What a year! 2018

It’s been over a year since my triathlon retirement as well as my last blog post. I thought I would catch you up on what has been happening.

We moved from Tuscaloosa to Covington, Louisiana about this time last year. The actual move was quite a fiasco with our household belongings not getting delivered for weeks after we moved into the house we bought. We lived with a couple stadium chairs and a blow-up air mattress. Colonial Movers and Alvarez Moving subcontractors were a nightmare. Buyer beware.

I started working at Varsity Sports in Mandeville just after the first of the year. Varsity Sports is a running specialty store, so I am right at home selling and fitting running shoes. Fitting in to the staff took a little bit of adjustment but now it feels like family.

In February we said goodbye to our Golden Retriever, Phoenix. We miss that sweet soul every day. This will be the first Christmas without our boy, and his presence is truly missed. His stocking is hung, and the red birds visit us daily to say hi. We had a cardinal build a nest and hatch an egg in a hanging fern on our front porch in the spring, another sign that Phoenix is still here. Bogey is 10 now and lively as ever! Someday soon we want to get another puppy, hopefully also from Halo Goldens (where Phoenix and Bogey were born.)

In the spring I started coaching Master’s swim at the Pelican Athletic Club. The group was very receptive to my practices, which I run more like age group workouts. Lots of intervals and new lingo for many of the swimmers/triathletes to learn. I’ve had a couple Challenge swims, one was a 5,000 yard Saturday workout. And we did a two-day 10,000 yard challenge with 4,000 on Friday and followed up the next day with a 6,000 yard workout! I love how they have embraced the challenges. In December we are having another one – it will be another 5k swim based on the 12 Days of Christmas! I have really enjoyed working with some of the swimmers in the program. They work hard and appreciate the technique corrections and pointers and are good people too. Bonus!

I’ve done a few races, even though I haven’t been running this year very much. I was pleased with the results!

Crescent City Classic 10K

Crescent City Classic 10K is one of the oldest races in the country. Originating in 1979, it has been going on for 40 years! It draws over 20,000 people every year. I placed 5th in my age group and averaged 8:08 miles – nothing to complain about there! Top 500 men and women get a commemorative CCC poster, I was running for a poster for sure!

Varsity Sports Mandeville group at The Power Mile!

Power Mile Trophy!!

Then came The Power Mile. This race was entered also at the last minute. I had a bad cold which may have been walking pneumonia for a month and had a total of 22 miles of running in the month prior to the race. “The Power Mile Road Race is the 2018 RRCA Louisiana One Mile State Championship, a chip-timed road race on a USATF certified course in Lakeview, New Orleans.” The award for the Power Mile is one of the most coveted awards in NOLA, this cool metal gorilla that you literally could use to kill someone, that thing is solid. I ran a 7:07, won Grand Masters Female and took one of them home! 

After that was the Pelican Athletic Club Masters Swim Meet. I swam 6 events in this quick running morning meet. I remember getting up on the blocks for the 100 free after just have swum the 50 fly. My arms were still shaking, and I knew it wasn’t going to be a great swim. But I had a good time at the meet. I did add time to everything except the 100 back. I’ve changed my stroke after reading some good tips and it resulted in almost a 2 second cut in time.

Turkey Trot!

Fun Pom Pom hat instead of a tshirt!

I did one more race in 2018, another last-minute decision. The Tammany Turkey Trot here on the North Shore (vs. The South Shore, a.k.a. New Orleans) held its inaugural race this year. There was a 5 mile and a 5k. I chose the 5 mile and again without very many miles under my belt ran a pretty decent race. The course was a little short, but I managed 8:09 miles and placed 2nd in the Masters Female category. Not to shabby for almost 58 years old! The race benefited the Northshore Food Bank and runners were encouraged to bring donations – over 1300 pounds of food was donated! Nice success and a great turnout for a first-time race.

I've missed this girl! #menteementor

My Mentee Margaret and Averi came to New Orleans a couple months ago. The three of us did IM Florida together last year. Averi was racing the NOLA 70.3 and they came to see me at Varsity and I went over, and Margaret and I cheered her on in her race! I miss those girls and my Tuscaloosa friends. I’ve met a couple of quality women here and hope to do some more cycling with them next year. I’ve missed being on the bike and hope to get out and ride more next year. 

