Teaser intro: all in all, I think this was my 2nd best Nats overall since 2018, which was hands down my best Nats!
Setting the stage
I certainly have made no bones about my struggles with training over the past couple of seasons due to injuries, burnout, life getting in the way of things (losing my dad in early 2023 really threw me off my rhythm for a loooooong time in the pool, but that's a whole 'nother topic in and of itself), and didn't enter this season with much of anything in the way of goals.
The 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons were mostly a lost cause, I basically just piddled around without seriously training due to the aforementioned factors and lost a lot of my mojo in the pool. I also struggled more than usual with my weight since I wasn't seriously training, and peaked at just a bit under 220 around Memorial Day of 2025.
Starting the '25-26 season, I decided to get my butt back in gear. I started training seriously again, worked seriously on my weight, and with the assistance of an excellent personal trainer, started lifting weights again in November for the first time in over a decade. Fast forward to today and I've dropped approximately 60 lbs (my weight is now in the 155-160 range), putting me at a weight I've never swum at, since my Masters lightest prior to this was around 180, and my teenage weight was in the 135-140 range.
While I got back into serious training in the pool this season, I still haven't ramped up to the full training intensity that I had pre-2023 malaise. I finally worked my way back up to a consistent 4-5 practices a week, but the volume hasn't consistently reached the heights it used to hit. I got back into the swing of racing again, with 8 meets under my belt this season pre-Nats, more than I swam combined for the '23-25 seasons. While I got my racing mojo back, heading into Nats my top end speed wasn't at all there in any of the strokes--I was fairly happy with my 100 and 200 speeds, but my 50 speeds were pretty atrocious and a severe dropoff from what they used to be, though that dates back to pre-covid, with there being a distinct dropoff from my pre-2020 sprint times across the board, not something related to the 2023 malaise.
Anywho, that all leads up to Nats! I went into the meet pretty much just hoping to not swim shitty times. Out of my whole lineup (50-100-200 back, 50 free, and 100 IM), the 200 back was the only one I came into the meet with a notional goal time for, and that was just a sub-2:20, since I went a 2:22 at Zones a few weeks ago and had thought I had too much left in the tank after that race. Everything else was a roll of the dice, and as long as I made at least incremental progress over what I'd done for my best time in each of those events this season pre-Nats, I was gonna be happy. I thought the 50s, especially, would be crapshoots, since my sprinting ability fell off a cliff in general post-covid, but I was gonna be happy with some minor time drops from Zones across the board.
Day 1
200 back
This was my primary focus event for the meet. At Zones, my splits had been 34-36-36-36 for a 2:22, and I had too much left in the tank after finishing that race. I spent the majority of my race pace training in the weeks between Zones and Nats focused specifically on ironing out my middle 100 splitting, figuring out what 35 feels like both from a tempo and stroke count perspective instead of 36s.
It worked! I went 32-34-35-35 for a 2:17.4! That was my 3rd fastest Masters 200 back behind a 2:16.6 in 2018 and 2:12.9 in 2013. That 2018 performance was at what was hands down my best Nats, and the 2013 performance was from a season where I *only* trained for the three backstroke events the entire season. Both of those faster performances came at the end of seasons where I was coming off at least a 2 season block of heavy training, so for me to even be in the ballpark of them here was quite a relief and handily under the 2:20 milestone that was my goal here!
As far as the race goes, it was clean except for the start and the 150 turn. Both of my feet slipped straight down the touchpad on the start and I got just about zero push off the start itself, but I was able to pick up enough speed on the initial underwaters to mostly make up for it (you can see in the race video below that I come up at the back of the pack off the start...which isn't at all the norm!). Going into the 150 turn, on the flip stroke I got a full mouthful of water, so I dropped from 5 to 4 butterfly kicks on that turn since I had no air, but beyond that I nailed this race! Hit my 5 dolphin kick target on every other turn, hit my stroke counts, and hit my target paces. I think I could've given that 2:16 from 2018 a run for its money with a clean start and 150 turn, but I really don't have anything to complain about besides that. This was an unqualified success and a hell of a way to kick off my meet!
Race video: My 200 back - starts at 2:31.45 - I'm at the bottom of the screen
50 back on the mixed 200 medley relay
After that great 200 back, all pressure was off me for the rest of the meet! At Zones, I'd gone a 29.6 and 29.7 on my two 50s back there, the faster one on the relay, the slightly slower one on my individual 50. I just wanted to be faster than that here, but didn't particularly care how much faster I was.
29.06! Didn't slip on the start, though my tempo was a hair slower than I wanted on the first 25. Fixed that on the 2nd 25, and except for being about a half stroke long on the finish, this was a great race. This was my 6th fastest masters 50 back and my fastest since 2018. No complaints!
Race video: Our 200 medley relay - starts at 7:13:00 - we're lane 7
Day 2
50 breast on the men's 200 medley relay
I had no expectations for this one. I LOVE doing relays and will happily swim any leg on any relay at any time, but I've done zero breaststroke training outside of very brief IM training this season, and have done zero sprint breaststroke training at all in the past few seasons. I did the 50 breast twice this season and was a 33 and change in both (well, one was SCY and the other was a 33 and change converted from SCM to SCY).
