Is there a specific "rule" (unwritten or otherwise) regarding swimming non-freestyle in a freestyle event? I've entered myself in the 500 free at a meet tomorrow with the intent of doing a 400IM (there's no separate 400IM event at this meet). It's not going to be a "good" 400IM (in fact I'm sure it's going to be very, very bad), I don't need an official split time, I just want to check it off The List for my own personal check-off challenge before I get stuck having to do it long course.
Do I:
a) Inform someone at the check-in for the 500
b) Inform some other official (whom?)
c) Tell the other swimmers in my heat so they don't freak out when one guy is suddenly going out way too fast for a seven-minute 500, and butterfly at that
d) Just keep my mouth shut and do it
e) Some combination of the above
O K- Let us know how this turns out!!??
It went pretty well. I don't have my "split" yet, but now that I am an Expert, just having swum the best and most spectacular 400 IM that I will ever swim, I will definitively say that the 400 IM is a lot easier than the 200 fly. At least the way I do it :D
Nobody complained that I know of. The ref asked if I was doing it for fun or if I needed a split request. I said I was doing it for "fun". The one guy next to me (I was in lane 1) seemed cool with it too. I would expect any complaints to be coming from the spectators who had to witness my open backstroke turns and whatever it is that I do that technically counts as breaststroke. They may never un-see it. My sincerest apologies to them :)
O K- Let us know how this turns out!!??
It went pretty well. I don't have my "split" yet, but now that I am an Expert, just having swum the best and most spectacular 400 IM that I will ever swim, I will definitively say that the 400 IM is a lot easier than the 200 fly. At least the way I do it :D
Nobody complained that I know of. The ref asked if I was doing it for fun or if I needed a split request. I said I was doing it for "fun". The one guy next to me (I was in lane 1) seemed cool with it too. I would expect any complaints to be coming from the spectators who had to witness my open backstroke turns and whatever it is that I do that technically counts as breaststroke. They may never un-see it. My sincerest apologies to them :)