I’ve been thinking about my race calendar for 2019, and I think I might just have to dust off the tribike and race the Crawfishman triathlon! I’ve done a lot of swimming this year, now just need to amp up the run and get on the bike!

Cheers to 2019!

Cheers to a decent 2018, and hope for an even better 2019! I am planning on racing on January 1st at the Iceman Dip & Dash at Franco's! It's a 2 mile run, a 110 yard swim across the Tchefuncte River, and a 2 mile run back to Francos... yes I must be crazy! I've wanted to get involved in the Swim/Run Otillo endurance events, I guess this will be a way to try it out in a very small scale!

I got accepted as an ambassador for Headsweats (my favorite hats and visors), and I think I will get to represent SBRSports, Inc again also!!

Girls Ride!

Swimmer Girls at the Turkey Trot!

Why I Became A Swim Coach

Why did I become a swimming coach? That's an easy one, Coach Steve Panzram.

Coach Steve with his
Crawfish Aquatics Team.

I grew up swimming in our back yard pool in southern California, trying to imitate my Dad. He swam when he was in high school, back in 1944 or 1945. I remember seeing the 8mm film of us in the pool, my Dad swimming laps, breathing to the side, swimming breaststroke and backstroke. I wish I still had those films.

I joined a swim team way back in 1978 when I was a junior in high school. My school didn't have a year round team, but 11 miles away in Ocean Springs, MS there was a YMCA team - the OSY Sea Serpents. There was a co-worker of my Dad whose kids swam on the team, and we thought it would be something I might like. The team was on their 2 week break after State, so I went to the pool every day until practice started back. The coach told me to try and work up to swimming 20 lengths - a 500. I did that and remember very clearly my first practice, the coach told us to warm up with a 400 IM. That's a 400 individual medley - or 100 of each stroke - fly, backstroke, breastroke, and freestyle. I'd never done one stroke of butterfly in my life but I got in the lane and did my best.

Throughout the two years that I swam with the team the coach never once gave me any technique pointers, or told me what I was doing right, or wrong. I learned by watching the other swimmers in the lane next to me, and tried to copy the faster people. I made it to state my first year, swam on two relays and the 100 backstroke, and 100 breastroke, all by learning on my own.

When I got older and started racing triathlons I joined masters swim practices. In Jackson, it was just a group of us that would get together and swim. In Baton Rouge I joined Crawfish Masters, coached by Scott Rabalais. Still no one ever helped me. Just swimming what they said and trying to keep up.

I moved to Dallas and joined DAM, Dallas Aquatic Masters. This is Jim Montgomery's program. Here I finally had a coach tell me something. Bobby Patten told me, "Ginger, we don't swim looking forward anymore, look a the bottom of the pool and let the water hit you in the middle of the top of your head." And one of the other coaches told me... "When you take your first pull off the wall, use the hand that is on the bottom."

That's it. That was the extent of the coaching I received in 30 years of swimming.

Then in 2010 we moved to Hattiesburg, MS, and I started swimming with the HubFin Masters. I was told that I would like Coach Steve. I think it was either the first or second practise that he told me, "I'm going to completely change your freestyle." During the year or so that Steve coached me he did completely change my stroke, he focuses on technique. I went from 24 strokes per length to 17. Got much faster, and did it using a lot less energy, learned a ton of drills, and why they improve your swimming. I finally got to experience really being coached. Someone that wanted me to get better, get faster. A coach that cared.

Swimming in the Mississippi State Games.

A time came when he needed a new assistant coach, he asked if I would be interested. Of course! An opportunity to work with an amazing Head Coach, and learn from one of the best coaches out there. Unfortunately Steve left shortly after I joined the staff for Nevada, but I will never be able to thank him enough for the opportunity. To this day, I stay in contact with him, mostly to ask questions about swimming, he responds immediately.

Last Day with the HubFins

If you haven't noticed by now I have an incredible passion for swimming. When we moved from Hattiesburg to Shreveport, Steve reached out to Butch Jordan, the Head Coach of COSST - The City of Shreveport Swim Team.

At COSST I got to work with JV1 and JV2,  the 11 and unders. I had the best experience there, the kids soaked up the information I gave them. Every single one of them will never be forgotten. I have memories that will last a lifetime. I got to work with a coaching staff that all have the same goals, we were all on the same page, it was a dream job.

