A funny thing happens to me right after the main event, that I've been training for, is in the books. I seem to go into "relax" mode and have no real strong drive to get up early and get active. Don't get me wrong, I don't go into "sloth" mode and sit on the couch while stuffing my face with garbage, but when the sun comes up, my internal struggle with getting up, or getting more sleep, usually ends with....getting more sleep. After the USMS nationals ended three weeks ago, I've been in the water exactly 3 times for a whopping 4300 yards. My last event was on Sunday, 05/12, and, while I got in the water just two days later, I took the entire next week off from swimming. The good news, however, is that I did lace up the shoes and I did get back on the bike for some shorter runs and rides. I'm planning on doing a long course meters swim meet in mid-July (where I may, or may not, go for the high point award), so I need to get back in swimming mode PDQ. For those of you that don't know what a high point award is, it's an age group award given out to the individual that scores the most points in a meet. Obviously, the higher you place, the more points you get. Also, the more events you swim, you have a better chance of scoring more points too. So, let's say that I swim three events, take first place in each, and earn 30 points. I could have also entered 5 events, taken 4th in each, and earned 35 points. If I do decide to take a crack at the award, I'll probably enter more events than typical, so that means that I will be swimming added events like the 200 IM, 400 free, and 200 free. Finally, a quick oddity from this morning; Fully knowing that I need to get back into the pool, I should have made a trip down to the YMCA to grab a lane. When I finally woke up, I made the decision to.....wait for it.....go for a run?!?!? Seriously, I picked running over swimming? Someone, somewhere, probably just saw a pig fly, or Satan himself just put on a jacket.
Here are the numbers:
MAY 2010 TOTALS:
SWIM = 13700 yards
BIKE = 477.25 miles
RUN = 69.9 miles
MAY 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 23788 yards
BIKE = 350.03 miles
RUN = 39.5 miles
MAY 2012 TOTALS:
SWIM = 15927 yards
BIKE = 342.41 miles
RUN = 54.57 miles
MAY 2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 11050 yards
BIKE = 93.51 miles
RUN = 18.41 miles
Friday, May 31, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
USMS 2013 Spring National Championships
Our trip to Indianapolis started with a 6:45PM flight from Sky Harbor International Airport. The flight from Phoenix to Indianapolis is around 3 hours long, so when you consider the time change of 3 hours, we didn't land until almost 1:00AM local time. We grab a cab and head off into uncharted territory since neither Kristi, nor I, had never been to Indy. We finally get to our hotel, the Courtyard Marriott, only to find ourselves dealing with what we like to call a "situation" at the front desk. To make a long story VERY short, we end up calling their sister hotel, the upscale J.W. Marriott, and book our stay with them. Since the two were connected, we didn't even have to step outside to get there. J.W. felt so bad about our situation, they upgraded us to a corner room that had huge windows on both sides that looked over downtown. We could also see Lucas Oil Stadium (where the Colts play) too.That being said, this was NOT what we wanted to be wrestling with at almost 2:00AM! Good thing I didn't enter the long distance events, as they were competing later that day. We eventually got to our room, got situated, and shut it down for about the next 8ish hours.
We wake up sometime between 10:00AM and 11:00AM and decide that we should head down to the Natatorium so that I could check in and put up the ONE Multisport and Frank Sole banners that I brought along. Our hotel was only about a half a mile from the venue, so it only took us around 10ish minutes to get there. The IUPUI Natatorium is the same place where the NCAA Swimming Championships were held the previous month, so you know it has to be a sweet set up! We finally arrive, open the door, and are greeted by the chlorine scented, humid air, that accompanies indoor pools....something I LOVE! We quickly find the check in desk, get my badge, and then scope out good places for banner placement. Ultimately, we find prime real estate over the judges table.
Here's my deck pass, I'm official!
Prime real estate for team banners:
After getting the banner fastened to the rail, and snapping a couple of pics, it was time for me to head down to the warm-up pool to get in a nice easy swim. After about 1600 yards, and some practice on my turns, I got out, dried off, and we headed back to the hotel.
