Third Place Never Felt So Good...

Yesterday was the NYC Commissioner's Trophy swim meet, sponsored by NY Parks & Recreation at Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center. This was also my first meet in over 20 years, and my first as a member of the AGUA Masters Team and US Masters Swimming. 

As I mentioned in my other blog posts I have been preparing to swim the 50 Freestyle, 100 IM and 50 Breast Stroke.The highlight was that I swam all my personal best times, and even placed third for my age group in the 100 IM and 50 Free. 

 I've only been swimming masters for four months now, and I remember back in January  I could barely get through the hour practice without feeling like I was dying!  I didn't have the most efficient technique in almost all the strokes and most definitely had to re-learn the breast stroke. I didn't even know how to jump off the blocks, do a proper flip turn and open turns. I was a decent swimmer but definitely not one poised for this level of competition. 

Going into this meet I knew that the 30-34 age group is quite a competitive group with really fast and aggressive times, and I really had no expectation of placing. I wanted the experience of the meet - you had to start somewhere right? 

Placing third was quite a surprise, and I am still very much surprised that I swam my personal bests and placed third in 2 out of 3 events. What makes placing just a little sweeter was that somehow the organizers thought the times we submitted were in meters instead of yards, so they reconverted my time and it looks like I swim the three events I entered 12-15 seconds faster than I usually do... So I knew going in, the heats were truly mixed and probably not an accurate representation of the speed/times that people would normally swim those events.  On top of that they take your times at the meet for each event, and then re-sort them by gender and age-group and that's how you place! Meaning you have to wait for the positive check-in results to know if you actually place, and not whether you hit the wall first or last in your heat. I know it's confusing to write about - but I think you can get the idea this was a slightly disorganized meet. All this aside I came for experience and all I wanted to do was swim my best. 

To share in the experience, my father was in town from Australia and was there, camera in hand, to witness my first meet and cheer me on.  Dad used to swim competitively in high school, and one of my early memories of loving the water is because of him and this meant so much to me that he was there. Plus he really took some amazing pictures and I'm glad I had someone to document the day!!!

The Spectators, the pool with electronic pads, the participants, and a few team mates - including Dr. Jane Katz,
an amazing AGUA Masters Swimmer and former synchronized swimmer for US Olympic team. She's also 70 years old! 

THE 50 FREE 
Swimming the 50 free in practice when I first began with Masters meant intervals of 1:15. The idea of even dropping to a minute seemed impossible and honestly I just wanted as much rest time as possible. Somehow I was loving the wall a little too much. 

Freestyle was the first stroke Coach Glenn helped me tweak - I learned bilateral breathing, a better catch and pull, and stronger streamline. Coaches Jonas, Jamie and Kelly continued to drill and tweak my freestyle technique and this was a stroke I learned to love. I figured if it's called the Australian crawl - well, I better do it proud since I am also an Australian citizen... 

I am not sure what happened the past month, but my freestyle just got faster. I had plenty of rest time when we did the 1:15 intervals, and even in 1:00 intervals it seems that I have enough room. In sprints I was swimming around 44-46 seconds and going into this meet - Jonas and I were aiming to hit 40 seconds!

This was the first event I swam at the meet and I was really nervous. I remember hopping on the blocks and my legs were shaking - I thought I was going to fall into the pool. But the buzzer went I dove in - goggles on and cap on, no mishaps and away I went... The pool walls were slick and I kinda slipped in my turn, but I decided to just keep going. The last few yards were painful but I focused and clocked in at 42.2. It wasn't the 40 seconds I had hoped for, but I was happy that it was a personal best. 

THE 100 IM

THE IM - Dad missed the Fly... Oh, well... 

