Would you scratch?

The last time I swam a SCY 200 fly I went out too fast and the way I got through it was every time I pushed off I thought"you only have to swim a 25 fly and then you can hang on the wall and rest."I didn't,but knowing I could was a great comfort.Remember that in your 400 IM and go for it.

Go for it! As a teammate said to me moments before my very first 400IM last weekend, "there's a lot of ways to DQ in this event." (BTW for all reading - never say that to anyone before a race, ever.) But I didn't DQ, and I'm so happy to have that on my list of accomplishments even though the two women next to me took off on the first 25 and I even got lapped by one of them. Besides, scratches go on your permanent record!

S C is better to try a 400 I M cuz of the friendly walls! :applaud::banana:

Just swim it! I know you can make it legally with ease. Nobody will expect a new Master's WR. If June Callaway can finish the 1650 ten minutes after the previous finisher in the 1650, you can certain finish back a minute or two. You are a very competent swimmer and worry WAY to much!! :D Look at me last year at Clemson. I had to swim about every event right next to Lance Asti (a sub :20 50 freestyler). Its okay to get your *** handed to ya once in awhile.

I was in the same situation as you the first time I ever swam a 400 IM--fastest heat, way slowest swimmer. I knew I should just be racing the clock, like everyone is telling you, but I was self-conscious about finishing last, plus I never really like seeing everyone going by me in a race. One thing that helped is that I decided that I wanted to swim just one split--breaststroke in my case, but you could pick anything late in the race--faster than someone else in my heat. That helped me swim slow enough in the fly that the rest of the race was manageable, and even fun. So yeah, I got lapped by most of the field, but I finished, and swam a smart race instead of trying to race faster folks from the get-go. And I was really proud when I looked at the splits and saw that I had indeed out-breaststroked the guy next to me who had nearly lapped me on the fly. Just a thought--you seem to have lots of good advice on swimming the race, and I'm sure you'll have a blast at the meet, and swim an incredible IM!

Go for it! First time you swim an event = automatic personal best!!! If you're concerned that some watching will think you're not fast--remember that most watching don't have the guts to enter that event in the first place! It's impressive enough just to swim it.

Go for it. Who cares if you are last. It's a starting point, next time you swim the event you'll say "hey look at how much faster I've got." And what jaadams and orca are saying is also true, you'll be cooler than most just by signing up for the event :agree:

Thanks for all of your replies and encouragement. Deep down I think I do want to swim it, but being the first time I'm swimming it and due to the fact that I will likely be out of my league in my heat, that's why I'm feeling so anxious about it. That, and it's really the first event I've ever swum that it's not guaranteed that I'll be able to finish. Obviously I have never done the 200 (or even the 100) fly. Also, I seeded myself a bit too fast at the last meet I did, not taking into account the lack of a taper and no magic suit. I spent most of my events just trying to stay within a respectable distance of the swimmers in my heat, and I obviously have lingering issues from that. :blush: I'll report back the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hopefully it will be mostly the first mentioned.

Swim it!!! Strategy -- Fly: To borrow from pwb, "Loaf, loaf loaf, and LOAF HARD". Back: Swim it. ***: Swim it. Free: swim, build, sprint, sprint. The great thing about the 400 IM is you don't have to swim any of it fast, except maybe the last 50. Otherwise it's just like what you do in workouts every day, with a little less rest between the 100s. Swim it! You will love this event! Love the strategy... and as far as loving it goes, can I hold you to that? :) If you like the event or want to swim it in the future, give it a whirl. If you think scratching makes you mentally week, swim it to erase that feeling. A wise swimmer once told me, if you have one really good swim a meet, you've achieved something and it was worth it. So sometimes I narrow my focus rather than broaden it. To each his own! Leslie, you've made some great points. The 400 IM is an event that theoretically I SHOULD like. I do want to swim it, but was just hoping that I'd be able to relax it the first time. Being in a slower heat would have enabled me to do that. Really, I made the mistake in seeding myself with anything other than a NT. I will know better for next time. That being said, I agree with your philosophy on scratching. I scratched a couple of events in a meet that I did in the fall, which was the first time I had ever scratched. It was for the right reasons, and it felt good. The 400IM is mixed and there are only two women faster than you- and they are a lot younger! Elaine, one of the women seeded right above five minutes is a friend of mine from my team. She is a phenomenal swimmer. There is no humilation in swimming the 400 IM...many people would not even attempt it (like me). This will be my first 1000, and I obviously miscalculated my seed time probably ending up in the fastest heat (YIKES), so I'll be getting lapped too (hehehe). Then following that I am swimming the 200 Fly with 2 other girls who are WAY faster than me. So you have no worries. Just remember, we are there to have fun and challenge ourselves! Marianne, for one thing -- you are swimming the 200 fly. I know you're a butterflyer, but I still would think the 200 fly would be much harder than the 400 IM. And you will do great in the 1000! I think you're actually going to be pretty close to your seed time, and you're actually likely to beat it. And as far as your seed time for the 500 goes -- you'll beat that by quite a bit. I think you are going to surprise yourself! My guess is that the 400IM is preseeded since the entry doesn't say anything about positive check-in being required. That means that you will be in the first (slower) heat. If I were you I'd WANT to be in the faster heat. The slow folks won't give you a race. And I'm betting your seed time is actually 20-30 secs off. If you want, I'll race you in it in the fall so long as lefty is working correctly! Heidi, I'm not sure if it's pre-seeded or deck seeded. I asked Tracy, and she said that she thinks it's deck seeded just like the 1000. I actually didn't see any reference to any events being deck seeded, but I'm pretty sure they've always deck seeded the distance freestyles at St. Pat's. As far as my estimated seed time goes, I was figuring 1:30 for fly and back, 1:40 for ***, and 1:20 for free. Remember, you are a lot stronger in stroke than I am; you would kick my butt! If I go under my seed estimate, I will be thrilled. See you tomorrow! J Look at me last year at Clemson. I had to swim about every event right next to Lance Asti (a sub :20 50 freestyler). Its okay to get your *** handed to ya once in awhile. Ummm... you were beaten by one person. I routinely get my *** handed to me by many people. :-) But I do remember Lance Asti's races at Clemson being very fun to watch! I'd say go ahead and swim it no matter what; it's your last event of the day. When you're done reward yourself with a margarita and a big juicy cheeseburger!!!!!!! I would definitely do it for that!! MMMMM.... Margaritas..... Now THERE'S motivation!!! :D

In at least one way this is a huge opportunity not to be missed! Since the 400 IM is the last event on your schedule for the day, it gives you the opportunity to swim the 400 IM without worrying that in doing so you are destroying any hope of swimming well in your other events. I'm looking forward to such an opportunity myself. Another angle on the matter: You say that you seeded yourself as accurately as you could so it sounds like you really believe that you can swim your seed time or very close to it. You also say that you are seeded 11/25. This means that you are in the top half of the field. It's hard to imagine how that could be embarrasing, or that anyone would perceive you as holding up the meet.