COSST Coaches

I've told others before that being a swim coach is the only part time job that feels like a serious career. As a swim coach, or any coach for that matter, you're not just helping them to athletes to be better in their sport, you have an opportunity to teach them so much more. Teach them about respect, and integrity. Teach them about hard work, and the pay off they get from their efforts. Teach them about teamwork, and about being a team.

I'm not coaching here in Tuscaloosa, it just didn't work out with the local team. I miss it daily. I miss the kids.

Relentless Responsibility

I belong to a group on Facebook for Swim Coaches. Can't even begin to tell you how many great ideas we use from things that the coaches on this page post. Hallie and I are always talking about what we've read and how we can incorporate it into our JV workouts.

The other day a coach posted a short article that he wrote about swimmers and their responsibility in the pool. How they need to own it. Not too long ago we had a parent complain that it was our fault that her daughter did a flip turn in an IM on back to breast in her event in a meet. Do we teach that? Of course not, did the swimmer know that she isn't supposed to do a flip turn there? Yes, she did. But the mom felt it was our fault, not her daughters. So whose responsibility is it? Is it the Coach's or the Swimmer's?

I asked Coach Berry Schipper if I could publish his article on my blog and he graciously said yes. I think it is spot on, and worth sharing. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Here is what he had to say about swimmers and their responsibility:

"What swimmers need to understand is that a coach needs to divide his/her attention, focus and –mostly- energy over an X amount of swimmers. The swimmer only needs to invest all this in one swimmer: in him or herself. No matter how good and engaged the coach, it simply doesn't match up.

So motivation and accountability can eventually not come from the coach, it has to grow from inside of the swimmer self.

In order for a coach to help in that process of the swimmer owning responsibility, there needs to be enough distance between the coach and the swimmer. It is why I insist my swimmers not call me by my first name. When we’re at the pool I am not your buddy, I am your coach.
In my years of coaching I have met young swimmers that I would easily take in our home and treat as family. But when we enter the pool there is nothing of that left: I tell you what to do and you do it, and I am not interested in reasons why you can’t.

Yes, if your shoulder hurts, or you feel dizzy, I need to know. But I do not want to hear (other) reasons why you can’t train hard, why times aren't met. Because that way the swimmer is putting the end responsibility in the coaches hands. And the coach simply can not carry the end responsibility of an X amount of swimmers in the same way a swimmer can do (or could possibly do) this for her/himself. The math is quite simple.

I heard Phelps say in an interview ‘he swims for Bowman.’ I disagree with that. You don’t swim for your coach or your club, you don’t even swim for your country and you definitely don’t swim for your parents. You swim for you.

Because this is the only path that can lead to relentless responsibility, or what Rasmus Ankersen called ‘ruthless accountability.’  You are responsible for your swimming, for giving everything you've got on an insane amount of occasions. You are responsible for not taking an easy way out, over and over again. Otherwise you will fail in reaching your end goal.
In the end those numbers are exactly the same: the swimmer only has one swimmer who can fail: you. The coach has new opportunities with every new swimmer that walks in.

Sounds mean and detached? No. Sounds like reality.

So what does this mean for the development of a swimmer?

One rule only: no external excuses. Never.

The pool is too cold, there is noise from other lanes, the set is just too hard, etc. You have to shut these thoughts down. It will take you away from reaching relentless responsibility. Do not expect a short cut to your goal, do not think you will not have rough times where nothing seems to work. Do not think there is anything that can take the place of unbelievable hard work on an endless amount of small details.

But rather see the training, see the hard work as a given. It is there as the baseline of your thought process. You build your life around that given: training is there, how do I accommodate?

And the coach? He or she is there to help you become ruthless. Ruthless to yourself and the rest of the squad. Nice swimmers don’t win races, nice coaches don’t make champions."

Berry Schipper has been coaching for 15 years, he has worked with swimmers in The Netherlands, Cambodia, China and currently is in Namibia. He and his wife lead a nomad lifestyle as his wife works for UNICEF. He usually works as a technique coach with age groupers and triathletes.  "I'm actually an Iron Man finisher (Amsterdam/Almere in 2010) as well. Not too shabby for a 6'8"giant!
-Berry Schipper

Swimming: Reducing Drag and Increasing Power

Michelle Simmons is a fantastic triathlete, and awesome coach, and a great swimmer. I was on Team Recovery e21 with her a few years back. This is a post that she wrote and posted earlier this week. One of the best that I have read on swimming. I asked her if I could shared it with my readers and she graciously obliged!