Warm-ups:
Since we hadn't had lunch yet, we decided to grab something at the sports bar in the lobby. We chatted up the bartender and asked her opinion as to where we should go exploring. We were looking to visit multiple establishments, sample some more food, and try a few beverages as well. She pulled out a map, made some suggestions, and we were off. We probably walked a total of 3 miles, but were able to experience downtown Indianapolis as well as several great places to eat and drink.
At the last place, Ralston's, the rain started to come down pretty good just as we decided to leave. We made the executive decision to order another beverage and play a few games of shuffleboard:
Ultimately, the rain didn't let up, so we ended up calling a cab and headed back to the J Dub to call it an evening. My first event, the 50 yard backstroke, started at 10:30, so there wasn't any necessity to hit the sack early, but we were wiped. As a result, we stayed up a bit later and were able to catch The Hangover 2 on the tube. FWIW, I thought it was pretty funny.
On Friday, we were able to sleep in and got up with the natural light filling the room. We packed our gear and headed back to the Natatorium. This time, however, the place was PACKED! I think they said that there were something like 1600 swimmers! The competition pool opens up only once during the morning for warm-ups and since I wanted to practice counting my strokes (from the flags to the wall) for my backstroke, I had to squeeze in. One of the comments I made later was that my warm-up felt more like an Ironman start rather than an EZ swim!
Competition pool melee!:
With warm-ups over, I get out, dry off, and continue to stretch. I like to get to my lane early and kind of hover around while the other events are going on. I don't know why I do it, but it's been that way since I was a kid. Finally, my heat gets called. I step up to the pool edge and jump right in. Oops! The official didn't whistle for us to do that yet, so I raise my hand, wave at him, and mouth an apology. Geez.
Everybody else gets in at the proper time and we all grab the bar attached to our blocks. The next thing I know, I'm under water and doing dolphin kicks on my back. I feel solid and things are going right so far. I surface, take a few strokes, and execute my turn perfectly. I'm under water again and kicking as hard as I can. I surface and finish the race. The only glitch was that I could have taken another stroke to finish. I repeatedly counted four strokes in warm-up, but clearly, I should have taken five. As a result, I probably added a few tenths of a second onto my time by kicking in. I look up at the timing board to see that I took second in my heat at 27.70!
It wasn't a PR (27.62), but I knew that I was in contention for a medal because they are given out for the top 10 and there were only 8 people in the next heat (supposedly the fastest). I watched intently as they started and finished. When I saw that some of their times were slower than mine, I became very excited. Kristi and I stuck around a bit before I headed off to the awards section to see if I did, indeed, get a medal. They print the winners names on label sheets and then tape those sheets to the wall. I perused the various events until I came to mine. 10th place!!!! I peeled off the sticker and proudly marched it over to the awards table. "Congratulations" the lady said as she handed me my prize. I was as giddy as a 5 year old on Christmas morning! When I got back to our seats and showed Kristi, she promptly got out the camera and took this shot:
After hanging around to watch some other events, we finally took off back to the hotel for a quick wardrobe change before heading back out to downtown Indy. The rain was on and off the entire time we were walking around, but that just added to the fun! Our MO was the same as yesterday, visit different places and try different things before calling it a night. One great story is when we entered an Off Track Betting bar. We had no idea what the hell we were doing and when we walked in, it seemed like the music stopped, the horses stopped running, and all eyes were on us. We decided to place a safe bet and a long shot bet based solely on the odds. We approached the window and immediately asked for help. We even had to let some dude behind us go first since he was getting agitated. We settled on a "trifecta box" where we pick three horses to come in in any order so long as they are 1, 2 , & 3. When the guy asks us how much we'd like to bet, I told him $5. Well, that was $5 per something because the total bet would have been $30. Not a lot of money to be certain, but we didn't feel like gambling $30 on something we NOTHING about. At any rate, I told him $1 (for a total of $6!). We sit down, and wait. Finally, our race goes off and, wouldn't you know it, our three picks lead pretty much from wire to wire! I bring the ticket back and ask how much we won. The lady then hands me $12 and change. So, there you have it, we won $6, but could have won more if we stuck to the $30 "mistake." Here are some pics from the day:
Time to celebrate being 10th in the nation! (At the Indianapolis Colts Bar)
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument:
The site of our BIG $6 windfall!
