Going to meets with less than good prep

[thewookiee]

How many of you have gone to a meet, without a lot of proper prep for the meet? Maybe it was a lack of training time, less than focused training for any meet, maybe you have been swimming a lot but no real speed or race specific training during your practice?

What were your expectations going in? Did you worry too much about times or just go to do some racing and swim the best that you can?

I am thinking of FINALLY doing some meets. Found a low key one in a few weeks. I swim 4500-5000 about 5-6x a week. The practices are mix of aerobic swims, a lot of drill work to fix some flaws on my free/back and high intensity kick sets. Not done a lot/any speed work in months but I figure if I don't suck it up soon and just start racing, it may not happen for a long time to come.

Any feedback would be great.

[Paul Smith]

John, back in 1982 I got some advice from Richard Thornton from Cal when I saw him at a meet in Northern California that I stopped by to say hi to some friends at...I had recently started training again after 6 months off and he gave me a lot of grief for not swimming (I was thinking I needed to be in shape) and said "the best way to get into race shape is to race"...and it has stuck with me ever since.

[Rykno]

I'll be racing on sunday, 100br and 400 IM in the morning and 50 of each stroke in the afternoon.

originally i was hoping to go from 5:19 to under 5:10 in the IM, but my entire family got the FLU so for the last 15 days I have only praticed once. so i have changed my expectations from best times to just making the day a fun day to race, and test different things.

my main meet of the spring is at the end of March, so I have 6 weeks to get back what I lost these past two weeks.

[qbrain]

What were your expectations going in? Did you worry too much about times or just go to do some racing and swim the best that you can?

My first meet back was a SCM meet, so I didn't even know what my times meant. I had no expectations going into the meet, I knew I would set PB in some events because I had never swam them SCM before. They all were horrible times after I looked at the conversions, but lots of PBs.

I had been swimming 3x/week at less than 4k/workout for about 3 months with no racing at all. The 3 months before that were a mix of infrequent workouts, injuries and building my base. The 3 years before that was work full time, go to school full time, too little sleep, too much drinking and poor eating with no working out at all.

My first meet was a local meet that is held yearly and I wanted to swim events that I planned on continuing to swim in the future. I came out of that meet with a handful of times that I will look back on when I swim the meet again.

A lot of people on this board taking racing seriously. Most people at the meet, at least outwardly, are not taking the racing very seriously and are there to have fun.

[aquageek]

Most people at the meet, at least outwardly, are not taking the racing very seriously and are there to have fun.

I can't tell if you are referring to a specific meet or meets in general. I will say that I disagree if you are speaking in general. Most people I see at meets, regardless of ability, are there to race and take it seriously. You don't have to walk around muttering to yourself to be in a serious racing mood - maybe we are saying the same thing.

As to Wookie's question, while I am usually in good shape many meets I will train through to get race experience.

[The Fortress]

My first meet back 3 and 1/2 years ago, I was only swimming 3x a week, had tendonitis, hadn't gone off a block in 24 years, and hadn't really done any speed work. I'm not sure I even knew what speed work was then ... I had no idea what times to expect, but had fun and have kept going back for more. As Paul notes, if you wait for the right time or the right meet or to be in perfect shape, you'll never go.

May I suggest Zones after you've got that low key meet under your belt? http://www.patriotmasters.org/ We had a fun party after the meet ...:party2: Rednecks welcome!

[Donna]

My first meet was after 4 weeks of training after a layoff of 20 years, bad back, could barely bend over for the start. Just wanted to see where I was. I had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people and just didn't worry about the times.

It is great to look back on and see how far I have come after 5 years.

The best part of competition is sharing a sport you love with people who have the same interest and are supportive of your efforts. Not every meet will be PB's but when you get them you appreciate them more.

Good luck.

[geochuck]

Is it necessary for you to go to a meet in top condition??? So many talk about the social activities that go on I don't think it is important to be perparred to compete. You should be prepared for parties...

[smontanaro]

If I only swam in meets (or postal swims) when I had "good prep" I would never race.

Skip

[Mookie]

Go.

It's fun, exciting, and motivational. It had been thirty 30! years between going off the blocks for me. You'll also get some good benchmark times to work from; you're only racing yourself. Depending on the meet, you may have people from all age groups in your heat just to fill the lanes; you're not really racing them.

There is an ex olympian from an earlier era on our Masters team. I asked him how I should train for my first meet, and he said meets are just another practice. Keep your normal routine and just go swim the meet. He said it's National Championships you train and peak for, not meets. Meets are just for fun and to practice competition.

[scyfreestyler]

Swimming a meet with less than ideal preparation? I think that covers most every meet I have attended.