Read on people! Some really good stuff here! I added the large text on some of the points for you to concentrate on the next time you swim.

  Michelle Simmons

www.simmonsendurancecoaching.com 

I am a Wife, a Mom, a Coach, and a Triathlete... Living and Training in Paradise... 

Find me at www.mamasimmons.com

Swimming: Reducing Drag and Increasing Power
by Michelle Simmons

Seems like another post on swimming has been brewing in my head recently so I'll take a stab at it and we'll see how this goes!

I think I mentioned in a recent post that my swim sessions have been taken to the next level recently. Not surprised given that Marilyn is an Endurance Corner coach and the swim sessions that come from their website (when they post them) are always some of the most awesome sessions I see posted anywhere... I'm in love with the sets that Gordo's wife "Monsey" comes up with. Every time I see a session written by her I think NICE that's awesome. Awesome in a hard way of course, but awesome nonetheless.

Most of those sets require athletes to think and do math while swimming. I love this. Send-offs that vary so you have to swim faster to make them or can swim easier to recover before having to go faster again... This morning we did a set of 30x100's that were descend 1-5 (x6) and the send-off got 5" shorter through each rounds of 5. So we'd start at 1:50, then 1:45, 1:40, 1:35, 1:30... then straight back into 1:50, which was our recovery since the 1:30's don't allow much rest. Trying to do the math to figure out the send-off for each one was a challenge for sure but I love doing math while I'm swimming so this was no problem. And it makes the set fly by so fast because you're forced to think the whole time. I *much* prefer this type of set over 30x100's @1:40. Or worse, 60x50's @:50. Blah. Ok so I will admit that 60x50's @:50 has it's place and can be a valuable session but it still makes me want to scratch my eyes out when I see it on my schedule.

Anyway, it's been interesting to watch one of my newer local athletes, Sergio, develop as a swimmer. He was a decent swimmer to start with... as far as technique goes, his was good enough to get him across the longcourse pool in <45". So of course there are a few little things about his stroke that we can tweak but fact is, if you're capable of swimming a 50 in 40"(yards) or 45"(meters) then your stroke is going to be decent enough that technique is probably not your biggest limiting factor. If you can't repeat that pace for more than a few 50's then endurance is your issue and this is what I see very commonly! In Sergio's case, this is what we saw. He could swim a very fast 50! But that left him very winded and he couldn't repeat it without a ton of rest. So what we look to develop there is a better sense of pace (ie what is a sustainable effort?) and much deeper endurance. Essentially, he's been joining us for morning swims ~3x/week for the last few months and in the beginning we modified most sets so he could do part of it then get some rest then do more then get some rest, etc. He kept coming back consistently though and this morning I was so impressed- he knocked out ~4K swimming solidly the whole time and had this big AH-HA moment where he said The key is to take the easy ones super easy and save energy for the fast ones. YES. I love it that he got that this morning! Some athletes swim for YEARS and don't ever truly get that concept. Anyway, it's been really fun for me to watch Sergio's improvement these last few months. And it reinforces a lot for me too as far as how we go about improving one's swim. (I.e. suck it up and work your ass off consistently for several months. Or years. In most cases, years.)

I'm also back to teaching 1:1 swim sessions a couple times/week with some other local athletes. I'll tell you here a bit about what I commonly teach during those: Right off the bat, understand that swimming faster is either about 1) Reducing drag or 2) Increasing power.

~Reduce drag by: keeping head neutral; being more streamline off the wall; reduce excess body movement/fishtailing; avoid sinking legs by keeping head neutral and chest down; avoid crossing over with your hands upon entry; avoid a wide scissor kick, etc. Several of these issues (fishtailing through the water, scissor kick) are really a secondary compensation/result based on improper head position or crossing over with arms upon entry. So fix the root of the problem (head position, entry position) and that wide scissor kick that you're using for balance may just fix itself.

