Eek!!

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Former Member — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 16:25:10 GMT

That's reassuring to know that there hopefully won't be a difference between just because this one says championship. In terms of the 200 free and 100 ***. On recommendation from a trusted friend, I'm switching the 200 free for the 100 free the next day. ~Kyra

RE: Eek!!

Former Member — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 15:39:46 GMT

In Dixie Zone a championship is not different from a regular meet (at least so it seems to me), though I don't know how it would be in your part of the country. Of course, a national championship is another matter! :-) Inre the 200 free and 100 ***: You will have all that time while most of the women and all the guys swim their 200s to rest. That should be fine if it's a large meet, but if it's a small meet.... you might want to reconsider.

RE: Eek!!

Former Member — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 13:13:50 GMT

Originally posted by Seagurl51 Two weeks from today is my second swim meet!!! I'm really excited, but again I'm starting to get nervous. So here's some really lame newbie questions. Should I be worried by the term "championships" or is that just but there to scare people away? I don't know. I've always been scared away by the term, so I don't know what they're like. Also, my two favorite events (200 free and 100 ***, in that scheduling order) are back to back:eek: !!! I'll probably be in the first or second heat so I would have at least some time to rest, but I want to do well. I did really well in both of them at my last meet. Should I swim them? If you're really adamant about doing those two strokes, why not pick a different distance for one of them? Bob

RE: Eek!!

Former Member — Thu, 24 Mar 2005 11:07:58 GMT

Two weeks from today is my second swim meet!!! I'm really excited, but again I'm starting to get nervous. So here's some really lame newbie questions. Should I be worried by the term "championships" or is that just but there to scare people away? Also, my two favorite events (200 free and 100 ***, in that scheduling order) are back to back:eek: !!! I'll probably be in the first or second heat so I would have at least some time to rest, but I want to do well. I did really well in both of them at my last meet. Should I swim them? Thanks!!! ~Kyra p.s. On a completely un-related subject: speaking of lifeguards, where would I go to find out what I need to be a lifeguard in another state?

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Former Member — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 15:58:30 GMT

Originally posted by knelson Congrats on the meet! Sounds like it went great for you. I found your name on the heat sheet a couple times and was going to try to watch you swim, then the meet got going and I was watching my teammates, etc. and never did see you. Sorry about that! Where were you sitting? I was down by the hot tub. Now you have to swim at the meet in Federal Way, WA in April. It's an awesome pool. If you swim there I won't flake out and miss you again, I promise! :) Thank you!! I am definately going to try and make the April meet! I love that pool!! I was sitting under the clock over by the lifeguards chair, to the right if you looked at it head on. No worries about not seeing me swim. If I had teammates, I would have watched them too. :D ~Kyra

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Former Member — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 07:00:52 GMT

I was sitting under the clock over by the lifeguards chair, to the right if you looked at it head on. originally posted by Seagurl Once again with the lifeguards eh??......Just a simple coincidence perhaps? newmastersswimmer

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knelson — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 01:04:45 GMT

Congrats on the meet! Sounds like it went great for you. I found your name on the heat sheet a couple times and was going to try to watch you swim, then the meet got going and I was watching my teammates, etc. and never did see you. Sorry about that! Where were you sitting? I was down by the hot tub. Now you have to swim at the meet in Federal Way, WA in April. It's an awesome pool. If you swim there I won't flake out and miss you again, I promise! :)

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Former Member — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 15:54:01 GMT

Well I did it! I went to my first swim meet and didn't die or get DQ'd. Actually, I did really well....a lot better than I had expected to do. I broke my personal best times in all my events, and ended up placing 1st in two of them and 2nd and 3rd in the other two (in my heats)!! I was shocked!! I was sooo nervous that first race, but you all were right. Once I hit the water, I couldn't help but smile! Thank you sooo much to everyone who offered words of advice and encouragement. You made this experience much less frightening for me. I have definately caught the competition bug and can't wait for my next meet!!!! Hope to see you all at a meet somewhere down the line!!! ~Kyra p.s. Can someone who went tell me what happened with the lady and the world record? I was warming down and all I heard from my friend was something about someone had just broke a world record. Also, good swims knelson and Rebecca!!! Congrats!!!

