On Wednesday I swam the 100 Fly at YNATS, and I wasn't really expecting much. I've been struggling with that race forever, so I just thought to myself, 1:05 will be good enough today, please a 1:05 (my best time was 1:01.53). As I was warming up I was feeling better, and I swam the 50 earlier and it felt nice. I thought "Hey, maybe I can do this. Maybe this pool is fast. Maybe I'll pull something out." So as I'm swimming my race I finish the first 50 and I'm feeling good, I'm usually pretty tired by this point. I reach the last 25 and I'm still up with everybody else. When I finish the race I look up at the scoreboard, 1:01.37. Killer. Maybe it had something to do with the pool, probably a lot to do with the fact I'm not anemic anymore, but maybe it had something to do with the feeling. Feeling good, and feeling fast. Whatever it was, I liked it.
P.S. I'll write about my Harry Potter Adventures next week.
Showing posts with label YMCA National Swim Meet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YMCA National Swim Meet. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Some team unity would be nice.
I got home from my big swim meet in Ft. Lauderdale yesterday, and it was such much more than I expected. When I arrived at the pool on Monday, the day before the meet began, I was in shock. This pool was huge! The actual competition pool had sixteen lanes, but I'm pretty sure it could have fit at least two more if the partition in the middle wasn't there. There was also a warm-up pool with more than sixteen lanes and a diving pool that was open for warm-ups with another eight lanes. It was crazy. But what amazed me even more than the sheer size of the facility was the amount of people they packed into it. There were 1700 swimmers total, which in and of itself was crazy, but even weirder was that only seven of them were from Iowa. I was under the impression that my relay was going to be the only people there, but there were also a few people from the Walnut Creek YMCA that ended up participating as well. In fact, I've swam with one of them multiple times before and was even next to her during the 100 Fly at the High School State Swim Meet.
The few people from Iowa made me realize that swimming really isn't very big in Iowa compared to other states. My teams has never even had a national team before, and other teams have been going to this meet with a large group for years. One team in New Jersey had 29 people who qualified. I don't even think my team has 29 people old enough to qualify, let alone make the difficult cuts. They must be breeding them differently over there, or their training technique is just A LOT better than ours, and they're more motivated to work. (See how I just used all there versions of there, their, and they're in that sentence. Cool.)
But perhaps the biggest let down of the trip was how obviously unprepared we were for this meet. My relay teams didn't even have the same caps. Other more experienced teams had coordinating caps, t-shirts, and jackets that they all wore, and it gave them a sense of unity. We just kind of walked in in our various t-shirts and sweatpants. We had no team area, no banner, and NO JACKETS. I think the jackets upsets me most, we are still ordering some even though the meet is done and over with.
The whole set-up of the meet was confusing. Odd heats were swam in one pool, with the evens on the other side. Prelims in the morning, time trials around noon, and finals at night. Everyone there basically seemed to know what was going on, except us. To make the whole thing even more confusing, for most of the time my coach was nowhere to be found. Before our relay he didn't sit with us, he was downstairs doing something else. Before the time trials on the first day he wasn't even there, and we didn't find him until the races were postponed due to the approaching storm.
One other girl from my relay and I were scheduled to swim at prelims on the first day. She was going to swim the 50 free, and I was supposed to do the 50 Fly. About 20 minutes into the afternoon meet it started to get really windy. People were in the pool swimming the 500, so we still had quite a bit of time before our race and we were just sitting around waiting for our turn. All of a sudden the announcer says over the loud speaker that everyone needs to go inside and wait the storm out, but there are still people in the water. They're allowed to finish their race, but the people already ready to go behind the blocks weren't as lucky. All the races that were left for the day were to be postponed for later in the week and the time trials for the day cancelled, the pool reopening for finals. I think the day really threw some people off, and a lot of people had to scratch their time trials because of conflicts later in the week, taking away one of their best chances to make the cut time for Nationals next year. The other girl on my team was one of them. I guess this is to be expected in an outdoor pool, the weather isn't always going to be perfect, but I don't think it should take away some people's chances to succeed. Oh well, maybe next year. The second day of trials didn't go much smoother.
On the second day of time trials when I was the only one from my team swimming, he didn't show up at all. Having not done a time trial the day before I had to ask other coaches what to do, and ended up approaching the New Jersey team. Embarrassing. Our team looked like a joke.
I think our experience would have been a lot more positive if we would have had a coach there with us who would come to the meet, stay at the same hotel as us, have team dinners with us, and all around be there instead of across town. Maybe that's why the other teams are so much better than us, but whatever the case, we're going back next year, and probably taking a different coach. But that doesn't matter right now, because my relay of four and the other three from Walnut Creek represented Iowa at the meet, creating a presence I don't think it has seen in quite some time, and we'll be coming back. Iowa is there to stay. And with jackets next year.