I don't think the hard stuff is coming down for a while!
Saturday's event was the 50 yard butterfly. Of all the events, I thought that this was probably going to be my strongest, so I was cautiously optimistic about getting a second medal. Since I didn't need to practice counting strokes from the flags to the wall (like I did for backstroke), I didn't need to get into the competition pool warm-up circus. Instead, I warmed up in the diving pool (the designated warm-up pool for the event). It was still crowded, but nothing like yesterday. After warming up, I headed back to the spectators galley to sit with Kristi for a bit. We watched different events and talked about pretty much anything associated with swimming. Eventually, it was time for me to head back down and start stretching. Oddly enough, I was in the exact same lane (#1) as I was in for my backstroke. I was feeling good and confident as I stepped up to the blocks.
When the beeper went off, I exploded off the blocks and hit the water in good form (lane 1).
My kicks felt great and I was moving! I surfaced with just enough room left for about 4 pulls before I executed a fine turn. On my way back however, I lost the "feel" for the water and started "slipping" through it. If you're not a swimmer, it's hard to explain, but it's a distinct feeling. I knew that I was in trouble, but tried to stay focused. I could see the splashes from the lane next to me getting closer as I was slipping. Funny how all of this can happen within a 50 yard sprint, right?!?! Anyway, I touch the wall and look up to the scoreboard. All I could think was, "GEEZ!" Again, no PR (25.54) as the clock said 25.96. At this point, I knew that my hopes of a medal were dashed. No PR, no points, and no medal. BUMMER! Ultimately I ended up 16th in the nation, which I'm VERY proud of thank you very much! Since we didn't need to stick around for awards, we pretty much vacated the premises immediately. Later that evening, we were supposed to attend an Toledo Mud Hens vs. Indianapolis Indians AAA baseball game, but before that, we found out the there was Indy 500 practice at the IMS and decided to go.
I'm not a race car fan by any stretch of the imagination. I can tell you that there are Foyt's, Earnhardt's, a Danica, and there was a Schumacher (I had to Google the spelling of his name). I've never been to a NASCAR race, an Indy race, a midget car race, or pretty much any car race that goes in circles. All of that being said, when we stepped out of the cab, in front of the IMS, we heard a car race by, and something inside me got very, VERY excited! The loud wail of the engine and the new experience made K and I both look at each other with HUGE smiles. We ended up sitting in the grandstands for a bit. We watched the mechanics work on pit row, saw cars speed past us at 220mph, and enjoyed every second. The weather was a bit chilly as a storm was still lingering around and the wind had picked up, but at least it wasn't raining! We walked around the infield and stopped at a few different places to watch the action. Overall, we both had an awesome time. We even suggested that we should come back here in 3 years for our son's 10th birthday. That would be the 100th Indy 500 too.
After watching practice, it was time to head on over to the baseball diamond for some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Actually, we bought tickets to attend an Indy USMS event in the Coors Light Corner that provided free food and beverages. By the time we got there, the temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up. We were making plans to cut out before the game even started! About half way through my burger, but just before my hot dog, we found out that Emily Silver (2008 Olympic Silver Medalist) and Jason Lezak (2008 Olympic gold medalist) were going to be there handing out SWAG bags. I joked with K that I should hustle back to our room, to get my medal, so that I could get my picture take with them. After she said, "Why not?", I made the mad dash. I made it back, medal in hand just in time for their arrival. I stepped up for my photo op and proudly displayed my hardware, to which Lezak said, "Hey, when did you get that?" We made some small talk before I challenged him to a race the next day. He said that it was a deal, but only if I gave him a head start. After that, we grabbed our goodies and went back for the evening.
