Yesterday I received the news that I had made the Western Zone Championship Team.

My greatest fear since I started this season was that I would have a repeat of my first year of swimming.
I was trying to get a few cuts for JO's at the Last Chance Meet, but missed them by a few 100s of a seconds. It was one of the most disappointing moments of my swimming career.

It's amazing to think that two seasons ago, I wasn't able to qualify for a County Championship meet, and now I'm going to be competing against the best 1% of swimmers in each western state of the US. i don't think that I would have gotten to this point, without support from my Teammates, the discipline of my Coaches, and the over all inspiration that my loved ones have given me. I revet to say that one of my closest friends wasn't able to achieve the cuts for his age group, and gender. I hope that he will not only achieve his goals next season, but go far past them. 

I'd like to shed some light on Long course JO's.

I started competing on Friday, and may I just say, warmup was quite crowded. Let’s just say, most of the swimmers didn’t enjoy it. ( XD ) The races went smoothly, I got my first Zone in the 200m Back-- I think it was Friday, at least, placing 4th overall, I believe? I finaled in my other race, and placed well. 

Saturday: Went well, missed my zone in the 100m Backstroke, but finaled in all my events, and placed 3rd overall in the 100m Back.

Sunday: The final day! The relief of the meet being over soon to come! The finish line in sight! I missed the 50m Backstroke Zone in prelims, but battled to the wall in Finals, achieving the cut. We all know the feeling when you don’t do as well as you’d like to in a race, and feel like your world has crumbled beneath your feet. My advice; Pull through it, and pick up the pieces. With a little bit of glue, you can stitch yourself back together. Don’t let yourself fall apart that easy. Our relays did well, too. 

Photo Highlights: 

(Left to Right) Austin, Taylor, Robbie, and Jaylyne. Plus Grant in a chair, and Cory in the background. 

(Left to Right) Maddie, Elise (Swim fast! Miss you already!), and Caitlyn

Negative Mind Chatter

Let's talk about a little thing I like to call, "Negotive mind chatter".

We all have it. And as much as you'd like to think that, you "Really can't do it", or, "Your horrible at your sport", we all have to remember that it's just a story in our heads.

I cannot count on hand how many times I stepped up on the blocks and thought, "I didn't train hard enough" or, "Why do I even try", or even "I should just quit now".
And everytime I repeat to myself, "that's just a story in my head.". I feel like every word is another brick in my backpack. Whenever I hear these words, I imagin them just sweeping off of my shoulders. As my coach has always said, it's all about the mindset.


I'm currently at JO's, I will be posting photos later on.

Sorry for the short post.

Best regards,
-Dolphina

This weekend I went to JAGs. (June Age Group). First of all, let me say, that pool is FAST.
Saltwater is amazing.
It was a two hour drive from my house, and a friend of mine, Luke tagged along because his parents couldn't drive him. He ended up staying with us for the whole weekend, and it was quite interesting.
Between all the banter, and bonding, I don't remember much. We stayed at this hotel some-what near the pool, and a few of our other friends stayed there, too. The catch is, they're all boys.

That I had to deal with.
For the whole weekend.
(My mother wanted me to add that they had to deal with me too, but I doubt ANY of them will see this blog.)

The first day, friday, was going very smoothly. No one was fighting, no one was bickering. At the meet, a swam the 200 IM and dropped 7 seconds! But then, out of no where, right before my 100 Backstroke; a bee stung me. Right on the bottom of my foot. But, it doesn't end there. My foot swelled, but just slightly, and I still had another event. The event I really had to try for. I ended up getting a best time.

That night, we all went out to dinner at this amazing Sushi place. The 'Kids' got there own table, too.

Day two was great, as well. Until 5 minutes into us being at the meet, I was stung by a bee. Again. On the same foot. (I swear, it targeted me.) My foot swelled up like a clubbed foot. Then, a teammate of mine jumped down from a step and landed on my ankle, where my foot was already swelled. I shook it off, and continued swimming. I was in quite a bit of pain, but ended up finishing my events.

That night I went out with my friend Amy, and a few of the asian families on the team. Which was AWESOME. Though, as the night went on, my foot was getting worse and worse. When we got back to the hotel room, my foot was hurting very badly, and had swelled even more.

Day 3. Everything went pretty well. I bested my previous 100 freestyle time in the relay, and got a best time in the 50 Breaststroke, putting me 5th in the county. We left. My foot is still swelled. Lol.

Moral of the story is; Stay determined!

Making Every Swim Your Best Swim

Lately, I've had some trouble keeping my energy up in, and after practice. We changed our swimming schedule, so now we swim from 10:15-12:15. It's really taking a tole on me.

I am feeling more tired by the day, and it's getting hard for me to keep up with practice, so here's some tips that I've discovered to help you make every swim, your best swim.

Get some sleep! 

Sometimes, 6-8 hours just doesn't cut it. Especially if you have morning practice.

Try to get 8-11 hours a night, but make sure you're not sleeping too much! 30 minute naps are great if you didn't sleep very well.

Eat before you swim.

Don't starve yourself, you'll get no where. You need fuel to practice, and compete.

Try a Banana and two pieces of toast. These are light foods, but contain carbs and nutrients.

Stay hydrated! 

This is a very important tip. After all, without water, you you can't swim (Get it? -Wink-)

Try drinking a glass of water, with a little bit of lemon juice in the morning to help you stay hydrated.

Focus.

Pay attention to your coaches, swim coniously; don't be off in la la land while swimming the main set! 

Work on Technic, Not speed in warm up.

Pay attention to the way your hand enters the water during freestyle, and your head position on backstroke. Be present-- in the moment. 

Encourage your teammates

You never know how they are feeling. In the toughest sets, everyone needs a bit of encouragement, even you! Believe it or not, inspiring them will help inspire yourself.

Don't let your mind get to you.

"I can't do this," or "I should just quit now." run through all of our heads. No matter what, don't give up. Silence the hateful thoughts, and focus on your swim. No matter what happens, keep a positive state of mind.

Sincerely,

-Jasira.

So, today we had a distance set at practice.
We had had a pretty good day up until our main set. I was already a bit tired, being that I didn't get much sleep last night.
As you may not know, I am not a distance swimmer.
The worst feeling a swimmer can have, is standing up on the blocks for a race, and realizing that you might not be able to do it. That you didn't train hard enough,
or that you don't have the speed to keep up.
I felt like this today. 

In the beginning, I don't think anyone was too happy about the set, and we all took up a decently reserved pace, except for a few lanes. Including mine. Does anyone know that feeling where you feel dizzy, your toes are going numb, and half of your body is cramping?
This is what I felt like. On the 3rd 400 of the set, I came in, barley making the interval. By this point, I felt like I couldn't breath, and both of my feet were going numb, and even though I felt like I couldn't keep going, my coach asked me to give it anything I had left. So I did. I ended up going from last in my lane to first.
These are the days I live for, these are the sets that make me want to try even harder, that inspire me to keep swimming.

I hope in ten years I'll be able to look at days like this, and be proud of myself.

Even when things go wrong, or they aren't turning out in your favor, forget the reasons why you can't, and remember the one reasons why you can.

Yours truly,

-Jasira