The few people from Iowa made me realize that swimming really isn't very big in Iowa compared to other states. My teams has never even had a national team before, and other teams have been going to this meet with a large group for years. One team in New Jersey had 29 people who qualified. I don't even think my team has 29 people old enough to qualify, let alone make the difficult cuts. They must be breeding them differently over there, or their training technique is just A LOT better than ours, and they're more motivated to work. (See how I just used all there versions of there, their, and they're in that sentence. Cool.)
But perhaps the biggest let down of the trip was how obviously unprepared we were for this meet. My relay teams didn't even have the same caps. Other more experienced teams had coordinating caps, t-shirts, and jackets that they all wore, and it gave them a sense of unity. We just kind of walked in in our various t-shirts and sweatpants. We had no team area, no banner, and NO JACKETS. I think the jackets upsets me most, we are still ordering some even though the meet is done and over with.
The whole set-up of the meet was confusing. Odd heats were swam in one pool, with the evens on the other side. Prelims in the morning, time trials around noon, and finals at night. Everyone there basically seemed to know what was going on, except us. To make the whole thing even more confusing, for most of the time my coach was nowhere to be found. Before our relay he didn't sit with us, he was downstairs doing something else. Before the time trials on the first day he wasn't even there, and we didn't find him until the races were postponed due to the approaching storm.
One other girl from my relay and I were scheduled to swim at prelims on the first day. She was going to swim the 50 free, and I was supposed to do the 50 Fly. About 20 minutes into the afternoon meet it started to get really windy. People were in the pool swimming the 500, so we still had quite a bit of time before our race and we were just sitting around waiting for our turn. All of a sudden the announcer says over the loud speaker that everyone needs to go inside and wait the storm out, but there are still people in the water. They're allowed to finish their race, but the people already ready to go behind the blocks weren't as lucky. All the races that were left for the day were to be postponed for later in the week and the time trials for the day cancelled, the pool reopening for finals. I think the day really threw some people off, and a lot of people had to scratch their time trials because of conflicts later in the week, taking away one of their best chances to make the cut time for Nationals next year. The other girl on my team was one of them. I guess this is to be expected in an outdoor pool, the weather isn't always going to be perfect, but I don't think it should take away some people's chances to succeed. Oh well, maybe next year. The second day of trials didn't go much smoother.
On the second day of time trials when I was the only one from my team swimming, he didn't show up at all. Having not done a time trial the day before I had to ask other coaches what to do, and ended up approaching the New Jersey team. Embarrassing. Our team looked like a joke.
I think our experience would have been a lot more positive if we would have had a coach there with us who would come to the meet, stay at the same hotel as us, have team dinners with us, and all around be there instead of across town. Maybe that's why the other teams are so much better than us, but whatever the case, we're going back next year, and probably taking a different coach. But that doesn't matter right now, because my relay of four and the other three from Walnut Creek represented Iowa at the meet, creating a presence I don't think it has seen in quite some time, and we'll be coming back. Iowa is there to stay. And with jackets next year.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
We're kind of a big deal.
Tomorrow I'm going to Florida! But probably the most important part is that on Tuesday I'm swimming my race. For real. Recently they've put up the psych sheet for the meet, and my relay is seeded 73rd (under Central Branch YMCA) out of 91 teams. Not too bad, not great, but I really wasn't expecting that much. But the crazy thing about this meet is how close everybody's time are. There is one team seeded at 1:52.07, and we have a 1:52.06. And if we were to drop two full seconds we would go from getting 73rd place to getting 26th, and the top 24 teams swim in finals later that night. It's a bit of a long shot for us but hey, at least we are swimming in it at all.
There are some really cool things about this meet, apart from the fact that it is in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. First, Peter Vanderkaay, gold medal winner in the 4 by 200 meter free relay in both Athens and Beijing. Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Klete Keller swam on the relay with him in both of these winning races. He's basically a pretty big deal. And he's talking to all the athletes on the opening night of the meet (tomorrow night!).
Second, it is held at the Hall of Fame Pool in Ft. Lauderdale. And this pool is outdoors. Being from Iowa I do not do a lot of competitive swimming outdoors since you would freeze to death during most parts of the year, but I think it is going to be really cool. Basically, when the pool is set to be short course (25 yards) this pool has a ridiculous amount of lanes. And since the meet is so huge (over 200 entries in some events) the stands are going to be packed for much of the meet. The picture to the left was taken at the YMCA National Swim Meet in 2009, so it's probably going to be crazy! I can only guess how loud it's going to be, which will probably help us to get really excited for our race and swim a fast time. We definitely have time to drop, and if we could do it at this meet and move up a few places that would be great.
