Geeez, has it really been 14 years since I was a freshman in high school?
Ah, but so, so, so fun to be a part of the swim team.
That year was the hardest we worked during my 4 years of high school swimming. 2 a day practices, "dry land" training in the morning and swimming in the afternoon. Unless it was a Saturday or the odd practice out, in which we would do dryland followed by a swim. Running, weights, taebo, aerobics...we sweated it out to all of that! And it showed...the one and only year we won our sectional! It makes me tired just thinking about it! Swimming is a winter sport (LOL!), so we would NEVER see the sunshine during the week. Go to practice when it was dark, go to school, go to practice and then it would be dark again!
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| 2002! I am on the left in the back row. SwimSis is in the front row w/the dark hair. Stylin'! |
TeenSwimSis was under a year old when I was a freshman in high school. Don't forget, there is also SwimSis, who is 2 years younger than I am, and my brother is 3.5 years younger. So when I would get home from high school practice, my parents (swim club president and secretary, respectively) would take the middle two to the pool for their practice and I would be left to take care of TeenSwimSis.
Thinking back on that makes me laugh. I would feed her her baby food as fast as I could and eat my dinner so I could get on the Web tv (internet on your TV) and look up NSYNC websites. I spent SO much time with that chick! Same goes for the weekends. If I didn't have a meet and they did, they would go to the swim meet and I would stay home with the baby. It created a wonderful bond between the two of us and I only get crap every so often about putting her on the couch and she subsequently rolled right off (so swears my brother). :)
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| Me and TeenSwimSis back in '98 (my 8th grade year!) |
It also makes me sad. When I was in high school, we had a wonderful pool. 6 lanes plus a deep end. Perfect for the size of team we had! The pool had a lot of problems, though. For starters, it was on the second floor of the school! It was over the auto shop/classroom. It leaked - a lot! A few years ago, they decided to fill in the pool and make that area a giant classroom with no plans to build a new pool. And the team has really suffered.
They have to travel to pools at other schools that are 15-20 minutes away to practice. The quantity as well as quality of swimmers has suffered. Last night at the first meet of the season, They lost to a team that we beat soundly every year. They did not have enough swimmers to fill out all of their events/relays. It makes me really sad that the program is not as strong as it once was. Not that winning is everything, but when the outlook is losing everytime - I think it is just hard for morale.
Let it be known - if I ever win the lottery (well, I would have to play first!) I will build a new pool in that town! Don't worry, I have connections...my dad is on the zoning board! ha!
Also, I got a bike trainer and was sooo excited to set it up. Apparently I'm not as handy, resourceful, or independent because I have tried at least 4 times (working on different problems each time) to set it up. I have also conferred with youtube and a couple of different websites and the verdict is the same - I need a man to do this for me. You know I'm desperate when I want to cry and drink over a stupid bike trainer! Hopefully I can make it to our bike trainer group practice with my tri group on Sunday so that Tri Coach Jeff can help me out. I just have to make it there in time!
I started the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge again. It was so wonderful to drop 8 pounds over the holidays last year! My mini goal for this week is not to have brownie in a mug all week. What a weakness!
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| Random: Just b/c I think its hilarious - my fb profile pic! More forgiving that IRL! |
This week's schedule has been a little jacked up, but that is okay. Monday I found out yoga on Tuesday was cancelled, so I went to hot yoga with SwimSis. I felt so strong, especially seeing other people struggle with a few things I was decent at (but there's not comparison in yoga, blah, blah, blah well it made me feel good!). Tuesday, instead of yoga I went to YMCA D right by my work (opened in August!) where I did a 1 mile run and then lifted for about a 1/2 hour (most machines, a little resistance band work). Then swimming was at its normal time (7). I got there a little late, but Coach Ellen worked me! I had one 50 left of my cooldown when i was doing backstroke and saw a kickboard fly my way! Coach Ellen asked if I wanted to stay and swim with her. Do I want more oxygen? More Jesus? The answer is YES! :) I did about 2000 yds with the tri group and 1600 with Coach Ellen. I got out of the pool at 9:10! Yikes! A little over 2 hours in the pool, plus a short run, plus lifting - I felt AWESOME and invincible.
Then today came. I decided if I got my bike trainer working, I would ride it, but if not, no big deal because my body is still tired from yesterday! My shoulders and back are sore, my legs a little bit so, and the arches of my feet too! 3600 is quite a few flip turns. Flip turns are a little like horizontal jumping w/o shoes so my arches take the brunt of the pain sometimes.
What moments of nostalgia have you had lately? Did you wish things were the same or different?
