3/1/2015 Garsoe-Schermerhorn Memorial Masters Swim Meet Pentathlon

After nearly 15 years, I have finally competed in a swim meet.  I signed up for a really cool meet in Bensalem, PA, about an hour from home about 2 weeks prior to the event.  It seems like there's not very many meets nearby based on what I can find on usms.org or the local area's site: http://www.dvmasters.org/events.php.

The Pentathlon meet  is as simple as it sounds, entrants can sign up for whatever they want but are encouraged to complete a full 5-event series comprised of one race of each stroke (at 50, 100, or 200 SCY) and an IM (100, 200 or 400).  I opted for the sprint distances of 50yds of each stroke and the 100yd IM to not bite off more than I could swallow with very little training or preparation.

To enter, I had no recent race results to submit as seed times.  I had to guess on all of them.  I thought a while on most of the times and settled on a few times that I thought were reasonable.  I seeded myself at :27 in the free, :27 in the back, :29 in the fly and :31 in breast, and 1:15 in the IM.  Lo and behold I pick up my heat sheet upon arrival and I'm seeded fastest in 2 events.  I realized a :31 in 50 breast was something I've never been capable of even in my peak years.

Lay off the crackpipe, Aaron, you've never been fast at breaststroke.

The event was held at Pennsbury High School.  The venue felt nostalgic since 99% of all my swim meets had been at high schools.  I realized I'd really been missing this.

Watching the rest of the competitors warm up after I felt like my 250 yd warm up was sufficient.

 My events started with back.  I wasn't feeling pretty unsure of my speed getting ready but felt confident once I hopped in and for not having practiced a back start in many years. The first race felt invigorating.  The rest of the events were equally awesome, some slower than I'd hoped but some were also quicker that I'd expected.

Yep, I took 2nd in my age group... out of 2.  It was a small meet.  It was also the first of many.  I'm beyond excited to get back into more competitive masters swimming events.  Bring it on!