1st Masters meet for an overweight swimmer

Hi everyone, Next weekend is my very first Master's swim meet and I have to say, I'm really quite nervous! I've been a competitive swimmer all my life since I was 6 years old and growing up, competitive swimming was pretty much my life. When I was younger I was a great swimmer..qualified for YMCA Nationals at the Swimming Hall of Fame multiple times, swam for a Division I college, placed in top 10 at MAAC championships, etc But now, almost 9 years out of college, I'm about 50 pounds heavier:afraid: and am nowhere near as fast as I was when I was in my best shape. I'm trying to get back in shape and lose some weight, and I'm really enjoying getting back into swimming again. I've been swimming with my local Masters team for the past 2 months now and have my very first meet coming up. The thing is...I'm really nervous about how I'm going to look in my bathing suit compared to all the other swimmers and how slow I'll be. Am I going to be the only overweight and out of shape swimmer there? I'm worried that my times are so slow, that even if I'm in the slowest heat, I'll still be so far behind even the "slow" swimmers in my heat. (For example, one of the events I've entered is the 1000 free. My fastest time in college was 10:24 and I time trialed myself and was 16:02 :blush:) I know I need to focus on my progress and not worry about everyone else, but I think I still have that old competitive swimming mindset. I'm envisioning all these fit, trim, ripped swimmers and then there will be me heading up to the blocks with my belly and cellulite!:blush: How was your very first Master's swim meet?? Did you have the same worries/fears? Thanks for your help, and please, this is my very first post so don't be too hard on me! Erica :) You've almost described me in that history paragraph. I started masters meets this year after having duked it out with the USS kids last year. You get far less people, if any, paying attention to age or body type at a masters meet. The whole attitude and environment is different at a masters meet too. If you're really worried about how your times would compare, go look at previous years results for the same meet. That should give you an indication of where you are in relation to everyone else. I think you'll find that you compare better than you think. My advice and approach: don't worry about looks or weight, go smack around some thin people in your races and watch their jaws drop :) I say this in a fun, sporting, sort of manner of course. :angel:

Hi everyone, Next weekend is my very first Master's swim meet and I have to say, I'm really quite nervous! I've been a competitive swimmer all my life since I was 6 years old and growing up, competitive swimming was pretty much my life. When I was younger I was a great swimmer..qualified for YMCA Nationals at the Swimming Hall of Fame multiple times, swam for a Division I college, placed in top 10 at MAAC championships, etc But now, almost 9 years out of college, I'm about 50 pounds heavier:afraid: and am nowhere near as fast as I was when I was in my best shape. I'm trying to get back in shape and lose some weight, and I'm really enjoying getting back into swimming again. I've been swimming with my local Masters team for the past 2 months now and have my very first meet coming up. The thing is...I'm really nervous about how I'm going to look in my bathing suit compared to all the other swimmers and how slow I'll be. Am I going to be the only overweight and out of shape swimmer there? I'm worried that my times are so slow, that even if I'm in the slowest heat, I'll still be so far behind even the "slow" swimmers in my heat. (For example, one of the events I've entered is the 1000 free. My fastest time in college was 10:24 and I time trialed myself and was 16:02 :blush:) I know I need to focus on my progress and not worry about everyone else, but I think I still have that old competitive swimming mindset. I'm envisioning all these fit, trim, ripped swimmers and then there will be me heading up to the blocks with my belly and cellulite!:blush: How was your very first Master's swim meet?? Did you have the same worries/fears? Thanks for your help, and please, this is my very first post so don't be too hard on me! Erica :) You've almost described me in that history paragraph. I started masters meets this year after having duked it out with the USS kids last year. You get far less people, if any, paying attention to age or body type at a masters meet. The whole attitude and environment is different at a masters meet too. If you're really worried about how your times would compare, go look at previous years results for the same meet. That should give you an indication of where you are in relation to everyone else. I think you'll find that you compare better than you think. My advice and approach: don't worry about looks or weight, go smack around some thin people in your races and watch their jaws drop :) I say this in a fun, sporting, sort of manner of course. :angel: