Meet Review 9

Today was wacky. I'm going through separation anxiety with my events. I swam the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle, 100 back, and 400 free relay. The first wasn't bad, though I didn't do incredibly well. The second, I haven't swam since my freshman year and I can't remember how to pace it. So, I go to the all-knowing Toddles for instruction. "Stay with the pack for the first 50, then go 80-90% for the next two, then go all out comin' home." Sound advice, if everyone wasn't in events they didn't swim. Staying with the pack didn't make sense, because "the pack" was slower than I was (I wasn't seeded with a time because I haven't swam it in so long). So I had to try to guess at my pace, then I hit the beginning of the second 50 and the coaches were gesturing wildly from the deck. This puzzled me; everyone was a bodylength or more behind me. I sped up on the third fifty, and still they were frantic, almost like it was a close race. I sped up a little more, just to please them. The last 50 was, of course, an all-out sprint. Coming into the wall, I see that I took second place by a tenth of a second. I shoot my glance down to lane five, and much to my surprise, I see another girl, the flamingo, also very out of place. Apparently she noticed me when she came off the last wall and sped up.

I cannot remember the last time I swam the 100 backstroke. I think I was 12 or something, 'cause it was a long time ago. I hate the backstroke. I can't breathe when I swim backstroke. I asked Coach why he had to pick the backstroke and his only answer was that I hadn't swam it yet. I did fairly well for my circumstances, and when I got out he laughed at me and said, "You let them win one; that was nice of you." [The team we swam against was really bad, just so you know.]

The 400 free relay was supposedly even (i.e. he put the speed on the team evenly across the three teams). I disagree, but it still gave me motivation to go fast. I went the time that I haven't touched since the Blue & Gold. Good stuff.

200 medly relay (fly) - 34
200 freestyle - 2:20.44
100 backstroke - 1:17.86
400 free relay - 1:04.64