Third, since it is the International Swimming Hall of Fame there are undoubtedly going to be some really rare and important swimming artifacts in the museum by the pool. Yeah, it will probably be really crowded, but it's really convenient that we are so close by, and we may as well check out what there is inside. Probably a lot of things related to Michael Phelps, which is always good. But what I'm really hoping for is some Ryan Lochte souvenirs. He's my boy and I would love a poster or something equally cool. We'll see.
Fourth, I'm going to be swimming with some of the fastest high school level swimmers in the nation. Some of the people at this meet are crazy fast and I'm excited to see someone swim that fast in person. Iowa really isn't a powerhouse for swimming, we're pretty slow compared to most other states, so fast by my standards is probably pretty slow by other peoples. For one, only five people from Iowa even qualified to swim at this meet at all, and the only four who ended up going are all on my relay. And we are seeded 73rd. So the other states must be picking up the slack because apparently Iowa isn't exactly holding it's ground at this meet. And I don't think anyone from Iowa has gone, at least in the past few years. So my coach is pretty excited about that. We're kind of a big deal. And yes, I know that sounds cocky, but clearly I'm not trying to be since I'm about to get seriously humbled at this meet. We've made it through this season so far without losing this race once, and I don't exactly think that streak is going to continue into the next few days, unless we drop twelve seconds. So I guess really, we're kind of a big deal (for Iowa).
Lastly, where this pool sits in the city of Ft. Lauderdale is incredible. It sits in the middle of a strip of land, surrounded pretty closely by the ocean on both sides. It looks like it is a really beautiful facility, and it will probably be a whole new swimming experience for all four of us. We're usually stuck inside at the crusty YMCA in super hot water. I think this will be good for us.
This meet is sure to be exciting, no matter how we do. Obviously we're going to do our best, we have goals for time drops that probably would be insignificant to almost any reader, so I'm not going to bore you with them, but I think we can pull out a pretty fast time. Maybe even win, maybe. Haven't you heard? We're kind of a big deal.
There are some really cool things about this meet, apart from the fact that it is in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. First, Peter Vanderkaay, gold medal winner in the 4 by 200 meter free relay in both Athens and Beijing. Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Klete Keller swam on the relay with him in both of these winning races. He's basically a pretty big deal. And he's talking to all the athletes on the opening night of the meet (tomorrow night!).
Second, it is held at the Hall of Fame Pool in Ft. Lauderdale. And this pool is outdoors. Being from Iowa I do not do a lot of competitive swimming outdoors since you would freeze to death during most parts of the year, but I think it is going to be really cool. Basically, when the pool is set to be short course (25 yards) this pool has a ridiculous amount of lanes. And since the meet is so huge (over 200 entries in some events) the stands are going to be packed for much of the meet. The picture to the left was taken at the YMCA National Swim Meet in 2009, so it's probably going to be crazy! I can only guess how loud it's going to be, which will probably help us to get really excited for our race and swim a fast time. We definitely have time to drop, and if we could do it at this meet and move up a few places that would be great.Third, since it is the International Swimming Hall of Fame there are undoubtedly going to be some really rare and important swimming artifacts in the museum by the pool. Yeah, it will probably be really crowded, but it's really convenient that we are so close by, and we may as well check out what there is inside. Probably a lot of things related to Michael Phelps, which is always good. But what I'm really hoping for is some Ryan Lochte souvenirs. He's my boy and I would love a poster or something equally cool. We'll see.
Fourth, I'm going to be swimming with some of the fastest high school level swimmers in the nation. Some of the people at this meet are crazy fast and I'm excited to see someone swim that fast in person. Iowa really isn't a powerhouse for swimming, we're pretty slow compared to most other states, so fast by my standards is probably pretty slow by other peoples. For one, only five people from Iowa even qualified to swim at this meet at all, and the only four who ended up going are all on my relay. And we are seeded 73rd. So the other states must be picking up the slack because apparently Iowa isn't exactly holding it's ground at this meet. And I don't think anyone from Iowa has gone, at least in the past few years. So my coach is pretty excited about that. We're kind of a big deal. And yes, I know that sounds cocky, but clearly I'm not trying to be since I'm about to get seriously humbled at this meet. We've made it through this season so far without losing this race once, and I don't exactly think that streak is going to continue into the next few days, unless we drop twelve seconds. So I guess really, we're kind of a big deal (for Iowa).
