Out of curiosity, what brought you to swim?
I'm a fitness swimmer now and do OW races for fun. I began swimming as an alternative to running, I had taken a swim class in college that demonstrated routines and corrected my form enough to do well without getting frustrated or feel intimidated. When I had trouble running I would go swim instead. I began swimming regularly to train for the Long beach triathlon years ago. Now I enjoy swimming just as much as running...it's a new challenge as well as a great stress release for me. I'm just finishing up my credential and will be transitioning from a career in IT to teaching, which means that i'll be open to joining a masters team soon! Wohoo!
Here's the question....
Why did you start?
When?
What's your day job?
I came to swimming after a long running career was ended by a knee injury suffered in a fall. After the surgery, I continued to run but could not return the my earlier levels of intensity. I was also having some arthritic changes and wanted to have my own knee join in 10 years. My son as a age group and high school swimmer inspired me to give it a try. I started about 5 years ago with adult swim and stroke lessons. I progressed to our local masters group about a year later.
I now swim six days per week and am able to train as hard as I ever did running. I do some OW races in the summer and am in demand from my running and cycling friends to do the swim leg on relays in local triathlons. I also do a 4-7 meets throughout the year.
The challenge in picking up the sport as an adult (I started at 48) is that it is easy to pick up the technique. Many of us were runners because we weren't coordinated enough for other sports and we could suffer. The good news is that I have been getting faster since starting.
I now have as much fun as I ever did running. The swimming community is more like the running community that I knew when I started in the 1970s, small and everyone knows one another.
I came to swimming after a long running career was ended by a knee injury suffered in a fall. After the surgery, I continued to run but could not return the my earlier levels of intensity. I was also having some arthritic changes and wanted to have my own knee join in 10 years. My son as a age group and high school swimmer inspired me to give it a try. I started about 5 years ago with adult swim and stroke lessons. I progressed to our local masters group about a year later.
I now swim six days per week and am able to train as hard as I ever did running. I do some OW races in the summer and am in demand from my running and cycling friends to do the swim leg on relays in local triathlons. I also do a 4-7 meets throughout the year.
The challenge in picking up the sport as an adult (I started at 48) is that it is easy to pick up the technique. Many of us were runners because we weren't coordinated enough for other sports and we could suffer. The good news is that I have been getting faster since starting.
I now have as much fun as I ever did running. The swimming community is more like the running community that I knew when I started in the 1970s, small and everyone knows one another.
