24hr. countdown before 1st Masters meet-???

Sounds great! I read recently that eatings carbs (like bananas) are great for pre-workout and eating or drinking something high in protein is best after a workout. So, this drink sounds like a great idea. I'll pick some up, next time I'm at Super Target. Do I find it in the grocery section or with the vitamins? Thanks for taking an interest, by the way. I appreciate it and look forward to meeting you, too!

Usually first meet is just to learn the process, have fun, and don't worry about performance. You'll just set some baseline times that you can try to improve during successive meets. I suggest a meet warmup and a few easy drills the day before. Your warmup depends on your fitness and your events. Don't overdo it. Ideally you would have figured out what makes your stomach happy a little more in advance of your first meet. I suggest swimming very easy between events and after your last swim. Just enough to get your heartrate down and loosen up painful or tight muscles. The warmdown afterwards can make a big difference in how you feel the next day. Take a spare cap/goggles. They like to break or get lost at meets.

Now, wouldn't that be a sight to see at Nationals? I dare you to try it! :D Seriously, my first goal is- and always should be- to have fun. But, I DO want to do my best, for my own satisfaction...

My first Masters meet is coming up on March 27&28 and I don't have a clue about: 1. Should I swim the day before or just rest? 2. What (and when) should I eat before my first race? 3. What (and when) should I swim to warm-up before my first race (200 breaststroke)? 4. What about cooldown then warming up again before my next race (medley relay)? 5. Any other recommendations, besides stretching and HAVING FUN? :D THANKS! It seems to me that a lot of the answers to these questions are going to be pretty individual. For instance, some people seem to like a heavy breakfast before a meet, but that really would not work for me. I also know from experience that I need to swim the day before a race, but I usually just warm up, do a pace set or two with a fair amount of rest, and then cool down. I know other people who always rest the day before and they seem to do fine. The only other thing I'd suggest on the eating front is do not do anything for the first time on the day of the meet. If it is a morning meet and you usually eat cereal for breakfast, the morning of the meet is not a good time to try to find out for the first time how you do with eggs and bacon for breakfast.

I think the answers would differ based on your expectations, goals. For example I dont worry about winning (would not anyway) so sometimes the question I have is "is it ok to eat WHILE swimming the 1650?. :)

I don't know how trustworthy my advice is, since I have yet to swim my first Master's meet (plan to correct that issue soon!). I'm going on what I remember from the meets I swam as a kid. For #1 I think it would be a good idea to swim the day before, but make it light and easy. Get nicely warmed up, do a couple of sprints, and that's that. As for eating, the day before it's a good idea to get plenty of carbs. The day OF the meet I would stick to small portions of easy-to-digest food. I'm pretty sure Andy's Swim Faster Faster thread has a race prep section.

Bananas, Nutrela, bagels, protein powder prior to meet. Then 20 minutes right before the first event I get bad anxiety attacks so I lay down and do deep breathing until the heart feels normal. All subsequent events the problem is gone and I'm relaxed

First of all, I hope that your meet goes well and that you have a great time! I recently swam in my first Masters meet and my only goals were to have fun and to get times for the events I will likely swim the most so I have a starting point. It sounds like everyone is giving you good advice. I agree that if you swim the day before it should be light. Enjoy the water. I probably did not eat all that well for my first meet, I was not sure what to do other than to eat enough so that I wouldn't be hungry but nothing heavy enough that it would slow me down. I had a post meet Starbucks latte to give me energy to drive home and a protein bar. I did feel energetic during the meet and I made the drive home, but I was dying the next day. I'm not sure if a different eating strategy would have helped or not. Like a lot of things, it will probably differ based on the individual. Again, I hope you have a great meet, let us know how you do!

Sounds great! I read recently that eatings carbs (like bananas) are great for pre-workout and eating or drinking something high in protein is best after a workout. So, this drink sounds like a great idea. I'll pick some up, next time I'm at Super Target. Do I find it in the grocery section or with the vitamins? Thanks for taking an interest, by the way. I appreciate it and look forward to meeting you, too! I get the protein stuff with the energy bars in mine. I think that's near the vitamins. My store is a Super Target as well.

First of all, I hope that your meet goes well and that you have a great time! I recently swam in my first Masters meet and my only goals were to have fun and to get times for the events I will likely swim the most so I have a starting point. Again, I hope you have a great meet, let us know how you do! First of all, I LOVE the photo on your post! As you can see by mine, I love dolphins! My goals are the same, so I'm with you on that point. Most importantly, it's about having FUN. But, I would like to do my best and have a good starting point for future meets. So, I want to at least try to do the right things that will help me do my best! Thanks for your good wishes! I'll post after the meet and let you know how it goes...