Sunday was my final event (50 yard free) as well as our last day in Indy. Kristi was able to connect with one of her cousins and we went out to breakfast with him and his two daughters. After breakfast, we made the last trek over to the Natatorium. The wind was really whipping now and the forecast said it was going to be around 42! After we got there, and they got situated, I headed down for about a 900 yard warm-up. I consider the 50 free to be my weakest event, so I was more relaxed and not expecting too much. The race itself felt great. My dive was strong, my entry was streamlined, and my dolphin kicks were good. I was "feeling" the water very well and had an excellent turn. After touching the timing pad, I looked up to the timing board to see that I took 3rd in my heat! Wow, that puts me in medal contention again! Almost just as good, I threw down a new PR, 23.62! After showering, and saying goodbye to K's cousins, we hung around for the final results. When they were ultimately posted, I was mildly disappointed that I was 12th. I quickly snapped out of it and reveled in the fact that I set a new PR and was, in fact, the 12th best in the nation!
Kristi and her cousins:
3rd in my heat wasn't good enough for top 10:
BUT, it was good enough for 12th in the nation with a new PR......I'll take it!!!
After my last event, we went back to the room, gathered up our stuff, and caught a shuttle to the airport. We had a great time in Indy and I was coming home with some hardware too. What a great weekend!
I only have one question.......WHAT'S NEXT?!?!?
We wake up sometime between 10:00AM and 11:00AM and decide that we should head down to the Natatorium so that I could check in and put up the ONE Multisport and Frank Sole banners that I brought along. Our hotel was only about a half a mile from the venue, so it only took us around 10ish minutes to get there. The IUPUI Natatorium is the same place where the NCAA Swimming Championships were held the previous month, so you know it has to be a sweet set up! We finally arrive, open the door, and are greeted by the chlorine scented, humid air, that accompanies indoor pools....something I LOVE! We quickly find the check in desk, get my badge, and then scope out good places for banner placement. Ultimately, we find prime real estate over the judges table.
Here's my deck pass, I'm official!
Prime real estate for team banners:
After getting the banner fastened to the rail, and snapping a couple of pics, it was time for me to head down to the warm-up pool to get in a nice easy swim. After about 1600 yards, and some practice on my turns, I got out, dried off, and we headed back to the hotel.
Warm-ups:
Since we hadn't had lunch yet, we decided to grab something at the sports bar in the lobby. We chatted up the bartender and asked her opinion as to where we should go exploring. We were looking to visit multiple establishments, sample some more food, and try a few beverages as well. She pulled out a map, made some suggestions, and we were off. We probably walked a total of 3 miles, but were able to experience downtown Indianapolis as well as several great places to eat and drink.
At the last place, Ralston's, the rain started to come down pretty good just as we decided to leave. We made the executive decision to order another beverage and play a few games of shuffleboard:
Ultimately, the rain didn't let up, so we ended up calling a cab and headed back to the J Dub to call it an evening. My first event, the 50 yard backstroke, started at 10:30, so there wasn't any necessity to hit the sack early, but we were wiped. As a result, we stayed up a bit later and were able to catch The Hangover 2 on the tube. FWIW, I thought it was pretty funny.
On Friday, we were able to sleep in and got up with the natural light filling the room. We packed our gear and headed back to the Natatorium. This time, however, the place was PACKED! I think they said that there were something like 1600 swimmers! The competition pool opens up only once during the morning for warm-ups and since I wanted to practice counting my strokes (from the flags to the wall) for my backstroke, I had to squeeze in. One of the comments I made later was that my warm-up felt more like an Ironman start rather than an EZ swim!
