100 Meter Breaststroke for the First Time in Masters

As a youth (15-18), I swam only 100 meter breaststroke (short course) and 50s only in the medley. I've been swimming masters now for nine years (now 63) and I've only done 50s and a few 25s. I am entered in a 100 meter long course event tomorrow (and also swimming the 50).

Just want to know what I should do today, pre-race tomorrow, and between events (100 is first) in terms of eating, supplements, stretching, sleep, warm-up tomorrow, etc. I have P2Life Enduroboost and the Nutriboost powder. Let's suppose I did everything exactly right, how much of a difference could all this make in my performance? 

Additional Questions: My LCM best is 39.8, but I feel pretty gassed at the end of a hard 50, so I'm guessing my aerobic fitness is not where it could be.  What's a reasonable time to expect? I seeded myself at 1:40, but hope to do much better than that. And then what about race strategy? So while I understand 100 m is supposed to be a sprint, should I conserve some on the first lap or just go all out and see what happens?

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  • As to the time before the meet, don’t over think it. Make sure you get enough sleep and otherwise try to follow your usual workout preparation and warmup. Eating the right food at the right time won’t make much difference, but eating junk or something you’re not used to could be a problem. As to strategy, hopefully you have been doing some race pace so you have a feel for what 100 pace is. It is not a sprint, it is a little slower. For me it is the difference between stroking AFAP in a sprint vs slight emphasis on the glide. If it is LCM it is important to get into a rhythm you can carry for 100M. Work on streamlining and DPS in warmup. Mostly focus on having fun and learning for next time. 

  • Regarding time, if you can swim a 39.8 50 you can probably go out in 42-43 and come back in 46-48 so you should be well under 1:40, probably under 1:30, but this is a learning experience and YMMV

  • Thanks for your input, Allen, but YMMV, indeed. The 100 was a bit of a bust. I went out too strong and just totally tightened up after the turn. I almost couldn't finish. I ended up doing 1:41.45 (which somehow was still first of three in my age category).  I did a full underwater push off and pull out and felt oxygen-starved after surfacing. I then started feeling it in my muscles and had to slow down to a snail's pace just to be able finish. 

    I did 40.46 in the 50, which is about what I expected after a two-year gap in competitions (did 39.6 two weeks ago in SCM 50 non-sanctioned). Yesterday, a guy I beat by nearly a second in the 50 finished 9 seconds ahead of me in the 100. 

    It was a learning experience. I need to train more specifically for the 100 and perhaps get on a real team (I've been training solo all this time). 

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  • Thanks for your input, Allen, but YMMV, indeed. The 100 was a bit of a bust. I went out too strong and just totally tightened up after the turn. I almost couldn't finish. I ended up doing 1:41.45 (which somehow was still first of three in my age category).  I did a full underwater push off and pull out and felt oxygen-starved after surfacing. I then started feeling it in my muscles and had to slow down to a snail's pace just to be able finish. 

    I did 40.46 in the 50, which is about what I expected after a two-year gap in competitions (did 39.6 two weeks ago in SCM 50 non-sanctioned). Yesterday, a guy I beat by nearly a second in the 50 finished 9 seconds ahead of me in the 100. 

    It was a learning experience. I need to train more specifically for the 100 and perhaps get on a real team (I've been training solo all this time). 

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