200m backstroke day!

Ok, the heat swim today was not something I can be proud of.

I wish I could say I was holding back

I wish I could say it felt easy.

But it wasn’t

So, I went pb+3 in the heat, and almost threw up in the swimdown pool after this swim. My strokerate was SO low and my legkick was SO heavy, but it was still a surprise to go the time I did… But I never doubted that I was better than that and in so much better shape than that. This really drove me for the afternoon session.

I felt almost ill, all day my head was banging and I didn’t feel like me, so I was proud of how I turned it around.

I think that is a credit of the work that Zeynep, my sport psychologist and I have put in, because I have had a tendency at previous competitions to not be able to turn around bad swims as well as this.

In the afternoon, I came with my 'posh' coffee prepared, and when it finally started hitting my system (with my 225mg caffeine dose included), I finally started waking up, but it didn’t feel like I had a cloud over my head, which was a good sign!

I changed my set up so I warmed up quite close to my race, but I felt a sense of calm also… which was because…

I knew it was in me.

I was NOT finishing my trials like the morning swim.

The fact that I knew what I had to change, really played into my hands. So when I came to the race, for one of the first times, I didn’t go and speak to my coach before I raced.

I'd learnt a lot about myself over the competition and I wanted to finish on a good note for myself and my team, so I was really delighted to hit a full second personal best.

It was -.34 off the Commonwealth qualifying time. However, I was proud of myself, exactly as I have been for the whole competition. I was not going to let my swim upset me considering I have already hit a consideration time in the 200fly. I can only live by what I wanted to achieve, and though hitting the commonwealth time was a part of my goal and would have put the icing on the cake of a good week... I was proud of my week and I know where to go from here.

Fingers croseed for the Commonwealth announcement now! :D