Swim Meet Report (long, but with cliff's notes in the beginning)

Stitcher · Feb 18, 2008

This is long, but I've put the "nutshell version" at the top so if you don't have the time or inclination to read the whole thing you don't have to. Day 1 Short Version Events: 100 IM 1:27.65 (PR by.40 secs – 4th in AG) 50 FR :32.72 (PR by .84 secs – 4th in AG) 100 BK 1:27.73 (missed best time by 1.82 secs – 2nd in AG) 50 FL :41.94 (new event & time – 5th in AG) 200 FR Relay, leg 3 :33.40, we took 3rd Day 2 Event Short Versions: 500 FR – (7:01. 89 PR by 9.75 secs!! - 4th in AG)<img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif"> 50 BK –

42.39 missed PR by 1.41 secs. 1st in AG, This is a CRAZY result. Everyone must have been slow for this event. Lol) 100 FR – (1:14.03, missed PR by 1.74 secs. 3rd in AG) 50 BR –

50.98, missed PR by 1.96 secs - 3rd in AG) 200 medley relay, I swam FR (last). :32.59, we took 2nd 
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The long version: 
Day 1: Day before: Ate healthy, hydrated well, and got in bed early. I have this “thing” about races and meets…I have to have newly shaved legs for the events. I don’t know why. It’s just a thing. So, I always get a nice soak in the tub the night before just before bed, and take care of business. It’s an added plus that it gets me all relaxed and comfy before getting under the covers, too. Up and moving early to allow for “conjuring” and eating. I always get McDonalds hotcakes before swim meets, and ONLY before swim meets. So, off I went for my treat. Back home to eat and get caught up on things…pack my bag, etc. This meet doesn’t start until noon-ish, so I had plenty of time. Next year, I’ll need to be there earlier, though, because the 1650 starts around 10:45. As it was, I got there before the start of that event and was able to help count for some swimmers who needed it. Side note: That’s why I started doing more distance swimming. In races, there are people there who count FOR you. I consider this to be a bonus! After I changed and all that, I hung out a little bit with some people from the team, ate the PBJ and ‘nana that I’d packed for lunch and then got in to warm up. EEgads! What a giant mess. Note to self: get there earlier and warm up in relative peace. At the time, I didn’t feel as if I got a good enough warm up (I’m usually slow to warm up), but later decided that maybe it was ok. For all of you who are apprehensive about swim meets. PLEASE don’t be. There are all types of people there, all levels of swimming, all ages….everything. At this meet I saw two people who were quite large but were out there swimming, one who was pregnant, and several who are at least 90 years old! Get out there. It’s fun. [end PSA]. My first event was 100 IM. I have been spending the last few weeks doing tons of stroke work and stroke drills in the mornings, and not a ton of “race prep” but… what the heck, it’s only 100, right? That’s 25 of each stroke. I can gut my way through that. My seed time was 1:28.05, a previous PR. I felt “ok” through the race. My turns can definitely be improved. The strategy from my coach was: head down on fly, good turnover and kick on back, pray on breast, and push it for all you got on free. Right! I didn’t feel smooth, but I did work on all those elements. I learned a track start the other day in workout, and that went fairly well…I didn’t slip and fall on my face, or smash the girls as I entered the water. However, my foot slipped on the turn from back to breast, so my pullout wasn’t what it could have been. BUT, I chased down the person in the lane next to me on FR, and rocked on that last 25, for me. My final time was 1:27.65, a new PR. Yay! Get out of pool, cool down. I was wheezing more than I liked, so my cool down consisted of getting my HR back under control so I could stop the noisy breathing. I was really shakey…strangely so, after this event. So, I went ahead an ate another banana. I couldn’t tell if it was a fuel thing, a breathing thing, or a nerves thing. Next event was 50 FR. Seed time was :33.56, a PR. There are TONS of heats for this race, but they all go pretty quick. So, the area behind the blocks is filled with people getting ready to swim. This 20 yr old form my team was 5 heats after me in the lane next to me, so we were back there together. The strategy on 50 FR is swim for all you’re worth, it’s just a 50! So, I did. I couldn’t ever get a clear breath, though. The pool was really choppy, and I think I drank as much as I breathed. My turn was great, and my finish was good, too. Time: :32.72, another PR! Yay! Little bit of cool down. Then back to wait while the 100 BR event ran. Crazy people! I got back in the water a bit before my next event, 100 BK to get some turn and finish work in before the race. I rarely get the chance to practice BK starts, so those are always a bit of a crap shoot regarding how they’ll turn out. We made some changes to mine the other night, and I’m not convinced they are the right idea, but the coach liked them better, so I’m going with them for now. My actual start for the 100 BK was flat and loud, not good. The plan was to swim it like a build….start relaxed and build to 100 % on the last 25. Oops…well, that didn’t work out so well. I’ve also been working on getting better body rotation through my long axis on BK, so I had that in my mind as well. Seed time: 1:25.91, finish time: 1:27.73. As the age group coach said, I missed my seed time, didn’t add to it. I have a feeling this is more a result of not enough speed work in workout than anything else. I felt smoother, and my kick and rhythm was better than it’s been in the past, just didn’t have the speed in me that morning. Hang out again through the 10 heats of 200 FR. Holy moly…that takes a long time. So long that I lose track and don’t realize it’s time for my next event until I hear it being called over the loudspeaker. So here I am, tearing off my t-shirt…. Dashing over to my bag to get my goggles lucky for me I didn’t take my cap off all day, or that would have been an issue)…the coach is telling them I’m on the way, reminding me to walk not run…….yikes!! That HR was up! This is the 50 FL, my new event for the year. Yes, I’ve done 50’s in workouts. Yes, I’ve made them. But, none of them have been timed. It’s just been something that’s had to get done to get the set finished. I’m in the first heat…the one with all the folks who are super slow, and who entered “NT” (No Time) as their seed time. Note: Meets are generally seeded slow to fast, except for the longer distance events which are seeded fast to slow for some reason). So, the slow folks go first. I was in that very first heat. Track start: ok…good streamline, remembered NOT to flutter