The worst guilt trip

Ok. So lesson of the day? DO NOT make your coach mad.

This weekend, my high school swim team went on a trip for an over night swim camp thing. Apart from having the time of my life, there were also some downers. Like for instance, when your coach is trying to explain your favorite set, people are talking, so you miss the first half of it getting a guilt trip.

So, this set. Its called the animal. It is a series of three fifty's, that gets increasingly faster. The first three are on 1:30, the next are on 1:20, and so on until you hit one minute. then the time decreases by 5's. so that means three on 55, 50, 45, etc. When you can't make the time anymore, you get out of the pool. the last person swimming is the animal. It's my favorite set, and we just had to miss the first half of it. gr.

So my wonderful, patient, awesome coach is trying to explain thins to a group of about 20 teenagers. Lost cause? probably. So while she is doing this, this group of guys in the back just wouldn't be quiet. So she gave up and told us to go back to our lanes to do our thing. We just assumed she meant that we were just going to go start the set, but no. We all went on the first fifty, and when we got back, she told us that we weren't going to do it. So we just sat there in the water, watching the angel Junior Varsity kids swim this set. (our J.V. team is pretty awesome I have to say) So at about when they started the fifty's on 1:10, she told us that if we wanted to swim the set, we could, and if we didn't, we could leave. Thankfully, no one left. We started the set and everything was all better. But for that ten minutes that we weren't swimming, all I can say is that it was torture. I have never just sat in the water like that for ten minutes, watching the good half of the team swim my favorite set. it really wasn't cool. So a word of advice? Don't make your coach mad. They really do know how to make your life miserable.

~Expresso

Just Another End of a Week.... Plus Poor Coffee.

It has been a fairly difficult week. Working hard is soo draining. I do love it when my coach says that I have been doing well! Lately I've been getting a little more of that X ) unfortunately, this evening I just about died. I was so tired and I am getting sick, so I just couldn't push myself like I normally do. Plus Expresso wasn't there so I was lonely. Expresso just HAD to go to a silly highschool party thing. So lame. Expresso, Cofffee, and I have a friend who we shall call... Flaming Train. F.T. swam amazingly at their meet this evening. They dropped time in their breaststroke!!!! I don't remember which event tho.... Poor Coffee is spending the night in a hotel with their sister, mom, and their sister's friend. Poor Coffee. HOLD IN THERE!!!

My Amazing Freestyle Day

Well, today I had an AMAZING freestyle day and if you know me then you know that I am most definitely not a freestyler. But, I'll start at the beginning of the day, which would have to be my test in health. It was a super easy test, I pretty much just refilled out the study guide, on a bubble sheet. Second period, teacher's aide, was pretty much hilarious, I love that class!!! Third period was very fun, I melted my pencil over a candle. Fourth period I finished testing so that was good. Then, when I arrived at swim an hour early, zones was there so we ate licorice and fed it to the high school team, then we went and threw it at the racquetball players and played foosball. Well, to the swimming part... the stroke this week was breast stroke!!!! So, I went first on the breast stroke and I was the only one to make the times. After the breast, we swam freestyle (I dread freestyle) but on one of the 100's, I got in to the wall and my coach says "Madison, what's your hundred free time? Because, I swear that was the fastest hundred free I have EVER seen you swim!" Yes, that made me happy but also feel kinda slow. Well, I have got to go study for my Spanish test and a conversation. 

-Coffee :)))

Food troble.

Alright. I guess its my turn.

K. So I started swimming for my high school two weeks ago. We're supposed to go to 8 practices a week, witch means that I swim every afternoon, and three out of five practices in the morning. Now, I know this might not sound like a huge deal to most swimmers. But I'm sorry, this would be my first time doing 2-a-day's, and going to school at the same time. This year, I'm taking 10 classes. (don't ask me how, because I don't really know ether) Now, problem. When you swim that often, and that hard, you need carbohydrates to back you up and give you the energy that you need.... You also need the time to eat them.

Now, when I started two weeks ago, I got to say, I didn't really know what I was doing. I understood that I had 15 minutes to shower, get changed, and be at school, but I wasn't really thinking of breakfast. So the first day I had practice in the morning, I hadn't thought of breakfast, and, since I was running a little late that morning, also forgot about lunch. Let me tell you now, NOT A GOOD IDEA. Thankfully after practice I found a PB granola bar in my bag. Miracle? Yes, basically saved my life. However, when lunch came around, (I don't know why I wasn't completely starved) I just wasn't that hungry. So all I had for lunch, was bread sticks. So when I go to practice that afternoon, by the second set, I was getting light headed. By the third one, I was hyperventilating, and when practice was finally over, I could barely get out of the pool.