Competition pool melee!:
With warm-ups over, I get out, dry off, and continue to stretch. I like to get to my lane early and kind of hover around while the other events are going on. I don't know why I do it, but it's been that way since I was a kid. Finally, my heat gets called. I step up to the pool edge and jump right in. Oops! The official didn't whistle for us to do that yet, so I raise my hand, wave at him, and mouth an apology. Geez.
Everybody else gets in at the proper time and we all grab the bar attached to our blocks. The next thing I know, I'm under water and doing dolphin kicks on my back. I feel solid and things are going right so far. I surface, take a few strokes, and execute my turn perfectly. I'm under water again and kicking as hard as I can. I surface and finish the race. The only glitch was that I could have taken another stroke to finish. I repeatedly counted four strokes in warm-up, but clearly, I should have taken five. As a result, I probably added a few tenths of a second onto my time by kicking in. I look up at the timing board to see that I took second in my heat at 27.70!
It wasn't a PR (27.62), but I knew that I was in contention for a medal because they are given out for the top 10 and there were only 8 people in the next heat (supposedly the fastest). I watched intently as they started and finished. When I saw that some of their times were slower than mine, I became very excited. Kristi and I stuck around a bit before I headed off to the awards section to see if I did, indeed, get a medal. They print the winners names on label sheets and then tape those sheets to the wall. I perused the various events until I came to mine. 10th place!!!! I peeled off the sticker and proudly marched it over to the awards table. "Congratulations" the lady said as she handed me my prize. I was as giddy as a 5 year old on Christmas morning! When I got back to our seats and showed Kristi, she promptly got out the camera and took this shot:
After hanging around to watch some other events, we finally took off back to the hotel for a quick wardrobe change before heading back out to downtown Indy. The rain was on and off the entire time we were walking around, but that just added to the fun! Our MO was the same as yesterday, visit different places and try different things before calling it a night. One great story is when we entered an Off Track Betting bar. We had no idea what the hell we were doing and when we walked in, it seemed like the music stopped, the horses stopped running, and all eyes were on us. We decided to place a safe bet and a long shot bet based solely on the odds. We approached the window and immediately asked for help. We even had to let some dude behind us go first since he was getting agitated. We settled on a "trifecta box" where we pick three horses to come in in any order so long as they are 1, 2 , & 3. When the guy asks us how much we'd like to bet, I told him $5. Well, that was $5 per something because the total bet would have been $30. Not a lot of money to be certain, but we didn't feel like gambling $30 on something we NOTHING about. At any rate, I told him $1 (for a total of $6!). We sit down, and wait. Finally, our race goes off and, wouldn't you know it, our three picks lead pretty much from wire to wire! I bring the ticket back and ask how much we won. The lady then hands me $12 and change. So, there you have it, we won $6, but could have won more if we stuck to the $30 "mistake." Here are some pics from the day:
Time to celebrate being 10th in the nation! (At the Indianapolis Colts Bar)
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument:
The site of our BIG $6 windfall!
I don't think the hard stuff is coming down for a while!
Saturday's event was the 50 yard butterfly. Of all the events, I thought that this was probably going to be my strongest, so I was cautiously optimistic about getting a second medal. Since I didn't need to practice counting strokes from the flags to the wall (like I did for backstroke), I didn't need to get into the competition pool warm-up circus. Instead, I warmed up in the diving pool (the designated warm-up pool for the event). It was still crowded, but nothing like yesterday. After warming up, I headed back to the spectators galley to sit with Kristi for a bit. We watched different events and talked about pretty much anything associated with swimming. Eventually, it was time for me to head back down and start stretching. Oddly enough, I was in the exact same lane (#1) as I was in for my backstroke. I was feeling good and confident as I stepped up to the blocks.
When the beeper went off, I exploded off the blocks and hit the water in good form (lane 1).