I had a funky start--I dunno if I slipped, or if I just had a janky step forward with my back foot, or what, but I went off the block and entered the water at an angle, and had to course correct during the pullout to stay in the lane. Still, I went a 31.17, which somehow managed to be my lifetime PR 50 breast relay split! My LPR flat start 50 breast is a 31.49 from 2019, and I honestly think I could've given that a run for its money here at Nats. I know I get more speed off my relay start than my flat start, but to go more than 2 seconds faster here than my fastest flat start of the season...your guess is as good as mine! I'm not gonna complain, but this one definitely came out of left field.
Race video: Our men's 200 medley relay - starts around 1:45:00 - we're lane 10
50 free
Ok, after that 50 breast, clearly the 50 free wanted to to assert its primacy... 😂
Since covid, I've managed to break a flat start 26 a whopping one time...at Zones a few weeks ago, when I went a 25.7. Here I went a 24.84 for a new MPR, breaking my old MPR of 24.92 from WAY back in 2012! I've been working this season on getting into a 0 down, 1 back breathing pattern in the 50, instead of my habitual 1 down, 2 back breathing pattern, and have hit that the past few times I've swum the 50. Nailed it here and it was a solid race start to finish, though I felt like I didn't need to actually take that single breath on the way back.
Race video: My 50 free - starts around 3:02:56 - I'm in lane 9
100 back
I was hyper fixated on keeping my feet planted on the wall and not slipping on the start...and while I was successful at not slipping, I went super deep on the start. Also went deep on the first turn when my feet hit higher on the wall than anticipated, so with the combination of the two, I was going into oxygen debt going into the back half of the race. Still, held it together pretty well with 29.7 and 31.8 splits for a 1:01.6, my 3rd fastest masters time behind a low 1:01 and a 1:00 from 2018 and 2013, respectively. Going into this race I just wanted to be sub-1:03 after going a 1:04.7 at Zones a few weeks ago, so mission accomplished!
Race video: My 100 back - starts around 4:15:00 - I'm in lane 4
50 free on the men's 200 free relay
I did something I've never done before, my very first no-breather 50 free! That is, I've done it during practice from a push before, but I've never raced a no-breather 50 free before.
Besides a ridiculously slow changeover (we didn't practice any relay changeovers before this meet and I was guessing on how people were gonna finish on every race...and I'm very conservative with my changeovers in general, though this one was especially slow), I swam this probably about the best I've ever swum a 50. I went a 24.40, which is a new MPR relay split, bettering my previous MPR from all the way back in 2013.
Race video: Our men's 200 free relay - starts around 6:45:15 - we're in lane 9 - I'm 3rd
Day 3
50 free on mixed 200 free relay
I anchored this relay and went a 24.43, just a hair off my MPR from the previous day and also under my previous MPR from 2013. My goal was to do another no-breather, but I entered the water at a wonky angle (after yet another super slow changeover) and the entry smacked most of my air out, to the point where I had to take a breath on the way back. I think if I hadn't taken that breath, I'd have set a new MPR! Best of all, I managed to run down the guy next to me. :-D That is a RARE thing for me to do on a free relay, so I'll take it whenever it happens!
Race video: Our mixed 200 free relay - starts around 1:45:20 - we're in lane 3 - I'm the anchor
50 back
Not a great start--while I didn't slip, I didn't get much of an arch on the start and had to really work hard the first few kicks to get the right angle down so I could get deep enough, and in the result spent more effort going down than out, which is readily apparent on the race video. Probably lost at least a couple tenths there...but went a 28.66 for my 3rd fastest masters time, just a hair off my 2nd fastest time of 28.65 from 2018 and not that far off my MPR of 28.21 from 2013! And it was a full second faster than my faster of the two 50s back I did at Zones. Besides probably the first 10 yards of the race, I nailed it--no issues with my turnover, hit my breakouts right where I wanted them, wasn't long on the turn or finish, it was all a clean race except for the initial underwater.
Race video: My 50 back - starts around 3:35:05 - I'm in lane 7
100 IM
Last race of the meet! I thought I'd be more tired going into this than I was, but I felt fine. My delts were tight, but I wasn't gassed at all. I realized midway through the first 25 that I hadn't actually done a single 25 of race pace fly, not just during warmup at the meet, but at all during my taper, and didn't know what my stroke count was! :-D
I had to take breaths on the last two strokes of fly going into the turn to figure out where the wall was, but nailed the rest of the race right on plan. I went a 1:01.06, my 2nd fastest masters time behind my MPR of 1:00.58 from 2018. I tried to hold off the guy next to me, but he just got me on the finish. I truly left it all in the pool and don't think I had a single iota of extra energy after that race. My goal was just sub-1:02 after going a 1:02.9 at Zones...nothing like going out with a bang!