kick, dolphin kick instead. Head down! Arms stretched on entry! Breathe!! I didn’t get hung up at the wall, and my finish was decent. But, I could tell that I wasn’t all smooth and pretty like the people who’ve been doing it for 10 years or more. That’s to be expected, but at the same time… knowing that you look a tad uncoordinated is a bit disconcerting at times. Last event was a leg of the mixed 200 FR relay. Each person does 50 yds. I like relays, but NEVER get the chance to practice them, so it’s truly a crap shoot. They’re fun, though. I feel a little bit of pressure to get out of the pool before my next person is finished…and that can be a challenge. The blocks are HIGH off the surface of the water, and if you’re completely spent from a race, boosting yourself up that far can be “interesting.” For most of my events, I just go under the lane lines and get out at the side of the pool when possible. Saves on potential chin stitches! Overall this day, I did much better staying warm and hydrated. I didn’t take my cap off, and while it kept me warm, it also gave me one mama of a headache by the end of the day. My silicone cap that I wear for workouts doesn’t squeeze my head so much. After the meet, dash home to shower and change, then off to the social. Pasta and salad and bread made by someone else. I got to talk with some folks who live in the town where my first tri is going to be, and they confirmed for me that my choice of hotel is a good one. They won’t be there that day, as their daughter is getting married, but they seemed to be nice folks. They’re both music teachers…she in elementary school, he in HS band. Nice folks. Saw some HAWT men…but they kept disappearing in a group with a lone woman, so I’m not quite sure what was going on there! Back home, tub and bed early to rest up for day 2. 
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Day 2: Morning: Up EARLY to get to McD’s in time to get treat and eat and digest before the meet. I got 8 hrs of sleep the night before, so giving up 90 min or so in the morning isn’t going to make a difference. It’s more important to give things a chance to “process” in my gut. It seemed to take forever for breakfast to settle. I was at the pool for at least 30 min before I didn’t feel as if I had a rock in my gut. Warmup was nicer today…fewer people in the pool. I did a couple hundred in the competition pool, then went over to the cooldown area to finish. I decided against doing any starts at this point. My swim coach came to volunteer and watch (and take splits). Yay. I also told my friend who counted for me only to put the numbers in just before I finished each 100, rather than at every turn. The numbers showing up all the time, confused me…. This way, I was able to focus on swimming 5 100s instead of 10 50’s. It’s all in the mind, ya know! I was in lane 1, the closest to the wall where the team was sitting. This is good in that I had lots of support, but not good in that I had wave action coming off the side wall hitting me at times. I’m always surprised at the difference that makes in races. So, the strategy I was given was: Save your legs during the first 250, then start kicking and negative split the rest of the way home. That’s what I did. The dude next to me was about a half body length ahead of me for the second 150 or so. This ended up being an issue, because I thought he was going faster than he was. So, while I was holding on with him quite well…I should have been motoring past him. Live and learn. At one point, my coach was “pushing” me along and it did generate a bit more kick than what I was giving at the time…but man did my legs start to burn. The strange thing about this event was that I felt reasonably good throughout the distance. It hurt at the end, and yeah…I was walking crooked as I went to go cool down…but while I was in the water, I was under control. I managed not to breathe on the exits from most of my turns. I remembered to alternate breathe, except for the last 50, when I was sprinting with whatever was left. My walls were great, didn’t miss a turn…that timing is improving. Seed time was 7:10.54…..final time was……YAY me! 7:01.89 a PR by 9.75 seconds!!! <img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif"><img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif"> I was sooooo surprised. After I was finished cooling down….and it took awhile….I was talking with my swim coach. She said that she was hoping that I’d break 7 minutes. That REALLY surprised me, because I just didn’t feel as well prepared this year as I did last year. I even told CS that the other night when he was assuring me that I could figure out the directions for putting together my trainer. She (swim coach) and I have decided that it seems to be better for her to have an idea of what I’ll swim, and just not tell me. I do better. Go figure. 500 splits by 50’s: :38.08, :42.00, :43.62, :43.54, :43.33, :42.12, :41.80, :43.66 (this is when sw coach started yelling at me to go faster), :42.87, :40.87 500 splits by 100’s: 1:19.70, 1:27. 13, 1:25, 56, 1:25. 37, 1:24.05 (you can see where I was riding on the guy next to me, when I shouldn’t have been) I descended each of my 100’s (that’s good), but I just missed negative splitting the distance. In the end, though…I’ll take what I did. I’m VERY happy with this. Second event of the day was 50 BK. I was hoping that this would redeem me from my missed swim yesterday, but alas….that was not to be. I did ok, enough, but missed my seed time. Back is all about the start. I’m convinced of that. And, I don’t get a chance to practice backstroke starts all that much. That being said, it’s also very very demanding on the legs. And… I can do “pretty” backstroke, but that doesn’t use my legs all that much. I need to learn to do quick, long lasting, and powerful backstroke at some point. The big thing, too….I totally missed my wall on the finish. I reached back and thought the wall would be there, but it was WAY far away (comparatively). So, instead of surging to the finish, I kicked in without taking that extra stroke. Head coach, “you’ve got to know where the wall is.” Me, “yeah, it was farther away than I remembered it being.” Seed time :39.98, final time :41.39. Third event was 100 Freestyle. I was thinking that this would be a nice smooth, quick race, seeing as how I’d done a reasonably great job on the 500. Plus, I dropped time in my 50 yesterday…so I was positioned to do well. Nope….not this year. This is ok, though. I think I left most of me in the pool on the 500, and didn’t have quite enough gas for the 100. I was planning on swimming it as a build, but never got that “GO” feeling in the middle that I was looking for. Seed time 1:12.29, final time 1:14.03

