Dream or Nightmare?

There are pros and cons to all things. Something may seem completely horrible but if you look deep into it there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. The same thing can be said about the opposite, if you look hard enough, there WILL be something negative found in the positive. The glass can be seen half full or half empty, all about perspective. Being a dedicated D1 athletes has its perks...but certainly has its downsides as well.

Perks of being a dedicated Student-Athlete:
      ~ you enjoy what you do
      ~ you tend to improve at things when you work hard and are motivated
      ~ people are impressed whenever they hear you mention that you're a "division 1 athlete"
      ~ free gear
      ~ scholarship
      ~ camaraderie with teammates
      ~ pursuit of championship / personal best
      ~ teaches effective time management
      ~ healthy habits are established
      ~ well-rounded

Downsides of being a dedicated Student-Athlete:
      ~ lack of sleep/social life
      ~ making sacrifices based on priority to the sport
      ~ time constraints
      ~ frustration with teammates when they don't put in the same dedication level as others
      ~ fear of failure
      ~ exhaustion / lack of energy
      ~ lack of time for other activities on campus
      ~ inability to study abroad because season pans across both semesters
      ~ forced friendship with teammates

Sometimes it depends on the day. One could have a performance that alters their mood for the rest of the week and sets the tone for their attitude. One can argue both sides as to whether or not being student-athlete is a dream or a nightmare.

thankful for swimming

Swimming has a way of taking my mind off of everything.
There's something about your face being submerged under water that makes everything else go away. You can't talk to anyone so you're stuck with your own thoughts. Wouldn't that make me more stressed out? Constantly thinking of what i have to do next... who i have to deal with...when i have to go somewhere.

Somehow that all goes away.

When i'm in the pool I focus on swimming. All my other problems seem insignificant. I can deal with them later. Being in the pool every day is like my therapy. Therapy for my body as exercise. And therapy for my mind as an escape.

If i didnt have a pool to escape to every day, I'd easily become overwhelmed with everything in my life. I can go into a practice angry at the world-- and somehow I come out of it calm and relaxed with a new perspective. I don't know how it works.

For this, I am thankful for swimming.

Sorry....

This weekend, just like any other, we had a meet.
This Monday morning, just like any other, our alarms went off at 5:30am to get us started on another week of practice.

Every Monday morning, I fight with myself.
"get out of bed!"
"no!! why are you even swimming in the first place, no one should have to get up this early."
"you're dedicated to your sport that's why. You have goals."
"ughhhhhhhhhhh"

And the battle continues like that week after week.

I try not to complain because I did this to myself. But when I can't keep my eyes open to do a homework assignment, it's hard to not get frustrated. When I'm spending the same amount or more time on athletics than I am on academics, I get worried.

Waking up before 6 does not make the days fly by. Running on 5 hours of sleep starts to take a toll on your body and mind. The less sleep I get, the more negative I become. The more unclear my thoughts become. The harder it is to stay focused in class. While in season, my temper seems shorter, my patience seems thin, and my focus seems non-existent.
I'm sorry to my teachers for falling asleep in class.
& I'm sorry to anyone I get angry with for no reason. But thank you for being patient with me.

I have been injured this year. I don't even know what's wrong with me. All i do know is that my shoulder is in pain. Some of the slightest, easiest movements make me cringe because a sudden shock is sent throughout my arm. When it first started, I couldnt help but tell people that something was wrong. But then I began to realize that some people didnt want to hear my problems. They would block me out and change the subject anytime I talked about my shoulder. So i stopped talking about it. It still hurts. & I still don't know what's wrong with me.
I'm sorry to anyone I complained to who didn't want to hear it. But thank you for listening.

Overall, I'm sorry that swimming effects my personal interactions and mood each day.
But I'm not sorry because swimming is there for me no matter what mood I'm in, no matter how injured I may be, no matter how tired I may be. Swimming knows how to put me down, but better than anyone or anything else, swimming knows how to pick me up.

