Pete's swim blog

Having a blast so far! Met Elaine, Swimosaur and a couple other forum people. Can't say enough about how well run the meet is... and how nice the pool is. I'm blessed with some great teammates that got me completely prepared for this weekend. I'm swimming faster than ever and that is mostly due to support from my teammates and others (including forumites) that cheer me on and inspire me to do better. Thanks to all!

Saturday was my big yardage day. Started with the 1650. First one for me and I was incredibly nervous. Still wasn't feeling 100% tapered but better than Friday. Warmup went very well and gave me a lot of confidence turning at the bridge. Seems I might be getting past that mental barrier. We'll see if I crash into it on the 500. Ate a Twix bar about 15 minutes before the start. That would revisit me later. Started in Lane 6 inbetween my teammate (lane 7) and a guy with a low 19 for his seed. Next to him was a mid 17 seeded swimmer. Made a mental note NOT to chase him. Having my teammate next to me was awesome. Dave is a consistent swimmer and a pro at getting everything he can out of his 1650s. I knew I'd be fine sticking with him through the race. The race started out just as we were seeded. I fell behind the low 19 swimmer and inched ahead of Dave. The mid 17 guy was gone. He lapped me about halfway through and again near the end. Settled into a comfy pace and enjoyed the swim for a while. First two 500s were just under 6:00. Picked up the pace for the last 500 and just about 1200 yards in, the Twix bar kicked in. It was not giving me the planned energy. Mostly giving me indigestion. By 1400 yards I was ready to throw up. Convinced myself I could keep it down for another 3 minutes... which fortunately I did. Despite the indigestion, I split my last 500 faster. Not sure how because I sure didn't feel it. Finished in the mid 19s! Dave was right behind me to break 20 for the first time. Great start!

Next up... the 200 fly. Fortunately, there was a long break for the remaining 1650 free swimmers and a warmup session. Despite the rest, I hurt bad. I completely underestimated how much the 1650 would take out of me. Since I was swimming unopposed in my age group, I elected to cruise the 200 fly... which I did for the first 150 yards. Couldn't help myself on the last 50 and let it go a little. It went well though and I didn't die... just hurt a little more. Finished 3 or 4 seconds ahead of my seed time from last year. Very happy about that!

100 Br - Lots of competition in my age group for this event. Lanes 3, 4, and 5 were all in my age group and seeded within a second of each other. Fun race! I had the highest seed time and figured I had to break that by a good bit to have a chance. Beat my time by 3 seconds but was still crushed by the competition next to me .

Final event - 200 Free. Was in the second to last heat which meant I didn't have to swim against the sub-2:00 swimmers. Took off and dropped everyone in my heat. Split first 100 at 1:00 and then died badly. Second 100 was around 1:04. Still 7 seconds faster than last year!

Finished it off with a good medley relay breast stroke leg. I think I was about :33 but haven't seen any official splits yet.

Got some pizza with the team and went back to the hotel and crashed. Feeling rested this morning. Got the 500, 200 Br, 100 Fr, and 50 Br. After yesterdays yardage, it seems like nothing.