The Masters Swimming Thread!

[Wahine]

So, have you ever had one of those practices where your shoulders hurt so much that you can't even lift your arms up to wash your hair after practice?

That's where I am right now - too much butterfly!

Lynette

I hear ya!! I had 2 practices like that this week. My patients think it's really funny when I can't demonstrate an exercise for them because my arms are about to fall off.

[Kimmyt]

Oh man, such a good class last night! We are on IM Improvement week in our schedule, which means that I can barely lift my arms after class. I did 2350 yds and actually felt like my butterfly wasn't an eyesore (most of the time). Of course, it helped that I was in the lane next to the teacher, who has an amazing butterfly, and could watch his form and attempt to emulate. At the end of the class, he came up to me and asked why I don't do meets. My answer was that I stink, but he just shrugged it off and tried to get me to do one.

I told him that if I ever learned how to do a reliable flip turn, I might consider it, but until then I'd focus on tri swimming!

But it felt good that he asked me that!

K.

[Over50Newbie]

Kimmy, you go girl!

I felt the same way about swim meets last year, and my coach had to literally "twist my arm" to get me to try one.

But now that I am doing them, I am really starting to like them. I don't like the feeling that I get before them - butterflies in my stomach, feelings of self doubt, thinking that I am a fraud being there - but, once I actually get in the water to swim, I find that I really enjoy myself.

The best part of the swim meets is that you don't compete against others, you only compete against yourself. Everybody is swimming to complete their personal bests. There are no ribbons, no trophies, no nothing. It is a great atmosphere where you swim with people, right in the next lane, who their 80's and 90's. And it is much less competitive than doing triathlons.

So, think it over. Oh, and BTW, there are many, many Masters swimmers who do open turns!

Lynette

[Wahine]

I did 3 masters swims this week for a total of....8100 m this week. Thought my arms were going to fall off on tues but I had a great set today, 3 x 400 on 7 min, I held a 6:45.

[Over50Newbie]

Wahine, you are truly a MASTER...

Nice job on your 400 repeats. It is soooo hard to keep your time for all three of them, especially at the end when you are fatigued.

Lynette

[Kimmyt]

Rough day at Masters yesterday. We had the Twelve Drills of Xmas.

12- 25 freestyle on :30
11- 25 free/fly on the :30
10- 25 stroke/free on the :30
9- 25 free/kick on the :30
8- 25 IM order on the :30
7- 25 fly kick on the :30
6- 25 free with 2 breaths on the :30
5- 5 50 free kick
4- 100 free on the 1:45
3- 75 fly
2- 50 sprint
1- 25 underwater

all equals to ouch. I made it all the way to the fourth day of christmas before having to cut down. Then time ran out of class so we ended up doing 3 100s for the 4th day, then 3-25s of fly for the third day, then 2 25sprints and then the one underwater.

It was a hurty kind of day! (though on Wednesday we get Reindeer Games, woo!)

K.

[chickwhorips]

I have never swam with the masters per say, but my friend use to and we would do drills together.

Now that I am finally in a place that has a pool, I have a membership and have begun to swim again. Phew! It feels so good.

I've been swimming about 3 days a week to get back into the swing of things. One long easy day. One short faster day, and then drills.

I hope you girls don't mind, but I'm going to tag along with all of you to help get ideas on training and keep motivated. My dr said I couldn't train hard yet until at least the summer if I was up to it.

Thanks in advance to letting me tag along!