~Create more power by positioning your arms/hands upon entry in a way that will allow your lats to get involved and do the work. This one can be a bit more complicated for some but essentially this means pressing the water down and back with strong wrists while keeping an 'open armpit'. I find the open armpit analogy works better for many than 'high elbow' cue b/c you can keep a high elbow while simultaneously shutting off your lat if you're leading your pull with that elbow first. This is probably the most common thing I see when working with a new athlete. Very few swimmers generate the power they could because they are missing opportunity to create power/propulsion because the elbow leads the pull. Instead, focus power through the wrist and you'll find that's how you can get your lats engaged. One last tip I give all the time: the water should feel heavy because you're pulling so much of it. If it feels easy, like your arms are just slipping through the water, it's because your arms are just slipping through the water! Don't do that! PULL the water, every stroke, feeling tension and resistance from your wrist up your forearm and into your armpit. This will probably make you more tired at first, but that's the feeling you want.

Anyway, so there you go. Focus on form for sure, especially if it takes you >2' to swim 100M. But once you're down in the 1:30/100 range, then you're going to get a lot more gain from doing real sets off real send-offs. Sometimes those send-offs should be roomy and allow plenty of rest so you can practice going FAST. Other times those send-offs should be tight so you can practice repeating efforts on very little rest and just holding pace. And finally, KNOW your pace in the pool. I'm constantly astounded by how many swimmers don't pay attention to their pace in the pool.

OK that wasn't really my final point... I still have more to say, and I'm BatShit Serious! Learn to flip turn! And swim more than 2000 at a time! And get in the water at least 3x/week! There. I said it. Now I'm done. :)

Posted by Michelle Simmons

The COBB MOBB!!

Raise your hand if you've ever heard of John Cobb.

I've always referred to him as the "Guru of Aerodynamics" - a bold title, but well deserved in my opinion. I met John back in (I think) 2000. I lived in Dallas and I had quite a few friends who rode bikes that they got from John. I went to race a the Gulf Coast Half Ironman and was able to get my measurements taken at the Expo and they ordered a bike for me from Javelin.

Me on my Javelin at the 2001 Heat Wave Tri in Jackson, MS 

In 2000 finding a stock tri bike that was small enough for me was basically impossible. Today, it's a different story, there are quite a few small bikes on the market. But back then there were very bike manufacturers making bikes small enough; they were custom AND expensive. It was also going to be "buy before you try" on anything I decided to get. They were able to get me a 44cm Javelin frame and I took my old bike and had some of the parts transferred to it.

Shiner

I had an awesome Golden Retriever named Shiner back then and I told them to just ship me the frame and I'd have a local shop do the work. It would be a long day with the 3 hour drive each way and I couldn't leave Shiner that long. They told me to bring him along and he could run around the shop all day. They convinced me that not taking advantage of being fit on my Jav would be a big mistake. Okay... sold!  So Shiner and I spent the day in Shreveport.

That day I also got one of the saddles that John was making. Basically is was a Terry saddle with the back sides cut off (to prevent your upper hamstring from coming in contact with the outer edges of the seat removing pain at the hamstring insertion and also reducing the chance of sciatica.*) and the leather stretched back down and over the edges, it looked like the V-Flow. Awesome saddle! On my third one now and would never use anything else! Should have kept that first one, it would be a collectors item now. *Sciatica is most commonly caused by of the compression of nerve roots L3 – L5, or at the Piriformis. The sciatic nerve can also be impinged at the hamstrings and can reproduce some of the same signs and symptoms.

February 2011

When I moved to Hattiesburg, MS in 2011 I met some girls to train with and one of them wanted to get properly fit on her tri bike. I told her about John Cobb and off we all went to Tyler, TX! I got a new bike, a Felt B2R shortly before we moved from the bike shop where I'd worked in Fayetteville, NC and wanted to get John to help me with the set up.


We all spent a couple days in Tyler working with John. My friends all made fun of me because while they were all chatting with Jeff, the guy who was working with John at the time, I was over there with my nose into everything that was going on with my bike. We swam, we rode, we ran.

