Have you improved?

I try and avoid looking back at my high school times too often. The amount of training and coaching I receive today does not compare with what I got swimming USA club and high school team. However, I feel that I have made great progress in my "new swimming career" and am hoping to pull some times in Clovis this weekend that match up better with what I used to be capable of (back in 2001!).

I'm a 43 year old female. I didn't swim competitively as a kid, I wonder how much more improvement I can expect to see. I'm guessing that given my age, gender, and lack of competitive swimming experience that I probably will level off soon, but I keep hoping! I'm guessing due to your relatively short background in competitive swimming, you still have a lot of unrealized potential. Great post.

Yes, I have improved, and it feels great. How? General health feels better, I have more energy, slimmer waistline. My 100 pace has dropped to a new comfort level during practice. Just swam 30 100's today and it felt good. I had no times to compare that aren't from 1994. I don't recall my sets then, but I have swum the 50, 100, 200, 1650, 1-hour postal in the past 6 months. In general, I feel a sense of improvement.

Seth - You and I appear to have a similar background. I swam DIII and came back to USMS at 32. My LTB 100 free = 48.53. First year back I only swam for a couple of months and then did our state meet in 51 something. Gave me just enough drive to swim longer the next year. I also went to Nationals that year and posted a 49.48. Over the years, I've ranged in the 49 - 51 slot depending on the year. During this same time period, I've posted LTBs in distance events as I never swam them much when I was younger. I've been in USMS for 10 years now and as recently as last year I was still able to post a 49.92. This year I slacked off and my times show it. I still believe a breakthrough year is possible and I've spoken with other masters swimmers who've had breakthrough years in their 50's. Having a strong kick will certainly help you. My kick is weak so I try to make it up on my turns. I think the turns are the weakest point for many masters swimmers and I have won several events where I was clearly out-stroked because of my turns. Good Luck and Keep Going.... that breakthrough might be just around the corner.

I'm always curious to see how these questions are answered. I wonder too is there a difference between sprinters, mid-dist, and distance swimmers and their improvements, be it life time best or masters bests? Do sprinters have a better chance at this? I don't know, throwing it out there. At 38, I am hoping that I am not yet done improving. I am getting closer to life best times, but not yet, at least not in the events that I like! I did do a life best 500 this year (the last time I did 5:40 I was 13!). But I hate freestyle (mostly b/c I'm not good at it :D ), so while it's fun to say I did a life best, it's not an event I really like. Most of my best times came as masters swimmer in my 20s. No college to speak of as they cut the program. that's a good question. I don't know if older swimmers are more inclined to improve sprinting, mid distance, or distance. Seems like a lot of endurance athletes are in their mid 30s or better. But, you know, kids are exactly hot on the endurance scene. I have trouble imagining Janet Evans being capable of coming back and competing in the 800 again. I don't know though. Just a hunch. Obviously, Dara Torres and even some really talented masters swimmers have come back and really done amazing at shorter distances. I don't know though.

I've improved, but not as much as I'd originally hoped. However, I'm much more OK with it than I was a few months ago- I just keep changing my expectations (but not my goals). I was a 50-100-200 freestyler in college (small DI school), bests were junior year (SCY 21.26, 45.91, 1:42.75) and got injured senior year. When I started back in Sept 08 after 17 years out of the pool I set goals of sub-22, sub 48, and sub 1:50 for those events. I have not hit these goals yet, but have Clovis this weekend. The most likely goal to be achieved is the 200 goal (1st race this Jan, 1:56, currently at 1:51.55), but hopefully I can make the 50 goal as well (1st race Oct 08; 23:46, currently at 22:55). However, the 100 goal seems like a longshot (first race Oct 08; 51:76, currently at 50:00). So, times are improving, and I'm happy with that in itself. At this point if I don't make any I'll be pretty fine with that too, since I have experienced many more benefits than dropping time. I'd like to hear more stories of dropping time as well.

cool guys/gals, thanks. My life time best in the 100 freestyle is a 48.93 (scy). That was about 15 years ago. I went 50.05 in January. I'm not in nearly as good of shape as I was back then. But I kick much, much faster now. And, i also kick and pull at the same time. Which, ya know, makes a big difference. I swam best times in 100IM, 100BA, 100Fly, and I'm about half a second from besting my 100 BR. I train a total of about 5 hours per week including dryland. I used to train like 20 hours per week. I posted this thread because I'm curious about the boundaries of aging. I hope more people offer a little of their current story.

But I look pretty buff and could possibly punch out the Hulk. My knees tremble in fear :afraid: Naturally, they're in the direct line of fire from a Fort-punch! :bump::lmao::bolt:

Good question. I've been wondering about the same thing lately; i.e., the boundaries of aging and the potential for improvement. I'm a 43 year old female. I didn't swim competitively as a kid, although I did know how to swim as my mother enrolled us in the entire Red Cross series. I was a lap swimmer on and off from college to about four years ago. I competed in triathlons, and did fairly well in the water (compared to the other triathletes, that is :)). I joined a Masters team at that point. Switched to another Masters team and did a couple of meets two years ago. I've started to do meets again this year, and have noticed some pretty significant improvements from two years ago and also from this year's earlier meets. Some is due to fitness and training, I believe, and some is due to racing experience. I'm currently at 21:22 in the 1650, a 1:05.07 in the 100 free, 30.48 in the 50 free, 2:21.17 in the 200 free, and 6:12.02 in the 500 free (pedestrian compared to most people, but a definite improvement over what I was doing before; all SCY). I also have been swimming 200 IM and have dropped time over the last three meets (2:57, 2:54, 2:50), but IM is clearly not my strength. I wonder how much more improvement I can expect to see. I'm guessing that given my age, gender, and lack of competitive swimming experience that I probably will level off soon, but I keep hoping!

most people seem to be talking improvements from starting over at Masters....yes I have big improvements since then and now here are some examples: 50m br 36.04 --> 33.37 (jan 2007 - nov 2008) 100m br 1:22.47 -- > 1:13.42 (fall 2006 - mar 2009) 100m IM 1:10.98 --> 1:08.63 (mar 2007 - nov 2008) 200m IM 2:36 --> 2:26:28 (fall 2006 - mar 2009) 100m free 1:09.90 --> 1:00.94 fall 2006 - sept 2008) but to your guestion.... Have you improved over time? I'm talking actual time improvements compared to lifetime bests. ......I'm mainly interested in your actual experience. Things that have actually happened. Rather than what is supposed to happen. I was a breaststroker in college, and my times are far from personal best in all distances. same goes for IM, fly and free. but I am better in my off events. 100back was 1:06 when active, but 1:03 now. of my main events if I am going to be able to reach a life time best, I would have to guess it will come first in the 200m ***, since I was never much a distanse breaststroker. If I can get more time in the pool my goal time for next summer is my life time best for the 100m ***. of my secondary strokes I would guess I will reach life time bests in the 200m free, only 2 seconds to go there, and my goal is to swim it 4 secs faster than last time. just need to learn how to swim it. and looking back to distance swimming, I am much better now than I was then. but I think that is because then it was something I had to do and now it's something I like doing. in 1993, 94 and 95 we did a 10,000yd (9100m) swim. it took me between 2:10 and 2:15 each year. I averaged ~1:28/100. in 2007 I swam 6300m in 90 minutes 1:25/100