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Masters swimming motivational times
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Just came across this, thought I'd share. A bit more relevant to us than the USAS AG motivational times that's for 10-18 year olds. I like it because it gives a bit of motivation to try and get up to the next ranking, or maybe against the next younger age bracket, etc.

on page 9 of the thread, there's a 2014 update to the tables with a top10 equivalent time.

http://forums.usms.org/...vational-Times/page9

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Last edited by: JasoninHalifax: Jan 31, 20 8:22
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Interesting that the womens 35-39 times are slower than the womens 40-44 times.






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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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I could most likely make the B cut in all events except for fly, woohoo!
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [TrierinKC] [ In reply to ]
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TrierinKC wrote:
I could most likely make the B cut in all events except for fly, woohoo!

I'm a BB cut (using converted SCY times, they're a bit faster than the SCM times) in my worst events.

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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax wrote:
Just came across this, thought I'd share. A bit more relevant to us than the USAS AG motivational times that's for 10-18 year olds. I like it because it gives a bit of motivation to try and get up to the next ranking, or maybe against the next younger age bracket, etc.

on page 9 of the thread, there's a 2014 update to the tables with a top10 equivalent time.

http://forums.usms.org/...vational-Times/page9

I didn't read the 10 plus pages over there, so if the answer to this question is already answered I'm sorry... but, when you say "top 10 time" what do you mean by top 10? Top 10 nationally?


Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [Canadian] [ In reply to ]
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Canadian wrote:
JasoninHalifax wrote:
Just came across this, thought I'd share. A bit more relevant to us than the USAS AG motivational times that's for 10-18 year olds. I like it because it gives a bit of motivation to try and get up to the next ranking, or maybe against the next younger age bracket, etc.

on page 9 of the thread, there's a 2014 update to the tables with a top10 equivalent time.

http://forums.usms.org/...vational-Times/page9

I didn't read the 10 plus pages over there, so if the answer to this question is already answered I'm sorry... but, when you say "top 10 time" what do you mean by top 10? Top 10 nationally?

Yup, top 10 in the USA. I haven't read the entire thread in detail, but I think that the "X" times listed are a "top 10 equivalent" time, i.e. if you do those times then you have a roughly 50/50 chance to be in the top 10, based off of the average of the 10th ranked times over the previous number of years. I don't recall if I saw how many years he went back, 3 maybe?

Swimming Workout of the Day:

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2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax wrote:
Canadian wrote:
JasoninHalifax wrote:
Just came across this, thought I'd share. A bit more relevant to us than the USAS AG motivational times that's for 10-18 year olds. I like it because it gives a bit of motivation to try and get up to the next ranking, or maybe against the next younger age bracket, etc.

on page 9 of the thread, there's a 2014 update to the tables with a top10 equivalent time.

http://forums.usms.org/...vational-Times/page9


I didn't read the 10 plus pages over there, so if the answer to this question is already answered I'm sorry... but, when you say "top 10 time" what do you mean by top 10? Top 10 nationally?


Yup, top 10 in the USA. I haven't read the entire thread in detail, but I think that the "X" times listed are a "top 10 equivalent" time, i.e. if you do those times then you have a roughly 50/50 chance to be in the top 10, based off of the average of the 10th ranked times over the previous number of years. I don't recall if I saw how many years he went back, 3 maybe?

Wow! Thanks for clarifying that. I haven't focused on swimming for years but that might motivate me to dust off the goggles ;).


Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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So what would be within reach for an AOS on long distance free (400 to 1500)? A? AA? Better than this?
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [Bib02] [ In reply to ]
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No idea. I’d suggest that isn’t really the best way to think of these things though.

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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for finding and posting. I got one AAAA and four AAA times in 60-64. But I think the older age groups have gotten faster over past 5 years. I think I’d be be A or lower for running times,
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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I came across this a few years ago. It is kinda fun since it reminds me of my youth. Swimosaur actually put out a 2017 update to this in SCY. I didn't see SCM or LCM but perhaps someone else can find them!

http://forums.usms.org/...s-Motivational-Times
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for those charts. I love that stuff, to remind me how lousy I am at swimming!

Am I reading it wrong, though?

Here are some times I'm seeing:

For 1000 yds FREE:

M18-24: B = 16:23
M25-29: B = 15:22
M 30-34: B=15:12
M 35-39: B= 15:14
M 40-44: B =15:19
M 45-49: B = 15:06 <- So the 45 yr old has a higher standard than even the 22 year old and all the others?
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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The times seem skewed towards the shorter distances..

For example, looking at LCM, A group (M35-39), there's no way I'm doing a sub 1:09 for 100M free, but I can easily do sub 12:37 for the 800M free.
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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If you look at the NQT's for this spring's USMS national meet, you'll see that, for the most part, the 45-49 AG has faster qualifying times for the 500, 1000 and 1650 events. But not for the 200 and below events. Perhaps it is because our fast twitch muscle fibers reduce as we age. What we lack in speed, we make up for by being able to go longer distances faster :-)
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [scooter23] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks, that does explain the trend I highlighed in those 1000 free times.

I think I can actually hit that "B" time for 1000 free for M45-49 which kinda amazes me given my historical swim suckdom, and as well since the only other motivational times I've seen were the youth ones, and as I recall the 9-12 year old girls standards were mostly too hard for me!

The M18-24 1000 "B" Free time of 16:23 seems really slow, honestly - if a slowster like me can beat that by accident by over 30 seconds in the middle of a 3000 yds workout just going moderate-hard workout pace in the middle of a ladder set, it's gotta be soft!
Last edited by: lightheir: Jan 31, 20 13:49
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
Thanks for those charts. I love that stuff, to remind me how lousy I am at swimming!

