The Worst Feelings As A Competitive Swimmer

A couple of months back, we recapped the best feelings a competitive swimmer can experience. You can find that article here.

Today, we’re doing an about-face — it’s time to capture some of the most awful feelings that every competitive swimmer can probably relate to.

Getting caught at the end of a race.

There are few things more demoralizing than feeling the lactate in the final lengths — or even meters — of a race while seeing someone else overtake you as if they were finding another gear. I’m not too sure if it’s more annoying to get passed in the final lengths of a sprint race or a distance race — but I sure have been caught at the end of a couple of 200 butterfly races before, and it was not fun to be on the losing end of that.

The first practice after a break.

They say it only takes two or three days of no swimming to lose your “feel” for the water. And that’s absolutely right: the first training session (or even the first week of practice) after that summer break is just an absolute nightmare. The same goes for the first “real” practice after a big taper meet — your coach might give you a day or two to recover, and then you’re suddenly drowning in the same old tedious aerobic sets.

Botching your start.

I’ll keep this one general, as there are just so many things that can go wrong at the start of a race. Obviously, we have our flinches and false starts — but don’t forget about things like belly flops and backstroke start disasters. A slight slip or a malfunction with the backstroke ledge means that you’ll basically just fall backward into the water with no momentum.

Messing up a turn.

Just as crucial as the start — and just as easy to see mishaps — are the turns. Ever do a flip turn only to just completely miss the wall and have to waste energy regaining momentum? Or even worse, ever do your flip and have your heels accidentally smack the top of the gutter? I’m not sure what’s more frustrating to deal with in the middle of a race. And, of course, we can’t forget about the two-hand touch and cross-over turn: two frequent culprits of disqualifications.

Outdoor morning practice.

How’d we go from the warm confines of a good night’s sleep to shivering on the edge of the pool deck, staring at the icy pool and contemplating how long it’ll take us to finally get in the water? Even worse — it may or may not have rained the night before, making the water even chillier and forcing us to stand in cold puddles on the pool deck.

Getting caught (or lapped) in practice.

This is very similar to the first scenario: you’re fighting tooth and nail to keep your spot in the lane, only to feel a surprise tap on your leg while swimming. You might even accuse the swimmer behind of leaving early, yet at the end of every swim, they just keep catching up to you — to the point where it’s frustratingly infuriating. At some point, you let your ego aside and let them pass, figuring that today just isn’t your day.

Cramping up.

Some common areas to highlight include the inner soles of the feet, calves, and hamstrings. And don’t forget about the “stitches” that can sometimes find their way into your ribs and make it impossible to take a stroke without feeling blinding pain. Yet when you stop at the wall to try and stretch out the cramp, your coach lets you hear it for sitting out — making this a lose-lose situation.

Choking on water.

Ever turn your head for a breath only to get met by a crashing wave of water? Not fun — especially if you’re coming off the last turn in your race and your lungs are screaming in pain. Our bodies are not designed to breathe water, and yet this probably happens once every swim practice. If only swimmers could evolve gills…

Equipment malfunctions.

So this covers a wide range of situations, all of which are extremely unpleasant. We’ve all had that one race where our goggles fill up with water from the start, forcing us to swim blindly. I had a friend once tell me that his suit ripped on the blocks at the start. There was another race where my cap just started taking on water as soon as I dove in — and the first thing I did after

the race was rip my cap off and dump out what seemed like a gallon of water onto the deck. I’ve also had my parachute get tangled with that of a teammate during practice.

Other situations that I’ve fortunately not had to deal with (but have witnessed courtesy of my teammates) include fins ripping in practice, snorkels coming apart mid-set, cracked paddles, and the rare case of moldy goggles.

Final Thoughts

Obviously, there’s just so much that can go wrong in a race or even in practice. But I think this is what toughens us up and keeps us ready to face anything that comes our way. And, obviously, practice is the time and place to make these sorts of mistakes — and to make sure they don’t pop up in the middle of a race.

If you think I missed anything on this list, let me know in the comments…