Pre-Meet Jitters/Anxiety

I hope this makes you laugh....this is something I was inspired to write after participating in the Colonies Zone Championships in NY: On Saturday, December 5, 2009, I participated in the above meet and suffered pre-meet neurotic disorder. The three mental exercises I use to cope with this are the following. Excuses: On the colonies zone meet entry it was stated that this would be the last meet where high tech suits would be allowed. Of course, in my state of anxiety, I pictured my self being the only one wearing a Speedo from Modells. Here I was "Speedy Gonzalez" seeded last in the 400 meters. My excuse for this: OOOoops, mistakenly, I had to export my Mercedes to Germany for repairs and forgot that I had locked my high tech suit in the trunk of the car. (Truth is, I drive a 1998 Honda CRV with 160,000+ miles and will keep it going as long as I can to avoid car payments and help finance my swim habit.) Visualization(?): Now, why the heck would I put myself through the agony of swimming the 400? All I could think of was the opening to the "Wide World of Sports" - the thrill of winning and the agony of defeat." Well, I'm a Nurse and I've been taught that the feeling of "impending doom" is usually what people feel before a code is called. When I swim longer distances instead of sprints, my pace is slower and I don't get that feeling of "impending doom" due to oxygen deprivation. I need to practice visualization to re-program my mind to get through the sprints so impending doom,for me, won't mean getting a crash cart. Here's where aromatherapy can help to mimic reality: I'll relax, lie on my couch with an open bottle of Clorox next to me with the water running in the sink while I visualize. Fantasy: To deal with intimidation ( I have to say that in my experience some local top notch swimmers look at swimmers like myself with disdain...) My fantasy about this: when those arrogant so and so's are in the "get set" position to dive off the block, I step on a whoopee cushion to make the sound of one big fart (music therapy). Geeeeez some comraderie!!! I watch them with awe and admiration, as do other slower swimmers. What's this about? Oh, and I forgot about prayer: I happened to be on the deck when from behind me, I heard someone ask "would you like a US Masters Swim Cap?" I turned around, looked up and recognized that it was Rob Butcher, an archangel flown in from USMS headquarters. All I could do was blurt out, "I'm a slow swimmer." His response was that "there are no slow swimmers here." I thought "WOW" and felt grateful for the encouragement. I hope this helps you with your pre-meet jitters.....You're not alone...Keep on Swimmin'....Keep a Sense of Humor:banana:

I hope this makes you laugh....this is something I was inspired to write after participating in the Colonies Zone Championships in NY: On Saturday, December 5, 2009, I participated in the above meet and suffered pre-meet neurotic disorder. The three mental exercises I use to cope with this are the following. Excuses: On the colonies zone meet entry it was stated that this would be the last meet where high tech suits would be allowed. Of course, in my state of anxiety, I pictured my self being the only one wearing a Speedo from Modells. Here I was "Speedy Gonzalez" seeded last in the 400 meters. My excuse for this: OOOoops, mistakenly, I had to export my Mercedes to Germany for repairs and forgot that I had locked my high tech suit in the trunk of the car. (Truth is, I drive a 1998 Honda CRV with 160,000+ miles and will keep it going as long as I can to avoid car payments and help finance my swim habit.) Visualization(?): Now, why the heck would I put myself through the agony of swimming the 400? All I could think of was the opening to the "Wide World of Sports" - the thrill of winning and the agony of defeat." Well, I'm a Nurse and I've been taught that the feeling of "impending doom" is usually what people feel before a code is called. When I swim longer distances instead of sprints, my pace is slower and I don't get that feeling of "impending doom" due to oxygen deprivation. I need to practice visualization to re-program my mind to get through the sprints so impending doom,for me, won't mean getting a crash cart. Here's where aromatherapy can help to mimic reality: I'll relax, lie on my couch with an open bottle of Clorox next to me with the water running in the sink while I visualize. Fantasy: To deal with intimidation ( I have to say that in my experience some local top notch swimmers look at swimmers like myself with disdain...) My fantasy about this: when those arrogant so and so's are in the "get set" position to dive off the block, I step on a whoopee cushion to make the sound of one big fart (music therapy). Geeeeez some comraderie!!! I watch them with awe and admiration, as do other slower swimmers. What's this about? Oh, and I forgot about prayer: I happened to be on the deck when from behind me, I heard someone ask "would you like a US Masters Swim Cap?" I turned around, looked up and recognized that it was Rob Butcher, an archangel flown in from USMS headquarters. All I could do was blurt out, "I'm a slow swimmer." His response was that "there are no slow swimmers here." I thought "WOW" and felt grateful for the encouragement. I hope this helps you with your pre-meet jitters.....You're not alone...Keep on Swimmin'....Keep a Sense of Humor:banana: