Blog 1083: Midland Short Course

This weekend saw the Midland Short Course competition at Corby. For the first time in years we had individual qualifiers and relay teams. Ggiven the standard of qualification for this meet, it is rare for non - DX swimmers to qualify, let alone for a club of our size to be able to put in relay teams with the swimmers who aren't swimming for DX. In the individuals events, the four qualifiers that entered, Hannah Cox ( 3 events) Josephine Parker, Kate Williamson and Ryan Cendrowski (1 Event each), all swam within 0.3 seconds of their personal best times or better, with Hannah just missing the final in the 50m Breast. Given the pool closure and strike action the week before this competition, and that it was the first time at a level with many international swimmers, these were great performances. The relay teams did really well as well; with swimmers with slower times stepping in for quicker swimmers who could not be there, all the teams were within 3 seconds of their respective entry times. There were again lessons to be learned from this competition, the main one being the level of expectation swimmers put on themselves. To swim a PB, or to be close to one, is an amazing achievement and one that should be celebrated,. Yes it is frustrating if you just missed out on a National Time or a final, but be pleased with yourself, as you have never gone faster. Do not compare your times to others around saying I should have got this or that; look at how you swam and areas for improvement. Do not be disappointed because you are not as quick as an international swimmer. Remember, they were once doing the times you are doing now and they work hard and do things right to improve to the standard they are at. Keep hydrated - the top swimmers were going through 3 or 4 litre bottles a day whilst I rarely saw one of our swimmers with a bottle in their hand. Learn these lessons and you will continue to qualify and improve.