Boggy Creek Farm

Today I ventured to a very unique spot in Austin called Boggy Creek Farm. If you are looking for a classic Austin spot this is definitely it. This farm/market is located on the east side of Austin and is literally in the middle of a residential community, it's a weird spot for a farm. Boggy Creek grows all of its own fruits, veggies and herbs. They harvest whatever the season brings and sell it every Wednesday and Saturday. They also sell things such as local honey, grass fed lamb, bison, locally made cheeses and a unique smoke-dried heirloom tomato. The tomatoes are really intense!

I totally love these kind of places. Everyone that works there knows all about the produce. They are all happy to share their experiences and stories of the farm as well as their knowledge of gardening. If you want to cook incredible dishes you need fresh ingredients. I'm so happy I found out about Boggy Creek so I can get fresh, hand picked goods to prepare for my meals. If you live in Austin I definitely recommend you check it out, if not...sorry.

http://www.boggycreekfarm.com/

Motivation in Unique Ways

I took this picture of the scoreboard during the final of the 50 Freestyle of the Beijing Olympics. Unfortunately I was in the stands taking this picture because I failed to qualify for the final of the 50 free just as I did for the 100 free. Both were huge disappointments for me not only because I had high expectations of winning medals, but because I felt like I let America down in not representing better. It wasn't until I actually got to the Olympics that I realized how meaningful it was to wear the American flag on my cap. Unfortunately this time around I was not able to wear that flag for what would have been the two most important individual swims of my life:(

As I snapped this picture I had an empty feeling inside me. A feeling of disarray that I still don't know how to best describe or make sense of. There have been few times in my swimming career when I honestly have no idea what happened at a particular meet. Generally I can always pinpoint things that went wrong, reasons why I didn't perform like I wanted to, or reasons why I swam unbelievable. Watching that 50 free final and even today I don't know what happened in my individual races at the Olympics? I wasn't nervous, I was well prepared, I stayed on my strict diet as best I could, I wasn't sick, my races were swum to the best of my ability at that time...I just didn't have it, what I had just wasn't enough. It's crazy for me to say that because that's one of the few times, if not the only time, I can say I did everything right I possibly could and just didn't have what it took to get the job done.

The interesting thing about swimming and I think life in general, is that we don't need to know all the answers, at least not right away. I'm content for right now not knowing what went wrong. I know in time, like everything else, I will figure this out and do it better next time. My mom always tells me, "everything happens for a reason." I completely believe this. For now, I just don't know the reason.

I didn't know specifically what I would use this picture for at the time, but I needed to take it because somehow down the road it would fuel my fire. I knew I was going to look at it in the future and become motivated by it. Last night I was preparing for my first morning practice of this new season. I hate morning practice. It isn't the swimming I hate, it isn't event he early wake-up I hate. I hate diving into that cold water. If you tell me to wake up at 5:45am and lift weights or run or bike I would say, great. However, that cold water does something to my mind that is just not good.

So last night I knew what I had to do. I hung this picture of the 50 free final in my bathroom. I understand this is a bit more detail than might be needed but I need to tell you the truth. The bathroom is the point during every early morning when I say to myself, "I hate morning practice." This is when I need the motivation. This morning I looked to my right and instead of saying, "I hate morning practice," I said, "%#@* that, I don't ever want to miss another final again." It was just what I needed to wake myself up and get my mind ready and excited for the morning practice I had ahead of me. I urge all of you to motivate yourself in unique ways. Do something different, find things that work for you. I find the best motivation comes in little instances I know I will need a helping hand!

I'm a Godfather

I am now officially a Godfather. My Godson, Joe Roy Stapleton was baptized today at the United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas. I was a bit surprised at how short the ceremony was, five minutes. I really didn't know quite what to expect but it was very nice.

After the baptism we all went to the most amazing brunch at Fonda Son Miguel. This restaurant has a historic Sunday brunch that the New York Times once called one of the top 10 best brunches in American! The items consist of everything from different types of traditional Moles to corn pudding, pickled vegetables, guacamole, ceviche, and several wonderful desserts including the best tres leches cake I have ever had. I'm sure some of you are thinking, "he's eating dessert?" Yes I do eat desserts from time to time. Remember, the key to a healthy lifestyle is moderation and being consistent in both your diet and in exercise.

Tomorrow morning I will be getting up dark and early to head to my first morning practice of this new season. I'm not particularly looking forward to it but understand its importance in helping me get in the kind of shape that will help me succeed.

