100 x 100s, etc

That was a fun-filled weekend.

It started with a swim meet at Heritage High School. I haven't been entering many swim meets in the last few years because I never knew if I'd be working weekends, and didn't want to pay money for entry fees to events that I wouldn't be able to attend. But now that I have an employer who is simply interested in getting the work done and has no desire to destroy your very soul, I feel like I can begin to commit to weekend activities again. This particular meet was fairly close to home, and featured a Team Rep meeting following the competition, so I signed up.

I feel like I'm in fairly good shape these days, but it became obvious very quickly that I'm not exactly tuned up for competition. My race pacing was uniformly terrible -- the second quarter of each race was abysmal. I found myself afraid to push hard in the middle of the race for fear that I would be depleted and unable to finish, but I ended up consistently going out too slow and having too much energy left at the end. The second 100 of my 200 freestyle was 2 seconds faster than the first, and I negative split my 200 backstroke by 4 seconds! That ain't right.

The bottom line is that I need to compete more often.

The good news is that I finished first in my age group in three of my five events. (As long as no one points out that there weren't any other guys my age swimming, then my performances sound pretty awesome.) My times weren't quite where I wanted them, but they weren't depression-inducing, either. It was just the pacing that stunk.

So I guess that kinda fits with my New Years resolution about competing more. Eye of the tiger, baby. Eye of the tiger.

And speaking of mental toughness, one of the inspiring swimmers at the meet was a young woman named Ryan Mclean. She is hoping to make the US team for the London Paralympics, and competed in multiple events, including the 500. She swam each race with obvious enthusiasm, and was clearly enjoying the atmosphere on deck between events, too. And even though she has a shot at representing our country in world competition, she is still friendly and open to meeting new people.

But that's one of the things I love about Masters Swimming. Everyone seems to be smiling all the time at Masters swim meets -- and Ryan was no exception. She is just another example of all the things that are good and inspirational about our sport.

And speaking of great things about swimming with Masters, well...then there was Sunday. This was the day of our annual "100 x 100s" swim at the Ridge. We had a good team turnout, with almost every lane holding multiple swimmers. I don't know for sure how many people swam all 10,000 yards, but there were at least 10 who did. Congratulations to all of those hearty souls! You totally rock!



I fiddled around talking to people, trying to make sure everyone had appropriate lane mates. I answered some questions about logistics, and warned a couple of the lanes about the possibility that scuba divers may be coming in later. By the time I finally started, most of the people I wanted to swim with were well into the workout.

I ended up swimming most of it with my friend Bob. Bob cracks me up, not only because he's a funny guy, but because he is a natural-born sprinter who has somehow converted himself into a 10K swimmer. Sprinters are funny just 'cuz...but when they become distance people, I find it even more amusing. It's like they're thumbing their nose at Nature for cursing them with fast-twitch anatomies, and using all their willpower to aspire toward the perfection we distance people were born with. Good for you, I say. And thanks for letting me share a lane with you.

We broke up the workout into sets of 5 x 100, and did them all on the same sendoff (a fairly leisurely 1:30). It went by quickly, and really didn't seem like that much of a challenge. But it still feels good to finish, especially when you know you can go out for a big lunch afterwards.



Not everyone who swam the workout was able to make the luncheon, but everyone who did show up was in the proper celebratory mood, and we all enjoyed the company and the nutritional replenishment. It's almost a shame that we probably won't do that sort of workout again until next January.

Although...I am the coach, and can choose the workouts as I please. Hmmm.

I'll have to think about that. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who participated in making my weekend a joyous one. Now let's go out and have a great time throughout the rest of January, OK?