So my dad is in Florida right now for his college's Nationals and before he left he said, "Guess who is going to be at Nationals", and I was like, "WHO?" And he said, "Ryan Lochte".
For those that don't know me very well, I'm OBSESSED with Ryan Lochte! I think he is an absolute GOD! For those who don't know him (shame on you!) he is an Olympic backstroker with multiple world records and many medals including, a gold in the 200 back and 800 free relay, a silver in the 200 IM, and a bronze in the 400 IM. His best time in the 200 meter IM is a 1:54.10, which is a world record. But I don't love him for just his swimming talent but his....GORGEOUSNESS!
Anyway, so yesterday my dad sent me a picture and I opened it up and there was....RYAN LOCHTE! The picture message had said "Ryan says hi", i pretty much died when I saw it. Then my dad called me and said "I have a surprise for you", and I'm about to pass out thinking that he was going to hand his phone over to Ryan and let me talk to him! But...no, he told me that he got him to sign me something, but that's still amazing! I just wish I could talk to him ): it's alright; we're going to get married anyway.
His picture is now my background for my phone and also on my facebook, trust me, I couldn't hide him! <3
I once swam against my teammate and she loves him like I do and we're both breastrokers so to make it fun I said, "We'll swim for Ryan, winner get's him." So we dove in and swam like no other day, I won the race but we both got lifetime best times, in practice! Still to this day, we race for Ryan Lochte.
So for the past few months I've been training for a big swim meet. It's called gold’s and it's where swim clubs go to compete and it's kind of our big swim meet of the year. You have to qualify to go, and I qualify in all breastroke events and the 200 IM. Although, this year isn't like any other past years...This year I have to qualify for Speedo Sectionals in Maryland. I'm sure you guys have no idea what that is, most swimmers don’t, but it's a huge meet, one step down from Nationals. I am less than a second away and the only way for me to qualify is to get the time at Gold's. I am SO nervous, and that's a big deal because I never get nervous for swim meets, not even State's.
I have been training SO hard, my coaches have been killing me in practice and I've been working a lot on my breastroke and my IM, I think I'm ready.
A few days ago, my coach made us do suicides, and NO it's not what you think. Other swimmers may know it as the military set. But it's when you sprint a 25, get out and do 10 (or however many you have to do) pushup's (or crunches) and then get back in immediately and sprint another 25 and then get back up and do it more. I'm sure it doesn't sound painful but trust me, it lives up to its name. I'm sure it's obvious, but you definitely want to commit suicide during those. Ahhhhh, no swimmer likes those, I guarantee.
Also, I decided to go on an "all salad diet" just to lose a few pounds and get more toned, and it really has helped, I lost a lot of weight and still am, but I'm a little nervous about how it's going to impact my swimming. One of the coaches said that I shouldn’t change my diet this time during the season or I'll mess up my body and not do well, so I'm worrying about that. Hmmm, I wonder what I should do. Anyone have some tips?
I've decided to share with you guys, my past seasons and the obstacles I've faced and how I overcame them.
So I have been swimming on the R-H high school swim team for 4 years now. I started in 7th grade; I had been swimming since I was 4 so it was nothing new to me. As a "baby" (a group of 7th and 8th grade swimmers), I wasn't really important to the swim team at first. My first meet was one I'd remember forever. It was an away meet and I was swimming the "B"(the 2nd relay) 200 Medley Relay, the 200 IM, and the 100 breast. I was extremely nervous and I wasn't sure how things were going to work. The medley relay came first and when I dove in and swam the 50 breast, it was the most amazing feeling ever. Everyone was cheering my name and I had a big rush of adrenaline. After the medley relay came the 200 IM, since this was an individual race, I was one my own. That event was all a blur, but I got a best time by a lot and I was very proud! I had a while till my 100 breast and I was getting even more nervous by the minute. It then was my turn. Me and 2 of my team mates walked up to the blocks and stood behind our lanes. When the announcer said my name, the crowd went crazy. I got on the block and waited for the buzzer. As soon as it beeped, I exploded off the block. The first pull out felt like the longest pull out of my life, then I came up and left everything behind. I remember seeing the people I kept passing in my side vision and I couldn't be happier. As soon as I touched the wall, the looked up at the clock and saw that I got a best time by about 5 seconds! I was the happiest girl alive and at that exact moment, I fell in love with swimming.
My 7th and 8th grade seasons were great. I went to sectionals and dropped a lot of time and I was really enjoying it. Then 9th grade came and then I hit my plateau. In case people don't know what a swimming plateau is, it's when you do great and then sometime in your life, you stop going fast and you stay at a specific time and no matter how hard you try, you can't get faster. I was extremely frustrated with myself and just wanted to give up. I kept getting 1:18's in my 100 br, and my best time was a 1:15. I would work harder than anyone on my team but I still wouldn't go any faster, it was maddening! Finally it got time for sectionals and I started feeling really confident that I was finally going to break my curse of 1:18's. In prelims I went a 1:12.27, and I was so shocked! I couldn't believe that I was able to do that!
This was my race when I went a 1:12.27. This is when I was 13. I am the one with the black suit that goes down to my knees. You can hear my family cheering for me. I'm in lane 3 and I got 3rd.
