Do we have to swim in a lot of meets to go fast? Of people that compete, it seems like there is a wide variance among forum members on meet attendance. Some go to many meets and some go to only a few a year. It seems like some people only attend the big meets or nationals. It obviously helps to get experience at meets, but how many do you need to compete in ideally to (1) swim fast and improve, and/or (2) do well at major competitions such as zones or nationals?
This is the first year in quite a while where I haven't swum in any meets. There's a regional association of Ys up here in the pittsburgh area, and there are meets every other week from Setember through February, then a regional championship in April.
The years when I did a lot of these meets were good for my times, I think, not so much because I learned how to pace myself, but because the meets themselves served as very high intensity sprint workouts. You can swim 4 events plus two relays, for a total of 6 swims, all over the course of 3-4 hours.
Anyhow, this year, I may try coming down to the Colony Zones meet without having competed since last April. I'll let you know then how the lack of meets affects me.
This is the first year in quite a while where I haven't swum in any meets. There's a regional association of Ys up here in the pittsburgh area, and there are meets every other week from Setember through February, then a regional championship in April.
The years when I did a lot of these meets were good for my times, I think, not so much because I learned how to pace myself, but because the meets themselves served as very high intensity sprint workouts. You can swim 4 events plus two relays, for a total of 6 swims, all over the course of 3-4 hours.
Anyhow, this year, I may try coming down to the Colony Zones meet without having competed since last April. I'll let you know then how the lack of meets affects me.
