One Week Down

Aaahhhhh I finished the first week of winter training with success. The week was very challenging both mentally and physically. Training can be very emotional at times depending on the set Eddie has given us and how I am performing. I can either be super happy and positive with the work I'm doing or with how I'm perfoming or making progress...or I can feel disappointed or annoyed by the set we are doing or with how poorly I'm performing. Generally if I'm disappointed it is because I am giving all I have and it just isn't good enough to meet the expectations Eddie has set for me.

At the first practice, we did 20, 50s of the butterfly on 35 seconds. This is a test set we usually try to do once a year. I made 10 of them. When you miss you take a 50 off and start back up at 40 seconds. Without a doubt it was a good way to start the week off...with a big BANG!

Not only has my training in the pool been really good but I have been really making improvements in the weight room. I know getting stronger will be a huge factor in my development throughout the rest of my career. I focus a great deal of my energy on doing just this...getting stronger. I have always had difficulty gaining strength but now that I am getting older and more mature I have been able to see more improvements.

My Dad was definitely right about his last post...I was exhausted this past week. I don't know what it is but when I get super tired I almost go into a different mode of thinking. I try to protect myself and my emotions at all costs.

There is a great sport's psychologist named Jim who worked with Team USA at the Olympics. I have worked with him in the past at other meets and he has been a tremendous asset to the USA Swimming staff. He talked to me one time about how we all try to protect ourselves much more when we think we are vulnerable. I realize this seems obvious but protection comes in different ways than we might ordinarily think. For instance, when I look back at times when I have been super fatigued mentally and physically, I realize that I don't talk to as many people on the phone, I don't answer emails or phone calls as quickly, I make my schedule tighter so I am much less committed or available. These are just a few examples of things I've noticed. You might be asking yourself what does not talking to as many people on the phone have to do with protecting yourself? Jim told me that one of the ways athletes protect themselves is by trying to keep themselves away from anything that may be negative or become negative. So the example of not talking on the phone deals as much with the fact that subconsciously I am trying to keep myself away from anything that could be negative and weigh on me even more.

This may sound selfish to some of you and maybe it is, but it is something I've realized I do after looking back on past situations. For me, protecting myself is of the utmost importance right now because I am so consumed by my training that I can't afford to have anything else bring me down or add any additional stress.

I'm actually really looking forward to more training this week because I feel like I'm finally getting fit. It takes a really long time for me to get into the kind of shape I think I need to be in. The past few days my body has shown my mind signs that it is reaching the point of fitness I have been working towards. Now I just need to try and exceed that level! Sounds fun, right...haha!