How much do you believe you can improve?

[Karl_S]

I assume that most of us believe that we could swim substantially faster, IF.

IF we won a huge lottery payout, or a IF some swim suit vendor decided that what they really needed was an ordinary masters swimmer to promote their product and paid us sufficient money to:
· Quit work.
· Hire an army of helpers to do yard work, clean the house, run the kids around, cook, do shopping, pay the bills, buy a reliable car etc.
· Hire a great coach.
· Hire a personal trainer.
· Buy access to our own lane at a great weather-proof pool to match our schedule - and that of a few great training partners.
· Hire a masseuse.
· Hire a dietician.
· ...

But that aint 'gonna happen, so I put forth this hypothetical:
Consider your best times in your two best events over the last two years.
Given the current constraints on your lifestyle, (training time, sleeping time, ...) if you did your best to improve in those two events, how much do you believe you could lower your times over the next year or so.

[jpetyk]

If I was independently wealthy, I believe I could probably improve about 5%. I was always just "pretty good," never "really good" or "elite." That being said, if I quit sleeping in, and had some real coaching, I think I could probably improve about 1 second off of my 100 free. At least I like to think I could.

[pwb]

I'm still hoping for about 2% by Santa Clara in my best events (400 IM, 500 free), but I'm willing for FINIS to do a long term, longitudinal study of the impact of their training tools and suits on my performance over the next ~40 years by providing all the stuff you listed above to see if I could take the 2% to 5% or 10% and to see how long I could sustain it.

[__steve__]

My speed falls at the rate my tech suit ages

[Swimosaur]

I used to believe something like this:

Speed loss due to normal aging and/or injury is inevitable.

Then I saw this:

W 65-69 LCM 50 Butterfly

Diann B Uustal	2013-06-05 (20130605panjunL)	67	GAJA	50 Fly	H4 / L4	34.56	<< FASTER World Record at 67!
Diann B Uustal	2011-08-03 (20110804lcnatsL)	65	MESC	50 Fly	H2 / L6	35.42	<<<<<<< World Record at 65!

With shoulder surgery and months of rehab in between!

Age? Check. Injury? Check. Still getting faster?? Check!!

Now I believe anything is possible!

[thewookiee]

I used to believe something like this:

All Judd has to do is shave down once a year for his big meet. He trains with a fullbody drag suit. He will instantly be faster.

[ElaineK]

All Judd has to do is shave down once a year for his big meet. He trains with a fullbody drag suit. He will instantly be faster.

Look who's talkin'!

[Karl_S]

Look who's talkin'!

Did you know there is actually a "Chewbacca bat"? Check this out: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/05/world/...les/index.html

[ekw]

All Judd has to do is shave down once a year for his big meet. He trains with a fullbody drag suit. He will instantly be faster.

Laugh it up, fuzzball.

[ekw]

Did you know there is actually a "Chewbacca bat"? Check this out: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/05/world/...les/index.html

Neat! But I prefer the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

[funkyfish]

I chose the 8%, because I want to take 2 seconds off my 50m free. I've got some things working against me (work, pool too hot, gimpy shoulder, various stars out of alignment, etc...), but I also have a bit of denial in me that keeps me thinking that "yeah, maybe this year I can do it."

[tylerguitar75]

I just posted about this!! Now, bear in mind, I am in high school and was a very new swimmer when I started at 15 years of age, but I have definitely done the 20%!!!! Not sure where my thread went but go see it, lol.

[tylerguitar75]

Now I believe anything is possible!

Good, because it is. I dropped about 10 seconds in my 50 free from a 34 to a 25 in 2 and a half years, no kidding. Started swimming as a 15 year old, and just tapered for summer league as a 17 year old. Also went from 37 in 50 breast to 29 in 50 breast.

[Karl_S]

It's interesting that, so far, the most probable responses are: 0, 1, 5, 10 & 15. I wonder if that's just because these are "round" numbers so-to-speak. Clearly though, it's a broad multi-modal distribution. I wonder what basis folks have for believing that they could improve 10% or more. Are they new to swimming? Recovering from an injury or illness? Really lackadaisical about their current training? About to hit a growth spurt? I spent about 2.5 years knocking my 100 back time down by 1.5s. 10% is totally excellent.

[Karl_S]

Now I believe anything is possible!

Yea, I've seen some similar accomplishments. I want to know more about how to do it.

[Swimosaur]

I want to know more about how to do it.

If she could bottle it & sell it, she'd make a fortune.

Ask the hirsute Wookiee. They practice at the same time, in the same pool. Maybe there's something in the water ....

[Swimosaur]

I used to believe something like this:

-- Speed loss due to normal aging and/or injury is inevitable.

Then I saw this:

W 65-69 LCM 50 Butterfly

Diann B Uustal	2013-06-05 (20130605panjunL)	67	GAJA	50 Fly	H4 / L4	34.56	<< FASTER World Record at 67!
Diann B Uustal	2011-08-03 (20110804lcnatsL)	65	MESC	50 Fly	H2 / L6	35.42	<<<<<<< World Record at 65!

With shoulder surgery and months of rehab in between!

Age? Check. Injury? Check. Still getting faster?? Check!!

Now I believe anything is possible!

Today, three days after her 67th birthday, Diann just broke her own 2 1/2 year old World Record in W65-69 SCM 50 fly, at the Rowdy Gaines meet.

Old World Record: UUSTAL Diann USA 35.06 21-May-2011

New World Record: UUSTAL Diann USA 34.53 13-Oct-2013

With shoulder surgery and months of rehab in between!

Age? Check. Injury? Check. Still getting faster?? Check!!

Anything is possible!

[ElaineK]

WooooHOOOOO Diann! An e-mail to Diann will follow this post!

[Swimosaur]

To Whom It May Concern,

You wish you were this good! This is what the new FINA all-time Top Ten list is going to look like:

50 M. FLY
34.53 DIANN UUSTAL USA 2013
36.36 CHRISTEL SCHULZ GER 2005
36.66 JUDY WILSON FRA 2010
36.71 MICHIE DOI JPN 2009
36.79 YOSHIKO OSAKI JPN 2003
37.10 BRIGITTE MERTEN GER 2011
37.31 LYNETTE STEVENSON AUS 2011
37.58 KIRA MAKAROVA RUS 2012
38.06 JOY WARD USA 2007
38.09 HISAKO SATO JPN 2000


Jeepers! She's got nearly 2 seconds on #2. In a 50! That's what you call total dominance!

Anything is possible!

[__steve__]

The difference between 2nd and 10th is less than the 1.83 second difference 1st and 2nd