I learned a lot and enjoyed every second of it. I was Sports and Medical Massage Therpist for years and his theories and techniques of using an individual's bio-mechanics to fit saddle fore and aft made perfect sense to me. Power related to the contraction and release of the quads and hamstrings to achieve more power from the 12-6 position. And then there is the whole shorter crank discussion - I went from the stock 170's that came on my 50cm Felt (how ridiculous is that?) to a 155. John wasn't making cranks yet, so I contacted Hawley's Bicycle World (where I got my bike and worked in NC) and my good friend Mark Taylor hooked me up with some BMX cranks. I'm not going to go into a big discussion on shorter cranks and opening up the hip angle today... maybe in a future blog post.

This year right before USAT Nationals I finally invested in an aero helmet! And.. what do you think I got? Why yes, a Rudy Project Wingspan... huh... who do you think designed this helmet?? Guess!

I've raced for Team Aquaphor for 6 years and it goes without saying that I love this team, Active Ambassadors, and being a Brand Ambassador for Aquaphor. I believe in the product and have unbelievable support from my teammates. The team is comprised of 200 age group athletes from all over the country. It would take a lot for me to choose to also represent another company.

When the posting came out that John Cobb was starting a triathlon team for 2014 I gave it some serious thought. And applied.

On the application you could check Elite or Grass Roots Team. There is also a Pro Team. I checked Grass Roots. I'm really not that fast compared to the elites, I am pretty good compared to my peers in my age group. So when I got the call from Jeremy Brown who is heading up and managing the team and asked to be on the Elite Team I was flattered and floored! I accepted and am now on the COBB MOBB Elite Team for 2014!

Now... those of you who are wondering about Team Aquaphor? If I'm asked back I will continue to represent Aquaphor too! Each team has a race requirement and I can fulfill both! 10 races... piece of cake!

Looks like I have my work cut out for me in 2014! Time to represent!!

Would you like to be a part of Cobb's Mobb?   

Cobb Cycling is pleased to announce the opening of the "Open Wave" for their 2014 team (link). 

Requirements:  Buy a Cobb Mobb tri kit and Cobb Mobb t-shirt to become a member of the team. Upon purchase of those items together you will also receive a custom decal kit and race tattoos. 

The benefits of being a member of the Cobb Mobb:

●     Cobb Cycling Team Gear - Tri Kit, Cycling Jersey, Podium Shirt, Team Water Bottle, Race Tattoos available for purchase

●     Tri Camps with some of the sports best (announcement of pricing, dates and locations to follow later in the year)

●     Media exposure via social media and our media outlets

●     Dedicated team manager and social media director to support you

●     Possibility of the Cobb Mobb team "party" tent at a race near you

Like us on Facebook!!

Will Jones and  Derek Dalzell 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!  Hope to see you at the races!! 

Life In The New City

We've been in Shreveport for a few weeks now. It is always so hard to adapt to a new place. I joined a Masters Swim here - it's okay. Not great. Every set is based on a rest interval instead of a time so I find myself not working as hard as I did in Hattiesburg. I've taken to setting my own intervals on some sets, disregarding what the coach says about 20 seconds rest. And I'm swimming some at the pool where I coach, it's a 50 meter outdoor pool, a little warm since the temperatures have been high but being outdoors is really nice. Oh.. and the pool where I swim masters is dark and not a really happy place.

I joined the triathlon group here even before I arrived and have met a few nice people. I posted something on the message board about looking for people to ride with during the week and a really great girl named Dedra invited me to ride with her, her husband Rob, and a friend of theirs, Donna. I've ridden with them a half a dozen times and I enjoy their company. Actually a bunch of people responded to my post but Dedra's pace, distance and time worked the best with my schedule. I'm enjoying riding with them, I hope they keep it up after their 70.3 Boulder race! They also live pretty close to where we are buying a house so mid week rides should work out well.

I've been coaching with COSST - City of Shreveport Swim Team and really like it. So far I've been working with Linda and Barbara coaching the Jr Varsity. Like both of them. And the kids are great! Yesterday two of the girls had their last practice because they are moving to Phoenix, AZ and one told me that she was sad because she really liked me. That made my day!  Swimmer kids are awesome! (that's a lot of exclamation points!)

Went today to an open water swim clinic that Tara, one of the COSST coaches is conducting. She and I were the only two that showed up, so we swam about 2,000 in the private ski lake by her friend's house! Nice! They had a diving board at the end of their pier so she and I did a bunch of front flips off the board into the lake.

