Hi everybody,
I am a new contributor to the forum, though I have been reading the threads here for a long time.
I am interested to hear stories from masters swimmers who are competing because of 'unfinished business' from their high school swimming days/college swimming days.etc
I swam in college and graduated in 2006. The college was D1 but one of the slower conferences. I was not close to making NCAA's. I have swam a little bit of masters on and off since then. It's been on my mind for quite a while but recently I realized how much 'unresolved swimming regrets' I have. I have decided to up my training and see what I can do.
So I guess my question is, for all of you who have returned feeling like you have some gas left in the tank, how has your experience been? Any words of advice or wisdom to share? And the ultimate question, have you managed to exorcise any of those swim demons by returning?
Thanks in advance for reading this.
:ohyeah:
Hey, That Guy, I LOVE this Smilie! I think it's one of my new favorites!
For me, I was just a decent high school swimmer who didn't continue swimming in college. I stayed in shape over the years, but didn't have convenient access to a pool, so swimming wasn't part of my routine. The home gym (kayak machine, treadmill, and recumbent bike) was a lot more convenient!
After major shoulder surgery for work-related repetitive stress injury, my surgeon assured me I could go back to swimming. So, after moving to a community with an indoor pool 1 mile from my house, I decided to give it a try. After six months of swimming for fitness, I decided I needed and wanted something more, so I joined U.S.MS. Never did I think I would be able to compete again, but I'm back at it, 32 years after my high school competition ended. And, much to my surgeon's surprise, I'm even swimming fly again, pain free.
The best part about competitive swimming, now, is having access to tools not available to me, in 1979: YouTube swim videos, digital video to check my own stroke flaws, and USMS forums to learn about all aspects of swimming. And, I get to choose my own events at swim meets! :banana: Also, it helps tremendously getting some part-time coaching from a good coach. My high school coach never taught me one thing about breaststroke; I had to figure it out for myself. My senior year, we learned why, when we threw Coach into the pool, after beating our rivals; she didn't know how to swim! She panicked and we had to pull her out of the pool. Then, she admitted she didn't know how to swim and wasn't really a swim coach; she was the only available PE teacher to take on the responsibility of "coaching" our team. :afraid:
:ohyeah:
Hey, That Guy, I LOVE this Smilie! I think it's one of my new favorites!
For me, I was just a decent high school swimmer who didn't continue swimming in college. I stayed in shape over the years, but didn't have convenient access to a pool, so swimming wasn't part of my routine. The home gym (kayak machine, treadmill, and recumbent bike) was a lot more convenient!
After major shoulder surgery for work-related repetitive stress injury, my surgeon assured me I could go back to swimming. So, after moving to a community with an indoor pool 1 mile from my house, I decided to give it a try. After six months of swimming for fitness, I decided I needed and wanted something more, so I joined U.S.MS. Never did I think I would be able to compete again, but I'm back at it, 32 years after my high school competition ended. And, much to my surgeon's surprise, I'm even swimming fly again, pain free.
The best part about competitive swimming, now, is having access to tools not available to me, in 1979: YouTube swim videos, digital video to check my own stroke flaws, and USMS forums to learn about all aspects of swimming. And, I get to choose my own events at swim meets! :banana: Also, it helps tremendously getting some part-time coaching from a good coach. My high school coach never taught me one thing about breaststroke; I had to figure it out for myself. My senior year, we learned why, when we threw Coach into the pool, after beating our rivals; she didn't know how to swim! She panicked and we had to pull her out of the pool. Then, she admitted she didn't know how to swim and wasn't really a swim coach; she was the only available PE teacher to take on the responsibility of "coaching" our team. :afraid:
