for worse, I chose to go into the Army after High School, instead. That was the start of a 27 year sabbatical from the sport for me.
At 45, I had my mid-life "fitness crisis." After neglecting my body for 20+ years, I started eating healthier and working out. Not surprisingly, that eventually led me back to the pool, and, soon after, on to USMS. I've been back at it for 4+years, now.
I kept a blog about my experience. If you want to follow along chronologically, you can follow from the beginning here. It's a few entries before swimming comes into the picture, but, once it does, it's the central theme. If you just want to browse around, you can start at the homepage here. I have to admit, I can get a little long-winded at times. But, if anyone would be at least somewhat interested, it would likely be someone like you who has recently come back to swimming after a long layoff.
Welcome back to the sport, Zwemmer! Like you, I swam through some undiagnosed respiratory issues as a youth. I was not a great HS swimmer, but I was pretty good. Not good enough to swim for any major conference college program, but I had some partial scholarship offers from smaller schools. For better or for worse, I chose to go into the Army after High School, instead. That was the start of a 27 year sabbatical from the sport for me.
At 45, I had my mid-life "fitness crisis." After neglecting my body for 20+ years, I started eating healthier and working out. Not surprisingly, that eventually led me back to the pool, and, soon after, on to USMS. I've been back at it for 4+years, now.
I kept a blog about my experience. If you want to follow along chronologically, you can follow from the beginning here. It's a few entries before swimming comes into the picture, but, once it does, it's the central theme. If you just want to browse around, you can start at the homepage here. I have to admit, I can get a little long-winded at times. But, if anyone would be at least somewhat interested, it would likely be someone like you who has recently come back to swimming after a long layoff.
