100m Butterfly in 55.23 seconds

This morning I swam the 100m Butterfly at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.  It was a fantastic race!  It was my last swim of the meet.  I was aiming at my lifetime best time of 55.19 which was set about a month ago in Austin, Texas.  The 100 fly is a new event to me since I’ve always been a little afraid of butterfly.  It’s a difficult stroke, one that requires unique training and significant upper body strength.  In brief Individual Medley sets throughout my life I’ve excelled in butterfly but feared a full 100 meters of it.  After a little over 20 years of competitive swimming, I overcame that fear and attempted the 100 fly.  Months later I found myself a second away from an Olympic Trial cut in the event but seemed to have plateaued around 56.31 with the cut being 55.29.  I shaved and tapered in London at the British Nationals only to swim a 56.30.  I felt defeated and all but gave up on my chances of a trials cut with 3 months left before the big meet.  When an elite meet was created in Austin by Longhorn Aquatics, I jumped at the chance to swim in a legendary facility and state of the art pool.   With a month left before my trip to Omaha, this was truly my last chance for a cut.  I chose not to jeopardize my taper by shaving but opted to use a new suit given to me by my friend Wu Peng.  When my race came up in Austin I held nothing back, I took out my race in a 24.91 (a lifetime best) and brought it home in a 30.28 to touch the wall in a 55.19 seconds!  I had achieved my second Olympic Trials cut.  I couldn’t have been happier.

It was that race that qualified me to swim the 100m Butterfly in front of 15,000 fans at the Olympic Trials today.  Although the days leading up to my race were not ideal, I made the best of my situation and got a solid night of rest before my race.  The morning of my race was perfect.  I arrived at the pool 2 hours before my race.  I had time for a little friendly banter with my teammates and to catch up with some coaches and fellow swimmers.  I got in the pool with a little over an hour before my race.  I swam a long warmup consisting of about 1,500 meters.  I typically do 800 or so, I just felt like a bit more was appropriate for how I was feeling.  I did a few sprints to ensure my speed was on tap.  My first 25m sprint I started myself, the second I had a former EMU sprinter Derick Roe give me a start.  My stroke felt great but I needed a little more room to swim.  I moved over to the 50m warmup pool and spoke with legendary U of M coach Jon Urbanchek.  When we were finished I asked him to give me a start, he was happy to do so.  I sprinted a 35m from a dive and felt great.  I warmed it down with a 200 and got out.   I chose to wear my Arena suit again since I had good luck with it during my time trial.  I was just 15 minutes away from racing so I headed over to the ready room in my warm-ups.   The ready room is basically a place for you to freak out prepare for your race.  It’s just a waiting game until your heat is called and you march up the stairs and onto the deck.  When heat 2 was called, I was ready.  I arrived behind my lane, took off my warm-ups and did a few jumps behind the blocks to get the blood pumping.  Within 30 seconds I heard the multiple whistle. It was time to race. I adjusted the backplate on the block to my familiar “5” setting and ensured it was locked in correctly.  The heat one swimmers made their way out of the pool and they blew the single long whistle.  We got up on the blocks.  I knew this was going to be a good race.  I heard the “take your marks” and prepared to rocket off the starting blocks.  When the buzzer went off I had a great start!  Since the bottom of the pool was marked at 15 meters (never seen that before), I came up exactly at the limit with a great breakout.  I cruised to the 50m wall with ease, I knew I was in 1^st place.  Later I would find out I took out the race in a 24.67, a lifetime best 50m butterfly time!  I had a good turn (for me) and pushed off to some strong underwater kicks.  I had another good breakout and DID NOT take a breath on my first stroke, a tough thing to accomplish after spending 6 seconds underwater kicking as hard as you can.  I felt great at the 75 but soon started fading, a typical problem I have.  My arms started feeling heavy as I tried to pull downward and then lift them out of the water, desperately throwing them forward toward the finishing wall.  My legs started to burn and I felt myself sinking in the water.  It became harder and harder to breathe with each stroke.  I approached the last 5 meters, put my head down, holding my breath to finish the race strong.  I was a little short on the finish and decided to take an additional stroke rather than gliding in.  In hindsight I may have done the opposite.  My decision probably cost me a lifetime best in the 100m fly.  I ended up touching in a 55.23, the second fastest time of my life behind my 55.19 a month ago.  I looked up at the clock and smiled.  It was the second smile in the Olympic Trial pool.  I was proud of my accomplishment.  I had worked hard to get here.  I had done it.

In the hour that followed my race, I was showered with support from friends and family, I got some much appreciated emails from old high school or college contacts as well.  It was a great day.