Steve and I had a great time down at the Mission Viejo Long Course meet yesterday. We arrived a little before 8:00 am because I was swimming the 1500 Meter (1 mile) Freestyle, which was the first event of the day. We claimed our spot in the stands and set up our tent, preparing for the hot temperatures which undoubtedly ended up arriving just a few hours later.
 
The meet got underway and then was hit with an unexpected and startling event. During the second heat of the 1500 Freestyle, a Mission Viejo swimmer named Bonnie, who is in her late 60s (and rules for swimming the mile event), suffered a stroke about half-way through the race. It was very scary, as many on deck and the lifeguard who was on duty pulled her out of the water and began performing CPR. A few minutes later, paramedics arrived and continued working, delivering many shocks to her heart. It was so somber and nerve wracking, as everyone on deck stood in silence and hoped for the best. They ended up rushing her to the hospital.

Talk about putting everything into perspective. I think every person there took many moments to ponder all that had happened and tried to gain composure. The meet stopped for a bit, and I must admit, it was very difficult to think about swimming again, wondering if Bonnie was going to be alright. I talked to many swimmers on deck, as we worked our way through the emotions and collectively agreed that Bonnie would want us to swim and move forward (many competitors said that they wanted to swim their next race for her). Thankfully, about an hour later, the meet announcer informed us all that she was already awake, talking and resting in her hospital room. Such a relief!
 
The 1500 was certainly a different experience for me. Back in my college days, I was subjected to swimming this race (well, the yard equivalent - the 1,650) often, but it's been QUITE some time since I gave it a-go, so I wasn't really sure what to expect or how to go about it. But it ended up being pretty awesome (did I just say that?). I kept a smooth, consistent pace throughout and even brought my last 100 home 3-4 seconds faster than the 100 pace I had been holding during the race. Since the race is 30 laps long, Steve counted for me and did a great job, keeping me aware of just HOW much longer I had as I whittled the laps down. When I saw that orange tile on the final lap counter board, I was SO stoked! I'm really glad I swam it and though I'm not sure how many more times it will be in my meet lineup, it did inspire me to add the 800 meter Freestyle to my agenda, so all-in-all, it was a success!

Swimming the 1500m Freestyle. Photo by Karen Feld.

Next up was the 100 Backstroke. My time wasn't super fast, but it felt strong and I won my heat by quite a bit. I must say that since I train short course meters, these loooooong course laps seem EXTREMELY, should I say, LONG! I miss my walls, flip-turns, and streamlines. I don't think I was aware of how much working on that has benefited my swims, so this meet really put into perspective the need to switch into "long course mode" and more importantly, find a 50 meter pool to swim in on occasion, so races at meets aren't such a shocker.

After that, I swam a far-out-there event for me...the 50 Breaststroke. I have really had to relearn this stroke after coming back to the swimming scene. When I was younger, we were taught to swim it so differently than the stroke has evolved into. I remember the days when you could get DQ'd for letting your forehead go too far underwater. Not to mention the quick upstrokes and the one-allowed-dolphin kick off the walls that are now the norm.

Photo by Karen Feld.

So I've been working on things in practice a lot and wanted to give it a try, just to see where I was at with it in a race. I think it went pretty well. Here's a video of me below. I surely have a lot to work on in regards to polishing things up...but little-by-little, it's improving.

After the 50 Breaststroke, the heat was really blazing and I was feeling some effects of dehydration. I also have a tricky time eating at swim meets and have not yet found a method that keeps me from feeling fatigued, while avoiding having too much solid food in my stomach to digest. I don't like to eat much because I find it so  hard to head to the starting blocks with a full (or even a little full) tummy. So I was trying to survive on Vitamin Water, Clif Blocks, and H20 and apparently, it was not enough, because right before my 50 Backstroke, I had a little dizzy spell, saw some stars and had a short blackout-like moment. It really startled me. I have never had that happen at a meet, especially right before a race. I did swim it, but was quite unfocused and tripped out. Needless to say, I scratched the 400 Freestyle and finished out the day with the backstroke, sat down, drank lots of water, and then got some tips from Ahelee on how to eat at meets to sustain your energy, but not fill up your stomach. (Thanks, Ahelee!)
 
Despite my funky little dizzy moment, it really was a fun day! I got to see lots of friends, including the wonderful Miss Karen, who despite never training, pops into meets and swims her heart out (she had fantastic results)... and we got to snap some photos together too. I was also stoked that Ahelee came down straight from her SwimFest 2010 event in San Diego to support me and lots of other friends at the meet, talk about swimming and life, and shine her usual positive light of happiness all around the MVN deck!

With Karen. She rocks!

The long course season is unfortunately quite sparse, so I won't get to squeak another meet in until later in July, but it was great to "get my feet wet" in respect to swimming long course. Not to mention that Steve and I got to enjoy in an early dinner at Native Foods Cafe in Irvine afterwards. Yum!!