[thewookiee]

Swimming a meet with less than ideal preparation? I think that covers most every meet I have attended.

LOL...I think this one is the one that pushed me over the edge. Alright, thanks ya'll. Guess my biggest fear is been embarrassing myself racing...but what the hell...go have fun and I might be surprised by how much fun i have and how i do.

Thanks!

[SLOmmafan]

I am going to the Rose Bowl aquatics meet this weekend in Pasadena, CA. I can tell you that I do not consider myself in true race form, but I would like to establish a base as to where I am heading towards SCY Nationals this May. It does kinda suck to come into a meet and know it will be tough to hit the times you really want (especially swimming the 200 back and 500 free). But for me my motivation to train stems from a desire to compete, so I do it anyways because I have fun racing.

[funkyfish]

I'll add a similar note to the other responses. My first recent meet was almost 3 years ago after 21 years of non-swimming. I just signed up 2 weeks before (they had to look my # up because I didn't have my card yet) and went in cold. It was a long course meet so I swam about 150m warm up and swam 3 events (100 & 2 50s). Felt like I was going to die during the 100 and kinda missed my turn, but it was fun and folks were very cool.
:bliss::banana::bouncing::cake::cheerleader:

[qbrain]

I can't tell if you are referring to a specific meet or meets in general. I will say that I disagree if you are speaking in general. Most people I see at meets, regardless of ability, are there to race and take it seriously. You don't have to walk around muttering to yourself to be in a serious racing mood - maybe we are saying the same thing.


I think we are saying the same thing. At any meet, you are going to see very few people walking around with their headphones on, tunnel vision look in their eye, only concerned with their race.

You will actually see lots of people congratulating people who they just raced, but don't know, friendly conversations in passing and, in general, a relaxed group of people.

Serious might have been the wrong word. People are not outwardly anal retentive about their race.

[thewookiee]

Serious might have been the wrong word. People are not outwardly anal retentive about their race.

I have been to a few meets in the past where they are definitly this way. This scene seems to be more around age group meets. There have been some behaviours where I wanted to yank my swimmers by their necks after their attitudes...but the law forbide it.

[jim clemmons]

:blah:I swim 4500-5000 about 5-6x a week. The practices are mix of aerobic swims, a lot of drill work to fix some flaws on my free/back and high intensity kick sets. Not done a lot/any speed work in months:blah:...

Knock it off. You're ready.

Get your butt to a meet (and compete). You're going to be surprised.

[CreamPuff]

Someone already sort of said this, but less than ideal prep - is masters swimming. My expectations were to swim as fast as when I was a kid. I entered the 200 fly after a 12 year lay off. Let's just say it was :afraid::afraid::cane::cane: Felt lucky to finish the race.

[BillS]

Knock it off. You're ready.

Get your butt to a meet (and compete). You're going to be surprised.

+1. I trained about 2 months, swimming maybe 3,000m 2-3 days per week, before my first meet back in ought-six after a little 27 year post-high school swimming hiatus. Went fine.

Our pool closes every fall for cleaning, generally for 2 weeks but one time it was for a month. One of my favorite meets falls at the end of that period every year. It has always gone just fine, except maybe the year I drank a little too much wine with friends a little too late the night before and showed up feeling a little too rugged. I don't recommend that.

I rarely feel really "ready" for a meet.

The only meets I regret are the ones I've skipped.

[swimmj]

LOL...I think this one is the one that pushed me over the edge. Alright, thanks ya'll. Guess my biggest fear is been embarrassing myself racing...but what the hell...go have fun and I might be surprised by how much fun i have and how i do.

Thanks!

You can't embarrass yourself by racing. It's a chance to see where you are in training and try to swim fast. My first meet back was a pentathalon which meant I got to swim strokes that are not my best and didn't have much time to think about the times I was doing - so it was *perfect*. You will have a fun time - we have gone to meets out of our area and always meet fun and friendly folks. You will be happy you did.

--mj

[ensignada]

Guess my biggest fear is been embarrassing myself racing....

Thanks!

Some meets I think of as the "ritual humiliation I endure to hang out with my friends".

Go. Race. Have fun. :bliss:

[KEWebb18]

I am so happy that someone started this thread because this is exactly what I am deciding to do now.
I am recovering after surgery--and trying to get back into shape (not as slowly as my doctor would like though, what does she know about me :shakeshead:)
My whole thing that has kept me out of meets and probably swimming in general the past 8 years has been the fear of trying to swim and having to cope with not being as fast as I was in high school and college. I realize that my body is a lot different now, that my life is a lot different now, but I am still having a difficult time getting off my butt and just doing a meet.
What sort of things did you all go through when deciding to go back? I will do it, I know I will, I am just scared.