Moral of the story? EAT YOUR FOOD!!!! Even if you aren't hungry. You need to have enough carbs in you if your going to work that hard. So, if you are in a situation like me, where you don't have enough time to eat real meals, get things that you can eat on the go. I got these pop tarts, (the healthy whole grain kind, not the sugary stuff) and they are actually really good. I also got this mixture you put into a cup of milk, that has lots of vitamins and minerals, but it tastes better than normal chocolate milk. Its great. Now, you do need to realize that eating too much food is just as dangerous as not eating enough. Find a balance, be smart, and don't be like me!!

~Expresso

P.S. Also: drink lots of water! The average adult who works out for 30 minutes a day needs about 8 cups of water a day! Swimmers who have practice for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours a day loses 6-8 cups of water. This means to stay hydrated, we have to be drinking water as much as we can, whenever we can. Yes I understand that not all of us drink 24 cups of water a day. But drink as much as you can. Get a water bottle. Drink it.

PPS. You can find great food tips in 'Splash', a magazine for swimmers. Garrett Weber-Gale writes a section on food and eating right, and I've found it to be helpful. It's a really great magazine, and its got some really good tips. I encourage you to read it, if you already don't, or subscribe, if you already haven't. You could probably find it on line some where too... I'll find it and post a link later... ta ta!

Wow.

Today was hard. Not only was it just a difficult practice but i totally, and fully pushed myself to my limits. Cappuccino and I were working our butts off!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But it was definitely worth it, I feel amazing right now. Other than the doughnuts that Cappuccino and I ate after practice at the parents' meeting. And, yesterday my coach told me I swam the most beautiful back he has ever seen from me, he said it was so amazing that he couldn't watch anyone else. :D

Ugh, tomorrow I have picture day, and it is an A day. That is the makings for the worst day EVER! Pictures always turn out horrible. Lets hope this picture turns out at least semi decent.


P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to someone, I can't mention any names because that would be too much information to give out on the internet. (YOU KNOW WHO U ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)



-Coffee

Wowza : )

Hey guys. Well I am pooped. I mean really. I have been trying to work so hard to keep up with all the older people on my swim team. (Lets just say I am not quite there yet).
Today's evening sets were pretty intense. We started out with just 100 swim 50 kick 6x for our warm-up, then I believe we did something involving IM (that's how tired I am. Generally I remember the sets for a day or two). After that we got really intense and busy. One of the more annoying sets was 4 50's on 50, 3 50's on 45, 2 50's on 40, 1 50 on 35. Rest for 45 seconds, then do 8 25's underwater body dolphin with fins on 45, 3 times through the whole thing. You'd think that only the last 50 would be tough, but NO. Once you got to the 6thish 50 you started getting tired, which meant you had to work harder. NOT FUN. The 25's at least were fairly easy.
After that we did a set that was a 200 free (I think on like 3 minutes), 3 50's butterfly, 200 free (on like 2:50), 2 75's backstroke, 200 free (on like 2:40), 6 25's breaststroke, 200 free (either on 2:30, or 2:35), 3 50's freestyle. I don't recall the times for the strokes in between the 200's. So then I was even more tired from trying to keep my pace according to to the times for the 200's. Lame.
Then our two coaches decided 6 75's would be a good finish. First two were IM drill no free, second two were IM no free, then I believe the last two were free. After that they let us cool down.
I know that eventually I will get used to swimming again after that August break, but till then, I'm ready to go to bed. Night.

-Latte
P.S. I swear I don't usually complain this much.... much.
P.S.S/ P.P.S ( don't remember which it is) The new MUSE album The Resistance is sooo amazing. Check it out on iTunes and I can like guarantee you won't be let down. : ) Peace out.

Innersquad Meet

I wore my new tyr fusion 2 to our team's innersquad meet today! Which by the way is not illegal because it is on the FINA approved list, unless you're 12 or under then you cannot wear it to a swim meet. Well, anyway, it is super legit! I made my state qualifying time in the 100 meter breast stroke. I AM SO, SO, SO, SO EXCITED FOR JOs (Junior Olympics) THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! Latte and Expresso must join me there! We missed you at the meet today expresso, wish u coulda been there!


-Coffee

I don't know if you guys care, but.....

MUSE's new CD, The Resistance, comes out tomorrow. I have had the great pleasure of listening to three full songs from the album, and I have to say. I think I stopped breathing for a full 10 seconds while listening to Resistance. EPIC AWESOMENESS. That doesn't really even cover half of it, but I tried right? The reason I brought this up, is because MUSE, (apart from being probably the best British band since the Beatles) is one of our all time favorite bands. (latte's, coffee's, and mine) If you have the time, we highly recommend it. Not only is their music pure sugar to the ears, but they also have extremely good songs for sprints! Not even kidding. If you look up 'Butterflies and hurricanes' or 'hysteria' by them, you might be in for a pleasant surprise. (all you sprinters out there) Also, if your more of a distance swimmer, they have up beat, but not too up beat, songs for that kind of stuff. Anyways, just recommending them to all. You really cant get much better then them. Music with out MUSE, is just.... ic.

