This article is courtesy of Judd Cribbs.
I grew up with a pool in my backyard, but finally, at age 53, I decided to try to swim competitively. I’ve now been training for nearly a year.
My biggest challenge has been building back up my cardiovascular fitness. I used to run frequently in my early 40s, but that all stopped after my wife and I had two kids. As a new dad at age 46, I severely (and I mean “severely”) underestimated how much energy it would take to care for two little kids. It felt like running a daily marathon.
Now that the kids are more independent, I have a little more time to exercise (and sleep!). I spent the entire summer working on flip turns, which tire me out almost as much as changing diapers.
I also went running a few times, as that seems to tax my body more than swimming. One mental hurdle I face is that I like swimming so much, I often zone out when I swim laps. Sometimes I can’t tell how long I’ve been in the water. I have a tendency to relax and swim at a leisurely pace. With running, for me, there is no leisurely pace. Any pace hurts.
So I’ve been mixing in a little running. I ran a 5k in Ohio over the Memorial Day weekend. Being from southwest Florida, I had to be reminded that those lumpy and curvy parts of the Earth were called “hills.”
I noticed that when I run, I breathe in and out quickly, something I’m not able to do as well in the water. I think that gives me something of a mental block, and it is something I have to try to push past. I’m getting better at flipturns, but it’s hard to tell how much better. I enjoy doing them, but sometimes I wonder if the lifeguard, who might be several lanes away, can hear me gasp for air when I break the water.
My coach advised me to also throw in some sprints toward the end of my workouts, which I have done. Please be advised that “sprint” is a relative term. What is a sprint for a tortoise is not a sprint for a rabbit. I’m pretty sure my sprints are other swimmers’ training paces. I know this from experience: I was on a treadmill in a gym once and felt like I was flying. I was pretty much a deer running free through the woods. Then I looked over into the full-length mirror and was aghast at the sight of a middle-aged man plodding along, barely lifting his feet off the belt. I still marvel at the incongruity between what I felt like and what I looked like.
But I have to put appearance aside and simply make sure I hold myself accountable for my training. I’m probably not the only aging athlete who is his worst enemy. The other day I ate pizza for lunch and dinner. I ate the whole thing. My instinctive reaction was to blame the pizza. How could the pizza let me do that?! Stupid pizza.
At some point, I have to quit using the “I’m-building-up-my-fitness-base” excuse (and all other excuses) and actually enter a meet. I think I should do this to give my training more focus and purpose. I started training around Labor Day 2015, so I’m going to start looking to enter a meet in late 2016 or early 2017. That would be about 16 months of training.
My plan is to eventually swim the 50 freestyle. Initially, I plan to enter only that one event. Therefore, if I embarrass myself, I can make a quick getaway… and put the running I’ve done to good use.
Judd Cribbs is a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. When he is not swimming or teaching, he enjoys gardening, playing the piano (poorly), and chasing his two kids around the house.
Believe me if break 40 seconds at 53 its not bad.
I’m going for it!