Summer Storms

One of the most terrifyingly beautiful things of the summer are the late afternoon thunderstorms. Thunder that sends children under beds and dogs running crazy, lightning that shoots through the sky. The one downside to these magnificent acts of nature is how it seems to come inconvienently as soon as i arrive at the pool!
Unfortunately my one-piece tan acquired from hours of swimming practices outside in the sun is still everything but faded. Fixing it seems to be impossible without logging those hours with a lawnchair beside my community pool! My resolution? Accept and wear my one-piece tan with pride! You're not a real swimmer without one anyway! So now I'm going to tell the world, I've got a one-piece tan I'm PROUD.

Comment with your interesting tan lines or the things that show how you're completely dedicated to your sport!

Summer Cherries!

My favorite fruit of the summer is cherries. In particular I truly love ranier cherries. They do not look like the normal red cherries that come to mind when you think of cherries instead they are red, orange, and yellow. When they come into season during late June and early July they are plump, firm, juicy, and sweet. When I get around to the grocery store and find these in the fresh fruit section, I buy about 4 bags and begin to devour them with almost every meal! A serving of these low fat, high fiber, and cholesterol free fruits is about a cup and only has a total of 90 calories. I love to pair them with a whole grain bagel for breakfast and put them on salads for lunch. Then if I'm not feeling completely indulged i have a glass of cran-raz juice and some cherries for desert. YUM!

Go visit your local grocery store and check the produce section for some delicious seasonal fruit!

OLYMPIC TRIALS

Yes the time is here! Every 4 years there is an event where swimming goes to levels sometimes even more competitive than the olympics, the OLYMPIC TRIALS. No swimmer goes to the olympics without going to the olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Today I am watching some amazing swimmers I know there. However there are some amazing swimmers out there who I don't know, but the spirit of the sport has me face to the tv, cheering them on as I would for my best friend at the summer league meets. Swimming is not only a sport, but a lifestyle. When you become a part of the swimming community everyone's wins are your wins, because even if your archrival in your group does well it means that you have someone to compete against in practice, to push to you to be YOUR best as well. Well that is how I feel about it at least, other people feel differently, but I feel that if you lose at least you should know you put it all in the pool and you COULDN'T have done any better. Good Luck to Jack Conger, Sarah Haase, Katie Ledecky, and all the other swimmers at Trials!

Results are at Omega Timing:
http://www.omegatiming.com/Competition?id=00010C0102FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF&sport=AQ&year=2012

Sick Day :P

Yesterday I was feeling a bit under the weather, but when I woke up this morning it was 10x worse. You ever have those days where you feel awful and never want to get out of bed? Well today was one of those. Yet, I tried to go to practice at 5:30 a.m. this morning and well... it ended badly. I barely got through warm-up and had started the main set and had to stop. I wasn't making the interval and felt so sick, my stomach hurt and my nose was so runny which meant that swimming and breathing were not cooperating together. I called my dad and he picked me up, I went home and took a 3 hour nap. Then I made pillsbury reduced fat cinnamon rolls, which are my quick fix for breakfast. Then I got hungry for lunch and whipped up some kraft mac n' cheese, from the box. The creators of quick meals are my saviors on sick days!

Comment with your favorite comfort foods!

Summer 2012!! & The Last Great Ape

Today was my LAST EXAM! It is officially SUMMER! Time to get my towel and have some fun in the sun. Next weekend I'm going to Richmond, VA and swimming at the Last Chance Invitational. The pool there is the Olympic Trials pool from 2008 held in Omaha, Nebraska where NINE world records were broken. I can't wait to swim in the pool where Katie Hoff, Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Kate Ziegler, Elizabeth Biesel, Matt Grevers, Natalie Coughlin, Peter Vanderkaay, and Jessuca Hardy; all the biggest names in recent American swimming history all competed at the height of their careers.

Based on a true story, this book is full of turmoil and adventure. It is extremely touching and makes one want to get involved. Go check out my review at: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/334077850

ANYONE GOT ANY SUMMER PLANS?
Comment Below... I need some ideas for my own summer!

The Joy of Coaching

A lot of things can go wrong when there is a pool with 100+ kids aged 6-18 actively being kids. Summer swim meets were and will continue to be the highlight of my childhood, but I never knew the amount of work that goes into running them. There is a head coach, 2 assistant head coaches, 3 assistant coaches, and me the coach-in-training, with 4 of us who were actively involved in swimming events in the meet. As this meet was a time trials, the first meet of the season where only our team swims to get times for the following meets, it was surprisingly chaotic. I have to say, between swimming and trying to get the little kids to their events without them breaking down in tears or missing their events; the job is almost impossible even for 7 knowledgeable highschoolers, college kids, and an adult.

As my first time as a person incharge of handling the bussing around of children I was surprised to say I thought I did fairly well, except of the fact that I am still figuring out so many names. The experience was interesting, I had to handle a frog situation (there was a frog swimming in the pool with little kids screaming, "FROG, it's a frog in the pool." I had to scoop it out and release it into the wild.) and then I had to help a girl who was anxious and had begun to cry, turns out she just needed a little encouragement from a coach and a smile from her dad. That is the best part of the job, knowing there are a bunch of little faces that look up to you for encouragement and as a role model. Which is mainly what motivates me to ignore the blazing heat, wipe my sweat, and remember why I am doing it in the first place.

When I was six years old, another teenager did the same thing and somehow made swimming fun and introduced me into the wonderful world of swimming. I am trying to repay the team for what they've given my life, by hopefully passing down the love of the sport and helping provide the community with an extracurricular sport that helps keep the kids out of trouble and learn how to be a part of a team.

A little froggy that looks like the one I had to save from a bunch of screaming kids. 

Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words, By Rachel Coker

An amazing, touching story that will bring you to tears, make you smile, and make you laugh. Through love lost and love found, we see how a girl trys to survive by shutting herself off, and she must learn to love again. Her wittiness and sarcasm makes her lovable and relatable, you cheer for her and cry for her. It is a well written story, and it is eloquent and well-versed. Add this book to your summer reading list!