This meet is sure to be exciting, no matter how we do. Obviously we're going to do our best, we have goals for time drops that probably would be insignificant to almost any reader, so I'm not going to bore you with them, but I think we can pull out a pretty fast time. Maybe even win, maybe. Haven't you heard? We're kind of a big deal.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Prelims are enough
Well, my trip to Florida is approaching quickly, and we're finally starting to work out some of the finer details. Everyone is allowed to swim one time trial per day, and I'm signing up for the 50 Fly and 100 Fly. However, I'm a little bit nervous. The last time I swam a decent 100 Fly was about six months ago, and I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of all these fantastic swimmers who can consistently kick my butt. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid the shame of coming in last place (and I think I can) since the qualifying time is a few seconds slower than my best, but you never know what kind of shame might occur. At least I'm not in the actual race, which you have to be able to swim in less than a minute simply to qualify for! I can't even imagine what you have to do to win. But, no matter how my race turns out I'm pretty sure I'll have a fun time in Ft. Lauderdale regardless. I mean, it is Florida after all, and I can enjoy it while everyone else is sitting in school back in Iowa. Ha ha ha. And I'll have Harry Potter World to look forward to, which will definitely be the highlight of my trip even if my relay managed to win nationals, Harry Potter wins in my eyes.
My medley relay makes me nervous on a whole different level. We aren't in a time trial. It's the real thing. We qualified nearly six months ago and we really need to pull out a good, no a great time to avoid the embarrassment of coming in LAST place. That can not happen. There was a bit of a confusion at our last championship meet and my whole relay didn't swim together, meaning I wasn't on it. But the other three girls swam fast, which makes me pretty optimistic that we'll end up doing alright at the meet, as long as I can pull out a fast time, too. I've been working a lot on my stroke lately, so I think it's manageable. I don't really think there's a lot of pressure for us to do fantastic overall though. We qualified with a time just a few tenths under the qualifying time, so we'll probably be one of the slowest seeds. And that's okay. There isn't a lot of expectations for us to do super well. No one is expecting us to make it to the finals (the top 24 teams) when we'll probably be seeded somewhere around sixty, so I'm okay if we don't go. The finals are in the afternoon and at night, and I'll spend that time on the beach if I'm not swimming. However the meet turns out I'm okay, as long as we don't come in last place. But recently is was questionable if we were going to be able to go at all.
Due to unfortunate circumstances I missed the state qualifying meet, sectionals, and that put us in a predicament. In order to swim at nationals you have to swim in the state meet, probably some rule to make sure the state meet stays a competition with competitors who still know how to swim, and it seemed like that wasn't going to happen for me. My coach somehow worked it out so I could swim in the last relay (freestyle) and someone else could swim for me at sectionals. So I got to the state meet and we realized that if our team got disqualified our national trip we had already planned would have to be cancelled. So our coach talked to us, "slow, safe exchanges", and I guess we took it to heart. I probably spent a good second and a half on the block after the person in front of me finished. But we didn't get disqualified, and even ended up with sixth place (not very good), nonetheless, everything was okay. Our sixth place meant more, we could go to nationals. And now it doesn't really matter if we make it past prelims or not, the fact that we get to go to the meet at all is enough for me and my team. And obviously Harry Potter is a big part of that
My medley relay makes me nervous on a whole different level. We aren't in a time trial. It's the real thing. We qualified nearly six months ago and we really need to pull out a good, no a great time to avoid the embarrassment of coming in LAST place. That can not happen. There was a bit of a confusion at our last championship meet and my whole relay didn't swim together, meaning I wasn't on it. But the other three girls swam fast, which makes me pretty optimistic that we'll end up doing alright at the meet, as long as I can pull out a fast time, too. I've been working a lot on my stroke lately, so I think it's manageable. I don't really think there's a lot of pressure for us to do fantastic overall though. We qualified with a time just a few tenths under the qualifying time, so we'll probably be one of the slowest seeds. And that's okay. There isn't a lot of expectations for us to do super well. No one is expecting us to make it to the finals (the top 24 teams) when we'll probably be seeded somewhere around sixty, so I'm okay if we don't go. The finals are in the afternoon and at night, and I'll spend that time on the beach if I'm not swimming. However the meet turns out I'm okay, as long as we don't come in last place. But recently is was questionable if we were going to be able to go at all.
Due to unfortunate circumstances I missed the state qualifying meet, sectionals, and that put us in a predicament. In order to swim at nationals you have to swim in the state meet, probably some rule to make sure the state meet stays a competition with competitors who still know how to swim, and it seemed like that wasn't going to happen for me. My coach somehow worked it out so I could swim in the last relay (freestyle) and someone else could swim for me at sectionals. So I got to the state meet and we realized that if our team got disqualified our national trip we had already planned would have to be cancelled. So our coach talked to us, "slow, safe exchanges", and I guess we took it to heart. I probably spent a good second and a half on the block after the person in front of me finished. But we didn't get disqualified, and even ended up with sixth place (not very good), nonetheless, everything was okay. Our sixth place meant more, we could go to nationals. And now it doesn't really matter if we make it past prelims or not, the fact that we get to go to the meet at all is enough for me and my team. And obviously Harry Potter is a big part of that
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Harry Potter!
I'm optimistic that Harry Potter World is going to be one of the coolest things ever!
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