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
good luck with your meet. I'm sure you will do great! The most important thing for you at this meet is to have fun.
You asked about the back 2 *** turn on an IM and got some good answers, but I thought I'd throw in my $.02. Doing the back -> *** turn is kind of tricky. I have 2 major problems with this turn. 1. I'm really deep into oxygen debt by this time so my legs are generally starting to numb and my stomach is starting to cramp and 2. I'm really only good at it if I touch with my right arm so I have to adjust my swim/glide into the wall appropriately.
What I do is glide (hopefully not too far) into the wall with my right arm fully extended, and with my body rotated to my right side (but still legal). I "stiff-arm" the wall of the pool and then all my forward momentum pushes my legs/body to the wall as I curl up my feet to reduce the size of the pendulum. I keep my left arm extended, and when my feet touch the wall I swing my right arm over, drop underwater and push off the wall. It works okay, and I typically gain some time on my competitors on the turn, but I wouldn't say what I do is the "best" or fastest way to do the turn.
I also want to agree with the comments about the atmosphere of a masters meet. Its really not a cut-throat competitive environment. People are friendly, swim their races and generally either say "nice swim" or ask "how was your swim." If you are happy with your race others are too. I had a guy who lapped me in a 200 IM ask how my swim went. I said I hit my goal time and he genuinely said "excellent swim, keep it up!" I've yet to see anyone with any "attitude" at a masters meet. The variety of swimmers is also very cool. No one will look down on you because they are faster than you. Just go, swim and enjoy the experience!
good luck with your meet. I'm sure you will do great! The most important thing for you at this meet is to have fun.
You asked about the back 2 *** turn on an IM and got some good answers, but I thought I'd throw in my $.02. Doing the back -> *** turn is kind of tricky. I have 2 major problems with this turn. 1. I'm really deep into oxygen debt by this time so my legs are generally starting to numb and my stomach is starting to cramp and 2. I'm really only good at it if I touch with my right arm so I have to adjust my swim/glide into the wall appropriately.
What I do is glide (hopefully not too far) into the wall with my right arm fully extended, and with my body rotated to my right side (but still legal). I "stiff-arm" the wall of the pool and then all my forward momentum pushes my legs/body to the wall as I curl up my feet to reduce the size of the pendulum. I keep my left arm extended, and when my feet touch the wall I swing my right arm over, drop underwater and push off the wall. It works okay, and I typically gain some time on my competitors on the turn, but I wouldn't say what I do is the "best" or fastest way to do the turn.
I also want to agree with the comments about the atmosphere of a masters meet. Its really not a cut-throat competitive environment. People are friendly, swim their races and generally either say "nice swim" or ask "how was your swim." If you are happy with your race others are too. I had a guy who lapped me in a 200 IM ask how my swim went. I said I hit my goal time and he genuinely said "excellent swim, keep it up!" I've yet to see anyone with any "attitude" at a masters meet. The variety of swimmers is also very cool. No one will look down on you because they are faster than you. Just go, swim and enjoy the experience!
