The Last Day

The last day of a meet is by far the toughest, both mentally and physically. By the time you get to the last day you are mentally drained from the level of focus needed for the first few days. You have raced multiple events. Your body is drained. You’ve gone through highs and lows after each race. You’re tired but you need to push through. Here are my top tips for the last day of the meet when you need to focus and execute.

• Meet Day Routine - have you established your meet day routine? You need to establish the series of events leading up to the time you leave for the pool to eliminate decision fatigue and prep your body to perform. Your body is smart. It knows this routine means GO TIME. Here is an example of my meet day routine.
  1. Wake up 4 hours before prelims
  2. Morning wake up swim(no more than 200yds) and light stretch in the hotel pool to wake my body up and get the blood flowing. IF I didn’t have access to a pool I took a lukewarm shower to wake up.
  3. Breakfast- KNOW what you’re going to eat before prelims. Make sure you’ve eaten this meal before. You do not want to give your body any surprises just in case it doesn’t settle well. Everyone is different, make sure the food you are eating works well for YOU.
  4. Pack your bag for the day and head to the pool for warm up. Bring snacks that you might need to refuel before your races! My favorite meet day snack was a chocolate power bar.
• Training correlation- think back to last set in every single practice you have done. You’re exhausted by the final set before warm down. You push through so you can gain endurance and mental toughness. The last set of every practice has prepared you for the last day of every meet, whether you realize it or not. You’ve pushed through the pain and fatigue time and time again. You can push through your final day.
• Everyone is in the same boat- Everyone else raced hard throughout the meet. They have also experienced the extreme highs and lows after each session and race. Who is tougher? Who can put the past few days behind them and race to the best of their ability on this last day?
• Prior night recovery- Make sure you are recovering properly the night before your last day.
  1. Ice bath- take a 10-15 minute ice bath to decrease muscle inflammation and soreness leading into your final day
  2. Relax and unwind- find a way to decompress and unwind. Take your mind away from the pool. Watch your favorite movie or show.
  3. Go to bed early- Make sure you are getting enough sleep to recover as much as possible leading into your final sessions.
• Music- BLAST your favorite music to get yourself hyped up and ready to go!!

Last day fast day… or as us Gators say… GATOR DAY. Go get ‘em!

-KF