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 :)
I don't worry about how I look in my suit anymore, because I'm too busy trying to keep the old guys with pot bellies from getting too far ahead in my heat.
There's only one thing that really sucks about being slightly overweight: you never know when someone will be taking a photo of you. During the meet you're too busy having fun and racing faster than you thought you would. But afterward... I remember looking at photos after a swim meet and thinking, "that fat lady with the bad posture and the huge stomach had the same swimsuit as me and I didn't notice her all day... Oh wait... Oh :censor:!"
So just keep standing up straight and enjoy it!
I don't worry about how I look in my suit anymore, because I'm too busy trying to keep the old guys with pot bellies from getting too far ahead in my heat.
There's only one thing that really sucks about being slightly overweight: you never know when someone will be taking a photo of you. During the meet you're too busy having fun and racing faster than you thought you would. But afterward... I remember looking at photos after a swim meet and thinking, "that fat lady with the bad posture and the huge stomach had the same swimsuit as me and I didn't notice her all day... Oh wait... Oh :censor:!"
So just keep standing up straight and enjoy it!