~Expresso.

5K

I guess swimming makes you a pretty good runner, it's probably because of good endurance. Well, I took first place in my age group and I also took first place overall for woman!!!!!!!!!!!! My time was 23:09.0. It was a lot of fun!!! If you haven't ever done a 5K then you should and if you have, you should do another!


-Coffee

Day 4

Today was a LONG day (as Expresso said). It started when I woke up and realized... I have to go to school. : ( School was pretty much just school. Right when i walked in the door from school, I left for the pool. I had fun talking to Latte while she was swimming and I was just prancing around the pool deck! : D Swim went on forever, let's just say that I could tell it was a Friday. And guess who didn't come... Zones (also a code name). Then, I came home looking forward to hanging with a bunch of friends. I threw my hair up in a ponytail (I hate ponytails) and I left. My friends and I went down a zip-line a "couple" times and we watched a movie. After the movie, they wanted to play night games. But someone had made me kinda mad and I went home. BUT, I HAD PANDA EXPRESS FOR DINNER! :)))

-Coffee

LONG day.

Alrighty. So today was about the longest day of my life.

It all started at 5:00 this morning when I woke up from that happy little thing we call sleep. A half hour later, I was in the pool. (technically I wasn't in till about 5:37. (sometimes you get a little scared of the water that early in the morning)) As a result of this, I got stuck doing lane lines and had 10 minutes to get to dry land. Dry land went a little late, so I had 10 minutes to shower, change, and get ready, because unfortunately, today was picture day. Just as I was about to leave the locker room, I realize that I hadn't put on the necklace I was planning to wear that day. So I ended up looking for it for about a good solid 5 minutes, not succeeding. Eventually I got to school, 20 minutes late for my first class, and no breakfast. I guess I survived school today, but honestly, I cant really remember. After school, I jetted over to the pool for afternoon practice. Accomplishment of the day, didn't stop once. Result, DEAD TIRED. After practice, as I was about to exit the locker room for the second time, looking for my phone to call and get a ride, I looked down into my bag, and spot the necklace that ruined my life. And now I'm sitting here typing it all out. Wow. Long, long, LONG day.

~Expresso

A Tired Day.

Hmmm. Well today was technically day three, but it was my fourth and fifth practice. I am so tired from waking up at 4:50 for practice. :P I am very ready for Friday and Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I love swimming, but I get so tired when I can't just go home and crash.

Before I could go to practice today, I had an appointment with the docter to get my physical. After I got my physical taken care of, I was tested for anemia (possible incorrect spelling) because I am a vegetarian and my mother wants to make sure my protein level are where they should be. : D I passed. I also recieved a shot. ick.

I can't wait for our first meet. Tonight I will be getting the swimming schedule.... wish me luck (not that I will really need it....)

-Latte

Day 2

Day 2 was officially as good as Day 1! I have been reminded of the reason I love swimming so much and why I do it so often. Wish I had more of it.

Lesson of the day: Try Your Hardest Everyday and Every Moment of Practice. It may not feel good at the time but it feels AMAZING later. And, never be afraid to tell the coach when you owe him push-ups. Just get out and do them!

-Coffee

First Day Back

Hmm. Today was our first day back in the pool. Our club took a 2 week break, it's kinda considered our "off season." Well, let's just say... IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I am pretty much overjoyed to be back in the water, and on the gold squad, but I will definitely miss the seniors team. And I will REALLY miss swimming with latte and expresso. Let's just face the fact, the Gold Squad is gonna kick major butt this year and we'll have fun doing it! Well, I am going running and weight lifting.

-Coffee

Don't you think it's odd...

Oh boy. This is my first post! Well. Lets just see how this goes...

So I heard a very odd story today. You see, I have this friend. Now this friend's mother some how convinced my friend's P.E. teacher that, because she walks to school every day, that she no longer has to take P.E.. Now whats wrong with this picture? She doesn't have to take P.E. because she walks to school every day, and the team I swim for (we swim for about 3 1/2 hours, then we do about an hour of dry land) does, because our coach isn't a certified P.E. teacher. Alright. Now you can call this prejudice. racism, whatever. The truth is this. McDonald's is actually taking over the world. End of story. If your not in the loop, you just have to take P.E.. :)

~Expresso (please excuse spelling, if any.)

A New Beginning

We are new to blogging, so we will learn as we go.  : )  In this blog, we will take you into the life and times of the average competitive swimmers.   Our names and other personal information will be kept secret from you.  I (the person typing right now) will be known as Latte.  The super skinny one will be called Coffee (cause they cough when they swim hard), and the bad speller will be called Expresso.  We will sign the end of our postings with our "name".  : d we hope you can follow.

-Latte, Coffee, Expresso (Your bloggers)

P.S. We hope you enjoy our writings, and become inspired to swim yourselves.... If you don't already.