I completed my first Masters competition this weekend in the 100m Free which I'm proud of. However, during the last 15m of the race I began to hyperventilate and had to actually grab on to the lane rope in order to get my breathing under control as I felt I could not catch a single breath. Was totally embarrassed to say the least.
I actually think I went out too fast as compared to what I normally pace myself while in practice. Secondly, I was nervous before the race as this was my first competition but I wouldn't say extremely nervous. So both factors may have contributed to the hyperventilation.
Any suggestions on how to prevent this in the future? I don't want this to get into my head and be a stumbling block moving forward. Has anyone else experienced this while swimming and what did you do to overcome?
I only had 2 meets so far, and both times the coach told me the same things. For the 50y freestyle sprints, breathe as little as possible. Since I was a newbie, he suggested 3 times the entire sprint. But for the 100y and 200y events, he says breathe hard (meaning full exhale and full inhale) from the beginning and keep a rhythm. For the sprints, the first 25y, I was pretty quick, ahead of everybody else in the same heat, and then the last 25y, I just slowed down, all tanked out. For the 100y and 200y, I did what the coach told me to do, the first 50y, I was behind but close to most people in my heat but by the time I was on my second 50y, I was catching up if not already ahead. So pacing and keeping a breathing rhythm really helped me. Of course, I was on the slowest heat, so I was with the newbies or the slower seniors.
I only had 2 meets so far, and both times the coach told me the same things. For the 50y freestyle sprints, breathe as little as possible. Since I was a newbie, he suggested 3 times the entire sprint. But for the 100y and 200y events, he says breathe hard (meaning full exhale and full inhale) from the beginning and keep a rhythm. For the sprints, the first 25y, I was pretty quick, ahead of everybody else in the same heat, and then the last 25y, I just slowed down, all tanked out. For the 100y and 200y, I did what the coach told me to do, the first 50y, I was behind but close to most people in my heat but by the time I was on my second 50y, I was catching up if not already ahead. So pacing and keeping a breathing rhythm really helped me. Of course, I was on the slowest heat, so I was with the newbies or the slower seniors.
