Opinions wanted on this one -
I have a meet this weekend and on day 2 the 500 FR is seeded by time and gender (men are separated from women.) I am actually used to swimming mixed seeding in distance events.
Provided the meet director would accommodate me (and s/he may not), would you ask to be seeded with the men to get the full racing experience?
As it stands, I'm seeded 1st of the women (2nd place is 48 seconds behind) and I would be seeded 5th with the men.
The only other thing to consider is that if I swim with the women, I will have 1 hour rest until my next event. If I swim with the men, I will have about 30 minutes until my next event. And I have 3 events left to swim after the 500 FR.
And, to confirm, am I correct in assuming that if I swam with the men, the time would not count for USMS purposes due to my changing the event/ program order? But am I correct in assuming that my other swims would count assuming all the rules are followed?
This meet is for pure racing fun. Times are irrelevant for me. Oh, and I'm used to swimming by myself which I find sort of boring; however, I have gone PB's swimming solo or having competition. And, I will get creamed by some of the top men (will be a fast heat), but that does not bother me greatly. It's more of a learning experience.
Thanks!
Since you just want a racing experience and your 500 has been stagnant, I would go ahead and request the change. I do not know if the race will count; if you care then you should ask beforehand.
30 minutes rest should be fine with your background. It would be totally worth it if the competition pushed you into a big improvement, don't you think?
But here's another thought: you need to learn to swim this race -- any race, really -- on your own. There may well be meets, perhaps even tapered meets, when you don't have someone in your heat to push you. So you should learn what various paces feel like, and pay attention to the feedback your body is giving you.
In other words, if you somehow aren't allowed to swim with the guys, or you decide that your other races are pretty important and you want more rest, look on the 500 as an opportunity to develop your pacing skills. There is no reason you can't have a good swim with just the clock as your "competitor."
Since you just want a racing experience and your 500 has been stagnant, I would go ahead and request the change. I do not know if the race will count; if you care then you should ask beforehand.
30 minutes rest should be fine with your background. It would be totally worth it if the competition pushed you into a big improvement, don't you think?
But here's another thought: you need to learn to swim this race -- any race, really -- on your own. There may well be meets, perhaps even tapered meets, when you don't have someone in your heat to push you. So you should learn what various paces feel like, and pay attention to the feedback your body is giving you.
In other words, if you somehow aren't allowed to swim with the guys, or you decide that your other races are pretty important and you want more rest, look on the 500 as an opportunity to develop your pacing skills. There is no reason you can't have a good swim with just the clock as your "competitor."
