Okay, I'm in a complete funk now. At spring nationals this weekend, I had what was probably the worst meet of my career, performance wise. Really can't understand why, as the meet was run really well, I thought I had trained and tapered properly, and everything seemed to be in order. Come competition time, I sucked. Had a so-so 400IM, got dq'd in the 200Br, and just went slow in everything else. Not making excuses, but now I feel horrible. Don't want to train, and I'm almost embarrassed to look at my results.
So now what? How do I get over this desire to quit?
(I know, I'm taking this way to seriously, but I can't shake the feeling of being a failure)
My solution? Try some completely new events!In addition to the other great advice, let me second this suggestion by Elaine. I'd also highly recommend mixing up events at your end of season taper meet. The best thing that helped me get over my crappy 400 IM at Nationals on Friday morning was swimming the 200 back later that day, an event I rarely swim. Beyond the complete lack of pressure I felt in that 200 back, I didn't have this whole huge history of past performances weighing down my mind.
While I do swim some of the world's greatest events (e.g., 400 IM and 200 fly) over and over at Nationals, I am almost always mixing in at least a couple of off events. Beyond giving me a chance to record some masters best times with comparative ease (e.g., I had never swum a 200 back tapered and shaved in a jammer), these 'secondary' events really take the pressure off.
My solution? Try some completely new events!In addition to the other great advice, let me second this suggestion by Elaine. I'd also highly recommend mixing up events at your end of season taper meet. The best thing that helped me get over my crappy 400 IM at Nationals on Friday morning was swimming the 200 back later that day, an event I rarely swim. Beyond the complete lack of pressure I felt in that 200 back, I didn't have this whole huge history of past performances weighing down my mind.
While I do swim some of the world's greatest events (e.g., 400 IM and 200 fly) over and over at Nationals, I am almost always mixing in at least a couple of off events. Beyond giving me a chance to record some masters best times with comparative ease (e.g., I had never swum a 200 back tapered and shaved in a jammer), these 'secondary' events really take the pressure off.
