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.).
Former Member
Well put Lindsay from New Brunswick.
From Frederickton maybe?
Your post deserves to be read slowly and absorbed here.
In the list that I made earlier to describe my process, the essence is not to re invent the wheel, the essence is to emulate on most points the age group swimmers who train for lifetime bests, even with our lesser potential, and also, even in Masters Swimming -a less competitive program-.
I add to that list, having coaches in Masters Swimming who -like the coaches in age group swimming- time trial their swimmers about five times per workout in average, and who later on -like in age group swimming- remember the swimmers' splits.
This age group swimming approach to swimming works for me.
Former Member
Originally posted by gull80
You're confusing talent, which represents undeveloped potential, with actual achievement.
...
I understand your distinction.
You are saying that a 1:36 for 200 free is actual achievement.
And someone starting to swim at 50, had undeveloped potential.
They are being confused here, and I confront this.
Lindsay re phrases well what I say.
Former Member
I think the question is how do you achieve personal bests as an aging Masters swimmer. I'm not convinced it's all that common. Tom Wolf is swimming faster at 50 than he did in his 40s, which is very remarkable, but he is not recording personal bests.
Former Member
Why I love masters ... by nature I am an extremely competitive person. I love racing. When I get to race people win, lose, or draw if I set a PB I'm thrilled. I "use" other people in my heat to make me go faster. I'm new to swimming so I set lots of PB's this year, but all this reminds me of a quote by Thorpe in which he basically says I race myself and if I get out of the pool knowing I raced as well as I could then I won.
Former Member
I think it's a matter of personal outlook.
I was turning into one of the blobs Aquageek referred to. I got back in the pool in February (after 30+ years) to help my 6 year old get ready for his first meet. (His older sisters have been swimming for over a year.) Figuring I was in the water anyway, I thought I might as well set some goals and work toward them once he got proficient enough to join the other juniors at practice. That's how I ran across Masters. I saw a meet in Charlotte in July and thought I'd try to get in good enough shape to enter a few events.
For now, I'm going to count every event I finish a personal best regardless of time since I'm 1) exercising and 2) (and I think more importantly) setting an example for my kids.
Former Member
I'd like to throw this in too ... swam the 50 fly individual for the first time at our state meet a few weeks ago. Had a less than steallar start, a bad turn and not a great finish. Even though I set a PB I was disappointed with my race. I swam the 50 fly as part of two different relays too, improved my time and my race each time. What mattered most to me was that I raced it better each time, regardless of what the clock said.
Former Member
Originally posted by SwiminONandON
but all this reminds me of a quote by Thorpe in which he basically says I race myself and if I get out of the pool knowing I raced as well as I could then I won.
that's funny. those two quotes by Ian Thorpe are basicly the foundation of my training philosophie.
The one you are reffering to is :
"For myself, losing is not coming second. It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I've been in"
This is basicly what made me really looking forward to meets and competition and helps me to perform at my best don't caring about how well others do or don't although I beeing still able to recognize good performes from other swimmers and congratulat them.
the second one is :
"I am my toughest competitor; I don't concern myself with what other people's performances are, because I can't change them, I have no control over them. I focus on myself and worry about my own performances. "
This one helps me to focus on myself in training and keeps me from thinking "oh no, I can't keep up with my teammates". It also helps me to look at my performance and judge it without relating it to someone else's performance.
Former Member
Originally posted by old dog
Ion,
Is your PB any more impressive than anyone elses PB?
...
My PB is impressive because given condition A (in my case A is late starter and declining), then the process that I choose to address A does prove naysayers here (including you who were decrying my training regimen), wrong.
My process works.
Tom - this is why you need to spend less time with Mr. Moose. You forget there is the time we all use to judge ourselves and then "late bloomer time" that Ion uses to handicap his results. I swim with people with real disabilities who never blame a slower than expected time on their handicap.
You should see the clocks for late bloomer time. They speed up when you go slow and slow down when you go fast. It's a built in excuse at every distance. I'm thinking about getting one, you should too.
Fortunately we only have to put up with this nonsense a few more days before a certain someone returns to his teenage forum. Then we can return to swimming discussion and away from obsessive compulsive swimming disorder.
