My run was rushed again today. I got out of work late and hurried over to RPAC. I ran 3 miles in 29:56. Since I knew it was a short workout, I ran the whole thing in a fairly consistent pace (no walking). Afterward I had to postpone the shower to hustle to pick up Jason from swim team practice.
Valerie is in softball tryouts this week. If she was swimming at the Ohio Junior Olympics, she would not have tried out for softball this year because swim practice would have been mandatory this week. Val seems to be doing well and is having fun at tryouts. She made the first cut today. Another cut takes place on Friday.
We're headed to Bowling Green this weekend so Jason can swim backstroke with his medley relay at the Ohio Junior Olympics. His relay is faster than 4 other relays which is great news because it's tough to be seeded last place. I hope Jason has a good experience at State JOs.
I'm not sure when I'll get my long run in this week. It was scheduled for Saturday, but we'll be driving to Bowling Green in the morning and will be there through the day on Sunday. I'll have to take a look at my schedule and move things around. Maybe I can run on Friday.
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Regional championship swim meet
It's been a busy few days for our family. We had a 3 day Regional Championship swim meet Fri-Sun this weekend. I officiated every session and the kids swam very, very well.
Val got 1st in the medley relay (her team had a JO qualifying time), 1st in the 100 breaststroke (won by 11.7 seconds!), 2nd in the freestyle relay, 3rd in the 50 breaststroke (only .6 seconds off the JO time), 6th in the individual medley (all strokes), 8th in the 100 freestyle, 9th in the 50 freestyle, and 10th in the 50 butterfly.
Jason got 3rd in the 50 backstroke (dropped lots of time in this event!), 3rd in the freestyle relay, 4th in 100 backstroke, 4th in the 50 freestyle, 10th in 50 breaststroke, 10th in 50 butterfly, 11th in the Individual Medley (all strokes), and 12th in the 50 freestyle.
Both kids swam events in the mornings and then made it to finals all three evenings. The days were long, but rewarding.
We were 95% sure Val would be going to the state meet the weekend of March 11 since both OSU medley relays in her age group qualified. However, when the coaches moved the 4 fastest girls to one relay, the second team wasn't fast enough to go to the state meet. Val was devastated since she is 12 and next year ages up to the 13/14 group with new time standards.
Despite the tough news Val received, we are going to the state meet. Jason's amazing time in his 50 backstroke made him the top backstroke choice for the 9/10 boys B medley relay that qualified for state JOs. Two boys who are ranked in the top 10 in the state were able to make up for the 1.33 seconds Jason is shy of a state cut. Therefore, a second relay for 9/10 boys qualified and Jason is now a member of that team.
Because of the swim meet and then yesterday's retirement party for a staff member, I didn't run for 4 days. Today I put in 6 miles in 1:04:26 outside in beautiful weather. My miles were 11:15, 10:23, 10:21, 10:43, 10:34, and 11:02. I was scheduled to do 6 miles with 4 of them tempo at a 10:19 pace, so I fell a bit short of the schedule in pace, even though I did the mileage.
Val got 1st in the medley relay (her team had a JO qualifying time), 1st in the 100 breaststroke (won by 11.7 seconds!), 2nd in the freestyle relay, 3rd in the 50 breaststroke (only .6 seconds off the JO time), 6th in the individual medley (all strokes), 8th in the 100 freestyle, 9th in the 50 freestyle, and 10th in the 50 butterfly.
Jason got 3rd in the 50 backstroke (dropped lots of time in this event!), 3rd in the freestyle relay, 4th in 100 backstroke, 4th in the 50 freestyle, 10th in 50 breaststroke, 10th in 50 butterfly, 11th in the Individual Medley (all strokes), and 12th in the 50 freestyle.
Both kids swam events in the mornings and then made it to finals all three evenings. The days were long, but rewarding.
We were 95% sure Val would be going to the state meet the weekend of March 11 since both OSU medley relays in her age group qualified. However, when the coaches moved the 4 fastest girls to one relay, the second team wasn't fast enough to go to the state meet. Val was devastated since she is 12 and next year ages up to the 13/14 group with new time standards.
Despite the tough news Val received, we are going to the state meet. Jason's amazing time in his 50 backstroke made him the top backstroke choice for the 9/10 boys B medley relay that qualified for state JOs. Two boys who are ranked in the top 10 in the state were able to make up for the 1.33 seconds Jason is shy of a state cut. Therefore, a second relay for 9/10 boys qualified and Jason is now a member of that team.
