[reply]Just my guess as a swimmer, but I'd say wearing your goggles under your cap at a Masters Swim Meet would qualify as a faux pas... I've never seen a 'swimmer' do this...only see this at tris.

>>>>>>i'd like to put in an opposing view: definitely wear them under your cap and join the rest of us who do. reasons: if they come down, they're at least still on your body; the straps won't move; you can effectively pull the front edge of the cap just slightly over the top of the goggle edge (not lens) to further secure them on the dive. the actual dive usually moves the cap up a notch and off/back onto the skin of the forehead.
for all of the meets and events i've done, i still work with keeping the goggles on and not leaking from the dive, so this is a big deal when i race. i tighten my goggles, too, for races. i found that tight goggles only bother me after about a half mile venture, so don't worry for the shorter stuff. for open water swims i don't tighten them as there's almost never a dive entry, and i don't want to drive myself nuts with tight goggles over a long distance.
as for the 200 breaststroke (my favorite), i've done best mentally setting myself to push the third 50. as with all other strokes and distances, i just do the best i can on the last 50, and play like the horse headed for the barn.
most of all: have fun at this. these meets are a kick.
peggy

So all this stuff about pacing assistance got me thinking: we all look down on someone who didn't know about drafting rules when entering their first tri, so maybe I'd better read a rule book before entering my first swim meet.

The relevant USMS rule states that "Swimmers are not permitted to wear or use any device or substance to help their speed, pace, or buoyancy." (emphasis mine)

I don't know whether my lap-counting buddy counts as a "device" or not. But I found a pretty unambiguous statement by the Rules Committee on the USMS web site that says "this change does not prohibit one from conveying pace information through hand signals, placement of lap counters and the like."

[reply]
Haha, well I guess you need to work on your lung capacity too. [/reply]

I can stretch my pullout way out at practice pace. But for an all-out 200, about three or four of those turns are misery.

I can't dispute that I'd be faster with bigger lungs, though.

I tend to pace my race like so:

first 100 = on the point of uncomfortable but not. As in if I went any faster I'd start to feel it so I just stay in cruising pace, which i usually split about 54 for scy or 1:00 for scm.

third 50 = Attack. This is where you drop the people who went out too fast by starting your sprint.

Last 50 = All you have left. that third 50 will take out most of your energy but you should have make some space between you and the field and you give what you have left and sprint to the end.

I can consistently swim around 1;54.00 scy or 2;07 scm... thats the strat that works for me.

bring 2 pair of goggles and 2 suits, warm up, hydrate, hit the bathroom before your events, don't want a turtle head poking out midway throught the 1000 free or 200 breast

in the 1000 get a tempo going after the first 50 and you settle down. If you want to speed up increase the tempo, don't pull harder. Somehow focusing on tempo instead of pulling hard avoids fatigue.

200 breast, 2 count glide in streamline each stroke the first 50, 1 count glide the 2nd 50, no glide after each full streamline the 3rd 50 and all you got last 50

like everyone said, work the walls, you can't swim as fast as you can push off and streamline. swim hard into the turns, don't coast

have fun

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"I came to Alaska at the perfect time, the price of crab was high, they didn't think cocaine was addictive and there were no sexually transmitted diseases that couldn't be cured with antibiotics....the plan was to live fast and die young...I guess it didn't work out" Wayne Baker

I had a high school swimmer want to try one of those 400 IM thingies. So I as the FOOL I am said "sure lets go".
I haven't swam one of those since my senior year in College. That was in 1981!

Freakin' brutal

A couple of days later same dude wants to try a 200 fly.

He lapped me. But he did stay in the water until I was finished.

I am not sure which was worse the 400 IM or the 200 fly, but I can tell you this, If I don't do another one for 25 years that will be okay

Thanks to everyone for all of your help. I swam in the meet today, and it was an absolute blast.

I showed up with my spare towel, spare contacts, etc. All thought of pacing by the clock or by the coach's feedback was completely abandoned once I was in oxygen debt. Sandbagging wasn't an issue anywhere except in the 1000 free. But I beat my seed time by 20 seconds and so I was just as guilty as everyone else. Pacing was fine everywhere but in the 200 breast, where I slowed badly but still managed to get 3rd overall and 1st in AG. (Okay, so it was only out of ten overall and three in my AG, but I'll take it.) I managed to beat the 85-year-old, and even the fast 69-year-old. The only goggle issue was in the 200 free, where I accidentally put them on upside down and they filled up with water. Bonus: I got to swim the 50 fly in a medley relay.

Kudos to trigirl125, a lurker on this thread who totally dominated her heat of the 200 free and I think placed well in all her events.

It was even more fun than I anticipated. Everyone should try a masters meet.

I'm so glad to hear that it went well, and that you had fun!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Steve, it was nice to meet you today. You did really well in your events! Thanks for the kudos, even if I *was* in the slowest heats for all of my events and placed well by default. :-) Masters meets are definitely humbling, but fun just the same. Good luck with your training!