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:
Former Member
I found the rulebook. It wasn't that hard once I actually looked: http://www.usms.org/rules/ So I'm less worried about getting DQ'd now.
Arthur, thank you for the link. I like the way they showed the right and the wrong.
Michael, thank you for the welcome. I did check the Iowa masters website many times last year and never found a single meet. I concluded that they just didn't exist! I was really excited when I found out about the Cedar Fall meet on the website of a local running store (Fitness Sports).
Five meets a year might be enough for me, but right now I can only find two:
Saturday, March 5, 2011: 2011 Panther Masters Swim Meet, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Saturday, May 7, 2011: Simpson STORM Masters (SC-25-Meters) Swim Meet, Indianola, Iowa
If you know of any others I would love to know. If you do head to any, let me know that too. It's fun to know someone when you go somewhere, even if you don't know them.
c2n1ne, I found out about this meet online and right there was a link to the entry form in PDF. And like a tri, I just printed it, filled it out, and mailed it in with a check.
Is your trouble in choosing the events? The form I filled out said I could pick 5 events, but I only chose 3. And I chose them based on how evening spread out they were. I want time to recover, darnit! :cane: lol
So I'm even later than Michael to respond but :welcome:
If you look at the USMS places to swim page you can find your nearest Masters team. It may not be near enough or convenient enough for you to train with them on a daily/weelky basis, but check out their website. They'll likely have links or a listng of local meets that they want to offer to their swimmers.
Its what I do....:blush:
Should I time myself on the events I plan to do and put those times on the form? For example, I want to do the 500 free. The last time we did a timed 500 in practice I got 8:37. Should I put that on the form?
Were you rested and did you dive in from the blocks? If not - then no. You'll most definitely swim much faster than that in an actual race.
Well, that brings up another concern… I haven't gone off a starting block in 20 years. I assume I'll get to practice it in warmups at the meet. Other than that, I don't know if I'll have an opportunity due to the no diving rule at the Y.
I hope to go faster than 8:37, as that was well into the workout when he sprang it on us. But if I put NT, won't that put me in a heat that's even slower? Or am I deluding myself into thinking that there is anyone (other than triathletes ;) ) who is slower than me?
In other words are estimates allowed, or is the entry form looking strictly for official times?
Estimates are totally fine. I use them all the time. You will DEFINITELY swim faster than 8:37. Make sure to do a few practice dives during warmups at the meet. They'll have a "sprint lane" which is for starts and sprints.
Also - don't be ashamed to put in NT, especially as a beginner. A lot of vets will have NT as well - mostly because they did a deck entry, or for a myriad of other reasons. If you have a goal time, put it in. If not, NT is totally fine.
Since this is my thread anyway :lmao:, I just want to brag on my 500 time a little:
Jan 4 (9:28)
Jan 18 (9:07)
Feb 1 (8:37)
So basically you're dropping 30 seconds every 2 weeks! That's impressive! Now I want to see what you drop when you do it in meets. :) I would not be the least bit surprised to see you drop nearly 45 seconds to a minute when you swim the 500 fresh.
