Slower times with aging

Skiboy,

Short answers to your questions:

1) Adding time is normal and inevitable.  A combination of loss of muscle mass, reduction in VO2 max, lung capacity, etc..  And, other lurking health issues.  Some defy the evitable longer than others, but eventually, it catches up to everyone.

2) You can slow the slow down by maintaining strength as much as possible (lifting weights),  maintaining mobility/flexibility through stretching to reduce the impact of tightening tendons, ligaments, and onset of arthritis, and by including fast swimming in your training.  

3) Avoiding injury is the best way to slow the slow down.  Be smart about lifting and stretching and training.  And, allow recovery time.  All of these are unique to you - there is no single answer to any of this.  Try to avoid extended time off without some kind of physical activity that elevates your heart rate.  Time away from swimming when we're younger is much easier to come back from than 65+.

4) Accept the fact that health issues creep up.  Since turning 65 (4 years ago), I have encountered cardiac issues, more persistent anemia, an essential tremor, shoulder pain from arthritis (stretch has helped this), a total knee replacement, and being a care giver have all kept me away from training.  Of course, losing 12 months to the pandemic was the worst.

5) Continue to work ALOT on technique.  Losses in strength (especially bicep and tricep) and flexibility (shoulders, back, and ankles) negatively affect strokes, turns, streamlining, etc.. 

6) As you slow down, you may think competing is a waste of time.  It is NOT because being with like-minded people will motivate you.  I need to take my own advice in this regard.  :)

Hope this helps a little.  Good Luck.

Paul

Skiboy,

Short answers to your questions:

1) Adding time is normal and inevitable.  A combination of loss of muscle mass, reduction in VO2 max, lung capacity, etc..  And, other lurking health issues.  Some defy the evitable longer than others, but eventually, it catches up to everyone.

2) You can slow the slow down by maintaining strength as much as possible (lifting weights),  maintaining mobility/flexibility through stretching to reduce the impact of tightening tendons, ligaments, and onset of arthritis, and by including fast swimming in your training.  

3) Avoiding injury is the best way to slow the slow down.  Be smart about lifting and stretching and training.  And, allow recovery time.  All of these are unique to you - there is no single answer to any of this.  Try to avoid extended time off without some kind of physical activity that elevates your heart rate.  Time away from swimming when we're younger is much easier to come back from than 65+.

4) Accept the fact that health issues creep up.  Since turning 65 (4 years ago), I have encountered cardiac issues, more persistent anemia, an essential tremor, shoulder pain from arthritis (stretch has helped this), a total knee replacement, and being a care giver have all kept me away from training.  Of course, losing 12 months to the pandemic was the worst.

5) Continue to work ALOT on technique.  Losses in strength (especially bicep and tricep) and flexibility (shoulders, back, and ankles) negatively affect strokes, turns, streamlining, etc.. 

6) As you slow down, you may think competing is a waste of time.  It is NOT because being with like-minded people will motivate you.  I need to take my own advice in this regard.  :)

Hope this helps a little.  Good Luck.

Paul

Great response!:) I too have come back after a 35 year hiatus from swimming collegiately for a D1 school. I am almost 58 and starting to work with a PT physiotherapist to address back arthritis issues that hinder me. I think it’s important to reduce inflammation with diet and seek out treatments to get range of motion improvements. Logically, I would surmise that will affect speed but idk. Still a work in progress!!!

I've got all of the above and then some: type II diabetes (that onset before I got back into swimming), hypertension. I've had asthma all my life, but it's not severe. I've not had cardiac issue per se, but I've got a high calcium score and therefore plaque...I'm on a statin and Repatha. I've got degenerative disc disease, likely brought on by aging, but also by years of engaging my other passion, which is skiing---(I also race in that sport). I definitely feel like I never recovered from the pandemic. Even after the pool opened back up, we were at first restricted to 30 minute swims, since only person at a time could be in a lane.  I try to avoid layoffs, but its especially hard on vacations. 

Skiboy - you definitely can appreciate the impact of health issues!

I'm 53, and I really love this response. I think for me, it's about engaging with where I am today, rather than what I wish I still was from some hypothetical baseline in the past. It's not relevant or useful to get hung up on what I could do twenty years ago. I'm interested in what can I do now? How can I raise the bar now? How can I continue to challenge myself, get better, and meet my current goals? 

I think the culture I was raised in is hung up on perfectionism in a lot of ways, and sport is no different. I struggle with that. For example, I'm the slowest one in my club's practices at 0545 in the morning. But I try to remember two things: one, it's 0545 in the morning, and at least I'm there; two, my club has a number of retired Olympians and college athletes, and neither of those cohorts are mine. So trying to BE them is goofy. I need to be me: 53, just had a total knee replacement, sedentary job on a computer with a lot of stress, and issues with my right shoulder. So how do I embrace that and set goals that help me go from where I am today to where I want to be this time next year?

I think also it's dangerous, our obsession with preventing aging. Aging is normal. All organisms age.  When we ask how to prevent it, we're disrespecting our own natural processes and reality. I think a better question is, how do I age well? How do I embrace this phase of my life, that - let's face it - I'm only ever going to be in now? I'm never going to be 20 again; but by the same token, I'm never going to be 53 again. So what can I do now, that will inform how I show up at 63, 73, and 83? What can my self of today do for myself of tomorrow that's healthy and life-giving? I think "being the best" can let us fall into the trap of rigid mindset. It's better, at least for me, to stay focused on a growth mindset: what am I learning? How am I feeling today vs. last week, vs. last year? How is my knee feeling and performing? What can I do today that I couldn't do this time last year when my knee started to deteriorate? How can I keep my right knee strong and supple so that either I can avoid surgery or if replacement is inevitable, how can I help recovery so that I can live my best life now, outside, hiking and swimming?

I know this isn't a direct answer to the original poster, but the comment clearly struck a chord for me and I wanted to share my thoughts. :) 

Just wanted to let you know that this was my second day back after being out of the water for over a decade. It was very humbling. I needed to read your post. It's not about not aging; it's about aging well. Appreciate that.

Thank you so much for your reply.  I’m 62 and am with my ex-Olympian teammates at 6 am.  
and I have to remember it’s all about showing up.  I’m grateful for my health but yeah, sometimes I feel slow, but it’s never my teammates that make me feel that way.  But yes, it’s all about growth mindset and being grateful that I like something that’s good for me.  I’m grateful that I like something that is good for me and will help me age well and with a better attitude than if I didn’t swim.  Thank you for putting it all in perspective.