GIVE ME FOOOOOOOD

Athletes are known to consume more food than the average NARP (Non Athletic Regular Person). On top of that, swimmers are HIGHLY known for their food intake each day.

I notice a HUGE increase in my appetite when I'm swimming every day versus when I'm not swimming. Yes, it's obvious that when you work out you burn more calories and therefore become more hungry. But even when I eat something, 20 minutes later I find myself back in the kitchen looking for more. Will this hunger ever end?????

An average swimmer burns 400-600 calories an hour while swimming. Olympic swimmers who train more than the average swimmer burn up to 10,000 calories a day! Michael Phelps' breakfast is enough for some people to eat throughout their whole day. His normal breakfast consists of three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, tomato, lettuce, fried onions and mayonnaise, an omelette, a bowl of grits, three chocolate-chip pancakes, and three slices of French toast. I'm full just thinking about all of that!

In my own life, I see how much swimmers eat on a daily basis. I live in a room with 8 girls, 6 of them being swimmers. I can tell you that if you walk into our room at ANY point in the day, one of us will be eating something. When we go to Boulder, our school cafeteria which is all you can eat for dinner, swimmers are guaranteed to be seen going up for at least a third serving of food. Some boys on my team spend over an hour in the dining hall because they're making sure they're full before they leave.

I always think about what my eating habits will be like once I leave college and stop swimming at the intensity I do now.
1-  I hope I don't continue eating as many calories as I do now.
2- I better find some other efficient form of exercise because I'll blow up like a balloon if I don't.

p.s. I write this as I consume a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs

Fans Where U At???

I just attended a women's volleyball game and sat in a crowd of about two to three hundred people. Sure some people didn't stay for the whole game, maybe some just came for the free cookies, but they still sat and showed their face to the team that represents their school to other schools.

This was a regular game for the volleyball team...on a Wednesday night.  Our most important swim meet doesn't even get that many fans. (Aside from our championship meet because there are 10 teams in attendance there). Our meets are held only on weekends so there is no way homework or studying can be used as an excuse why people can't show up for a half hour or so. It makes me a little angry that we don't get many supporters, but at the same time, I understand.

I find myself getting bored watching my own swim meet sometimes. It's really only exciting when the race is a close one and one swimmer is trying to out-touch the other.

I tell people to come watch our swim meet. Come cheer us on! Support your H20unds! But then I automatically tell them not to bother because I don't actually expect them to sit through a meet, watching races where they only know a few people and don't even understand the intensity of the race.

At a football, volleyball, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, basketball game, etc. you can read the athletes body language, the emotion on their face, the difference in attitude when they get a rush of energy. With swimming, all you see is splashes of water and maybe the occasional goggles tossed out of frustration or hand thrown in the air out of celebration. You can't sense the emotion in a swimmer while they are competing. That is up to their teammates. The more cheers behind their lane, the more people assume that the race is a big one. Even then, the spectators think that first place is the only way to tell if a swimmer had a good race.

Non-swimmers always ask me after a meet, "Did you win?"

That is probably the most frustrating question I receive as a swimmer. Swimmers race to race others, yes. But mainly, swimmers race against themselves. There's been plenty of races that I've won but I did a bad personal time. People don't understand why I'm upset if I won. I'm upset because I made no progress!

Not having fans just reinforces the relationship among teammates. Your teammates are your fan section. Seeing their faces when you take your first breath after touching the wall is all you need sometimes. They understand if you had a good race or a bad race. They don't question why you didn't win. They don't question if you're happy with your swim because they know you well enough to read your body language...they already know the answer.

Getting first place isn't everything, but getting a first place in your own world means everything. All the hard work paid off and you finally see the results, even if someone may have out-touched you.

Today is a bad day.

Just as I'm getting to the good part of my dream, I hear an unwelcome ringing that brings me out of my slumber every morning. Some mornings, like today, earlier than others.