10th grade wasn't a really good season, in Sectionals i didn't get a best time, I stayed around a 1:12 but I wasn't terribly upset cause a 1:12 wasn't that bad, but I really wanted to make states the next year.
11th grade, which is this year, I was feeling really confident that I would be able to make states. I worked harder than I have ever worked and we got a new assistant coach and he is one of the best coaches I've ever had, he pushed me further than anyone has ever done, he actually made me cry during one practice because I couldn't go any faster and I needed rest but he wouldn't let me stop. I hated him, but I knew he would make it all worth while....and he did.
It was time for Sectionals and I was so pumped! I bought a new suit and was ready to swim fast! In the medley relay I went a :30 in my 50 br. As soon as my dad saw that, he knew I would be in the 1:10 range, and the State qualifying time was a 1:10.37. I was pumped when I saw my 50 br time and I was feeling really confident. It came time for MY event, the 100 br. I was in the zone, and I was completely focused. It was time for my heat; I dove in and there was no stopping me. I touched the wall and saw the clock...1:09.86! My whole body went numb and I threw my arms up and jumped out of the water. My whole team was behind my lane and as soon as I climbed out, everyone hugged me and screamed. I couldn't believe I got a state cut, and not only, I smashed it and got under a 1:10! I was on top of the world! After Sectionals, my family took me out to dinner and we celebrated. I couldn't wait till States.
I not only made it to states in the 100 br, I also made it in the 200 medley relay. States was an amazing experience. I swam okay, went a 1:10 but that's not bad for what swimmers are expected to do after Sectionals. I was proud of myself for making it this far. I am very close to the Speedo Sectional cut that is being held in Maryland this year so I plan on going to that. I can't wait to see how I do this year!
I didn't post this to brag about myself or anything like that. I posted this to share my story and show how far you can go if you put your mind to it. Here is a piece of advice: Swimming is 90% mental and 10% physical. If your mind doesn't want it, you wont get to it. You can't be negative, you HAVE to think positive. I stayed positive through my obstacles and I came out on top.
Hey Guys! This is my first entry and I'm really excited to hear everyone's opinions!
So people have been saying that swimming isn't really a sport and that it's not hard at all. Well, obviously people have never swam a practice in their LIFE! Swimming isn't like any other sport like football or baseball...In swimming you use EVERY single muscle in your body, and not only that, you need serious skill and talent to do it. You need serious breath control, endurance, agility, speed, stamina, strength, flexibility, balance, power, coordination, and accuracy. Swimming is 10% physical and 90% mental so we can't forget the mental skills you need: self-confidence, imagination, focus, positive thinking, desire, energy management, stress management, perspective, able to set goals, and perseverance, and that's just a small list. Here is an average workout that would be about 2 hours long. Click Here to see it. And that is a pretty easy workout. Swimming isn't all fun and games and people wonder how we get injured in swimming even though its not a contact sport. Well.....the lane lines are not our friends, we lose finger nails when we hit them and break fingers when we collide hands with the person next to you. I'm sure you've heard the term "swim shoulders" well swim shoulders aren't very fun. You get tendinitis and rotator cuff impingements and dislocation and inflammation. I may not be a doctor but I know how this all feels. Here are a few funny excuses that you'll hear a lot in swimming: 1. I have a cramp. 2. The water is too cold. 3. I didn't hear the start horn. 4. My goggles leaked. 5. There's too much chlorine. 6. The water is too warm. 7. I hate that stroke. 8. I slipped on the block. 9. My feet slipped on the wall. 10. i forgot my suit. 11. I need to stretch. 12. I ate before my race. 13. The touch pad lied. 14. The waters too slow. 15. The line line bit me. 16. I gotta breathe! 17. I am kicking! 18. I can't get my cap on. 19. The pools too dirty. 20. I have to go to the bathroom! If you are a swimmer then you know exactly what I mean. Swimming isn't like any other sport out there...We don't have judges to judge us, we are our own judges. We determine how fast we swim and how hard we work. The only opponent is yourself. The only thing your racing is the clock, and that's why I love it so much. I actually can control everything and I like that power.
So this past Saturday I was invited to go to a swim clinic at SUNY Brockport with Gil Stovall, who was on the 2008 Olympic Swim team in the 200 and 100 fly. He is the second fastest flyer, after Michael Phelps of course. He sat with us and talked about goal setting and positive thinking, and he said something that really helped me. He said "To me, anything is possible, and if you aren't reaching your goals, then you don't want it enough." That really inspired me.
So enough talking about me and my experiences, share your swimming stories with me! I'd love to here them!
My name is Ashley Dubois, I'm sixteen years old and attend Rush Henrietta Senior High School. For my Journalism class, we're required to create a blog. I decided to write about swimming, since it's my whole life. As you can tell, I'm a swimmer and have been for 12 1/2 years. My events are the IM (200 and 400) and Breastroke (50, 100, and 200.). My dad is my coach for club, and I also swim for my high school. I'll be a senior next year and I plan on swimming through college. I'm looking for scholarships for swimming or special talent passes. I shouldn't be doing all the talking! I want your opinion!!
