Today, I swam the 200 yards free in 2:09.11.
This beats my previous best of 2:09.54 from April 1994.
I challenged the 2:09.54 in the past 11 years, over 20 times, many times under what I learned the hard way to be the wrong preparation, and never came close.
My result will be posted officially in the USMS databse.
I won't be able to make the 2005 Short Course Nationals, but hopefully I will make the 2005 Long Course Nationals.
The reason that I bring this success here is that there are some lessons to learn from it:
1.) to pursue virtue and excellence by meeting the intrinsic requirements that come to having a worthwhile goal (in my case, the goal is to stay in my prime intellectually and physically, for longtime), that's intelligence and tenacious work;
I immigrated to U.S. and relocated within U.S. on job skills in science to live my lifestyle;
this lifestyle comprises now, over 39 weeks of the 2004-2005 season so far, of 1,093 kilometers of training (an average of 28.025 kilometers per week, or 30,828 yards per week, no matter the holidays, tapering or illness, that includes kicking, strokes, and technique quotas), the most mileage I slowly built my late starter physiology up to in life, mostly under a Masters club with primarly college and age group swimming expertise, which I searched for and choosed;
I also cross train consistently in weights and running;
2.) I scrutinize self-indulgence and greed (to an employer who was asking me to work overtime like his Japanese employees do, even though I was ahead in schedule in a project, and who thought that I am a slave to him giving me a work visa, I stated "You know, my life doesn't depend on you." and I walked away from a near six-figures salary because it was jeopardizing my swim training; I looked for and found another) and I scrutinize good intentions backed up by feelings without hard data.
2:09.11 and staying in my prime, that's a tribute to 1.) and 2.).
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by Swimmer Bill
I consider myself to be a late-bloomer -- particularly in distance swimming and IMs. I thought of myself as a sprinter in high school, and didn't swim in college.
Realizing that my previous competitive swimming experience was limited to mostly the 50 and 100 free, I decided to try everything when I joined Masters.
My first Hour Swim was when I was maybe 27 or 28. I think I did just over 4000 yards. I did it a year or two later and did 4585 yards. For about ten years, that was my best. I didn't train for it, and didn't participate in the event much after that.
I tried the Hour Swim again in 2003, and did 5075 yards -- an improvement of almost 500 yards.
In 2002, I dropped from a previous best of 5:59 in the short course meters 400 IM to 5:21. The following year, I dropped to 5:10.
Seeing this type of improvement at age 37 and 38 led me to conclude that I never really came close to reaching my potential as a youth age group and high school swimmer. Although I thought of myself as a sprinter, I may have done well in a wider range of events. I think you could call that a lack of experience -- lack of training experience, and lack of experience doing many of the different races in the sport of swimming.
It may not be how everyone defines the term "late bloomer" -- we saw the buds early on, and then winter came -- but in a sense, I am definitely a late-bloomer.
That's one of the things I love obout competing in Masters swimming. We can reinvent ourselves.
You are a good swimmer.
As an anecdote, before the 1500 free at the 1998 Long Course Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, you -as a deck coach- asked me what time I was going to do, I said that I wanted to come close to a time of 20:45 which I did in the early 90s, you said that you never swam that time before, and now after your processes and lifestyle you are in the nineteen minutes Long Course range.
Nature works in mysterious ways...
(But character no, and I stick to me valuing people's character, including promises)
Reply
Former Member
Originally posted by Swimmer Bill
I consider myself to be a late-bloomer -- particularly in distance swimming and IMs. I thought of myself as a sprinter in high school, and didn't swim in college.
Realizing that my previous competitive swimming experience was limited to mostly the 50 and 100 free, I decided to try everything when I joined Masters.
My first Hour Swim was when I was maybe 27 or 28. I think I did just over 4000 yards. I did it a year or two later and did 4585 yards. For about ten years, that was my best. I didn't train for it, and didn't participate in the event much after that.
I tried the Hour Swim again in 2003, and did 5075 yards -- an improvement of almost 500 yards.
In 2002, I dropped from a previous best of 5:59 in the short course meters 400 IM to 5:21. The following year, I dropped to 5:10.
Seeing this type of improvement at age 37 and 38 led me to conclude that I never really came close to reaching my potential as a youth age group and high school swimmer. Although I thought of myself as a sprinter, I may have done well in a wider range of events. I think you could call that a lack of experience -- lack of training experience, and lack of experience doing many of the different races in the sport of swimming.
It may not be how everyone defines the term "late bloomer" -- we saw the buds early on, and then winter came -- but in a sense, I am definitely a late-bloomer.
That's one of the things I love obout competing in Masters swimming. We can reinvent ourselves.
You are a good swimmer.
As an anecdote, before the 1500 free at the 1998 Long Course Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, you -as a deck coach- asked me what time I was going to do, I said that I wanted to come close to a time of 20:45 which I did in the early 90s, you said that you never swam that time before, and now after your processes and lifestyle you are in the nineteen minutes Long Course range.
Nature works in mysterious ways...
(But character no, and I stick to me valuing people's character, including promises)