35.39, :38.64 – no negative split here) Last event was 50 Breast stroke, my nemesis it seems. I’ve had some really great breaststrokers and coaches look at me swim this stroke and they all just sorta shake their heads and declare that it’s “funky.” It’s not illegal…but it isn’t right. This will continue to be the cerebral challenge in my swimming. There’s got to be some key that I’m just not getting. Once I do…lookout!!! My job was to work the walls, turns, and pullouts. The less I have to “swim” in this race (anyone for that matter), the better. Thought I did ok with that, but had ZERO power in my legs. Seed time :49.02, final time 50.?? Final swim of the day was the last leg in the mixed medley relay. Two guys and two girls break up the 200 Medley race. I swam freestyle. I think my split was pretty good… we got 2nd. I got a few hundred in to cool down over all…and kept drinking. I did pretty well with hydration and food today. Then, off to Walmart to get a fan. Tithers says I’ll need one for trainer workouts, and the one that I had is at work being used as a “menopause fan” for a colleague. Then, got dinner (eaten at 3:00 I was FAMISHED) of steak and baked potato….then I’m getting in the tub to soak a bit. I smell like chlorine, still….and need to get it out of my hair. I have a massage scheduled this week, and Kelly’s gonna have some work to do on me!!! Looking forward…. Next month is a meet where I’ll be swimming the 1000 FR for the first time. This is the intermediate race on the way to the mile, that will be the target for sure for next year, possibly before, depending on how things go. Also, I’ll be heading this summer for looooong swims, so this will be a good prep for that. Swim coach said, “You need to be sure to eat before you swim for the next few weeks. And bring two bottles…one to pour on your head in that hot water.” Our pool is the gym pool….VERY hot water as compared to the univ. pool. Normally, I can do a workout in the pool that’s reasonably hard to pretty hard on just a breakfast of a slimfast shake. This means definitely getting up when the alarm goes off the FIRST time and getting REAL food in me. That’s her code for what CS calls “Hell Tuesday.” Except…I swim on Tuesdays and I move the other days around. So, my “hell days” are likely going to be Mondays. Lol And Tuesdays and Thursdays.