My kicks felt great and I was moving! I surfaced with just enough room left for about 4 pulls before I executed a fine turn. On my way back however, I lost the "feel" for the water and started "slipping" through it. If you're not a swimmer, it's hard to explain, but it's a distinct feeling. I knew that I was in trouble, but tried to stay focused. I could see the splashes from the lane next to me getting closer as I was slipping. Funny how all of this can happen within a 50 yard sprint, right?!?! Anyway, I touch the wall and look up to the scoreboard. All I could think was, "GEEZ!" Again, no PR (25.54) as the clock said 25.96. At this point, I knew that my hopes of a medal were dashed. No PR, no points, and no medal. BUMMER! Ultimately I ended up 16th in the nation, which I'm VERY proud of thank you very much! Since we didn't need to stick around for awards, we pretty much vacated the premises immediately. Later that evening, we were supposed to attend an Toledo Mud Hens vs. Indianapolis Indians AAA baseball game, but before that, we found out the there was Indy 500 practice at the IMS and decided to go.
I'm not a race car fan by any stretch of the imagination. I can tell you that there are Foyt's, Earnhardt's, a Danica, and there was a Schumacher (I had to Google the spelling of his name). I've never been to a NASCAR race, an Indy race, a midget car race, or pretty much any car race that goes in circles. All of that being said, when we stepped out of the cab, in front of the IMS, we heard a car race by, and something inside me got very, VERY excited! The loud wail of the engine and the new experience made K and I both look at each other with HUGE smiles. We ended up sitting in the grandstands for a bit. We watched the mechanics work on pit row, saw cars speed past us at 220mph, and enjoyed every second. The weather was a bit chilly as a storm was still lingering around and the wind had picked up, but at least it wasn't raining! We walked around the infield and stopped at a few different places to watch the action. Overall, we both had an awesome time. We even suggested that we should come back here in 3 years for our son's 10th birthday. That would be the 100th Indy 500 too.
After watching practice, it was time to head on over to the baseball diamond for some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Actually, we bought tickets to attend an Indy USMS event in the Coors Light Corner that provided free food and beverages. By the time we got there, the temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up. We were making plans to cut out before the game even started! About half way through my burger, but just before my hot dog, we found out that Emily Silver (2008 Olympic Silver Medalist) and Jason Lezak (2008 Olympic gold medalist) were going to be there handing out SWAG bags. I joked with K that I should hustle back to our room, to get my medal, so that I could get my picture take with them. After she said, "Why not?", I made the mad dash. I made it back, medal in hand just in time for their arrival. I stepped up for my photo op and proudly displayed my hardware, to which Lezak said, "Hey, when did you get that?" We made some small talk before I challenged him to a race the next day. He said that it was a deal, but only if I gave him a head start. After that, we grabbed our goodies and went back for the evening.
Sunday was my final event (50 yard free) as well as our last day in Indy. Kristi was able to connect with one of her cousins and we went out to breakfast with him and his two daughters. After breakfast, we made the last trek over to the Natatorium. The wind was really whipping now and the forecast said it was going to be around 42! After we got there, and they got situated, I headed down for about a 900 yard warm-up. I consider the 50 free to be my weakest event, so I was more relaxed and not expecting too much. The race itself felt great. My dive was strong, my entry was streamlined, and my dolphin kicks were good. I was "feeling" the water very well and had an excellent turn. After touching the timing pad, I looked up to the timing board to see that I took 3rd in my heat! Wow, that puts me in medal contention again! Almost just as good, I threw down a new PR, 23.62! After showering, and saying goodbye to K's cousins, we hung around for the final results. When they were ultimately posted, I was mildly disappointed that I was 12th. I quickly snapped out of it and reveled in the fact that I set a new PR and was, in fact, the 12th best in the nation!
Kristi and her cousins:
3rd in my heat wasn't good enough for top 10:
BUT, it was good enough for 12th in the nation with a new PR......I'll take it!!!
After my last event, we went back to the room, gathered up our stuff, and caught a shuttle to the airport. We had a great time in Indy and I was coming home with some hardware too. What a great weekend!
I only have one question.......WHAT'S NEXT?!?!?
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