On February 20, I'm hoping to go to my first swim meet......ever! :eek: I swam on the team when I was younger, but I never competed. I'm incredibly nervous already and I have no idea what to expect because I have never been to a meet before. I swam with my friend who is a coach, and I have what seems like a lot of work to do on my strokes. How realistic is it that I be ready by February? Obviously I won't be at the top of the field, but I'm hoping to at least not make a fool out of myself. But what I really want to know is what to expect. How do I train, and how do I taper? When do I start tapering? Do I even need to taper? Any good pre-meet workout ideas? Any thing that anyone can suggest would be helpful!!! Thanx a bunch!!
~Kyra
Parents
Former Member
Hey Kyra,
I'll tell you what I can, the rest I'm sure everyone else can fill in.
Definitely, for sure, touch the wall on your back for the back to *** turn. I know of several different ways to accomplish this turn, but I'm not sure any of them are legal in USMS. So, for safety, I'd just touch the wall.
As for DQ'ing, there were no officials at the meet I was at, though I'm not sure how different it is out west. We had a guy do a 100 backstroke by doing breaststroke kick on his back, and rotating both arms at the same time. No DQ, though he was in the last heat.
As far as underwater, usually, there is a 15 yard limit on underwater swimming, but again, no officials, so they didn't get picky about it at our meet. Just make sure you don't switch strokes, like I've seen people do when they're under too long.
There are no rules for breathing, as far as I know. Breath at the turn, breath coming out of it, breathe while you're doing it, I have never come across a rule for it. However, I would recommend this: without making yourself pass out, it's good practice, and faster turns, to take a breath two or three strokes before your turn, and then take two strokes out of your turn before you breathe again. Easier to do in shorter races, gets harder as the race yardage extends.
As for pacing your 200, I've asked that question for years, and I think I've literally gotten a different answer each time. I've been told to treat it as an all out sprint, I've been told to go out slow and save my energy, I've been told to go out fast, I've even been told to alternate fast/slow by 50's. Very complex stuff.
What usually works for me, since I'm terrible at pacing things, is I'll go out at a pretty good clip, just short of being all out, on my first 50. Then I back it off a little on the second (depending on how bad my judgement was on the first) and I'll build up the last two 50's until I'm at a dead sprint finishing the race (or as close to a sprint as I can manage). As a result, I tend to enjoy my second 50 of each 200 just a little more than the rest of the event.
Good Luck, I'm sure you'll be great! Go Kyra!
Steph
Hey Kyra,
I'll tell you what I can, the rest I'm sure everyone else can fill in.
Definitely, for sure, touch the wall on your back for the back to *** turn. I know of several different ways to accomplish this turn, but I'm not sure any of them are legal in USMS. So, for safety, I'd just touch the wall.
As for DQ'ing, there were no officials at the meet I was at, though I'm not sure how different it is out west. We had a guy do a 100 backstroke by doing breaststroke kick on his back, and rotating both arms at the same time. No DQ, though he was in the last heat.
As far as underwater, usually, there is a 15 yard limit on underwater swimming, but again, no officials, so they didn't get picky about it at our meet. Just make sure you don't switch strokes, like I've seen people do when they're under too long.
There are no rules for breathing, as far as I know. Breath at the turn, breath coming out of it, breathe while you're doing it, I have never come across a rule for it. However, I would recommend this: without making yourself pass out, it's good practice, and faster turns, to take a breath two or three strokes before your turn, and then take two strokes out of your turn before you breathe again. Easier to do in shorter races, gets harder as the race yardage extends.
As for pacing your 200, I've asked that question for years, and I think I've literally gotten a different answer each time. I've been told to treat it as an all out sprint, I've been told to go out slow and save my energy, I've been told to go out fast, I've even been told to alternate fast/slow by 50's. Very complex stuff.
What usually works for me, since I'm terrible at pacing things, is I'll go out at a pretty good clip, just short of being all out, on my first 50. Then I back it off a little on the second (depending on how bad my judgement was on the first) and I'll build up the last two 50's until I'm at a dead sprint finishing the race (or as close to a sprint as I can manage). As a result, I tend to enjoy my second 50 of each 200 just a little more than the rest of the event.
Good Luck, I'm sure you'll be great! Go Kyra!
Steph
