We have a few grudge races amongst forum regulars coming up at Colonies Zones. They are:
Muppet vs. Dave Barra: 200 fly
SwimStud vs. Muppet: 50 ***
Fortress vs. SwimmieAvsFan: 50 back
Here's the poll. Place your bets; no limits on voting. All races should be hotly contested. All commentary, advice and cheering accepted. If anyone else has another grudge race, pile on.
I've got to say that was one of the funnest swim weekends I have had. :banana: It was really great to meet everyone! I am glad everyone was able to make it down (and back home safely in the rain/snow), and I hope everyone was satisfied with their swims.
Grudge Match Recap, involving me
Rich vs me. Rich won. I had two bad pullouts, went way too deep, and when I pulled up and saw another 9" of water to go off the turn, I knew I was done. Rich has a great stroke - obviously practices his breaststroke a lot more than I - and pretty much destroyed me in the back half of the race. He was able to get under 35 (34.83) in the process. I think it was helpful for him to have me in the lane next door to push him along. :bow: :bow:
Dave Barra vs. me (best of 3, 200 fly, 200 free; 4.4 mi bay swim tiebreaker)
Thankfully, I put to bed any talk of wetsuit handicaps and was able to win both the pool events.
I swam the non-ande recommended version of a 200 fly (out in a 1:00.7, back in a 1:10.4 - yes, the piano hit hard), and Dave swam a similar version. I think it is safe to say we were both going for it. My 200 fly times this season are an 8 second drop of my PB from 2005.
The 200 free, well, lets just say that after that point, there was not much gas left in the tank for anyone. We both split good races there, but in the end, my time was faster.
I was not looking forward to doing the Bay w/o a wetsuit, and all bets aside, I am still nervous about his OW skills. He is certainly a formidable comrade in the pool, and I'm sure he'll lure me into something crazy in the OW before long! Cheers! :drink:
I've got to say that was one of the funnest swim weekends I have had. :banana: It was really great to meet everyone! I am glad everyone was able to make it down (and back home safely in the rain/snow), and I hope everyone was satisfied with their swims.
Grudge Match Recap, involving me
Rich vs me. Rich won. I had two bad pullouts, went way too deep, and when I pulled up and saw another 9" of water to go off the turn, I knew I was done. Rich has a great stroke - obviously practices his breaststroke a lot more than I - and pretty much destroyed me in the back half of the race. He was able to get under 35 (34.83) in the process. I think it was helpful for him to have me in the lane next door to push him along. :bow: :bow:
Dave Barra vs. me (best of 3, 200 fly, 200 free; 4.4 mi bay swim tiebreaker)
Thankfully, I put to bed any talk of wetsuit handicaps and was able to win both the pool events.
I swam the non-ande recommended version of a 200 fly (out in a 1:00.7, back in a 1:10.4 - yes, the piano hit hard), and Dave swam a similar version. I think it is safe to say we were both going for it. My 200 fly times this season are an 8 second drop of my PB from 2005.
The 200 free, well, lets just say that after that point, there was not much gas left in the tank for anyone. We both split good races there, but in the end, my time was faster.
I was not looking forward to doing the Bay w/o a wetsuit, and all bets aside, I am still nervous about his OW skills. He is certainly a formidable comrade in the pool, and I'm sure he'll lure me into something crazy in the OW before long! Cheers! :drink:
