Few Personal Concerns

This comment concerns me. For me, my religion is a way of life, not something that gets in my way, ever. If you are more concerned about the swim meet than Ramadan, then you have your answer, right there. If I am not mistaken, you do get to eat during Ramadan, but only at night, right? So this is not a complete fast by any stretch - you will still have calories coming in during the evening. I would recommend training at the crack of dawn, if your faith allows, because many of us swim before breakfast, and it doesn't affect my personal training at all. If you are allowed to drink water after you train, all the better. They do say that racing is 90% mental, so perhaps doing USRPT for the month prior to your event could be considered your taper. You can carb load on the day of the meet. Best wishes on your conflicted interests. I can't add to the practical advice, but I actually do get this sense of religion being in the way. And for me it has nothing to do with my religion not being part of my life. Of course it is. But I'm also human, and sometime, yes, a conflict can arise between what my religion requires and something I want to have or do. And that something might not even be a bad thing--nothing wrong, for instance, with the OP's wanting to do well in a swim meet!--but the requirements set forth by a particular religion can sometimes complicate things. And finding a way to deal with those complications isn't unreasonable and doesn't mean you don't care about the religion. Often you care deeply or it wouldn't matter. For instance, the OP could decide that it doesn't matter and he'll skip the fast, in which case he wouldn't even have an issue. But as both swimming and his faith are important parts of his life and he wants to find a way to negotiate the conflict, the issue arises. TooPro, can't offer advice, but I wish you success! BTW, remember to pray about your issue too, so you find peace with the contradictions.

This comment concerns me. For me, my religion is a way of life, not something that gets in my way, ever. If you are more concerned about the swim meet than Ramadan, then you have your answer, right there. If I am not mistaken, you do get to eat during Ramadan, but only at night, right? So this is not a complete fast by any stretch - you will still have calories coming in during the evening. I would recommend training at the crack of dawn, if your faith allows, because many of us swim before breakfast, and it doesn't affect my personal training at all. If you are allowed to drink water after you train, all the better. They do say that racing is 90% mental, so perhaps doing USRPT for the month prior to your event could be considered your taper. You can carb load on the day of the meet. Best wishes on your conflicted interests. I can't add to the practical advice, but I actually do get this sense of religion being in the way. And for me it has nothing to do with my religion not being part of my life. Of course it is. But I'm also human, and sometime, yes, a conflict can arise between what my religion requires and something I want to have or do. And that something might not even be a bad thing--nothing wrong, for instance, with the OP's wanting to do well in a swim meet!--but the requirements set forth by a particular religion can sometimes complicate things. And finding a way to deal with those complications isn't unreasonable and doesn't mean you don't care about the religion. Often you care deeply or it wouldn't matter. For instance, the OP could decide that it doesn't matter and he'll skip the fast, in which case he wouldn't even have an issue. But as both swimming and his faith are important parts of his life and he wants to find a way to negotiate the conflict, the issue arises. TooPro, can't offer advice, but I wish you success! BTW, remember to pray about your issue too, so you find peace with the contradictions.