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.
I actually did pretty well in the main pool for warmups, but I was there before the distance events due to sleeping issues. Most mornings I only shared the lane with 3 or 4 other folks. Not too bad at all, and I talked to those who were doing pace work on the clock so as to stay out of their way. The dive pool struck me as being better than Austin - it was crowded, but I expected it to be and picked my lane and spot as best I could.
My gripes -
1) starter who could not be heard and didn't stand the swimmers back up when it was needed. I saw some heats of 100 free with swimmers in their 80's that had me fuming. No one should be subjected to random mumbling when trying to start a race. Especially those that might be at a higher risk for hearing issues. Really painful to watch.
2) fried chicken in hospitality. Yes, I know it's the south where they apparently bread and fry lettuce, but that was just over the top. I had a bagel and PB and fruit for lunch that day. And was seriously cranky by dinner as I was so hungry.
3) hospitality running out of fruit and water and other food by the last day. I ended up buying food at the cafe just to be able to get a healthy snack.
4) Staircase at the far end was awful to get through.
I actually did pretty well in the main pool for warmups, but I was there before the distance events due to sleeping issues. Most mornings I only shared the lane with 3 or 4 other folks. Not too bad at all, and I talked to those who were doing pace work on the clock so as to stay out of their way. The dive pool struck me as being better than Austin - it was crowded, but I expected it to be and picked my lane and spot as best I could.
My gripes -
1) starter who could not be heard and didn't stand the swimmers back up when it was needed. I saw some heats of 100 free with swimmers in their 80's that had me fuming. No one should be subjected to random mumbling when trying to start a race. Especially those that might be at a higher risk for hearing issues. Really painful to watch.
2) fried chicken in hospitality. Yes, I know it's the south where they apparently bread and fry lettuce, but that was just over the top. I had a bagel and PB and fruit for lunch that day. And was seriously cranky by dinner as I was so hungry.
3) hospitality running out of fruit and water and other food by the last day. I ended up buying food at the cafe just to be able to get a healthy snack.
4) Staircase at the far end was awful to get through.