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Former Member — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:19:29 GMT

Did you know that you don't have to qualify to swim at nationals? You can swim in up to 3 events without meeting the NQT for them. originally posted by h2oru Yaeh...but I want to swim 5 or 6 events if I go (might as well since it is a long drive to Ft. Lauderdale)......Also I want to enter my events with entry times that are as fast as possible..... in the hopes that I might get seeded in one of the faster heats (if not the fastest heat?) in as many of the events as I can (wishful thinking perhaps??).....I think you have to put the date of the meet where you made the times that you enter for each event you enter at Nationals?....(meaning that you're not suppose to just make up times that you think you're capable of swimming??)....Of course I'm not 100% sure about this....I am just going by what I read on the entry forms themselves. newmastersswimmer p.s....Thanks for the vote of confidence Seagurl!!...Good luck to you also on April 9th and 10th!!

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Former Member — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:00:55 GMT

Newmastersswimmer, you will do awesome that at your meet! I am planning on going to a meet on the 8th and 9th so we can be nervous together. Good Luck!! ~Kyra

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Former Member — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 09:45:04 GMT

Congrats on your first swim meet going so swimmingly Seagurl!! I am having my first meet on April 9th and 10th ....and then (hopefully if I qualify that is??) I will be rushing my times in from this meet to enter SCY Nationals just before the deadline (April 14th).....It will be my first swim meet in 18 years.....After reading some of the posts here I am feeling more than a little nervous about it to say the least! I know I'm not yet in the type of shape I want to be in for this meet (or for nationals for that matter)....I will have to really step it up from here on out to try and muster myself into some kind of acceptable shape before the big meet (the big unknown that is!!) Wish me luck, newmastersswimmer

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Former Member — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 08:41:51 GMT

HOORAY FOR KYRA! We knew you could do it, chick! Congrats! Steph

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h2osmiley — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 06:08:42 GMT

Newmastersswimmer~ Did you know that you don't have to qualify to swim at nationals? You can swim in up to 3 events without meeting the NQT for them.

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Former Member — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 16:13:52 GMT

Oh and to go further along on the DQ thing - Ian Thorpe DQued in his premier race (the 400 free) at Aussie trials, Amanda Beard DQued in a IM race at a World Cup Meet, James Hickman DQued at World Cup this past weekend ... it happens to the best of us. And you learn from it. Usually once you DQ once it'll never happen again at least in that event. (I always feel better when I hear that the really good people mess up too!) GOOD LUCK!

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Former Member — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 16:08:28 GMT

My first master's meet (just this past January) I was so nervous before my first event (the 200 free) I wanted to scratch. I was still nervous on the blocks but as soon as I was actually swimming I was fine. My nerves decreased with every event. This past meet I was much less nervous until I had to swim the 200 IM (which again I thought about scratching - not seriously but I was freaked out) I knew once I got through the fly I'd be OK on the back die a little on the *** and be ok on the free. I had a coach once tell me that if you weren't nervous it meant that you didn't care. Nerves give you adrenaline and energy. Remember it's OK to make mistakes, have bad races, even DQ. All of those things happen at EVERY level. People DQ at the Olympics, and even Michael Phelps and Jenny Thompson have had bad races. Just have fun. As long as you have fun everything else will work out!

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Former Member — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 07:21:43 GMT

Originally posted by Seagurl51 The meet is a week from today!! I am a ball on nerves at this point! I'm still really excited but now I'm starting to worry about pointless little things. How do you relax before a meet? Anything that anyone can offer would be uber helpful!! Thanks soo much!! ~Kyra I've never been able to relax before a meet. In fact, by the time the meet starts, I've already had a workout just from the tension. I also don't sleep all that well the night before a morning meet. Nor does the tension go away as soon as I hit the water. At my last meet, I was in 3 heats, and the tension really didn't start to subside until partway through my 2nd heat. It didn't totally go away until after my 3rd heat. The only thing I've found that helps is being in lots of meets. The more meets you have been in, and (more importantly) the more meets you have been in recently, the less tension you are likely to feel. The fastest 50y freestyle time I've ever done in competition was done in a situation where I had two meets only a few weeks apart and did 50y freestyle in both of them. And it was in the second meet that I did my best time. The reason was that I was more relaxed.

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Former Member — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 14:06:42 GMT

Hey Matt and Steph! Thank you soo much for the words of encouragement! I'm definately taking these ideas to heart. The more I think about it, the more I think I just gotta swim...all the time!! I will definately let you know how I do, and any ways I find to relax. :D ~Kyra

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swimmieAvsFan — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 12:51:34 GMT

i've got to totally agree with steph- lots of loud rock/alternative music- the stuff my mom calls my "angry music". think along the lines of static-x, disturbed, eminem... the first thing that gets packed in my meet bag is my discman and cds. i've been doing this at every meet before every race since i was about 13. and it showed in my last meet- my batteries died right before my first event and i didn't have extras! :eek: i had decent swims, but i was a total nervous wreck before every event. and i agree with jennifer- if i'm not at least a bit nervous before my races, there's something not right... the music helps keep the nerves under control, but they're definitely still there! and kyra, best of luck at your meet!!

