Masters Swimmers Acting Like Triathletes

The original question I posed comes from many friends I've met who I have spoken to about participating in Master Swimming for fun. Admittedly some are mentally burnt out from yardage and bad coaching. Many, however, just don't want to have to deal with the things I've mentioned about what appears to be a growing crowd of over-the-top "triathlete" like behavior. Too bad.... as there are a lot of Ex's out there that would enjoy casual workouts, sharing their past, and finding amusement in a race once or twice a year. Maybe I'm missing something here but in the last three Nationals, I have seen nothing but friendship and good natured smack talking. Sure, there are intense rivalries and there are for sure those few folks who are wrapped just a little too tight but oh darn, those folks are in EVERY sport not just swimming.

Mr. Negative is a wing-nut, deep fried on mcstupidity. I wouldn't want to be in any athletic organization that didn't have a goodly number of extremists. Who wants to hang out with a bunch of noodlers? I think USMS needs even more crazies. Most of the hard core athletes I know are only hard core in their training but just like the rest of us away from the gym/pool. As long as we aren't naming names, let's not name a certain "team" cobbled together from the four points of the US solely for the purpose of breaking a record, and the 6 months of endless crowing about that beforehand and now the 12 months of endless crowing about that afterwards. I saw a record breaking relay assembled in 10 minutes at a meet from a single team without any such pre or post swim self-accolades. I'm pretty sure we will have to hear about that legendary team assembled for longer than we will have to suffer from Pablo's endless love for all things Flintwood Mic. This is first rational thing I've read from a McCrazy.

puff mamma: why didn't you call me, of course i have some choice italian words... mandalo a fanculo. mr. negative: masters is many things to swimmers. for the elder crowd it is a chance to relive days gone by, for the fitness swimmer maybe overweight one- it is the joy of losing weight and not having sore knees from running or other exercises. for the tri guy or gal who wants to better their swim time. the ex collegiate who wants to swim but not compete but be able to eAT like they did in college. and the last group- the uber competitive. the ones in this group are hardest on themselves. Puff, is right, masters swimmers talk a lot of trash( guilty am i ) and psych outs. it is all in fun. what is somebody's idea of fun may not be anothers, yeesh, go with the flow. :applaud: Not to turn this into a Geek love-fest, but SO TRUE! I get PLENTY of smack talk thrown at me on a continual basis - mostly at masters and not during USS practices. Saying you suck at the 100 FR is really not too bad in my opinion. But how about these doozies (ironically told to me by two different male world record holders): "You f'in beech (he's Italian), you didn't offer to lead the lane once." (Uh, no. . . b/c you're a multiple world record holder!!!) and my all time favorite, and this may be paraphrased a bit "You gotta get your big ego out of the way." (True but annoying to hear at 6 AM.) I actually think the masters workouts are waaaaaay more competitive than the kid workouts I do. However, many of the masters swimmers swear on their kids' lives that they don't take it seriously. Uh huh.

Your right....... I doubt anyone on this forum would be upset if their times were not represented accurately in USMS top ten listing too. There you go ... getting my blood pressure up with your spelling errors again.

There needs to be tolereance for all. I just didn't (still don't) get race walking, especially when I was baking in the sun waiting for the event to be over so I could run my events. We all tolerated it though. It's important to somebody. As far as swimming goes, I find it interesting to see people satisfied with swimming extremely slow year after year with absolutely no interest in improvement. Conversely, I often imagine what sacrifices some people are making to swim as as fast as they do. Maybe none and they are just gifted, maybe they are flushing alot of life's other pleasures down the toilet to train. Whatever. We are all here to be different. We need each other to contrast the extremes and where we fit in. I'd love to know how fast 44 year olds can swim as a point of reference. It's also nice to get some satisfaction when you can chart your improvements.

So, you know, the really weird thing about this thread? I totally seemed to have blanked out on the day I became responsible for the psychological health and social life of a bunch of middle-aged has-beens who are so busy reliving their glory days that they cannot possibly see the variety in a single organization; those whose minds are so cluttered by the past that the present takes on but a single dimension. I simultaneously feel sorry for them and feel contempt. Geez, it tingles. I guess in the end I can just be glad all the former national-level swimmers on my team, all much younger than these sagging sad sacks described in the thread, present a different angle. In fact, they seem to be the *most* interested in everyone's goals, no matter how pedestrian. Odd.

The "hurting" aspect is the unfortunate lost opportunity and interaction with other masters swimmers, which goes both ways.

I would never ever want to "side" with Mr. Negative....but I do see a little bit what he's saying. I agree that EVERY sport, job, hobby, etc has participants who are just plain over the top, to the point where something 'healthy' can turn very unhealthy quickly. I think the obssessed swimmers are far and few between....but I do agree that they're out there. I was at a meet with Susan Von der Lippe (who in my humble opinion is the greatest Masters Swimmer EVER....and probably one of the greatest people on the planet as well!!!!). We were talking to another swimmer who wasn't having her best meet. She's a talented swimmer, has some records, scores high at nationals, etc. She was very down on herself, and actually told us that her swimming success means more to her than her CHILDREN! Something is seriously wrong with that attitude. She said it honestly, and you could tell she absolutely meant it. She has THREE kids, by the way!!! To me, this is where a love for swimming crosses the line. Big time. Again, thankfully this isn't the norm from what I've seen....but it's sad to see the few swimmers who pour 100% of their identity and self - worth into Masters.

But in the end.... really..... should master's swimmers care about the difference between a LZR and a Jaked? They both do an effective job of holding in your flabby gut, and that is what old people really need. The rubber suits are great for USMS.... they make an otherwise unappealing spectator sport more pallatable. Received the ultimate compliment last weekend when I went to Schlitterbahn with my 18 year old daughter and a few of her teenaged friends. The guys in the group told her that her dad was really "ripped" and that they were planning to swim Masters too. BTW, Rowdy gave an interview after his 200 free at Nationals. Didn't sound like he thought the race was "amusing."

I guess in the end I can just be glad all the former national-level swimmers on my team, all much younger than these sagging sad sacks described in the thread, present a different angle. In fact, they seem to be the *most* interested in everyone's goals, no matter how pedestrian. Odd. Unless I'm completely missing something here...that is the whole point of Mr. Negative. He's not ripping on people being competitve...IMHO he's calling out (as I have in several posts) the weekend warriors who are SO over the top about their records and top 10's that it isn't fun to be around for anyone, especially for someone who has spent the better part of their lives training/racing at the age group/high school/college/USA level(s). And by the way...seems to me you have been reliving your "glory days" of a run recently...much to my dismay as you succeeded and I can't make a mile!