Maximum number of meet entries?

Never. The max events for local meets is the 400IM, the 1500M/1650 and 5 events. Uh, no thanks :) Now I have signed up for 5 events, which is the max for the day, but that is usually when I am goofing off at a meet or what I want to swim is first, and I am stuck at the meet anyway.

I usually enter the maximum, I like to get alot of bang for my buck! If I start feeling really tired I'll either swim an event easy, or scratch. :agree: I think I swim better when I'm really warmed up so alot of events can work. I'm not a sprinter.

It usually depends on the format of the meet. I typically try to focus on a specific events throughout the year, therefore I try my best to enter my "focus" events in every meet. However if there is not sufficient rest in between events, then I choose only my favorites or those events that give me adequate time to rest. Newbie question (and something I have been wondering since deciding I might try a meet this year)-- how do you determine whether there is enough time between events? Obviously, I know you would not want to swim events that are scheduled back-to-back, but what about events that have one, two, or three events in between? How do you decide if that is "enough time" to recover for the next event or not?

If you don't train in a manner than improves your lactic tolerance and your lactic clearance, wouldn't you need more time to recover, and perform rather poorly if you didn't have that time? Chris, I suspect you recover more quickly from a 200 fly than I do from a 100 fly ... A 200 back kills the rest of the day for me. We fast twitchers are just different! It's not helpful to tell someone that based on your experience, how much rest is required should be the same for everyone. These are all good points, speaking to the fact that training (both its volume and its nature) is probably the most important factor determining how much rest is needed. Fort, I suspect that the lactate tolerance ability is more imporant that fast vs slow twitch. What I would say, in the spirit of Muppet and Patrick's comments, is that you don't really know how much rest you need until you push the envelope a little. "Feeling" -- including imagining that you still feel a race 30 minutes after you finish it -- is often a very poor guide to how fast you will swim. There have been races in the past where I have surprised myself, thinking that I didn't have adequate recovery time. In some cases I actually think I did better in the second race than I would have done without the first race (give that lactate buffering system a swift kick to get it going! Though proper warmup should take care of that). What I will say in addition is that if I anticipate having 30 min or less between races, I will usually spend all of that time in the warmup pool, first recovering from the previous race, and then prepping for the next one.

I'd argue that this statement should read: "We THINK we need more rest..." AMEN!! I'd also argue that most of this rest between events crap is all in your mind. I will not disagree that most of us have X many meets of experience of not doing well with limited rest, and yes, swimming 4-5 events in a day/2 days in a row is taxing. But it works both ways. If any of you read Fort's posts and blog, we all know she in particular has plenty of examples of dissatisfying swims coming in 1 or 2 event per-day meets. Back to why I posted... It's all in your mind! If you want to be successful at something, you can NOT let something small like get in your way. Walk into a meet - and up to the blocks - with confidence. Sign up for your meet, set a realistic goal and tell yourself, your coach and anyone who will listen "I am going to go ___ time." Then get out there and git 'r done! I agree with you as long as you are referring to the idea that reality is an illusion and that our higher SELF is omnipotent.If,however,the discussion grants validity to the physical body then there are certain realities regarding lactic acid clearance etc. that create a real need for recovery.The amount of time needed varies from person to person based on training,genetics,etc.For various reasons that seemed good at the time I have swum in back to back heats before and the second swim was never pretty.If you really think you don't need any rest why not set PBs in the 50,100,and 200 in the same race.

If you really think you don't need any rest why not set PBs in the 50,100,and 200 in the same race. I did just that 200 *** this past spring! :applaud::banana:

Definitely max number of events. Often I wish I could enter more too. When I'm at a meet I like to swim as many things as possible to get in both my usual events as well as the off ones. I hate having to pick and choose. I'm also in the "don't really need or want as much rest" group. Yes, if I'm all tapered and absolutely want to go a best time a bit more rest is necessary but I start getting really antsy having to sit around for more than 30 minutes between swims. I get cold, my muscles stiffen, it's always uncomfortable sitting in a folding chair or bleachers, and so on. I've had some of my slowest swims at Worlds and Nats when I had to sit for hours between events. It totally screws up the warmup/race/warmdown rhythm. It's definitely a swimmer by swimmer thing as to how much rest you need but I'm also a big believer in mind over matter. When I get up on the block telling myself that I'm tired and not ready I have a crappy swim. When I get up pumped I swim fast. We had a silly local meet earlier this year when I had to swim four events in a 30 minute time period, including the 50 free in back-to-back heats (relays, one men, one mixed). I went a best time in the first heat, was tired but pumped by my time. Got up on the block about 4 minutes later and lowered my time another few tenths. My heart never even slowed much from the first race. But I was so excited to swim again and ensure that our relay won that I just dove in and flailed like crazy. Anyway, I think it's always better to come home a bit over-exhausted with five or six swims under your belt than it is to come home wishing you swam more. Try maxing out! If it's too much then you'll know what your limit is for next time.

I always try to enter the most I can. My problem (well, there are many, but I'll just consider one here : ) is that I like too many events. I would swim the 500-1650, all the back, 100-200 ***, all the IMS, and some fly. I'm usually miffed that I can't swim more. I know in So Cal they used to let you swim 11 events at their champ meet. I went down to MVN (in the 90s) for just that reason. It was great! I was tired, but I still did well. Chris brought up what I was thinking too. I think you have to look at the lactate clearance of each athlete. I now know from Genadijus how much rest/warm down I need, and what to eat to best facilitate my recovery. You can't lump people into any kind of group where recovery is concerned. :2cents: I will say the toughest double in a meet is any event that comes right after a 200 back. The 200 back is a leg killer. My worst races always happened right after a 200 back. I won't enter these anymore.

With my breastroke, it really wouldn't be that unrealistic for me to do just that... And I just mailed my entry to the St. Nick's meet in atlanta. Max events-5. How many did I enter without realizing....5! Be a good mental test, plus QUALITY racing I thought about going to Atlanta but chose to go to Charlotte instead. It is closer to home. Signed up for 4 events instead of the max(5).

I thought about Charlotte, but for me, Atlanta is closer. Plus, Atlanta is SCM. I want to swim SCM a few more times. Geek...next year, get the Holiday meet to be SCM. Then we will race a 100. You go free...I go back. I'm just happy I don't have to put up with you and your tech suit zippin' ways next month. This just means you'll have to come for the Sunbelt meet at the end of January. As to making it SCM next year, that would require a few million dollars to achieve. Schmaltz - find me at the Hoot, would like to meet you.