Thanks to Reid Carlson for contributing this story.
Being shaved and tapered is the most exciting part of the season, though there are times when despite the adrenaline of being on deck, and the silky feeling of the water repelling off of your hairless skin, when the nerves and the pressure to swim fast weigh on you. Everyone wants to post best times and to be on their team’s scoring roster at conference or nationals. For high school and club swimmers, making a state or district cut time, or maybe even a Jr. National or Sr. National time is the goal. And of course, as competitors, we all want to win. Though all swimmers must admit that there are times when they wish they could just be done with their big race.
There are many ways to cope with nerves, and in my opinion, the best way is to just get in and race. But it’s easy to get inside your own head when your best event is still upcoming. For me that race was the 200 fly, arguably one of the more brutal races. I would look at my teammates swimming races like the 100 backstroke and the 50 free and think to myself—how could anyone be nervous for those races? They’re easy; they’re short; no one really cares about them. No one really cares?!
The truth was, I did not care about those races! Of course, there are plenty of swimmers out there who don’t give a busted swim cap for the 200 fly, either. But to me, the 100 back and the 50 free were unimportant because I was relatively bad at them.
Sometimes as swimmers we have stunning time drops in our best races, but most of the time, since we swim those races so often, we experience small and incremental improvement. Every hundredth that you chip away is exciting, but we all want to feel the excitement of dropping multiple seconds in our favorite events. But because you swim your specialty events so frequently, and always contest them shaved and tapered, I recommend swimming at least one “off event” at every shave and taper meet. Think about it: there’s no pressure to get any particular cut or time standard; you’re almost guaranteed to drop a lot of time; and your coach will appreciate your willingness to compete and experiment with new races. You can do this in a time trial, or perhaps during prelims by swimming exhibition, that way you have people to race who have experience in your off event.
I remember competing the 100 back shaved and tapered after not having touched that race for two years and dropping two full seconds. Same thing with the 200 free, though that one I had not swam tapered in 4 years. Another time, my coach entered me in the 200 IM, which I swam exhibition. I dropped 5 seconds in that race, and I was in college!
Swimming “off events” shaved and tapered is also a great way to discover talents that you didn’t know you had. That’s actually how I discovered that I was a talented 200 butterflier. In high school I had always been good at the 100 fly and distance free, but I only swam the 200 fly when my coach made me. Well, I had a “Division 1” meet cut in that race, and I was going to the Division 1 swim meet for my LSC, so I decided to swim it and just see how it went. If prelims went well, I would stay for finals; if not, I would go home and call it a weekend, since it was going to be my final event.
In prelims my goal was to get a sectional cut, which was only around a 2:07 for SCY in Central Section Region VIII back in 2009. I went a 2:05.something in prelims. I was shocked! I was seeded with a 2:11, so a 6-second time drop was pretty good. I decided to stay for finals. That evening all I wanted to do was chip away a couple more seconds and go a 2:02 or a 2:03. I swam what I thought was a smooth race, and much to my surprise (and the surprise of my coach and teammates) went a 2:00.99! I took the race out in a 56, which is what I went in the prelims of the 100 fly at my high school state meet the year before, and I was just cruising that first 100!
Whether you end up discovering a hidden talent, or you just want to see a big time-drop, swimming an “off event” or two every time you shave and taper is a fun way of relieving some of the pressure that you might feel at big meets. It’s also a great way to have fun with the sport, since you will no doubt be more relaxed and far less concerned with the outcome of the race. We swim to be better individuals, achieve better health, and most of all because we think it’s fun. So keep it light and play around a little by swimming a race you never train for and show the world your versatility!
Reid Carlson originally hails from Clay Center, Kansas, where he began swimming at age six. At age 14 he began swimming club year-round and later with his high school team, making state all four years. He was fortunate enough to draw the attention of Kalamazoo College where he went on to swim collegiately. Though most of his life is now terrestrial, Reid still harkens to his natural instincts and swims as often as he can, when work and “adult” life allow.