[swimmj]

I am so happy that someone started this thread because this is exactly what I am deciding to do now.
I am recovering after surgery--and trying to get back into shape (not as slowly as my doctor would like though, what does she know about me :shakeshead:)
My whole thing that has kept me out of meets and probably swimming in general the past 8 years has been the fear of trying to swim and having to cope with not being as fast as I was in high school and college. I realize that my body is a lot different now, that my life is a lot different now, but I am still having a difficult time getting off my butt and just doing a meet.
What sort of things did you all go through when deciding to go back? I will do it, I know I will, I am just scared.
Best advice I received about times is that you should toss out the ones you did in a different age group. Really. It makes keeping perspective much easier. Very few of us train as many yards as we did when we were in high school and college - I think my shoulders would fall off if I did. I am swimming now to stay in shape, to hang out with my swimming buddies, and going to meets helps keep me motivated and working hard in practice. I did tell my husband after my first meet that I felt like I was working too hard to be swimming so slow - but I've improved close to every meet and am now much faster than I was at my first meet. But you need to go have a first meet - you will meet some of the nicest folks and it will be fun. And it will be the fastest you have swam at your current age.

Do it soon. You will not regret it.

--mj

[pwolf66]

How many of you have gone to a meet, without a lot of proper prep for the meet? Maybe it was a lack of training time, less than focused training for any meet, maybe you have been swimming a lot but no real speed or race specific training during your practice?

What were your expectations going in? Did you worry too much about times or just go to do some racing and swim the best that you can?

I am thinking of FINALLY doing some meets. Found a low key one in a few weeks. I swim 4500-5000 about 5-6x a week. The practices are mix of aerobic swims, a lot of drill work to fix some flaws on my free/back and high intensity kick sets. Not done a lot/any speed work in months but I figure if I don't suck it up soon and just start racing, it may not happen for a long time to come.

Any feedback would be great.

John,

Get your butt to the meet. I started back in Sep 07 after a loooong layoff and my first meet was 5 weeks after I started back. So get out there and swim. Meet great folks, have fun.

[pwolf66]

Some meets I think of as the "ritual humiliation I endure to hang out with my friends".

Go. Race. Have fun. :bliss:

HEY!!!!!!!!

[Slowswim]

I never swam competitively growing up. Actually, I really didn't swim until I joined a masters group 2 years ago. So I can say I've never been race ready at a meet.:drown:

I've swum at 2 meets: one I was totally alone and one I met some Formites. Both were great! Yes, I was DFL, but I still had fun and met some truly great people (and Jim Thornton). :banana: :drink:


Just kidding Jim, I liked your article in Men's Health. :D

[KEWebb18]

Best advice I received about times is that you should toss out the ones you did in a different age group. Really. It makes keeping perspective much easier. Very few of us train as many yards as we did when we were in high school and college - I think my shoulders would fall off if I did. I am swimming now to stay in shape, to hang out with my swimming buddies, and going to meets helps keep me motivated and working hard in practice. I did tell my husband after my first meet that I felt like I was working too hard to be swimming so slow - but I've improved close to every meet and am now much faster than I was at my first meet. But you need to go have a first meet - you will meet some of the nicest folks and it will be fun. And it will be the fastest you have swam at your current age.

Do it soon. You will not regret it.

--mj

Thanks for the perspective and the encouragement.

[ensignada]

HEY!!!!!!!!

You were front row to the "wall" incident. QED

[SwimStud]

Seriously, I thought I was standing on Westminster Bridge and it just turned 1 o'clock...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOONG! (of the bell tolling variety!)

[ensignada]

Seriously, I thought I was standing on Westminster Bridge and it just turned 1 o'clock...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOONG! (of the bell tolling variety!)

Yeah, yuk it up...I still have the "backstroke" video...

See John - Nothing to fear. You embarrass yourself, but noone remembers. :rofl:

Come to zones this spring.:)

[pwolf66]

Yeah, yuk it up...I still have the "backstroke" video...

See John - Nothing to fear. You embarrass yourself, but noone remembers. :rofl:

Come to zones this spring.:)

Nope, no one remembers but hey we've got it on video so no one NEEDS to remember :angel:

Yeah, John, come to Zones and see how my swim-once-a-week-for-two-months taper works out in the 200 free and 200 IM. :drown:

[pwolf66]

Seriously, I thought I was standing on Westminster Bridge and it just turned 1 o'clock...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOONG! (of the bell tolling variety!)



:afraid: <--------- bulkhead