AMYMSA Swim Meet

Race: AMYMSA swim meet
Date: 05 January 2014
Location: Grove City, Pa.

I had a very satisfying swim meet. It was not only fun but also featured some successful swims.

My first event was the 100-yard freestyle. I swam it in 1:06.60, which narrowly missed my lifetime best of 1:06.48. I loved this swim. I swam the first 40 yards without taking a breath and used the shoulder-driven style to keep up my speed. I gradually converted to a hip-driven style by the last 25 yards, and by this time my arms were fatigued so I just kicked hard and did the best I could with arms that could no longer pull water.

My second event was the 50-yard freestyle. I swam it in 28.98 seconds, beating my previous best of 29.30 seconds. I know I can swim this faster, too, since I paused a moment in the water just before my turn. I am really happy to have broken 29 seconds, and today's swim result means I have to reassess my mid-season goal for this event; previously, I had set a goal of 29.20 seconds on 1/19/2014. I have now beat that, two weeks ahead of schedule.

My third event was 50-yard breaststroke. I swam it in 38.51. This was more than a second slower than my personal best and I'm not sure why. I had long pull-outs underwater at my dive and at the wall, and I felt my stroke was well coordinated. Maybe my head was too vertical, though. Shannan thought I slowed down toward the end, and I think I remember that being true for a few strokes, but as I saw people in the adjacent lanes move ahead of me, I consciously pushed faster to try to beat them. So whatever happened was not due to lack of will. I think maybe I was just enjoying the swim too much. I expected a near-record time, so I lost my panic.

My fourth event was the 25-yard butterfly. My time was 14.13 seconds, which is well off my personal best of 13.29 seconds. Despite being quite slow today, I love this event because it is really easy for me. I don't tire out, and in fact, I don't even breathe during the swim. However, given the short distance, the dive is important and I feel that I was late. Shannan thought I stumbled on my first stroke, too.