Hey Forumites!
If you are even considering the possibility of attending LCM Nationals, August 3-6, JUST DO IT! :thewave: (That Guy, this Smilie's for you! :D)
I just got back from the Auburn Masters SCY Invitational and it was a fantastic meet. Conner Bailey and his team did a PERFECT job organizing and running that meet. The events even ran ahead of schedule both days! :applaud: THANK YOU!
A BIG thanks, also, to my fellow GAJA teammates for your friendliness, encouragement, and warm welcome, when I was thrown onto your relay team at the last minute: Kristin Aziz, Alison Ibarguen, and Marianne Countryman. You gals rock! Hey, thanks for saying I did well, too, because my split was more than 4 seconds off my PB for 50 breaststroke! :afraid:(I thought Sunday was my 10th day swimming in a row, but, looking at my FLOG, it was my 12th day! I guess I was trying to make up for my lack of enough pool time, while I was in Califorinia. And, the previous weeks' meet didn't help matters, either. I was pooped!)
Another big thanks to Donna Hooe for doing everything she could to get me on three relays, since I was the odd woman out at Nationals, last year- thanks!
Finally, a special BIG thanks to Peter McCoy, David Berry, Coach David, and the others from the Madison Titans who were so NICE to me! You guys made my weekend! I appreciated your encouragement and advice, while we shared a bench on the bleachers all weekend. You guys were the greatest- AND FAST! Congratulations!!! :bow:
The pool at Auburn University is fantastic, too! It's a great facility and everybody there was so nice and helpful. I'll be there in August and I hope you will, too! :agree:
Cheers!
:chug:
Just some other feedback on the pool that I heard (and agree with) and wanted to share. I heard ALOT of people talk about having issues with the walls, mostly at the bulkhead end of the pool. Mainly due to two factors:
1. The "wall" is see through...meaning the bulkhead is open air straight through where you touch the wall. At water level you can see through it into the warmdown area. So the warmdown area is the background you pick up swimming *** or fly.
2. The bulkhead only extends underwater 4-1/2 to 5 feet with a pool that is at least 8 feet deep or more. So coming into the wall swimming free you don't pic up the bottom of the bulkhead until the last second, unlike in a fixed wall pool. So you say use the marks on the bottom of the pool.....they didn't help either. I had some major issues on a few turns, either too far away (toe tapper) or too close (cruncher). Nothing I couldn't cure with a week of swimming in that pool, but its tough to get used to just coming in.
I went through this last year. I got used to the habit of watching for the "cross" painted on the bottom of the pool and timing my turn based upon that. This didn't translate well in Auburn because there were multiple cross marks used for lining up the bulkhead AND timing the turns. So, I had to remember to flip on the first cross at the bulkhead and the last cross at the wall. The last thing I needed was something else to worry about.
Over the last year, I've tried to visit other pools and swim in different depths so I would learn to adapt to sight cues that were more consistent across pools. That helped a lot for this meet but I still messed a couple turns up. Just not as bad as last year. The bulkhead still intimidates me. For some reason I think it is going to give too much.
Just some other feedback on the pool that I heard (and agree with) and wanted to share. I heard ALOT of people talk about having issues with the walls, mostly at the bulkhead end of the pool. Mainly due to two factors:
1. The "wall" is see through...meaning the bulkhead is open air straight through where you touch the wall. At water level you can see through it into the warmdown area. So the warmdown area is the background you pick up swimming *** or fly.
2. The bulkhead only extends underwater 4-1/2 to 5 feet with a pool that is at least 8 feet deep or more. So coming into the wall swimming free you don't pic up the bottom of the bulkhead until the last second, unlike in a fixed wall pool. So you say use the marks on the bottom of the pool.....they didn't help either. I had some major issues on a few turns, either too far away (toe tapper) or too close (cruncher). Nothing I couldn't cure with a week of swimming in that pool, but its tough to get used to just coming in.
I went through this last year. I got used to the habit of watching for the "cross" painted on the bottom of the pool and timing my turn based upon that. This didn't translate well in Auburn because there were multiple cross marks used for lining up the bulkhead AND timing the turns. So, I had to remember to flip on the first cross at the bulkhead and the last cross at the wall. The last thing I needed was something else to worry about.
Over the last year, I've tried to visit other pools and swim in different depths so I would learn to adapt to sight cues that were more consistent across pools. That helped a lot for this meet but I still messed a couple turns up. Just not as bad as last year. The bulkhead still intimidates me. For some reason I think it is going to give too much.
