I have been swimming for 40 years (I'm now 52). I regularly attend masters swim practice (3 X week). Recently, I have been struggling a lot in practice when I try to push myself at 90% or on harder efforts. I feel incredibly fatigued even in a short sprint like a 100 I.M. I feel very comfortable swimming at 80% effort for a really long time but as soon as I push myself a little more the wheels fall off in a big way, and I don't recover very well. I have been to the doctor to get checked out and had my blood work...everything is great. I'm wondering if this is just age or maybe my diet is affecting me?? I have not made any changes. Has anyone else around my age experienced this? Thanks.
What you describe sounds similar to what I experienced a while back: swimming 3X a week, lifting 2X. I could swim at a moderate effort all day, but going all out was a quick way to gasping for air at the wall (quicker than normal). I mentioned this to my GP, and had a "physical" and blood work. Doc told me everything was good. Two months later I had a heart attack. Clogged arteries. Three stents later I was back at it, and 5 years down the road I just had a stress test, and everything's still good. Swimming helped minimize the damage.
The typical blood test won't catch it, but there are markers in the blood they can look for, or a stress test; ECG will show it, or tracer dye in the blood. Do you get short of breath climbing a flight or two of stairs, excess saliva production when you warm up, any angina? Pain is not always a symptom.
It may not be, but it sounds like what I went through. The point is, challenge your doc to help you figure it out. Even if it's something simple like overtraining, you'll know, and can act accordingly.
What you describe sounds similar to what I experienced a while back: swimming 3X a week, lifting 2X. I could swim at a moderate effort all day, but going all out was a quick way to gasping for air at the wall (quicker than normal). I mentioned this to my GP, and had a "physical" and blood work. Doc told me everything was good. Two months later I had a heart attack. Clogged arteries. Three stents later I was back at it, and 5 years down the road I just had a stress test, and everything's still good. Swimming helped minimize the damage.
The typical blood test won't catch it, but there are markers in the blood they can look for, or a stress test; ECG will show it, or tracer dye in the blood. Do you get short of breath climbing a flight or two of stairs, excess saliva production when you warm up, any angina? Pain is not always a symptom.
It may not be, but it sounds like what I went through. The point is, challenge your doc to help you figure it out. Even if it's something simple like overtraining, you'll know, and can act accordingly.