JWcrew · Feb 18, 2008

Wow, huge number of events to swim & really nice times too! 
Congratulations on a great weekend 
Jon

Kate60 · Feb 18, 2008

WTG Stitch. <img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif"> 
That is a heck of a lot of swimming.

Yo Sake · Feb 18, 2008

Yay, Stitch!! I am very very proud of your efforts. Look at your 500, almost 10sec improvements is Huuuge. Plus the split - way to go keeping the middle part consistent and kick up more than a notch at the end. You should be very proud! Now 1000...... I am excited to see what you do there!! Keep up the good work, girl.

MBannon · Feb 19, 2008

Wow, great job Stitch! I was looking forward to this report, thanks for all the details and stuff.

Tithers · Feb 19, 2008

Good job sara! 
I still don't wanna do a swim meet though!

Stitcher · Feb 19, 2008

Thanks..... 
I really was surprised, and happy....and for the first time, felt like I "raced" reasonably well. Except for erroneously hanging on to that dude's shoulder in the 2nd 100 of the 500....I did what I was told, and stayed strong. 
That big 1000 is next. I'm hoping that people from my master's team are also going, though, because I would rather do it for the first time with friendly faces around, rather than strangers. 
It's in ATL, but I have to drive right back to sing a gig that night. Any ATL folks up for pasta dinner the night before 15 March?

Tithers · Feb 19, 2008

Stitch...my dad's in town that weekend. That's also the weekend of my birthday party or whatever it is I'm doing...skip the gig!

Stitcher · Feb 19, 2008

Can't skip the gig.... 
got a small group part to sing.... 
AND it's church....Palm Sunday Weekend ya know. 
Gig is Sat night, Sun morning, and twice Sun night. 
Or, I would. 
Maybe I can leave something for ya at a stash somewhere..... 
sorta like "geocaching"

Tithers · Feb 19, 2008

I've been wanting a tri bike...

Stitcher · Feb 19, 2008

lol...... 
I might see what I can do about that. 
Wonder how many dollars a day in a jar THAT would take between now and then. 
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm <img alt="confused.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/confused.gif"> 
I can't count that high.

Tithers · Feb 19, 2008

Start charging your students a "usage" fee for the lab. <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">

Stitcher · Feb 19, 2008

he he he he he.... 
Yeah.... 
payable to ME! 
They already have the tech fees in their tuition....straight from their pockets to the folks who run the lab. 
No stoppy in my pocket, that's fer sher.

Stitcher · Feb 19, 2008

So....I was telling my weight trainer lady (Lisa) about my meet. She's pretty cool.....we act like sisters.....sniping in that friendly kind of way. Anyway.... 
I told her about my time.... 
me: "yay...i dropped over 9 seconds...." 
her: "what did you do? :suspiciousface: "were you wearing flippers?" 
me: :O BITE ME!! 
lol

neil donnelly · Feb 19, 2008

Way to go Sticher - excellent swimming

kimber45 · Feb 19, 2008

Wow! Great job.<img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

hobey · Feb 19, 2008

Damn...what I'd give for that kind of speed in the pool. Congrats on the PRs Stitch!

LookiLoo · Feb 19, 2008

Great job! Those are some wicked fast times!!!

regiolanthe · Feb 19, 2008

Way to go, Stitch... 
Nice to read a long version of a swim meet (instead of sitting through the 4+ hours required to see one <img alt="cool.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/cool.gif"> - or in my case, about 18-20 hours of spectator time this past weekend). 
Nice PR on the 500 ... That must be a tough distance - sort of like a 4-5 mile road race, I'd guess - in terms of pacing/effort? Like, you know you're not sprinting it, but you don't want to take it TOO easy either?? 
What do you do BETWEEN events? I'm guessing you're not playing gameboy or cards, or watching Princess Diaries II?? 
Reg.

em73 · Feb 19, 2008

way to go, awesome improvement.

Swim Meet Report (long, but with cliff's notes in the beginning)

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