First meet in 7 years tomorrow

So I got basically the same as my old times, 25 in 50 free, 56 in the 100 free. I felt like I panicked on the 50 free and didn't really stick to the TI principles. On the 100, I got off to a great start, but faded. I hadn't practiced at race speed either so my turns were bad. I think I've got a lot of room for improvement. It was weird being at a meet with all teenagers and younger though. I might look to join Master's. Not for nothing, but if this was your first meet in 7 years you should be happy that you got approx the same times! There are a lot of people that would kill for that amount of retention on their times. As you mentioned, though, it does leave room for improvement! Good luck, and congrats on getting back into the swim of things!

Cool, good luck.

I also wanted to pipe in and agree that you should be VERY happy you came that close to your prior times in this meet. That's especially true given that you've only been back in the pool for 6 weeks or so. Keep up the training and you'll trounce those times.

I agree. Those are very solid times considering how little you've been training.

Congrats!! Doing your first meet is nerve wracking enough yet alone having it be an age group meet! I swim with USA as well (and USMS) for Occoquan. In the 2 years with them I have only done 2 meets. My 3rd is coming up.

We are probably pretty close then for a 100 free. I had my first meet in 15 years and after 7 weeks training I managed these times: 50 Fly- 27.63 50 Back- 28.78 50 ***- 34.79 50 Free- 24.94 100 IM- 1:05.23 I was the Dynamo Pentathlon and I did the short format rather than the 100's and 200 IM. I just needed a baseline. I don't plan on doing alot of 50's going forward and I never WAS and never really want to be a sprinter. I just need to work more training and the little things. Next meet I'll step up to 100's and 200's, then I'll REALLY be hurtin!:toohurt:

Congrats on returning to the water after 7yrs. I had a 10 yr break and after 2 yrs back in the water, the only event that I am anywhere near close to my best times is backstroke, only because I didn't compete in backstroke the last 3 yrs. Goal is to get the differential to approximately 2 seconds sorry to hijack the thread, but do you try for the same 2 sec with SCY and SCM? I swam the 100 SCM free 28,92/1:00.94 (in the same meet I swam 27.68 50m free). I swam 9 events in one day, so I'm sure I can swim the second 50 faster with more rest. My short term goals for freestyle is to get under 1:00 before all the 14-18yr olds on my team do it. there are only 4 under 1:00 on the team. 53.93, 54.80, 58.86 and 59.73. then the rest are 1:00.17, 1:01, and over 1:02. None of them want to lose to a 34 yr old. I have never been under 27.0 in meters. so that is my second goal. never really trained for freestyle until I started training for distance free. my plan for the next meet is to swim the 100 28.0 / 31.9 but maybe I should shoot for 28.5/31.4. I only have 2 more chances at the 100 this year, once in 4 weeks and then again in Dec.

sorry to hijack the thread, but do you try for the same 2 sec with SCY and SCM?Yes, that's what I aim for. I swam the 100 SCM free 28,92/1:00.94 (in the same meet I swam 27.68 50m free). I swam 9 events in one day, so I'm sure I can swim the second 50 faster with more rest. Four seconds is too big a gap. Had you gone 31 for your second 50 you would have gone under a minute. The 9 events in one day probably explains it. How do you feel in the last 15m of your 100m? If you still feel strong, then you probably went out too slow. If you are dying then you need to work on your back half. Do a set of 2 x 125 @ 4:00 Do the first 100m ALL OUT (go for time and get someone to time you) now don't stop and SPRINT another 25 ALL OUT. Do this often enough and the 100 will seem like a breeze. My short term goals for freestyle is to get under 1:00 my plan for the next meet is to swim the 100 28.0 / 31.9 but maybe I should shoot for 28.5/31.4. I only have 2 more chances at the 100 this year, once in 4 weeks and then again in Dec.Remember, if you intend going 28 on the first 50, that 28 is a touch to the feet. That would make it faster than your fastest 50 of 27:68. I would say go for 28:50/31:40. That gives you a three second differential which is quite reasonable. Do it in practice. Get your splits and then you will know how fast you can push it on that first 50 without dying in the last 15m. I find the closer I get to within one second of my fastest 50 time the larger the gap is going to be between the two 50's.

How do you feel in the last 15m of your 100m? If you still feel strong, then you probably went out too slow. If you are dying then you need to work on your back half. I actually remember thinking that it was the first time in a long time that I actually felt good going into the wall. strong kick all the way through. But I might have taken too many breathes the last 25m, or shortened my stroke the last 15m or so. the guy next to me had 58.20 and I remember thinking that he was pulling away the last 15m too. so you're right i should work on 125's so that 100 seems shorter. Remember, if you intend going 28 on the first 50, that 28 is a touch to the feet. That would make it faster than your fastest 50 of 27:68. I would say go for 28:50/31:40....... I find the closer I get to within one second of my fastest 50 time the larger the gap is going to be between the two 50's. That makes sense, but I have yet to feel drop dead tired after the 50 free. I just started swimming free faster at practice this fall. I had gotten into a routine that I was happy swimming sets of 100m on 1:30, swimming into the wall at 1:18-1:20 but now I see that I might have to start swimming them on 1:20 to force me to swim down around 1:12. Which I know I can do, since I did a set of 10x100 st 1:40 6 months ago coming in between 1:11-1:13. This fall I have been able to push through a mental block with freestyle at practice. in the spring of 2007 I had a hard time swimming 200m free under 3:00. now I can negative split 200's 1:20-1:15 or swim them under 2:30 easily. we usually have one sprint option at our practices, so I am also thinking of doing one of those workouts each week, but since sprint free is not my main event, it's hard to prioritize a sprint workout. But I will definitely keep in mind the 2-3 sec idea. just for background. when I was my fastest my free times in SCY were 24.3 / 52.4 / 1:51.8 / 5:09 so it's never been my strong stroke.