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!
I would opt to swim with the men. But if you do choose to swim with the Women, it gives you a chance to watch a fast 500. Many times I am happy I am not in the final heat. I enjoy jumping out and watching fast swimming in person when I can, not just video.
Tom, that's exactly what my coach had me do in the 1000 at a USS meet I swam at. I did happen to use that strategy last week and it worked out well for me.
Donna, I look forward to seeing you there!
Chris, thanks. I did think about needing to learn to pace off of myself and not the boys or the competition. The first time that I swam the 1500 SCM FR I had to pace myself as there was no one around. I did end up holding very constant splits and the time was ranked #1 in the world. . . so I feel okay pacing off of myself. It's just that it's not as exciting or fun as racing someone. However, the 1500 is not the 500. I can recount a similar story for the 1000 I swam recently. Just paced off of myself - did end up dropping 10 seconds and even splitted my 500s 5:17 and 5:17. But I'm reading that I need to be able to handle all situations. Fair enough. :) Also, I'm going to assume the time will NOT count if I swim w/ the boys due to that change in program rule.
Jim C, who is JT?
Brain, you list really great points and I agree with you on the rest/ hassle thing. The men seeds read:
4:51
5:05
5:10
5:10
5:12.17
5:17
5:26
So, it would be relevant to be right in there. As for turbulence, after doing all those OW swims and swimming with the SR I boys and myself all packed in a distance lane @ practice, I can't say the last time I remember turbulence of any kind at a meet - either mixed seeding or otherwise.
And the #1 and 2 seeds are out of my league. Thanks for the vote of confidence Kirk!
Mel and letsrace - LOL! Trust me, the boys make me cry. It's good for me.
Heather, I know! Not sure what's up with that!?
Paul and Jim - you boys are silly. There is no good view when we're all bundled up in our very unflattering full body suits.:D
SwimmJ - agreed! I'm still figuring out this race. Who would have thought that I would figure out the 200 FR prior to the 500?!
Heidi, thanks for pointing that out about the meet entry information. It DOES indeed say they reserve that right to mix. Wonder why they opted to separate the genders for the 500 FR and 400 IM. Strange.
Jazz - LOL! I guess I should skip the meet and hit the weight room, eh?
Thanks all!
I have 4 big events Sat. I may be too tired to do anything come Sun! Something else to consider. But, the line up could make for a good practice meet.
Of course you should swim with the men. No mercy! Divorces, smorces.
Good luck and make the boys cry!
You may have misunderstood my intent. I meant that I would file for a divorce if I thought it would result in the opportunity to swim next to Kristina. It's not that I would want a divorce for having been forced to compete with her. I'm more aligned with the other leering old timers who posted in this thread!
If there are no women in your heat who will push you I'd request the move, unless you want to make a game out of seeing how many folks you can lap. You also need to consider the feelings of the women in your heat given you will butcher them, I know this from first hand experience with you. Think of the small people, Puffy.
Hi, Cougar in Training!
I have no place in answering, as I have never raced a pool event, but putting oneself out there on the edge has big rewards. I'd go for the more challenging option, especially if the meet is for pure racing fun.
Have fun, whichever you choose!
:)
As a man, of sorts, my instinct is to tell you to stick with your own gender and humiliate them, not me. However, when you mentioned that the second place time was 48 seconds slower, it did seem kind of unfair that magnificence of your sort cannot be stoked by actual competition with someone(s) as fast and maybe a wee bit faster than you.
I say that if the Kentucky Derby lets fillies run with the stallions, and the occasional gelding, they there should be room for us all in the 500 seeding.
The only possible flies in the ointment I can espy are:
1) if you bump some guy down one heat who would otherwise be racing someone in his same age group that he was hoping to beat for the points. However, even in such an unlikely scenario, chances are the guy you bumped down would be in an end lane, and the guy he was racing would be in the opposite end lane, so they probably wouldn't see each other well anyhow
2) assume that the woman who is now seeded 48 seconds behind you inthe women's 500 is not much of a distance swimmer but is an excellent sprinter. assume, furthermore, that you are racing her in the next event, a sprint, for which you will have gotten an hour's rest and she only 30 minutes. If she is of a suitably ill-termpered nature, i can see her crying, "Foul!"
Such quibbles aside, I think the swimming world simply needs to do what I have long ago decided to do when it comes to CreamPuff. Acknowledge her magnificence, bow down, and worship.
Swim with the dudes, She Puff.
It's one thing to swim a 100 by yourself, but the 500 seems to require some pacing and competition. (At least in theory, to me.) Given your level of conditioning, you may still have enough time to recover.
As you say, it may not count technically under the rules ... though such technical enforcement seems silly when mixed gender meets are held all the time. But you already have a fast 500 in the bank this year. Have fun! Is the 500 your fav freestyle event now?
If you can't swim the men, push yourself to lap people more than once. I love doing this in the longer free events. If the person is seeded 48 seconds behind you, push yourself to lap her twice.
Give yourself (and the guys) a good race AND make it more fun for the spectators to watch as well. I know I would enjoy watching the race if I were there. And I definitely prefer having some competition to push me in a race rather than swimming in a heat that is significantly slower.
Also, the entry sheet does state that the meet officials reserve the right to mix seed the 1000, 500, and 400IM so it seems like it would be within stated rules if they mixed up the 500. The meet is pretty low-key - I can't imagine they'll give you a hard time.