After swimming down from the 50 Free, I tried to gear myself for the 100 IM. I swam 500 yards and could not for the life of me get my heart rate down - but I think it was really the adrenalin rushing, and the nerves. The 50 Free took a lot out of me and I was wondering how I was going to get through the IM. I had a good 15 minutes still to wait, so I decided to go back to the bench, drink some apple juice, put on my ipod, blast some Eminem, close my eyes and try to remain still and visualize the race. One of my team mates who was looking at me in this state thought I was trying to look like a "thug" so I gave him my mean, focused "thug-ish" face and he laughed... Apparently my face is too sweet to try and look "tough!" 

Before I knew it - it was time to report to the blocks. I was on the second heat and swimming in the middle lane. The official lane monitor/timer was a friendly guy named Hank, who could see how nervous I was. He was great at making me feel calm and confident, and I truly appreciated him cheering me on in my lane. 

The last leg of freestyle was really challenging, my legs were burning and the only motivation I had was the wall. IM is a tough swim - and those transitions are really hard. I need to work those turns and transitions harder, and really find better consistency with them.  1:48 was the final time, which is the same as I did in practice - I know there's room for improvement if I can simply have the stamina to fight harder in the freestyle. 1:40 would be a great time, but I know I can keep working this harder and faster! Stroke technique was great but those turns and transitions need to be better! 

THE 50 BREAST

I have struggled with the breast stroke the most, since I was taught the wrong kick. Getting the right kick has been a struggle and I've been drilling this stroke, over and over, and over, and over and over... I have spent countless coaching sessions trying to figure this out and it wasn't until my session with Coach Kelly that I finally had a strong, consistent breast stroke that was actually moving nicely in the water, oh just this past Wednesday!!! So the stroke is actually BRAND NEW and although it's moving great, I didn't think my times were quite fast enough. In fact, during practice on Thursday the stroke looked decent and definitely under 1:00 but I needed to drop further. The best time I had during Thursday practice was 58.6, which I myself was not impressed with. 

I only had 10 minutes between the 100 IM and the 50 Breast. I did try to cool down from the IM and I really was feeling my adrenalin tank waning, my energy getting lower and exhaustion was starting to kick-in. Part of my head wanted to scratch, but I pushed and said just swim the 50 and call it a day. So I came into the 50 breast pretty calm, and with the thought of gliding as much as I can and swimming this as smart as I can no matter the outcome. I touched the wall didn't look at the score board and was ready to hop out of the pool, convinced I came in LAST, and did not realize that the race was actually still going - there were swimmers still swimming!!! I came in third in this mixed heat, and placed third in my age group! WHAT? I barely had this stroke and this is a BRAND NEW technique and stroke... HOW? 

So winning the 50 breast was a true milestone for me! All I could think of was all the frustration I had trying to figure this one stroke out and the countless hours of drilling, repetition, videos and coaching I have received in this one stroke. This swim goes out to Coach Kelly because she truly made everything click for me - and getting a nice, strong and solid breast stroke is all because of her. 57.2 was the final time! 

RECOVERY 
Lactic acid is one of those natural occurring substances in our system, and I wish there was an easier way around it - but that's just how our bodies work. Soreness is a result of that, and I can say I am very much feeling the pain today and I know the best solution is to keep swimming - nice, long and smooth swims...

I came back to practice today to do exactly that - a nice, long, stretched swim... My team mates, particularly those in Lane 5, were so excited and proud of my accomplishments... They kicked me out the lane into Lane 4 - the faster lane!

Yes, they are right - it's time to leave the comfort of that lane! I will miss the camaraderie, the nice and long intervals and rest time but it is time for the next phase and the new challenge. I am excited by the possibilities that await me as I continue to work harder and more consistently in the next few months. I feel my body changing, and I do feel the new speed, comfort and progress I have made in the water... 

So I move onto the next lane - faster intervals, less rest and definitely a lot more yards and a good challenge. I hope to be swimming in Lane 3 or 2 soon. 

To all the team mates, coaches, friends and family who have supported me in this journey - THANK YOU! I'm very much looking forward to the next meets, and my continued progress in the world of swimming! 

Here's my "tough thug" face - otherwise known as my focus and prep face.