The Ft. Lauderdale Boat Extravaganza!

As many of you already know, I went to Ft. Lauderdale last weekend to visit an old coach of mine named Jack Nelson. It was wonderful to see coach Nelson and his wife and stay with them at their home. They have a beautiful house right on the intra-coastal waterway. His house is directly across from the Hall of Fame pool where he coached. This area is also where the Ft. Lauderdale International boat show was held.
This is me standing in Jack's front lawn with the boat show super-yachts in the background.
Coach Nelson and I played bumper pool and watched Texas football until 1am...it was a Blast!!!

The boat show was amazing. I probably went on over 30 boats of all types. I went on sport-fishers, trawlers, super-yachts, and weekend-cruisers. You name it, the Ft. Lauderdale show has it. Literally they have every kind of boat imagineable. It is the largest boat show in the world!

As I stated in my previous blog post about the boat show, my dream is to one day own a long-range trawler that I can cross oceans on. The specific brand I want to own is called a Nordhavn. I thought they were awesome just reading about them and seeing them in videos. When I actually got on three of them at the show I fell in love, literally. The most amazing thing about these boats is that everything serves a purpose. Nordhavns are specifically designed with crossing oceans in mind. Everything from the layout of the engine room, storage compartments and the location of the state-rooms are taken into account before the designs are finished. I boarded these boats and was just blown away. The capability and livability of these vessels is what really enthralls me. Me in the pilot-house of the Nordhavn 76. It's crazy how many electronics these things have...Checking out the engine room of the 76. It would take me a long time to learn all this machinery.I'm currently on lookout on the bridge of my favorite, the Nordhavn 62 YAAAAAYYYYY!
This is the 152 foot, 30 million dollar super-yacht I got a private tour of. Gorgeous.
I'm sure this solid gold sink and faucet have something to do with the 30 million dollar price tag.

Every Little Bit Makes a Difference

Getting back in shape is a tough challenge. I've really enjoyed my time in the weight room and the pool since I've been back in Austin. It's exciting for me to see my body become more fit as time goes on. Although I am not anywhere near the shape I will be in at the height of my training, I enjoy the struggle in getting there.

Today when I was in the weight room I did a dry-land routine that consisted of push-ups, dips, pull-ups, jumping rope, and a bunch of core work. One thing I like to do in dry-land is to get out of breath. I try and go from exercise to exercise with little rest in between. This gets my heart rate elevated and keeps it elevated. My thought process in doing this is that I am getting more and more aerobically in shape as well as training my muscles and mind to perform at a high exertion level for extended periods of time.

Although I am a sprint freestyle specialist there is no substitute for having a good aerobic base and becoming fit enough to perform for extended time intervals. Not only does this level of increased fitness put me in a better position physically to finish races, it makes my mind tougher as well. I know everything I do in workout makes me stronger, tougher and better prepared to achieve my goals.

gwgswims.com is reborn!

As of this morning gwgswims.com is a brand new website. Over the past month my Dad, Mom, our web guy, Chris, and I have been working to make the updated version. Not only does the site have a totally new face, there is more expansive content as well as never before seen pictures. Check out the new and improved gwgswims.com!!!

Wow!

I just got back to Coach Nelson's house after spending the entire day at the Ft. Lauderdale boat show. I was super excited the whole day. Imagine one of those guys you see walking around with a huge smile on his face--that was me. I thought I was in heaven.

The fun really started Friday when coach Nelson picked me up at the airport and we drove by the marinas. My eyes directly locked onto the Nordhavn 62. Literally the first boat I saw at the boat show was the 62. It must be a sign.

This morning, I started off by going directly to the Nordhavns. I toured all three: the 55, 62 and 76. After that I toured and talked to the makers of other long-range trawlers such as Krogen, Selene and Grand Banks. I really talked to everyone as if I were a prospective buyer. Truthfully I think I am. Without a doubt I will buy a boat in time. I guess now you know one of my long-range goals.

The most expensive boat I went on was a 152 foot Tri-deck made by Northern Marine. Talk about beautiful. This thing was gorgeous. It should be with a sale price of $30 million. I will have more details on the boat show along with a bunch of pictures after I get home to Texas.

Meanwhile staying with coach Nelson is great. He has tons of great stories about back in the day when he won gold and then made a huge impact on the sport as a coach.