Sun Devil Masters Sprinters Spectacular Meet

Today I participated in just my second swim meet since high school.  The "Sprinters Spectacular" was held on the campus of Arizona State University and is the very same pool that I competed in several times back then.  The meet included exhibition swims of 25 yards and a 50 "all out with fins."   I hadn't been back on this deck since sometime between 1990 and 1991, so when I first walked through the locker room doors, a wave of memories came flooding back.  I vividly remembered where our team (Salpointe Lancers) set up camp right behind the 10m diving platform, relaxing in the wait room, and fighting back butterflies while I waited behind the starting blocks.  I also visualized the crowd sitting in the elevated bleachers and that no parents were allowed on deck.  Anyway, I quickly got to work setting up the ONE Multisport tent (which is HUGE) and then waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.

The first event was the 1000 yard freestyle.  It was during this race that I found some inspiration.  We noticed that there was an elderly gentlemen that jumped in and grabbed the wall while everybody else got on the blocks.  He was 88 years old and was going to start the race from a push!  We all watched in amazement as he made his way up and down the lanes 40 times without stopping.  When he finally touched the timing mat in 25:42.20, we all learned that he beat his PR by over four minutes!  I made my way over to him to tell him how inspiring he was and to get my picture taken with him.  His name is John Longo, he has a heart condition that will require surgery any month now, and has arthritis so bad in his legs, he can't really kick.  So, the next time you think that you "can't" do something, or you think swimming is too hard, take a good hard look at the man in this pic and find some inspiration of your own:

OK, the best way to summarize my day, in terms of performance, would be "sub par."  I really won't go into breaking down the 25 yard sprints, which started off of the bulkhead deck that split up the 50m pool into the 25 yard pool, but for reference, here were my times:

• 25 yard fly = 12.71 (2nd AG)
• 25 yard back = 13.62 (1st AG)
• 25 yard free = 11.69 (2nd AG by .09 seconds)

My first 50 yard event was the freestyle.  For most of 2013, I have been really concentrating on fast, strong, and efficient flip turns.  Frank completely changed my form from what I was previously used to.  Before, I would twist to my side as I was making my turn, but now, he has me going in on my stomach and coming out on my back.  Essentially, I do a somersault and push off the wall on my back.   About one good dolphin kick off the wall helps put me back on my stomach.  My goal here was to shave off about half a second to one full second from my last timed 50 in November (24.15).  I wanted to be around 23.75 with a stretch goal of 23.15.  I felt like I had a good start, had good dolphin kicks, and was efficient off the blocks.  My turn however, reverted back to the old style that I was used to!  Darn muscle memory!  On my way back, I felt strong and efficient again, but when I looked up at the timing board, I was disappointed to see a time of 24.12.  That time, however, was still good enough for 6/34 (ages 18-84).  OK, so there was an 84 year old that swam a 46.38, so I'll break down the top ten:

• 1st = 40 year old @ 22.05
• 2nd = 24 year old @ 22.91
• 3rd = 48 year old @ 23.66
• 4th = 22 year old @ 23.81
• 5th = 25 year old @ 23.95
• 6th = 40 year old (Me) @ 24.12
• 6th = 67 year old @ 24.12 = Seriously?!? 67?
• 7th = 45 year old @ 24.24
• 8th = 53 year old @ 24.46
• 9th = 47 year old @ 24.64
• 10th = 21 year old @ 24.87

Up next was the"50 All Out Sprint With Fins" exhibition.  There was no limit or restrictions as to what type of fins we could wear.  One of my teammates wore a pair of HUGE Navy SEAL fins that had almost no flexibility to them.  The only restriction was that we couldn't dive off the starting blocks and had to start from a push.  The description of the event also indicated that we would "touch" the other side and come back.  In my mind, this meant that we couldn't do a flip turn, so, since I first saw this event, I was visualizing having to do a one handed touch at the turn.  We pushed off and I decided to dolphin kick as far as I could underwater for the first lap.  I popped up just before the turn and......instinct took over as I flipped my turn.  In my mind, however, I wasn't supposed to do that.  It's kind of like when you mold two words or phrases together on accident, like "Thanks you."  You are thinking "thank you" and "thanks" at the same time.  Well, this "molding" of sorts resulted in me doing a flip turn too early and missing the wall.  I literally went to push off, but found nothing.  I had to head home from a dead start.  In the meantime, the dude next to me did an underwater dolphin kick the entire way there and back to come in in under 23 seconds.  My time?  try  24.42.

For my 50 fly, there really wasn't much to do other than "go fast."  My start was solid, my underwater kicks were strong, my stroke was decent, and my turn was just OK.  On the way back, I accidentally took in about a gallon of water on three consecutive breaths though.  That, right there, slowed me down considerably.  I was hoping to shave about a half a second off of my time from November (26.95), but today wasn't the day as I came in with a time of 27.54.  That was good enough, however, for 5/16.  Again, throwing out the 73 year olds and concentrating on the top ten looks like this:

• 1st = 45 year old @ 25.76 (Pat Brundage = Multiple AZ State records)
• 2nd = 24 year old @ 26.10
• 3rd = 25 year old @ 26.20
• 4th = 21 year old @ 27.04
• 5th = 40 year old (Me) @ 27.54
• 6th = 22 year old @ 27.75
• 7th = 24 year old @ 28.23
• 8th = 61 year old @ 29.07
• 9th = 45 year old @ 29.44
• 10th = 62 year old @ 31.02

My final event was the 50 backstroke.  I actually felt very good for this event, but my finish was a bit short and I had to kick into the wall.  This is the same mistake that I made back in November.  My dolphin kick was strong, I had a pretty good flip turn, and I had good turnover.  I was hoping to go sub 29 (I did a 29.18 in November), so I was a bit upset when the timing board revealed a time of 29.75.

So, as you can see, I have a LOT of work to do between now an Nationals in May.  Hopefully my weekly strength conditioning sessions at Frank's studio will pay off by then as well.