returning to swimming

zmadd - I started with the same question ("get myself back to the 5000 yard workouts i used to breeze through"). What I came to realize is that I did not want to dedicate that much time to swimming again. I decided to attain a level of fitness (~1hr/day) that I can sustain without impacting other facets of my life (1500-3000 yrds/swim). This means I may not ever get back to college swimming times. But I think I am also learning elements to swimming competetive training never allowed me to experience. I hope you find a balance suitable for your life. Moreso, I hope you continue find pleasure/relaxation/fitness in swimming! Part of your question seemed to ask what type of training to do. Pretty much the same deal as competitive swimming, excpet on a smaller/less intense scale. Start with lots of easy intravel and/or distance stuff (stretch before and after practice). Then work into VO2 max anerobic, etc. I spend a lot of my time focusing on stroke at each level of training. HTH, Chris

Same deal here. Took me a year to get "in shape". Swam my best Masters times 2 years later.

I had the same problem. I hadn't been swimming for more than 5 years. I'd been competitve all my life and after high school joined the military and hadnt' swam for nothing. Well getting to my present duty station I found a group of people that I could probably keep up with. So we started swimming at lunch. Though it's only an hour to an hour and a half so we dont get near 5000 before we all have to go back to work. We get in 3000-3500 usually. At first I about killed myself trying to finish and keep up with that workout. I thought it would be easy cause it came easier when I was younger. WRONG. So I took it easy and swam about 1500 the first week and went up by 500 a week until I was able to do the whole workout. There will be times now where I'll have to do a different interval, but at least I get it done. I just have to realize that when I start to slow way way way down that I need to just do a cool down and get out rather than make myself sore and hating to move. So I've been at it for a few months now and am not in the greatest shape I would like to be in, but it's coming, I notice it everyday. Good Luck Kel,

Zmadd, I agree with those that have already responded to your post. Please also consider the 10% rule too. You'll get to a point where increasing your workouts more than 10% could cause injury. I'm in my upper thirties, and remember swimming a lot more butterfly and using paddles as a child. After a couple months swimming 3.5K in an hour, I'll began adding 10% more on a monthly basis. To me, gradually improving my physical condition is better than risking an injury that could keep me out of the pool and possibly at the doctor's office. I'm swimming now for the health of it, I have overcome that teenage thing for lots of speed and yardage (most of the time). Listen to your body.

I understand what you all are talking about. I'm one of those that waited for almost 30 years to get back in the sport. The first year I swam my 100 meter long course breastroke at 1:53.10. I use to swim it at 1:30 as a teen. And the short course was 1:34.58. During my late teens I range from 1:16.8 to 1:21 in 100 yard breastroke. Each person is different. I heard of some master women swimmers starting in their 40's and 50's and now in their early 60's that can beat me in the other three strokes. Your body changes with age and if you weight a lot more as adult that is one factor for being slower. Because of the holiday yesterday and because I'm off of work, I did two 1 hr workouts for a combine total around 5,100 yards, and I'm a little tired and sore but I rarely swim that much yardage in a day.