I don't even know what questions to ask, or what to tell you about me.
I swam senior year in high shool and my first year at a small liberal arts university. I loved it. Wished I had started younger and wished health issues hadn't led me to quit.
I got back in the pool May 2010 (20 years later) just to do something productive with my time (improve my fitness) while I was at the Y for my daughter's swim lessons.
"Everyone" I knew started saying to me, "Oh, you swim? You should do triathlons." Even though I can't run, I have been giving triathlons a shot and having fun.
I just came across a masters swim meet in Cedar Falls, IA on March 5th. The organizer responded to my e-mail with, "Yes, it is as simple as filling out the registration form and mailing it in with payment!" So I'm definately going to do this.
Uh, now what?!?!?!?
What should I expect at this meet? What do I need to do to get ready in about a month's time? Oh, and I'm worried I'll do something "stupid" and get DQ'd.
More about me, if you want to know...
I train with the local tri club 1 hr/day, 4 day/week: 2 of indoor cycling, 2 of swimming.
I do 2-3 other general fitness workouts each week. Starting Feb 13th, I'll be able to get to the pool for about 40 minutes of swimming.
My 10 year old daughter (who has graduated from swim lessons to swim team) is teaching me backstroke flip turns and having fun coaching me.
:blah:
Welcome to the wonderful world of Masters Swimming.
Your post caught my attention because I grew up swimming in Waterloo/Cedar Falls. And I’ve been swimming ever sense.
What should I expect at this meet? Expect to be surrounded by a phenomenal group of people who are there for the camaraderie and for some friendly competition. Relax, have fun; you have the next 50 years to swim and compete.
What do I need to do to get ready in about a month's time? Follow Dory’s advice “Just keep Swimming, Just keep Swimming…” Also I’d suggest getting in touch with a local masters club and get in the water with them.
Oh, and I'm worried I'll do something "stupid" and get DQ'd. – If so, so what. DQ’s happen, just make sure to jeep your suit on and everything else will be fine.
Cherish the time in the water with your family. As a fellow swim parent, there are few things that beat spending time in shared sports.:bliss:
Regular practice suits are legal; full body suits are not. When you look at a site like swimoutlet, the section under tech suits has the ones that you have to know which ones are legal and which ones aren't. I wear a regular practice suit for most of my meets.
Good luck. There are some wonderful resources out there for tips on your first meet; check with your LMSC or Zone site, sometimes even team websites also have tips for new swimmers.
Thank you, Rob. Hello, fellow Iowan (even if you did move to Georgia).
I wish my local masters club weren't 30 miles away. I've meant for some time to hook up with them, but you know how that goes… right?
Speaking of suits, I saw other threads here about some suits being legal and others not. Do I need to worry about that? I just have some random, wild-colored suit I got on the clearance rack last summer.
I'd still rather not get DQ'd. What's the rulebook I need to know? I love this new-fangled backstroke flip turn, but I don't want to do it wrong.
Spending time with my daughter is the best! This "workout" from yesterday was fantastic:
Snow day and daughter wanted to go to the Y to practice. (Yay!)
Warmup = 300 (100 ea s/k/p)
2 x 25 fly with long rest
5 x freestyle flip turn (credit: 15 yards ea = 75)
5 x backstroke flip turn (credit: 15 yards ea = 75)
Cooldown = played in the open swim area
Total: 500 yards, 20 minutes*
* estimate of my actual swim time
I know I'm super late to the game - but welcome my fellow Iowan! There are like 5 events total in the state of Iowa per year.
Needless to say - you will probably see me at a few of them. I have to go home and show everyone from the farm that I learned how to swim! :D
swim
have fun
set up and stick to a regular training program
ande
I don't even know what questions to ask, or what to tell you about me.
I swam senior year in high shool and my first year at a small liberal arts university. I loved it. Wished I had started younger and wished health issues hadn't led me to quit.
I got back in the pool May 2010 (20 years later) just to do something productive with my time (improve my fitness) while I was at the Y for my daughter's swim lessons.
"Everyone" I knew started saying to me, "Oh, you swim? You should do triathlons." Even though I can't run, I have been giving triathlons a shot and having fun.
I just came across a masters swim meet in Cedar Falls, IA on March 5th. The organizer responded to my e-mail with, "Yes, it is as simple as filling out the registration form and mailing it in with payment!" So I'm definately going to do this.
Uh, now what?!?!?!?
What should I expect at this meet? What do I need to do to get ready in about a month's time? Oh, and I'm worried I'll do something "stupid" and get DQ'd.
More about me, if you want to know...
I train with the local tri club 1 hr/day, 4 day/week: 2 of indoor cycling, 2 of swimming.
I do 2-3 other general fitness workouts each week. Starting Feb 13th, I'll be able to get to the pool for about 40 minutes of swimming.
My 10 year old daughter (who has graduated from swim lessons to swim team) is teaching me backstroke flip turns and having fun coaching me.
:blah:
Oh, and I'm worried I'll do something "stupid" and get DQ'd.
You should watch this video. It covers 10 common masters disqualifications. It was made by masters swimming canada but the rules are virtually identical to USMS.
www.mymsc.ca/.../Disqualifications.jsp
I am also new to competitive swimming. My how to questions concern the process of actually signing up for a meet, as well as what happens at a meet. None of my kids swam so I'm really clueless about the whole process. I compete in tris and running events. With these you just register and send your entry fee and you're in. Signing up for swimming events seems more complicated from what infomation I've been able to find.
There are a couple of ways to do this, these are two that I like to think about:
1) Pick the events you're best at. If you're a freestyler - you pick free style events you want to do. If you're a stroker - you swim strokes or any combination variant there in.
Or - and this is my favorite:
2) Pick random events. Have fun with it. You're new to it might as well try a bit of everything. Example: I started doing just sprints, but after basically trying everything once (except anything over a 50 fly or 50 ***) however now - I really prefer mid and long distance events.
My next meet will be 200 Free, 200 Back, 200 IM, 100 IM and 1000 Free. I even had a vote on my facebook wall for what events I should do. (Coach said 100 IM, so I just listened to her)
Iowa Masters Meet Info Page
There's one on March 26th as well - its the state SCY Championships. I'll be there for that in Iowa City.
Look for the the slow guy in the Tuxedo Speedo.
I did see the March 26th one. But "State Championships"? Doesn't one need to qualify or something?
I took a look at the PDF - and there are no Qualifying times for eligibility requirements. You should be able to just go. The only USMS meet that limits (and it only limits your event signup) based on times that I know of is nationals.
I am also new to competitive swimming. My how to questions concern the process of actually signing up for a meet, as well as what happens at a meet. None of my kids swam so I'm really clueless about the whole process. I compete in tris and running events. With these you just register and send your entry fee and you're in. Signing up for swimming events seems more complicated from what infomation I've been able to find.
