US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals

The USMS Summer Long Course Nationals were held at the University of Minnesota this year. As I mentioned before swimming is relatively new to me. I took swim lessons every summer as a kid and I enjoyed them immensely but I was never a competitive swimmer. In fact I didn't know it really even existed outside the olympics at that time.

So fast forward to fall of 2015 and I find myself with shoulder issues from lifting weights, and a desire to swim with my 9 year old daughter who was on the YMCA swim team. Frankly she made it look easy so I figured I would do it too.

So at the advice of my doctor I scheduled a set of 8 lessons with my daughter’s swim team coach. 25 yards was about all I could do without resting when I started. Swimming is harder than it looks. But focus on proper technique to prevent injury was the goal as I knew endurance would come. I was swimming 2x/week once with a lesson and once on my own.

That fall, the swim team offered a parent race during one of their meets. My daughter said I should try it out. So after a lesson on starting from the blocks, I was ready for my first 50 free race. It was a lot of fun. With that behind me I decided to join USMS and go to a meet. There is no team that gets together in Duluth, so I practiced on my own. My first official swim meet was in Dec 2015 and I swam 50 free, 50 back and 100 back. Breathing was still difficult, no flip turns (hadn’t learned how yet) but I did it and met some good people.

Me next to a "real swimmer" prior to a race

I swam regularly and competed monthly through the winter of 2016. I stopped swimming in the spring, switched to golf. In the fall, I joined another pool so that I could go 3x/week at the same time my daughter was at practice a mile away. That significantly helped my endurance and I started the next USMS season in the fall of 2016. I did 50/100 Free and 50/100 back. But in practice I was regularly swimming a 500 non stop.

In January 2017, a new coach on my daughter’s team started up a “Tri-swim” class. He held it two mornings/week and on Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t do the early morning ones, but I made many of the Sunday swims. They were long swims, and he worked me hard. Focused on technique, some speed work, some endurance work etc.

I was consistently getting a little bit faster at every meet. I will never say I am fast. I finish last in all my heats usually, and in my age group. But I do enjoy the competition against myself. At the spring state championship I upped my longest competition yardage to a 200 Free. I spend most of my time swimming freestyle now.

Unlike the year before, I continued to swim during the spring. Having never swam a long course meet before I swam one in June, and did a 400m Free in competition for the first time.

At the USMS Nationals they let anyone swim up to 3 events without a qualifying time. So I signed up to swim 3 events and on 2 relay teams. Thursday afternoon was a 50 back as part of a medley relay, and then on Friday 400 Free, 50 back, and 100 Free, and a 50 Free as part of a relay team. I had some great swims! The backstroke events sucked, but I had not been practicing them at all. I took 20 seconds off my 400m Free PR!

At Nationals, they hand out medals to the top 10 places in each age group. Fortunately not many people competed in some of my events in my age group and I managed to come home with 4 medals.

So I have really enjoyed swimming. It is really difficult. Prior to nationals I was focusing on learning flip turns and gaining endurance. Since nationals, a part of every practice is working on alternate side breathing. I will get there, but it is a slow process.