Looking at one-hour results, and just finishing New England Masters SCY Championships at Harvard, how is it that older swimmers are getting faster and faster, and pretty much everyone is getting faster and faster compared to a few years ago when there seemed to be more mortal swimmers?
What are older (45+ women; at this point 65+ men) swimmers doing that keeps them at such elite levels? Weights? Extensive training? How much of both? How do they have jobs and families and train? The field of fast swimmers is getting deeper and deeper. Anyone have idea as to why?
I want to know the secrets. Are the people who race now self-selecting more and more as elite swimmers? Has everyone swum all their lives? I know to swim hard you have to train hard, but I am baffled by sudden increase in amazing fast times and so many records getting broken.
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Former Member
I'm following your advice, Mel! Well sorta. I'm mostly uncoached, swim mostly alone and like to go REALLY slow between fast swims.
I could really use a stroke coach though. I have no idea what I'm doing and whether it's right. That's kind of a drag ... and that's why breaststroke is a lost cause. But now that the straight arm freestyle is back in vogue, I feel pretty trendy.
Finding a good coach can be tricky. I like to train with someone for a while (just as a fitness swimmer) and see how they coach others. After a while, I get comfortable with someone and move from there. You also have to keep going back to pester them. That's why I have never gone to the short clinics because I'm likely to forget what I have learned and who knows what the availability of the coach will be in the future. Right now, Grace & I are working with a coach who lives 1000 miles away and it is a big pain to get there frequently. But, it's what we want to do.
Good luck Leslie & see you shortly in Austin!
I'm following your advice, Mel! Well sorta. I'm mostly uncoached, swim mostly alone and like to go REALLY slow between fast swims.
I could really use a stroke coach though. I have no idea what I'm doing and whether it's right. That's kind of a drag ... and that's why breaststroke is a lost cause. But now that the straight arm freestyle is back in vogue, I feel pretty trendy.
Finding a good coach can be tricky. I like to train with someone for a while (just as a fitness swimmer) and see how they coach others. After a while, I get comfortable with someone and move from there. You also have to keep going back to pester them. That's why I have never gone to the short clinics because I'm likely to forget what I have learned and who knows what the availability of the coach will be in the future. Right now, Grace & I are working with a coach who lives 1000 miles away and it is a big pain to get there frequently. But, it's what we want to do.
Good luck Leslie & see you shortly in Austin!
