# #413 : How I qualified for the Nationals (at 38 years old) with Brenton Ford

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-effortless-swimming-podcast-535850/413-how-i-qualified-for-the-nationals-at-38-years-old-with-brenton-ford
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-effortless-swimming-podcast-535850/413-how-i-qualified-for-the-nationals-at-38-years-old-with-brenton-ford.md
Podcast: [The Effortless Swimming Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-effortless-swimming-podcast-535850)
Published: 2026-01-15T01:15:23+00:00
Episode link: https://effortlessswimming.libsyn.com/413-how-i-qualified-for-the-nationals-at-38-years-old-with-brenton-ford
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/effortlessswimming/How_I_qualified_for_the_Nationals_online-audio-converter.com.mp3?dest-id=161224
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Duration seconds: 703

## Resource

At 20 years old, I missed qualifying for the National Championships by three hundredths of a second in the 50 backstroke. Fast-forward 18 years, and at 38, I qualified for Nationals in the five-kilometer open-water swim—training mostly just three times a week. In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how I did it in my late thirties: the one thing an Olympic gold medalist taught me that helped me generate more power with less effort, why getting injured before the race actually worked in my favor, how just five minutes with one coach changed my technique in the final two months, and the single workout I repeated every week that built my endurance and helped me finish fast. 01:19 Missed Out Again 01:53 Stroke Analysis 3:41 Olympic Gold Medalist Secret 5:48 Swimming Workout 7:17 Injured 8:22 Race Day 8:48 The Best Anti-Fog Goggles 9:42 My 5km Time (Qualified)

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