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Former Member — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 10:51:13 GMT

Hey Kyra, good luck at the meet next week! I have a meet at Uniontown (PA) that same day. And I'll confess, after swimming competitively since I was 9, I have yet to find a way to really relax before a swim meet. The morning of the meet, I'm antsy, almost bouncy, wanting to go, impatient, fidgety, all kinds of things that are fueled by nerves. However, I've discovered that once you're there, there is one point where you actually relax. It's warmups. Once you get in the water, nothing matters. If you can get in the pool and warm up, do a few length sprints, do your events uber slow, then do them again faster, or do whatever you want, really, then I've discovered that you'll completely forget everything you're nervous about. Of course, those nerves come back a couple heats before your own, and when you step up on the block (or the side), you might feel like your heart's going to come right out of your chest. Happens to me, actually. Nerves like a jittery cat. Of course, it vanishes as soon as I hit the water. So if you're asking for some advice on calming your nerves, I really only have one thing that works: the pool. Being in the water will make it better, even if you're a mental wreck outside. Also, Matt's right; whatever you have to do to calm your nerves outside the water - books, rock music (mine's Something Corporate and Alter Bridge) - do it. It won't take away the nerves behind the starting block, but you won't throw up on anybody :D Let me know how it goes! Steph

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h2osmiley — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 09:48:39 GMT

I've been swimming competitively for over 10 years now (high school, college, and masters), and if I'm not nervous during the meet, then I know something is not right. I think being nervous does you good (as long as you're not getting sick from it). As a result of being nervous, I tend to sip a lot continuously out of my water bottle, which makes me have to go to the bathroom every 20 min. or so. It sounds like a hassle, but it's become routine for me after all this time. I get the most nervous when I'm standing behind the blocks before my event, but as soon as I stand up on them the nerves disappear and is replaced by confidence and determination. Best of luck in your meet Kyra, and have fun!

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Former Member — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:27:20 GMT

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!

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Former Member — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 15:06:58 GMT

Kyra, A couple of thoughts: 1) You will probably feel a whole range of emotions the next week: excitement, abject terror, anticipation, butterflyes the size of bats, etc. etc. Enjoy the highs and realize they will not last. Try not to dwell on the lows; experience them and let them pass through your system. In the greater scheme of things, neither the highs or the lows a week out matter. The issue is not whether you are ready to swim today, Wednesday, or the evening before the meet. What matters is whether you are ready to swim when they call you to the blocks. The only hint you will get is, maybe, the last 30 minutes of warmup the day of the meet. Even then, you will still probably have bat-sized butterflyes. Trust me, they are gone within the first 10 yards of the race. Just try to relax, realize you will probably be nervous, but that it is normal, and remind yourself you are doing this to have fun. 2) Because this is your first meet, you are just now starting to learn what helps you do your best, what does not help, what parts of competition you like, and what you don't like. You're going to have great swims, lousy swims, and everything in between. It's all a learning experience, so try to savor the good parts, chalk up the rest as valuable insights, and move on. The scary thing, and the cool thing, about racing is that to do your best, you have to confront who you really are under pressure. There is no posing; there is no talking a good game; the stopwatch does not care. Whatever makes you go fast, no matter how embarassing your dirty little secret is (mine is the Miami Sound Machine to psych up), you have to find out what that is and accept it. That's both cool and scary. Good luck, and please keep us informed how you do. We are all learning from the conversation that YOU have the courage to get started. Matt

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Former Member — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:17:39 GMT

The meet is a week from today!! I am a ball on nerves at this point! I'm still really excited but now I'm starting to worry about pointless little things. How do you relax before a meet? Anything that anyone can offer would be uber helpful!! Thanks soo much!! ~Kyra

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knelson — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 10:54:23 GMT

The Bellevue Club pool has a nice digital scoreboard, though, so you can check your time as soon as you're finished with the event. Remember back in the old days when they had the manual displays behind each lane? The timers would go back and "dial in" you time. I don't see many of those anymore!

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Former Member — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 06:06:42 GMT

Originally posted by knelson There will probably be two referees at the meet. They probably won't be too strict, but will DQ you if you do something obviously wrong. Don't worry about that. You'll still be able to see what your time was and then next time you'll know what you did wrong and you can correct it. Well, the only time I've ever been DQed, I wasn't told what my time was. In fact, I didn't even find out that I'd been DQed until the race results were posted on the wall about 20 minutes later, and then I had to seek out the ref to find out why.