I sat there at 5:30am hoping and praying that I didn't actually have to wake up right now. I rolled out of bed and somehow managed to properly put on my clothes, go to the bathroom, and brush my teeth with barely opening my eyes. "Today is not going to be a good day," I thought to myself.

There are certain mornings where you wake up and you feel ready to take on the day. At least make it through half the day until it's time for the highlight: the nap. But today I cannot nap. Today I have to swim, lift, go to physical therapy for a swim related injury, do homework, go to class, go to practice, then do more homework and study for a midterm exam tomorrow. Where do I have time to nap? Waking up and knowing that I can't go back to sleep until 10:00pm the earliest makes it so much harder to get up and moving in the morning.

When the clock hits 6:00am on the scoreboard at the FAC, it's time to dive in. Some days I'm the first in the water. Today, I stalled as long as possible. I really did not want that freezing cold water to touch me and send shivers throughout my body just yet. It was inevitable. I was cold for the first 30 minutes of practice. My muscles refusing to get warm, my mind getting frustrated, my shoulder aching... I was dreading this practice.

The main set went by really quickly. 14 minutes long to be exact. But it was still difficult. I struggled to keep up with the girl in the lane next to me whom I normally have no problem keeping pace with. I could not give this practice my all. I was not mentally or physically prepared. Could it have been from the lack of sleep? Or maybe I was still tired from the difficult practice we had yesterday afternoon? OR maybe it's just one of those days.

That happens often in swimming. You have good days and bad days. If you don't have something positive in your head to keep you going, it's going to be a bad day. I cannot think of why I do this to myself. Why do I wake up early to get crushed by a practice and then have to go back later on that day to get through another one. I'm struggling to keep my goals in check and my attitude positive. I think today is a bad day.

Sacrifice

To be truly great at anything you do, you need to put your best foot forward. And this means sacrifice. As a Division 1 swimmer, sometimes this sacrifice is forced.

As you get older and competing becomes more serious, there is an increasing level of dedication demanded if one wants to stay on top. Whether it be going to bed earlier or eating less junk food, there are many sacrifices swimmers take in order to be the best they can be.

1) Wake up early.
             Swimmers are famous for being up before the sun. When normal people are just waking up, swimmers are heading into nap #1 of the day (if we're lucky). If we have a lot of work to do, sorry, no sleep for you...time for coffee.

2) 48 Hour Rule.
             College is fun. Going to bars, house parties, or even just a simple dorm party is what helps college students get through the week...unless you're an athlete. Sure we have fun, we go out. But not when you have a meet the next day or even two days away. If you want your body to be ready to go, you cannot be hungover.

3) Run on lack of energy.
              In addition to the lack of sleep, our bodies are constantly aching. Sore shoulders, hamstrings, hip flexors, biceps, triceps, armpits... you name it! Every part of our bodies are used in swimming. Simple things like walking up the stairs or putting your backpack over your back become dreaded tasks.

4) Take huge chunk of time out of our day for practice.
             We dedicate 2 hours of time (at least) to swim. But that doesn't include the time going to/returning from practice. When you're doing homework and you know you have to leave for practice in 20 minutes, you mentally check out of what you're doing. All you can think about is what the practice is going to be like. Even more time is dedicated when we have two practices AND a lift session in one day. That's 5-6 hours of training in one day. On top of all that, we have to practice our mental toughness so we talk to a sports psychologist to gain the confidence and motivation that we need to make it through each day.

5) Weekends.
              On top of the 48 hour rule. Our meets take longer than the average sporting competition. There is no time limit to a meet. No periods, quarters, or halves to make sure everything is running smoothly. One meet can take up to 4 hours. And if there's more than one session to that meet, that's 4 hours Friday night, 4 hours Saturday morning, and 4 hours Saturday afternoon. By the end of the meet, you're too tired to even try and have fun on Saturday night.


Swimmers go to bed before 10 each night, nap during the day, and barely go out on weekends. What a riveting college experience!!! 