My other job is okay and getting better. Today was a good day. It's kind of quiet in there, I asked about turning up the music to increase the energy in the place. It's pretty funny for me to ask for that, because I don't like loud music at all. I think I have some noise aversion, but it was SO quiet in there that I was a little uncomfortable. The merchandise is awesome, already spent more than my paycheck! They sell tons of shoes, and I'm learning to be a shoe fitter, love it!

Going to do my first race here on Thursday. The Firecracker 5K. No age group awards, but cool mugs to the first 101 men and first 60 women finishers. I'll let you know how it goes. A slight cool front came through last night (humidity is low and wind is out of the north), I hope it holds through Thursday morning. It's been so hot and humid. Like walking outside and having someone throw a hot wet blanket over your head. Meh...

Oh.. here's something... I went with Donna on Saturday to ride up on the River Cities Triathlon course. We got in 40 miles. When I drove up there were a handful of cyclists ready to start their ride and they were blocking three prime parking places (meaning the spaces would still be in the shade when we finished our ride). So I pulled up, smiled, and pointed to the parking place where I wanted to go. The riders had to move so let me park, and one of the Sunrise Tri Club members said to me "Couldn't find another place to park?" in a really sarcastic voice. Nice. Friendly. NOT. Later on the ride I was up ahead of Donna and she had been picked up by a few riders and came by when I'd stopped to help a little box turtle cross the road. And I pretty sure it was the same rider said not too quietly as they came by. "Get killed stopping to help a (insert expletive starting with the letter f here) turtle off the road." He's probably one of the kind of drivers who intentionally run over the turtles.

Now what I would like to know is what kind of man feels compelled to say such things to someone he's never met, let alone a woman? What gives with people these days? The comments weren't in a joking tone, they were deliberately mean. I think he must have some issues.

This was the same guy who came by Donna and I with his group, (we started before they did), got dropped by his group, kept looking back as we were approaching, got on my wheel, I could hear him behind me, so I dropped him too. Maybe I have some issues....with rude people... yes, I do!

P.S. Some really good news, we close on a house on July 18th!! River Cities Triathlon on August 4th, and Age Group Nationals on August 10th! (Get to see my friend, Becky!) Good things to look forward to!

Benedict Day School Swim Team Shines at MAIS Swimming Championships!!

The Courthouse Racquet & Fitness Club 

This past Wednesday Judy and I took 25 kids from the  Benedict Day School (BDS) Swim Team to Jackson, MS for the MAIS (Mississippi Association of Independent Schools) Championship Swim Meet.  The meet was held at The Courthouse Racquet & Fitness Club.

Judy Hudson, Head Coach of the BDS Swim Team started the team 3 years ago and it has continued to grow in numbers every year. The first year there were 20, year two was up to 21 swimmers.  This year we have 31 kids on the team!   She asked me to join her and help out as an Assistant Coach and I've been really enjoying working with the kids.  Seeing their continual improvement is very gratifying.  Their form, balance, and body alignment in the water is starting to show through the twice weekly practices.  The other thing to note is just how these kids behave.  Having no children of my own I didn't really know the amount of patience it takes working with kids.  But the kids on this team are well spoken, polite, listen well, and basically act like small adults.  Their parents should be proud of them.  They're obviously doing something very right because they are a joy to coach!

The parents of the team are also very involved.  It's nice seeing them turn out for the meet and help with timing, getting the kids to their events and being overall great cheerleaders for the team.

The Benedict Day School kids came in 8th OVERALL in the state out of 17 schools - last year we placed 12th.  It was greatness!!!  There were over 1000 entries for the afternoon session of Grades 1-6!  Links for Elementary Grade RESULTS and SCORES. OVERALL COMBINED TEAM SCORES for Elementary and Secondary BDS took 13 out of 23 with only the Elementary age kids!!! That is impressive!!

Here are some photos taken by one of the moms.  Gini Mars is a professional photographer.  You can find some of her wonderful photography here:
gini mars photography

Hanging out in the tent!!

The kids wore their team swim caps all day!!

Writing event and heat assignments for the kids.

Warm Ups!  The BDS Caps Judy had made really stood out!!

You can tell that the kids had a great time!

Getting some direction from the coach!

Warm up starts!

Keep Calm and Swim ON!

Game face ON!!

Nice high elbow position!!