2 Events vs. 4 and 5 Events @ Meets?

I have pretty much always swam the max # events per day. I tend to avoid the longer events (400+) ‘cause I’m worried about blowing out my shoulder (again). I only swim against myself since I very rarely get anything but last place. I started out wanting to get a time for every event, but that was before I learned about all the different courses (SCY, LCM, SCM) and realized it would take too long to repeat going through the list. Eventually the game for me became trying to score the most points. That way I felt like I was contributing the most to my team. Even if you always come in last you can easily outscore swimmers who only do a few events per meet. The trick became doing the least popular events, which was a BIG motivator for me to learn butterfly. Last place in a field of 3 (50 fly) gets way more points than last place in a field of 10 (50 free) (and I can always get a 50 free time off a relay split). So I have a lot of times for things like the 200 back and ***, the last ones I fill out my list with are sort of a lottery. I have 5 SMS Championship meets where I scored 60 points or higher. Fond memories. Twice I got the highpoint award for my age bracket (I NEVER thought THAT would happen EVER!) My last meet happened to also be the Dixie Zone Championships at the DSU Aquatics Center (a deluxe facility in the middle of nowhere), right after Katrina hit. I ended up being the only guy in my age bracket (which was really kind of a bummer, but) Woo-hoo! 90 points! Plus a really nice highpoint award embroidered towel with my name on it. :-D I was so bummed that I did not enter “the mile” on Friday night. I don’t ever see myself having the opportunity to score 99 points again! :-o My lowest scoring meet (19 points for 10 events) on the other hand was the ’05 AMS SCY Invitational (super deluxe facility by the way). A very humbling experience. But I did set some personal bests. I’d already sent in my money and committed to (expensive) travel plans when I noticed the meet details said, “all events seeded by time irregardless of gender”. HUH? Holy S**t! It’s bad enough to repeatedly have to swim (and frequently get beaten) by guys that are 20+ years older than me, but now I gotta get seen beaten by the girls too?!? Gimmie a break! Actually that turned out to be the funnest and most exciting meet I’ve ever done. I’ve never had so many events were I was in a lane next to someone so close to me in speed. (A true testament for submitting accurate seed times.) I’m positive it was the reason I got so many PB’s (and not just because it has a reputation for being a fast pool). I’ll race with the girls anytime, bring ‘em on! All the meets I’ve been to have a flat fee (rather than pay by event), so you may as well load up. You can always scratch, or use it as a warm-up or cool-down (as one of my more enthusiastic team members used to always say). But I fully understand the strategy of those gunning for a USMS top 10 time (or even a PB). ...

I have pretty much always swam the max # events per day. I tend to avoid the longer events (400+) ‘cause I’m worried about blowing out my shoulder (again). I only swim against myself since I very rarely get anything but last place. I started out wanting to get a time for every event, but that was before I learned about all the different courses (SCY, LCM, SCM) and realized it would take too long to repeat going through the list. Eventually the game for me became trying to score the most points. That way I felt like I was contributing the most to my team. Even if you always come in last you can easily outscore swimmers who only do a few events per meet. The trick became doing the least popular events, which was a BIG motivator for me to learn butterfly. Last place in a field of 3 (50 fly) gets way more points than last place in a field of 10 (50 free) (and I can always get a 50 free time off a relay split). So I have a lot of times for things like the 200 back and ***, the last ones I fill out my list with are sort of a lottery. I have 5 SMS Championship meets where I scored 60 points or higher. Fond memories. Twice I got the highpoint award for my age bracket (I NEVER thought THAT would happen EVER!) My last meet happened to also be the Dixie Zone Championships at the DSU Aquatics Center (a deluxe facility in the middle of nowhere), right after Katrina hit. I ended up being the only guy in my age bracket (which was really kind of a bummer, but) Woo-hoo! 90 points! Plus a really nice highpoint award embroidered towel with my name on it. :-D I was so bummed that I did not enter “the mile” on Friday night. I don’t ever see myself having the opportunity to score 99 points again! :-o My lowest scoring meet (19 points for 10 events) on the other hand was the ’05 AMS SCY Invitational (super deluxe facility by the way). A very humbling experience. But I did set some personal bests. I’d already sent in my money and committed to (expensive) travel plans when I noticed the meet details said, “all events seeded by time irregardless of gender”. HUH? Holy S**t! It’s bad enough to repeatedly have to swim (and frequently get beaten) by guys that are 20+ years older than me, but now I gotta get seen beaten by the girls too?!? Gimmie a break! Actually that turned out to be the funnest and most exciting meet I’ve ever done. I’ve never had so many events were I was in a lane next to someone so close to me in speed. (A true testament for submitting accurate seed times.) I’m positive it was the reason I got so many PB’s (and not just because it has a reputation for being a fast pool). I’ll race with the girls anytime, bring ‘em on! All the meets I’ve been to have a flat fee (rather than pay by event), so you may as well load up. You can always scratch, or use it as a warm-up or cool-down (as one of my more enthusiastic team members used to always say). But I fully understand the strategy of those gunning for a USMS top 10 time (or even a PB). ...