Have you improved over time? I'm talking actual time improvements compared to lifetime bests.
I consistently swam sporadically for several years. Get it?
For the past 9 months I have been training and racing fairly consistently and I finally feel like I'm on the verge of actually improving.
I have swam a number of best times in off events. I have not bested any of my big ones.
What has your experience been? I'm talking about lifetime bests.
I'm 33. I swam DIII in college. so, I was ok but not great or anything.
I'm mainly interested in your actual experience. Things that have actually happened. Rather than what is supposed to happen.
I will put my 2008 LCM times and the times I did at a USA-Swimming LCM Meet this weekend, one week after Colonies Zones.
100 fly 2008 1:14.40(unrested)--Last weekend 1:08.67
200 fly 2008-2:42.00(tapered)--Last weekend 2:28.59
200 *** 2008-3:14.00(unrested)--Last weekend 2:58.98
400 free 2008-5:06(tapered)--Last weekend 4:54.12
800 free 2008-10:35.02(tapered)--Last weekend-10:20.15(800 split of my 1500)
1500 free 2008-Didn't swim--Last weekend-19:25.48
200 IM 2008-2:48.15(unrested)--Last weekend-2:35.87
All times were done without the help of a LZR or B70!!!
Here is a link to a blog post that I put my In Season 2008 SCY as compared to my 2009 In Season times.
forums.usms.org/blog.php
Im getting there. I set a goal to go under 2 minutes in the 200 SCM free. Ive only swum two meets so far since starting training for real in December 2008: February 2009 - 2:07.44, April 2009 - 2:04.23. I dont know my lifetime best for the 200, but I know I never got under 2 min (quit in 1st year university to drink beer and mountain bike with my mates), so thats what Im aiming for.
My biggest obstacles are 1) bad shoulders - too many biking accidents have left me with really finnicky shoulder joints. I have to be very careful about my stroke technique, weights, dryland, etc etc. and 2) burnout. I train solo, so staying motivated can be an issue.
My 50 and 100 free still blow, but are slightly better than when I was age group. Ive gotten bigger, and more powerful than when I was younger, and that helps, but I still have no idea how to sprint.
Id like to figure out my pitiful breaststroke and do some IMs in the future, as well as concentrate more on the 400 free. But first that 2 min 200...
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!
I think you have great opportunities for improvement.
I'm 50 and am faster than I was at 46, when I resumed swimming after quitting following high school. I was nothing special as a high school swimmer.
100 IM: 1:05.9/1:00.52 (46 yrs/50 yrs)
100 br: 1:08.4/1:06.85 (47 yrs/50 yrs)
50 br: 34.07/29.98 (46/50)
50 fr: 25.77/24.21 (46/50)
100 fr: 58.56/54.48 (46/50)
