Well, I'll give you the spoiler first--I did manage to swim two events beating my (admittedly conservative) seed times. And I met someone who put the whole thing in perspective--a cancer survivor.
That said, when this kind of thing happens, all the perspective in the world sometimes doesn't stop it. And it feels very scary to have this happen amid strangers. Fortunately, another swimmer saw that I was in distress and helped me get calm. And bless him for it!
I had missed an event I had planned to swim, and typically I like to get going as early in a meet as possible so I'm not just waiting and getting anxious. Having missed my event, I had a lot of bottled up nerves. There was a break after my event during which I was able to continue a warm-up, but not for long enough to really calm down. After the swimming started up again, I was feeling so close to melt-down that I wanted to just get away from the whole scene and forget the meet. But I also didn't partly because I'd already paid for it, partly because what would I tell my coach if I skipped out?
Fortunately, there was a longer break before my next event, and I had some more time to swim, which also helped.
When it was time for my next event, I was relieved mainly to be on deck and ready to go. At that point I didn't even care what my time would be. I just wanted to be there.
And swimming the race though hard physically was calming mentally. After that, things went smoothly enough and I swam the next event w/out incident.
A couple things might have been in play here: I'd just run hard the day before in a cross-country race. I didn't think that would affect me b/c the distance was relatively short. Also, I'm sloooooooow. Watching the other swimmers, I began thinking, "what am I even doing here?? These people have earned their right to swim in meets. I haven't." (This wasn't a championship meet, but people were turning in pretty fast times--way faster than anything I could do.) If I'd done that one I missed, even though the times were a lot faster than the one I'd entered as a seed time, at least I'd have done it and broken the ice, as it were.
In retrospect, yes, much good, but if I'm to swim in more meets (I've done them before--but it's been a while), I need to prevent this kind of anxiety so I'm focused on my swim and not on the nerves. So, note to self--1. Don't miss events; 2. This too will pass; 3. Don't worry about what other swimmers are doing; 4. Perspective.
Also I need to get faster. Yes, 2:03 for 100 free was better than my seed time of 2:09. But I still felt like a sore thumb when everyone else was doing sub-1:30 or sub-1:00 (although I didn't worry too much about the sub-1:00 people who are in a whole other class). This is what got me wondering if I had any right to be there. Yet my goal is to make a cut-off of an open water swim that I have my eyes on, so whatever way I can improve my speed, I need to do it. Interestingly, I don't get the nerves in o.w. swimming or in running events that I did in this meet. I think it's because the former two are in more spacious settings, allowing for more warm-up, more movement, less waiting. I seem also to do okay when there's a separate warm-up pool--but very enclosed, crowded situations feel foreign, since I didn't swim meets or participate on a team as a kid.
Okay, 'nuff said! I'm looking to move forward, yet also need a strategy to keep me calm in situations like this. I left the meet certain I'd NEVER do another meet. But I won't let this experience put me off them. Just wondering if others have had similar experiences--and how have you dealt with them?
FMIF,
Congratulations on beating your seed time. That is an accomplishment. Celebrate that! Enjoy it. Feel good about it.
Being nervous is a part of competition. That is part of what gets the body ready to race. Too much of it can also ruin a race. I have been competing in Masters for over 35 years. I still get nervous before a race. A little less nervous at a small local meet, or when swimming an off stroke, but still nervous. It's normal.
I learned a very good lesson in '06 when Worlds were held at Stanford. It was my first Worlds and I wanted to do well. I was entered in the 400 free, my best event. I was going over the race in my head a few hours before. On the way to the venue I got myself in a tizzy to such an extent, that I had a terrible race! I had left my race in the car. I made a promise to myself that that would NEVER happen again.
Part of what made me not have such a melt down ever again was the realization that no matter how nervous I feel before a race, I know that when I hit the water, I will feel calm. Why? Because I love the feeling of being in the water and doing a movement in the water that I have done thousands of times and know very well how to do. Regardless of the time I do, while racing, my body knows exactly what to do because it does it everyday.
Regardless of your speed, the fact that you are treating your body well by exercising, no matter if it is running or swimming, is a very big deal. Look around at our fellow citizens and see how many are obese and how many do not exercise at all! The fact that you are out there is great! Acknowledge that and be proud of that.
One last point. Masters is all-inclusive. No one cares if you are fast or slow. You can be the slowest person and do your best time and be thrilled or you could be the fastest person and do a lousy time and be disappointed. So those sub 1:00 people may be disappointed in their time even though you would be overjoyed to swim sub 1:00. It's a matter of perspective.
I just read your second paragraph again. In it you say that it was "scary to have this happen amid strangers". Then in the next sentence you say that another swimmer helped you get calm. That doesn't sound like you were among strangers to me! That sounds like you were among friends. You may not have known any of their names, but they were not strangers. They were doing the same activity you were doing and as such were kindred spirits and therefore "friends".
FMIF,
Congratulations on beating your seed time. That is an accomplishment. Celebrate that! Enjoy it. Feel good about it.
Being nervous is a part of competition. That is part of what gets the body ready to race. Too much of it can also ruin a race. I have been competing in Masters for over 35 years. I still get nervous before a race. A little less nervous at a small local meet, or when swimming an off stroke, but still nervous. It's normal.
I learned a very good lesson in '06 when Worlds were held at Stanford. It was my first Worlds and I wanted to do well. I was entered in the 400 free, my best event. I was going over the race in my head a few hours before. On the way to the venue I got myself in a tizzy to such an extent, that I had a terrible race! I had left my race in the car. I made a promise to myself that that would NEVER happen again.
Part of what made me not have such a melt down ever again was the realization that no matter how nervous I feel before a race, I know that when I hit the water, I will feel calm. Why? Because I love the feeling of being in the water and doing a movement in the water that I have done thousands of times and know very well how to do. Regardless of the time I do, while racing, my body knows exactly what to do because it does it everyday.
Regardless of your speed, the fact that you are treating your body well by exercising, no matter if it is running or swimming, is a very big deal. Look around at our fellow citizens and see how many are obese and how many do not exercise at all! The fact that you are out there is great! Acknowledge that and be proud of that.
One last point. Masters is all-inclusive. No one cares if you are fast or slow. You can be the slowest person and do your best time and be thrilled or you could be the fastest person and do a lousy time and be disappointed. So those sub 1:00 people may be disappointed in their time even though you would be overjoyed to swim sub 1:00. It's a matter of perspective.
I just read your second paragraph again. In it you say that it was "scary to have this happen amid strangers". Then in the next sentence you say that another swimmer helped you get calm. That doesn't sound like you were among strangers to me! That sounds like you were among friends. You may not have known any of their names, but they were not strangers. They were doing the same activity you were doing and as such were kindred spirits and therefore "friends".