Race video: My 100 IM - starts around 4:42:00 - I'm in lane 3
Miscellaneous thoughts and takeaways from the meet
- I held up WAY better here than I did at Zones a few weeks ago. To be fair, I did more relays at Zones than here, and that meet was over two days instead of three, but I fell off that cliff pretty hard at Zones while I kept it going full steam ahead here. Part of that was the extra rest with the extended schedule here, but a bit part was that I was far better fueled here than at Zones, and I wasn't coming off just a few practices over the three preceding weeks.
- This was the first Nats where I can recall they've had reaction times listed for starts. From seeing race videos, I've always been able to tell that I've typically been one of the quicker ones off the block or wall on my start, but I finally got to quantify that here. Some of my backstroke reaction times are a bit suspect (.31 reaction time for my 50 back is BLAZING fast!), but the rest all seemed to be on the faster end of within reason, which matches up with my perception.
- I've gotta learn how to use the block for a backstroke start, and that's my main technique goal for next season! I never learned how to consistently use it successfully as an age grouper, and have never put in the effort to learn how to do a block start as a masters swimmer--I've tried here and there, but by and large all I've succeeded in doing is doing great back flops, slower and far more painful than my normal gutter start. My teammates razzed me after each backstroke race here that I start like an 8 & under, and they've got a point! :-D
- I have absolutely no clue where my sprinting mojo came from for this meet, but I'll take it! I could understand if my sprinting had steadily gotten better all season and peaked here at Nats, but it didn't. It stayed mostly status quo up through Zones, so I have no idea where these (comparatively) huge sprinting time drops came from, especially since I didn't train sprinting at all this season. More on that in a bit.
- This Nats firmly slots in right behind 2018 as my 2nd best Nats of all time. I didn't have a single bad or even just ok race here--while I *only* came out with one LPR and two MPRs, and in the sprints of all races, every single other race was a top tier race for me, and 2018 was the only other Nats that really falls into that bucket. 2013 was great for backstroke, but I'd only been doing masters for two years then and that's *all* I trained for that season...and that was 13 years ago. My order now goes 2018>2026>>2019>>2013, then the rest are all in a jumble after 2013.
- I'm very impressed with the results of this season overall. Nats was naturally the high point of the season, but between what I did in the pool, what I did in the weight room, and what I did in terms of losing weight, next season is looking to be something special if I can continue on this trajectory. Pre-covid, I shaved my head for every Nats (I don't wear a cap), but since then I haven't shaved my head since I haven't been in the full swing of things for whatever reason each season. I explicitly chose not to shave my head for this Nats because since this was my rebuilding season, I thought I wouldn't swim NEARLY as well as I actually did. Presuming I keep my trajectory going, looks like shaving my head's back on the menu for Nats next year!
- I've got a bit of a conundrum--I'm drawn to the 200s as my events of choice, with the 100s being a natural step down for if I want to do some sprinting. That said, with the 50s coming out of nowhere at this meet, I've gotta decide if I want to try training for them next season.
- Backstroke is definitely still on the menu for next season--I think if I can continue my progression from this season, I should be able to get close to those 2013 times next season in the 50, 100, and 200.
- Breast has felt good this season in the limited training I did for it, just my speed wasn't there until I randomly went that 31.1 LPR on the relay. I'd like to add at least the 100 into my lineup for next season, TBD on the 50 and 200.
- 100 IM will stay on the menu, the 200 IM will be added. I think I could've done a very solid 200 at Nats (I would've liked to have been somewhere around my 2:17 200 back time in it), I am looking forward to seeing where it goes next season.
- The only two times I swam the 200 free this season were both disasters--the first was at a random in season meet when I swam with a pulled bicep, and the second was that epic meltdown on the 800 free relay at Zones, when I ended up swimming 2 SECONDS SLOWER than my 200 back at Nats. I might swim it a couple times in season, but I dunno if it's gonna make the cut for Nats next year. 100 and 50 free are on the menu for sure.
- I'd like to add the 50, 100, and 200 fly back into my training regimen, though TBD which make the cut for my Nats lineup next year. I last did the 200 fly back in 2020, so it's time to see if I can find my mojo for it again.
- If I can stay healthy and maintain my trajectory, I plan to add the 500 and 400 IM as in-season events in the latter half of next season. I have no intention of swimming them at Nats, but if I can maintain my trajectory they should be good Zones candidates.
- Times aside, the key takeaway from this Nats is that I've found my mojo again after being in the doldrums, definitely since 2023, and honestly since covid overall! That puts me in a very different mental state looking forward to next season and the next 11+ months of training.
- Without You - Air Supply
- What It Sounds Like - HUNTR/X
- Three Six Five - Shinedown
- Atlas Falls - Shinedown
- Monsters - Shinedown
- Atlas Falls - Shinedown
- Timber - Pitbull and Kesha
- You're the One - Rev Theory
- Battle Cry - Skillet
- Unstoppable - Sia (this was the final song I'd listen to before each race)
