Let me first say that I had a blast in Atlanta and enjoyed every minute of it (even the last minute of the 1000), so this list is somewhat tongue in cheek:
10. No Starbucks within walking distance of the Hampton Inn.
9. The taste of an Italian soda called "Beverly" at the Coca Cola Museum; it reminded me of viscous lidocaine--what is with that?
8. The stairway access to the pool deck from the stands.
7. Missing out on a medal in the 200 free relay because eight of the teams finishing ahead of us were from "regional" clubs representing entire states.
6. Two swimmers from TXLA trying to recruit my 87 year old father to join their team instead of swimming for Nitro.
5. No Starbucks within walkiing distance of the pool.
4. Turning at the bulkhead, although I nailed all of mine.
3. That one starter who shall remain nameless.
2. Not getting to meet Rich Abrahams, among others.
1. It ended.
Whining about the warm up pool goes no where with me...What do you expect in a meet this size? It's a mess, just make do.
I agree. You've just got to expect warm ups are going to be a mess at meets like this. My strategy has been to rarely warm up in the main pool. Yes, it's nice to get a feel for the walls, etc. but when there's 50 people in the lane you're not going to get much feel for the pool anyway. Just get to the pool an hour before your first race and get in the warmup pool. There have been several Nationals meets where my first swim in the competition pool was when I dove in for my first event. I think people get a little hung up on what they do for warmup sometimes, anyway. Probably the most important thing is to get in and get your muscles warmed up for 15 or 20 minutes.
Whining about the warm up pool goes no where with me...What do you expect in a meet this size? It's a mess, just make do.
I agree. You've just got to expect warm ups are going to be a mess at meets like this. My strategy has been to rarely warm up in the main pool. Yes, it's nice to get a feel for the walls, etc. but when there's 50 people in the lane you're not going to get much feel for the pool anyway. Just get to the pool an hour before your first race and get in the warmup pool. There have been several Nationals meets where my first swim in the competition pool was when I dove in for my first event. I think people get a little hung up on what they do for warmup sometimes, anyway. Probably the most important thing is to get in and get your muscles warmed up for 15 or 20 minutes.
