most feared event

I'll second the 50 free. I hate it and would gladly take any of the three poll choices over it. I usually mess *something* up, resulting in a disappointing time. It's the one event that has gotten inside my head.

Best swimming advice I ever got: The toughest race you'll ever swim is your 2nd 400 IM, because on the 2nd one, you get on the blocks absolutely knowing how much this is going to hurt.

I voted for the 200 fly, but it and the 400 IM are some of my favorite events. I fully agree with pwb on the 200 lc ***!

All good points, but where fear is concerned, the 200 LCM fly stands alone among swimming events.

200 fly - 25 Yards: This isn't so bad. Long and smooth. Relaxed. I've trained for this. 50 Yards: Am I going out too fast? Or am I just awesome? Banking on "awesome." 75 Yards: Slow it down, bucko. Slowwww it down. Easy there. Ah, there we go. Let's start breathing every stroke. Michael Phelps does it. I can do it, too. 100 Yards: ****. 125 Yards: **** ****. 150 Yards: **** damn ass **** damn aaaaarggggggggggg. 175 Yards: And suddenly the pain is gone. There is no pain. Instead, a gentle feeling, like swaying trees in a soft cool wind. There is light there, just ahead. Light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. It is calling to me. It sweetly coos my name, "Hey there. Come here. There's no pain where we are." Siren song mistresses are singing, and I am lost in a vortex of my own euphoria. I see my great-grandfather there. And Harry Carey, he's there too. I can see lush palm trees and golden buildings and emerald-green pools of Jell-O. Rainbows and bunnies and everyone there wears an Olympic gold medal. Waterfalls of singing goldfish and beautiful Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models play harps and giggle together and lightly toss pillows, playfully, waving me closer, smiling, beckoning... The light is brighter now, they are laughing, cheering for me, whispering, "Almost there... almost there..." I slowly float away from my body, float away, laughing at that struggling, silly little boy swimming a 200 butterfly, hitting his last turn, blacking out, but I'm happier now, happier than I've ever been, because the pain is going away, there is no pain, there is only light, bright, white light, and slowly.... I float away..... 195 Yards: AWEOF@*@(%( oIHEF OE38@*(*#%(#%*(&%hjdsifa #FHFGOI ewohwefa @(*%)#%(jifjiajaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AOIWEJFOIWEF 2309@(%)&%@)**!*!!*@*@$(%(%@) 200 Yards: That wasn't so bad. Meters is an entirely different event. i think every race has its own uniqueness/pain a 50 free can hurt like he77 as soon as you touch the wall for about 5mins or so. a 1650 can hurt with an ache for hours and hours.

I voted for the 200 fly, but it and the 400 IM are some of my favorite events. I think maybe the poll should have been titled, "Most painful events" and not "most feared." The 200 fly is a handful of pain, but, strategically, it is dead simple to swim and you know exactly when the pain's going to hit (somewhere between the 130 and 160 mark), so there's no surprises and, hence, no fear.

Fear? Fear? There is no fear! “I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens.” ― Woody Allen Swimming a 200 fly -- even LCM -- is not an issue. Swimming it fast is an entirely different problem! (I have no clue.) As for "WTF am I doing here?" moments, there is a singular event that stands out, head and shoulders above all others, without peer or parallel: the 50 ***. It's a sprint It's breaststroke What? Who thought it would be a good idea to race the 50 ***? Not me. It's not a race, it's a spasm. Maybe a seizure. I'm still tying to crack the top 300. The gods are laughing. Hats off to anybody and everybody who understands how to swim the 50 ***. I can do a 200. But a 50? Not a chance.

I just finished my first 200 fly ever at the end of December (SCY). I have to admit I was scared to do it and that I hung on the walls far longer than I should have. But I agree with That Guy; the 200 LCM fly seems terrifying to me at this point. At least with short course you can hang on the walls and recover. LCM there's no where to hide! I'm planning on trying my first 200 LCM fly this summer. And every time I think about it, I already am getting butterflies in my stomach!

wait till you turn at the 150m and notice that the pool has grown so long that it curves with the earth!

But I agree with That Guy; the 200 LCM fly seems terrifying to me at this point. At least with short course you can hang on the walls and recover. LCM there's no where to hide! I'm planning on trying my first 200 LCM fly this summer. And every time I think about it, I already am getting butterflies in my stomach!There is nothing to fear - it will hurt like hell and the last 50 you will question life, the universe and everything. The secret to a rewarding 200 fly in long course, especially as a Masters swimmer, is to loaf-cruise-sleep-through the first three laps, use that third turn for all the air you can grab, and then build the last 50. Honestly, the only good 200 LCM flys I have ever swum (and my fastest times) were swum with this strategy. In addition to removing a lot of the pain typically associated with this event, you finish looking so strong (and passing other swimmers who have 'gone vertical') that it almost doesn't matter what your time is!