The Best Ships

Teammates are the people that are more than just your friends. You spend hours upon hours each week with them and in some situations, like my own, you live with them. They can be both your favorite and least favorite people at the same time, and you can't imagine life without them.

Sometimes you don't even consider a teammate to be a friend. However, there is a sense of respect that you have to share in order for both of you to get the most out of each practice and competition.

If you're lucky enough to find a team filled with people you're compatible with, it can change your life.

When I was 10 years old my mom forced me to join a club swim team that swam all year. She told me to give it four months and if I still hated it, then I could quit. I cried my first 3 days of practice. I wanted nothing more than to quit. I'd think of any excuse to not go to practice. I got dressed alone in the locker room and talked to no one while we waited for the coach to tell us what to do next. Two weeks in, I made some acquaintances. Two months in, I made a friend. This friend is the reason I stuck with swimming. She introduced me to new people, brought me out of my shell, and I saw the greatness in what it was like to enjoy swimming on a team.

I have found friends that push me in and out of the pool. A few in particular stand out in my mind as the teammates and friends who made me want to go to practice every day and even do extra workouts on the side. We knew what we needed to be done to get better and we wanted to help each other along the way. These teammates helped me learn how to set a goal and work for it. When we raced, sometimes she would win...and sometimes I would win. No matter the outcome, we were happy for each other's success and more importantly- there for each other when we fell short.

It's not always the case in swimming that when you beat your friend or vice versa, you're both smiling when you hop out of the pool. Competitive feelings get in the way, it's difficult for them not to. It can get dangerous when the feelings of jealousy and anger don't go away. This is when the relationship with your teammates is put to the test. Looked at closely, a loss is a loss. You're not better than that person in that moment. If you're looking at the big picture, one loss to someone on your team is not the end of the world. Good for them. Push yourself a little harder in practice. Get them next time. More importantly, get the other team.

Your teammates are there for you to lean on when you don't feel like practicing. When you don't feel excited for a competition, they pump you up. When you feel sore and want to stay in bed all day, they understand, they want to also.

In my case, the people I've swam with over the past 13 years have been some of the most interesting, unique, challenging, determined, motivational, and fun people I've ever come across. They make the early mornings and long weekend meets all worth it. At the end of my swimming career, I'll be able to look back and smile as I remember all the people who have touched my life thanks to this sport.

"There are good ships and there are wood ships,
the ships that sail the sea…
But the best ships are friendships
and may they always be."

My First Post

When people talk about the sport they play to another, you see the light in their eyes as they talk about their time on the field/court/track, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love my sport. I also hate my sport.

Swimming requires hours and hours of gruesome training, like many other sports, but you may not see any improvement for months. If your early mornings and multiple practices in one day actually pay off, you get excited over a half-second drop in one race.

Practices are a mental and physical battle urging yourself and your body to keep going. You can't talk to your teammates because when you're at the wall, you're catching your breath to get ready for the next round.

As soon as practice starts, the countdown to when it's over begins. If you have something to think about or a good song stuck in your head, you'll be okay. If not, the practice will seem like an eternity.

However, that one practice when you feel like you're flying makes up for the ten bad practices before that. When you're leading the lane and the people next to you can't keep up- there's no better feeling. A good practice is what keeps you going. When you have a bad practice, you look forward to the next one in hopes of making it even better. Somehow swimmers are capable of pushing past the knotted shoulders, sore hamstrings, and overall aching body pain to keep going.

Somehow just having your teammates near you is good enough for swimmers. Everyone working towards a common goal makes it easier to move when you may not be able to breathe. Even though many may think that swimming is an individual sport, it is largely a team sport. When you swim and compete with your teammates cheering you on, it makes an unbelievable difference. To swim for someone makes it that much easier to go through each practice or race because you're performing for someone else.

We train and train so that when we touch the wall, we look up to see a personal best. At that moment, we don't think about what we've done to get there. We think about what we can do to get even better.

To sound cliché, a team is the best thing to be a part of. Not only do you make friends who understand you on a deeper level, but you find a new family away from home.