Taking Away More than Vitamin D

This past week in Florida was great. I had an uplifting time training with Randy Reese and getting a break from Texas. I definitely learned a few things or was reminded of a some things while I was down there.

1. Randy told me emotional and mental stress is twice as taxing as physical stress. I never thought about it in these terms but it makes a lot of sense. We were talking about the Olympics and he was telling me how much travel, changing times zones, being in a new place and doing new things can all take a much bigger toll on your mind than you realize. I have thought a lot about the Olympics since they finished but never did I attribute being emotionally drained to my poor individual performance. I’m not saying this is the reason for the not so great swims….I still don’t know. In any case, it is something I will most definitely give some thought to and consider for next time.

2. We must always remember where we came from and help those coming up behind us. Sometimes it is easy to forget what it was like to be an age-group swimmer, a kid, or an aspiring athlete. While in Florida I was surrounded by more kids than I have been in a long time. The kids ranged anywhere from 4-17. Seeing them made me think about all the hopes and dreams I had when I was that age. I got the chance to do a clinic for the Clearwater team and talk to everyone about my experiences as a student at the University of Texas, as an athlete, and as an Athletic Foodie. It is amazing how influential we can all be to our younger generations. I was reminded just how powerful a compliment can be to an 11-year-old girl who was swimming really good butterfly, or how thankful a 15-year-old boy was when I took time to talk to him about nutrition and maintaining his health. I think it is of the utmost importance to help nurture their hopes and dreams just as our older generations did for us. There were literally hundreds of times when I asked my role models for help or guidance and they were there for me. I love being able to help and hopefully inspire others as well.

3. I was reminded that it isn’t always about swimming fast or doing our best job every time. The key is to give our best effort and focus in on improving something we’re doing. In comparison to what I’ve done in the past, I swam very slow this weekend. However, this weekend was successful because I realized where I am in my training and where I need to go from here. Getting faster, smarter, stronger, more efficient…really anything…is about realizing where we have been, where we are, how we got there, and strategically planning where we want to go and the changes we will make to reach our goal. Along the way I constantly assess where I am in my training and if I’m on the right path. This weekend was a good showing of how tired I am and that the hard work I’ve been putting in is helping me get where I want to go.

4. I was reminded how funny kids are. Like I said, I am not really around kids very often but this weekend was a humorous treat. Here are a couple examples…One kid came up to me and said, “I saw that you went 46 in the 100 free.” I said, “yeah I did.” The kid responded by saying, “well that’s not very good, that’s like five seconds off your best time isn’t it?” I couldn’t help but laugh and say, “dang you’re right it is!” The next one was by a six year old who is also named Garrett. I was talking with him and his mom and his mom told him I had won a Gold medal in the Olympics. He smiled and said wow. Garrett proceeded by asking me if I won my race that day. I said yes. He then asked me if I always win. I told him no not always. He looked at me with a surprised face and said, “you mean you have a Gold medal and you don’t always win?” I said with a bewildered kind of smile that was part laughter and part sadness, “no.” Hahaha! Kids really are very comical…the great thing is that most of the time they don’t even realize it.