AMYMSA meet

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: November 22, 2015
Location: Greensburg, PA
Results: http:

Maybe I get too dramatic in writing these race reports, but the drama is truly going on in my heart and mind. Today I had a mountain to climb: the 200-yard butterfly. I've done it only once before, and it was at least a couple years ago. I decided to do it again this season to challenge myself. You see, I have been floundering in the water all summer and fall. I haven't been swimming as much as I want, but honestly, the source of this has been a lack of motivation rather than a lack of time. I went to dramatic measures to fix the problem, by forcing myself to do the 200-fly. This was more of a mental feat than a physical one. In practices leading up to today, I just couldn't catch my breath and stopped short of the 200-yard goal...every time. I have been dreaming for the last two weeks of delaying the 200-fly to a later meet, and that almost happened by accident. I left my swim bag at home and had to drive back to get it. I was almost relieved that I might have to miss my first event, but I alas, I got back to the Y with plenty of time to spare. The only harm done was I had no time for a warm-up swim. So now the actual event...

200-Fly: I finished in 3:19.57, lowering my personal best by 11 seconds. I had trouble believing it. But the swim really did go well. I was relaxed and having fun for the first 50 yards. I tried to go slow so I would still have energy for the end, but my split reveals a fairly quick 40.08 seconds. I always go too fast at the start. My second 50 yards surprised me because I didn't feel out of breath at the end. My split time was 45.68. I wasn't panicking like I had done in practice, but paused at the wall for a couple seconds anyway, just to regroup. The difference was that I was taking a breath with every stroke. I try not to so this (instead, I try to breath every two strokes), but I had just watched my friend Daniel Pruzinsky in the heat before, and he was breathing every stroke, so I though "hey, if it's good enough for him..." The consequence of breathing so frequently is that the legs don't generate a good kick, and at yard 160 or so, I felt my legs flutter around a bit. This would have disqualified me, but I fixed the problem rather quickly and the official didn't notice or didn't care. I paused at the wall at the 175-yard mark. It seemed like maybe 4 or 5 seconds. But I had just 25 yards to go, and my friends were there rooting for me, so I pushed off and tried to finish strong. My arms were finally tired but I felt so GOOD finishing this event!

Shannan Jones-Kellam asked me what my next event was and I said "it doesn't matter." Indeed, the 200-fly was the event that defined this meet, and I was so happy that (1) I finished, (2) I set a personal best, and (3) it was OVER. I looked at my entry cards and saw the rest of the meet would be easy--just 50- and 25-yard events.

50-yard freestyle: I finished in 29.39 seconds. This is 0.67 seconds slower than my personal best...not very good. When I got out of the pool, Jim F. said I could improve by doing two things. I said "I know the first thing you'll tell me is that my underwater segment after the dive was too deep and too long." He agreed. The second thing he noticed was that my arm strokes were too short--I didn't bring my hands back to my hips before taking them out of the water. I am sure this was true. I was doing a shoulder-driven freestyle (not hip-driven) my coach taught me, but maybe I have forgotten the proper technique for that. Lengthening one's stroke is never bad advice.

50-yard breaststroke: I finished in 39.19 seconds. This is 1.85 seconds slower than my personal best. Whoa, that's bad, but who cares! I had a good dive and pull-out. I think I was going quite fast during the first half, but then at the wall I did a strange turn. I touched the wall with both hands, then immediately let go of the wall, twisted around, and punched the wall with my feet to go in the opposite direction. It was the fastest breaststroke turn I've ever done, and for the rest of the race I was distracted by it. Did I touch the wall with my hands or just my feet (which would have been illegal)? I couldn't remember. I must have really slowed down as I thought about that.

25-yard butterfly: I finished in 14.98 seconds, which was 1.24 seconds slower than my personal best. I was trying to go fast, but just didn't have it in me. I still didn't care. I was still glowing with the success of my 200-fly.

AMYMSA meet

Race: Masters Swim Meet
Date: November 8, 2015
Location: Clearfield, PA
Results: http:

I feel good about this meet. My times were still slower by about 3% from last year, but I think I'm getting closer.

200IM = 2:57.22 (personal best is 2:50.95). My butterfly and backstroke were strong but I lost fuel on the breaststroke. My triceps and shoulders felt fatigued and I don't know why. Jim F. told me I could improve with a better streamline off the walls.

50Free = 29.31 (personal best is 28.72); I've been doing a lot of 50s in practice, so it makes sense I'd do well here.

100Breast = 1:26.89 (personal best is 1:20.78) I found I couldn't glide as much as I wanted to. Just too fatigued.

100Free = 1:07.84 (personal best is 1:05.59) Felt good.