Top 3 in a Swim Meet
Remi Hoffman Chande
“Ugh.” I wake up after my alarm goes off at 6:00. Somehow it’s already light outside, and I wonder how it is light as it’s 6:00 A.M., but I push the thoughts out of my mind as I have to get ready because I have a meet at 7:00. I feel really cold, like I usually do when I get up early for swimming, and I can hear my dad still sleeping as my snores pierce the soundless Saturday morning air. I have always wondered how my mum didn’t wake up to the sound of my dad’s snores, but right now that’s not the most important thing to think about, as I push the thoughts out of my mind. It's currently filled with dread at the thought of getting in the pool at 7:00.
I hate the cold, and have hated it since I started as a swimmer at Menlo Mavericks, but because my dad was born in Africa, I inherited his dislike for cold, and somewhat have an excuse for it. I go downstairs, and it turns out my mum is already down there, making me breakfast. I eat a silent breakfast, as, even though I had gotten up for swim practices at 6:00 every morning of the summer, I still haven’t gotten used to it. In the car, my mum reminds me of the time standards and goals for the meet that I’m going for as I try to hype myself up in my head, but fail miserably, so I just listen to my mum as the dread builds up.
When I arrive at PALY for the swim meet, I can see my friend Dylan looking nervous. As I get closer to the bleachers, I can see the rest of my friends. They say hello as I go and sit next to them. My friend Atiksh still isn't there, but nobody’s surprised as he’s always late. Atiksh comes while the team is doing dryland and gets yelled at by our coach who is really strict. Nobody wants to get in the pool after dryland finishes, because everyone hates the cold. After our in-water warm up finishes, the whole team does a meeting because it’s the final meet of the season, then the first event starts.
A few events in, I ask Dylan, “Do you think you’re gonna do well on the one back?”
“No, you’re gonna do way better,” says Dylan.
“No, I’m not,” I say.
“What are you going for on the 100 back?” asked Dylan
“1:03 that was my mum’s time when she was a freshman in high school.”
“Nice.”
We stop talking and watch what’s going on in the meet; our first event is coming up. Dylan gets a 2:06 on the 200 freestyle, and I get a 2:16; Dylan is clearly faster at free. We warm down and get ready for the next event, which is the 100 backstroke. This is about to be my best event; I might be polite, but I’m going to beat Dylan.
We exchange our usual polite conversation about how the other is going to do really well, but as I get in the pool as I hear the whistle. I know I'm going to finals, or will die trying. I get really tired in the middle of the race because I’m sprinting. I slow down, but just a bit. As I touch the wall I realize I came 6th, and got a 1:04. I got out and asked Dylan what time he got, and he said 1:07, so I beat him.
The next race is the 50 free, and I’m getting ready for it. I’d never really cared about the 50 free until I came late to a swim meet, didn’t warm up, and won the event for the 50 free with a 28.34, beating all of my friends. I watch as Dylan gets a 27.84, so the pressure is on.
I step up to the blocks, and am not dreading the swim like I usually am, maybe it’s because it’s a 50, but I don’t know. I take too many breaths and take short strokes, but I still get a 27.71. I beat Dylan, but my friends Ryan and Atiksh both beat me with a 26.60 and 27.20. It gets announced that I made finals for the 100 back and 200 free. I go home to get ready for the races this afternoon.
When I get back to the meet, warm up is already happening; I’m late. I try to get in as fast as possible to avoid getting yelled at, and miraculously it works. We finish warming up, and I eat a few almonds and do a Jack Sparrow impression for no reason. The events feel like they’re going by really fast, but I guess that’s because there are only 3 heats per event instead of 8 like the morning.
The 200 free is first, and I’m not excited. My heat is all 14 year olds except for me and Ryan, and I’m not even that fast at free, but he is. I come 10th and Dylan beats me, so no surprises there.
Time for the 100 back, the one I’ve been excited and extremely nervous about. The whistle blows, and I get in the water, time to race. The buzzer goes off and we start racing. Even after the first 25 I’m in pain, but I don’t care. After a 75 is where I need to leave everything in the water, so I go as hard as I can, touching the wall. I come 5th, with a time of 1:03.97, and I beat Dylan as well as all of my 13 year old friends, so I’m happy. I stay until after relays, so I could cheer for Dylan. After that I said bye to my coach and friends, then leave to go home and go to bed.
On Sunday, I have the same morning routine, but we get stuck in traffic and almost come late. I just came in as my coach was talking about the meet. I get yelled at because in her mind, early is on time, and on time is late. We finish dryland and warm-up then sit in the sun to get warm until our coach tells us it’ll make us go slower.
Today I have the 200 IM, the 100 free, and the 200 back, in that order. Atiksh and Ryan are looking forward to the 200 butterfly, which makes me think they’re slightly insane. Time seems to be going extra slowly, but I’m not complaining because it means I get to feel more relaxed. I get ready for the 200 IM, cheering for all of my friends until it’s my heat. When I finish the race, I find that I got a best time, and dropped 16 seconds, which is a lot for swimming; not bad. I have an hour between the 200 IM and the 100 free, so I can chill for a bit. Once half an hour passes, I start warming up. I mostly mess around with my friends in the warm up lanes, but we do some warming up as well. We get out as the 11-12 girls 100 free starts, and line up behind the blocks.
Everyone is aiming for a sub-1:00, so we have to go fast. Dylan gets a 1:00 and Ryan gets a 58, so now it’s my turn. Atiksh is in my heat, so we’re racing. I know I can win my heat, but I don’t think I can make finals. The swim is hard, but I’m passing Atiksh in the first 25, so I think I’m going to beat him. I get a 1:00, and he got a 1:03. There’s only 15 minutes between the 100 free and the 200 back, meaning I only have about 5 minutes to warm up so I have time to check in with my coach. I sit behind the blocks with my robe on, and want to take a nap, but the whistle blows for the first heat, so I get ready as I’m in the second heat. I get in the water and get mentally prepared, the buzzer goes off and we swim. I get a 2:23, half a second slower than Dylan, I get out and warm down. The day seems much more depressing, because I’m really competitive, and I just lost to my best friend. I’m happy for him, but angry at myself for not doing better.
Luckily, I made finals so I can swim the 200 backstroke again. I eat scrambled eggs for lunch, and get my swimsuit on. I come on time, and am ready to race. The whistle blows and I get in the water, confident that I’m going to do this. The buzzer goes off and I start racing, I know this is going to hurt, but I don’t care. I get tired after the first 100, but I keep pushing as hard as I can. I can see that I’m passing people, and I’m on the last 25. I sprint it and come 3rd, with a 2:16. I’m happy about what I just got, but I didn’t make JOs. After I get out, I get dressed and watch Dylan’s relay. Afterward our coach says we’re going to have a pizza party, so everyone stays until 7. After the meet I go home and play soccer with my uncle, and my dad talks about how good my time is. I have no swimming for the next four weeks, so I can relax, and get caught up on sleep. I ended the weekend in style, and I am ready to get a Junior Olympic qualifying time in the next meet.
I was proud of myself, because I hadn’t been that good in the prior meets, and I had a breakthrough moment at this meet. I was always good at backstroke, but I had never come in the top 3 in a meet ever. Whenever I went to a meet I never tried as hard as I could, but this time I did.