Am I reading it wrong, though?

Here are some times I'm seeing:

For 1000 yds FREE:

M18-24: B = 16:23
M25-29: B = 15:22
M 30-34: B=15:12
M 35-39: B= 15:14
M 40-44: B =15:19
M 45-49: B = 15:06 <- So the 45 yr old has a higher standard than even the 22 year old and all the others?

Yup, that’s right. To understand that, you need to know how they’re calculated, ie from the top times in each AG. So they’re reflective of who shows up, not of what the potential is in each AG. Historically, a lot of really fast swimmers step away from the sport in their late 20’s to 30’s,

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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [scooter23] [ In reply to ]
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scooter23 wrote:
If you look at the NQT's for this spring's USMS national meet, you'll see that, for the most part, the 45-49 AG has faster qualifying times for the 500, 1000 and 1650 events. But not for the 200 and below events. Perhaps it is because our fast twitch muscle fibers reduce as we age. What we lack in speed, we make up for by being able to go longer distances faster :-)

That’s some funny stuff right there!!

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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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I thought you'd like that Jason! Thanks for posting the pdf's. They are interesting to look at.
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [PowerPlay] [ In reply to ]
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But I think the older age groups have gotten faster over past 5 years. I think I’d be be A or lower for running times, //

And you would be right, this chart from 2014 would be like Childs play to todays standards. I wish it were relevant, I would have a half dozen AAAA times, and next year I would be an X'er!! I'm on a year plan now to just get ready to age up, and I just hope the times are not following me too closely!
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
But I think the older age groups have gotten faster over past 5 years. I think I’d be be A or lower for running times, //

And you would be right, this chart from 2014 would be like Childs play to todays standards. I wish it were relevant, I would have a half dozen AAAA times, and next year I would be an X'er!! I'm on a year plan now to just get ready to age up, and I just hope the times are not following me too closely!

It’s fairly straightforward to manually calculate the times from the USMS top 10 lists . It just gets time consuming to do it for all events and AG’s. But if you wanted to see what happened in your AG for 2019, that data is available.

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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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It’s fairly straightforward to manually calculate the times from the USMS top 10 lists . It just gets time consuming to do it for all events and AG’s. But if you wanted to see what happened in your AG for 2019, that data is available. //

Ya it can get a bit bothersome to look at all the different AG's, but an easy metric is to just look at this years qualifying time chart for nationals. I think the times are basically the 10th place time from last years lats, + 10%. It is interesting to see some events in older AG's nearly as tough as the one below. And also where the drop off the cliff is, right at 65+.. But like I said earlier, have a sneaking suspicion that those younger fast times are just going to follow me to the grave...
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [monty] [ In reply to ]
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Well Monty what you say is solid. I always laugh at the guys who beat me in college are still beating me in Masters then add a couple late to the party folks that started swimming in their 30s and have had 30 years of training to the mix. I laugh too at how easy it is to finish top 10 or 15 when they have Masters Nats in North Dakota or Mississippi and how hard to finish top 20 when it is anywhere near California.

The most painful thing for me is my college mens times would barely or sometimes not make the girls HS travel team at the local level. Oh well at least we are still among the breathing, so far.
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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The times for the 18-24 AG are usually slow because there are very few in that AG, who are any good, who aren’t on a college team or training with their home club teams in the summer, and hence are swimming in USA Swimming meets. By the time they’re graduating, many hang up their suits for at least a short amount of time, if not semi-permanently.
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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I was in the “X” range in 2014 (the year of this chart, when I was 42) in SCY and LCM in the 400/500, 800/1000, and the 1500/1650. I also had the 4th best time in the world in my AG in the 1500. I think most years since I’ve been in the “X” range in those events, plus AAA-4A in the 200 fly.

In terms of other discussion on this thread, some of the times in the shorter events are much “better,” quality-wise, than the longer events. I mean, who wants to train for and swim distance events after probably having done that for years as an 18-U age-grouper and college swimmer? So my X and 4A times are only because fewer really good swimmers are doing my events. I’m saying that my range of times isn’t impressive in my AG as in the 200 and shorter races. Some of the Olympians of my era, who are near my age, are swimming USMS, but cluster toward the 500/400 and under races (Dave Wharton, Josh Davis are examples). I swam a 500 in the same heat as Davis in San Antonio in 2015 and he lapped me, and I was still in the “X” range.

As for motivational times in the 400/500, 800/1000, and 1500/1650 for AOS-specific triathletes, I’d say you’re doing some “pointy-end” swimming in the A-2A range. BUT!! It’s a matter if diminishing returns, especially if you mean to couple that with the rest of a triathlon and whether you are also training for and competing in other masters events. There MAY be a few 3A-4A swimmers in the top of your AG in any reí from Olympic to 140.3, but honestly, it’s maybe 1-2 at the most, and certainly very few KQ. In my last 140, Louisville 2010, I was 35th OA/2nd in my AG in the swim (:55.xy) but around 11:30 OA and nowhere near the roll-down. In fact, a dude I beat out of the water by 15 minutes beat me by 90 minutes OA, and only one of the KQ in my AG were sub :60 in the swim.
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Re: Masters swimming motivational times [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Interesting. The As in my age group are twice as fast as I am in the free. In the backstroke the 4As are twice as fast. In the breaststroke the X are twice as fast.

This is how an AOS works with such motivational times. lol

Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.
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