BUCS DAY 2 (20/2/22)

What a long day.

There are positives to take away from today, but I’m struggling to feel like it honestly. I think over the coming days I’ll process more and I’ll come to terms with it, but today felt like more of a mental battle than a racing issue. Lots to learn and I’m glad it’s happening now and not trials!!

First of all though, I’ve got to say what a team City of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam is starting to have!! There was so many people who scored BUCS points, stepped up and pbed! It’s awesome to see and there’s so much more to come! I finally feel a sense of team atmosphere in the group and I’m so grateful for it! Trials in 2months time is gonna be great 😁

So, before we get onto the negatives, we’ll talk about the positives.

⁃ the heat was so easy with none of my extra 1% gains I normally use outside the pool.

⁃ I was up for the heat as much as i could be.

⁃ After the heats, I’m proud of how I handled the quick turn around and felt like I’d refreshed abit when I got back to the pool.

Right, now for the negatives!

⁃ the way I swam the final wasn’t me, and it started before the final too. After the heat of the 200fly, I felt so low on energy, it’s like yesterday finally caught up with me,

⁃ My backstroke was rushed the whole way, in both the heat and relay final.

⁃ My mind, and I think body, was too immersed, and I was rushing mentally around the day too much

⁃ I was approaching the race I think, from a perfectionist mindset, and was overanalysing my moves through the day.

Overall, I’m happy with BUCS, first day was promising, heat of the 200fly was ok, but it was also frustrating as I feel like I have a lot more to show than that when it comes to a drop. But the learning curve is that I need to learn how to switch off away from the pool abit more, as after just 2days of racing I feel so drained!!

I’m sure there will be more reflections in the coming days, and BUCS Sunday is unique in that swimming heats at 9am and then finals at 2 is a much shorter turn around than normal competitions, especially the bigger ones! But this is my immediate thoughts. For a long time I’d just rot in my disappointments but it’s important to see them as learning curves now. We make mistakes, we build on them and we come back stronger!

Evening off, not being a swimmer has been gorgeous, now to prepare for the mentoring this week! Very excited 😁