100 fly
Oops. All in all, this wasn't a terrible race, but I botched it pretty badly. I'd been psyching myself up so much for the 200 fly last week that from the time behind the blocks to about the 40-45 yard point, I was thinking I was doing the 200 fly. I was happy with how stretched out and relaxed I felt, and it wasn't till going into the 50 that I remembered I was doing the 100. Tried to kick up the pace accordingly on the second 50, but was only moderately successful. My splits were 28.93 and 33.73, for a 1:02.66. I should have been out at least 1.5 seconds faster, and would have liked the second 50 to have been closer to a 31-32 pace. Oh well. 1:02.66 isn't a terrible time for me, and is the fastest I've been since Nationals in 2013. On a side note...it helps to make sure your suit is tied *before* the ref blows the whistle to get up on the block...
50 breast
Argh, so close! After swimming a great 50 breast at Zones two weeks prior, I was hoping to break a 32 on this race. I had a good start (not a great one, though--I was still getting used to having the kick pad on the block and it was a bit rough) and great first 25. My turn was a bit sloppy, having been slightly off on my timing of the last stroke into the wall. Started to fade a bit on the last 10 yards and ended up with a 32.07. That was a Masters best by .65, but I still wanted to break 32! For next season, I'm going to try to add in some breaststroke to my training mix, since I did more breast while at meets (warming up and in the races) this season than I did in practice. While I'm thinking I may have to give up on any hope of being able to transfer standalone breaststroke speed to being able to split a good breast leg in an IM, I would really like to be able to throw down some good times in the 50/100/200 breast next year and maybe add them to my event lineup.
100 back
This wasn't a very good race. I had a terrible start--I've never learned how to properly do a backstroke start while holding onto the handles, so I've always held on to the gutter; this pool didn't have a lip, so I was holding on to the maybe .25 inch thick top of the pad, which provides nothing in the way of grip. I lost a lot of ground off the initial wall, and then upon coming up, I just couldn't get my arms moving fast. I hadn't done any speed training in backstroke this season (and only a little bit of backstroke training at all), but I didn't think it would have affected me as much. The rest of the race, while slow, was solid, even with an abysmal turn at the 75 (I hit the top of the pad and pushed it up, which resulted in me going straight down). I went 30.38 and 33.24, for a 1:03.62. That's the fastest I've been since 2013 Nationals.
(Alaina had some camera issues at the beginning of the race, but you can watch my race from the 25 on...)
200 free relay
This was disappointing! I had what I thought was a great start, and felt really good the whole time. Had what was probably one of my best sprint free turns (usually I royally botch the timing of the turn when I'm doing the 50) and felt good coming down the stretch. I took one breath down, one breath back. It felt like a really good race, but I only went a 25.81 (coincidentally, that's the exact time I went the last time I swam the 50 free, at the Sprint Classic meet in the fall of 2013). Dan said it looked like I ran out of steam on the last 12.5 yards, but I totally didn't feel like it!
200 back
This was a much better race overall than the 100 back! I had a good start, but my right goggle filled up when I hit the water. I couldn't see very well, so I decided to err on the side of caution and took my first three turns pretty long. Felt pretty good during the race and split it quite well. I went 31.55, 34.88, 36.07, 36.53, for a 2:19.03. That's the fastest I've been since 2013 Nationals, and right at my in season times during that season. Given my aforementioned lack of backstroke training this season, I'll take it! On a side note, this was a very wide spread heat--fastest time was a 1:48, slowest was a 2:21. Not really any competition there... :-)
100 breast
I went another Masters best in this event, after going a MB at Zones two weeks prior, but faded pretty hard down the stretch on the last 25. I split 32.67 and 38.74, for a 1:11.41, a MB by .28. I was hoping for a 1:10, but I guess I'll have to settle for a 1:11. :-)
200 fly
I went a Masters best in this event and finally broke 2:30! I just focused on staying relaxed and had a comparatively great swim. As always, I died towards the end, but it was a much more evenly paced showing than every other time I've swum it in Masters. My splits were 31:48, 36.52, 39.46, and 41.25, for a 2:28.71. As an aside, my best swim in the past couple of years had been at Zones two weeks previously, and I had been a 2:34, with my last 50 being a 46. I still have a ton to work on, but after 3 years of working on this event, I finally broke the glass ceiling that is the 2:30 mark! My goal is to break 2:20 for 2016 sprint Nationals in Greensboro. Ideally I'll be able to take it out in a 1:05-1:06 and bring it back in a 1:13-1:14. Lots of work to be done, but I'm finally happy with this race!
200 medley relay
This was my and Alaina's last event of the meet, and we left for the airport right after it. I did back, Lindsey did breast, Dan did fly, and Alaina did free. I had a surprisingly good (well, relatively good) 50 back, and went a 28.94. That was only the third time I've broken a 29, and my second fastest Masters time, after the 28.21 I went after a season of backstroke training at 2013 spring Nats. I'll take it! Of course, Matt Grevers led off his team's relay in the heat after us with a paltry 21.51. I was less than 7.5 seconds slower than him!!!! :-)
*****************************
All in all, it was a great meet! I did better in some races than in others, with my highlights being the 200 fly, 50 breast, and 50 back on the 200 medley relay.
Looking forward to the 2016 Spring Nationals in Greensboro, NC, I'm going to continue to focus on the 200 fly and add in some actual breast training. Tentatively, I'll swim the 100/200 fly and two of the 50/100/200 breast, and the 100/200 back. Except for the 200 fly, that's all up in the air.
I went a Masters best in this event and finally broke 2:30! I just focused on staying relaxed and had a comparatively great swim. As always, I died towards the end, but it was a much more evenly paced showing than every other time I've swum it in Masters. My splits were 31:48, 36.52, 39.46, and 41.25, for a 2:28.71. As an aside, my best swim in the past couple of years had been at Zones two weeks previously, and I had been a 2:34, with my last 50 being a 46. I still have a ton to work on, but after 3 years of working on this event, I finally broke the glass ceiling that is the 2:30 mark! My goal is to break 2:20 for 2016 sprint Nationals in Greensboro. Ideally I'll be able to take it out in a 1:05-1:06 and bring it back in a 1:13-1:14. Lots of work to be done, but I'm finally happy with this race!
200 medley relay
This was my and Alaina's last event of the meet, and we left for the airport right after it. I did back, Lindsey did breast, Dan did fly, and Alaina did free. I had a surprisingly good (well, relatively good) 50 back, and went a 28.94. That was only the third time I've broken a 29, and my second fastest Masters time, after the 28.21 I went after a season of backstroke training at 2013 spring Nats. I'll take it! Of course, Matt Grevers led off his team's relay in the heat after us with a paltry 21.51. I was less than 7.5 seconds slower than him!!!! :-)
*****************************
All in all, it was a great meet! I did better in some races than in others, with my highlights being the 200 fly, 50 breast, and 50 back on the 200 medley relay.
Looking forward to the 2016 Spring Nationals in Greensboro, NC, I'm going to continue to focus on the 200 fly and add in some actual breast training. Tentatively, I'll swim the 100/200 fly and two of the 50/100/200 breast, and the 100/200 back. Except for the 200 fly, that's all up in the air.