Because of the swim meet and then yesterday's retirement party for a staff member, I didn't run for 4 days. Today I put in 6 miles in 1:04:26 outside in beautiful weather. My miles were 11:15, 10:23, 10:21, 10:43, 10:34, and 11:02. I was scheduled to do 6 miles with 4 of them tempo at a 10:19 pace, so I fell a bit short of the schedule in pace, even though I did the mileage.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Swim meet
We had a very busy week and weekend. Our first OSU-sponsored swim meet was this weekend and we were at the pool from about 11:30am to 9pm on Saturday and Sunday. Friday we were at the Worthington pool for a relay-only swim meet from 4:30pm to 8:30pm.
Since I officiated, I was on my feet a lot and my back has been complaining quite a bit. I tried to run a little today before the meet and realized I couldn't/shouldn't. My back might have loosened up if I'd kept at it, but after just a block, I decided it wasn't worth making it worse right before I had to stand on deck for 8+ hours.
The kids did very well at the meet. Val has the advantage this year because she is 12 in the 11/12 age group. She made it to the finals and placed (earned points for her team) in every event she swam (free, fly, breast, and IM). She also improved most of her times. Most notably, she took 2.5 seconds off her 50 breaststroke.
Jason is 9 in the 9/10 age group and there are 5 boys in his age group who are ranked at the state level. And those 5 are all OSU Swim Club members (our team). There were also state ranked boys from other clubs who attended this meet. Very tough competition for the 9/10 boys!
Jason beat most of his previous swim times. His most impressive drop was almost 4 seconds on his 50 backstroke, which was already his best stroke going in to the meet. In his back and freestyle events, only 1 or 2 nine-year-olds beat him. Unfortunately, the meet only took the top ten 9/10 year olds for finals, so Jason did not get to swim in the finals. He was an alternate (#11 and #12) twice, though; for the 100 IM and the 100 free.
We have to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week and then have 24 coming for Thanksgiving on Thursday. We'll have a crowd, but everyone is bringing something, so we should be just fine. We're setting up 4 tables for 6 and putting the food out buffet style.
I'm really looking forward to the long holiday weekend with no work, no swimming, no church school, and no basketball. It will be good to get a break after such a tough week.
Since I officiated, I was on my feet a lot and my back has been complaining quite a bit. I tried to run a little today before the meet and realized I couldn't/shouldn't. My back might have loosened up if I'd kept at it, but after just a block, I decided it wasn't worth making it worse right before I had to stand on deck for 8+ hours.
The kids did very well at the meet. Val has the advantage this year because she is 12 in the 11/12 age group. She made it to the finals and placed (earned points for her team) in every event she swam (free, fly, breast, and IM). She also improved most of her times. Most notably, she took 2.5 seconds off her 50 breaststroke.
Jason is 9 in the 9/10 age group and there are 5 boys in his age group who are ranked at the state level. And those 5 are all OSU Swim Club members (our team). There were also state ranked boys from other clubs who attended this meet. Very tough competition for the 9/10 boys!
Jason beat most of his previous swim times. His most impressive drop was almost 4 seconds on his 50 backstroke, which was already his best stroke going in to the meet. In his back and freestyle events, only 1 or 2 nine-year-olds beat him. Unfortunately, the meet only took the top ten 9/10 year olds for finals, so Jason did not get to swim in the finals. He was an alternate (#11 and #12) twice, though; for the 100 IM and the 100 free.
We have to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week and then have 24 coming for Thanksgiving on Thursday. We'll have a crowd, but everyone is bringing something, so we should be just fine. We're setting up 4 tables for 6 and putting the food out buffet style.
I'm really looking forward to the long holiday weekend with no work, no swimming, no church school, and no basketball. It will be good to get a break after such a tough week.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Insane weekend
Friday night wedding reception for Ken's trainer at the gym; a good time had by all.
Saturday and Sunday mornings (and Saturday late night) we had to work on a major school project for Val. Then in the afternoons and evenings the kids had a swim meet and I officiated. Val improved her time on 50 free, 200 IM, and 200 free. Jason improved his time on 50 free, 50 back, 100 IM, 50 breast, and 100 free. Both kids had some major time drops, too. Val dropped 12 seconds on her 200 free. Jason dropped 8 seconds on 100 free and 13 seconds on a 50 breast. Usually time improvements are less than a second. Even 3 seconds is a big time drop.
The competition at this meet was fierce compared to most meets we've attended in the past. The top 4 or 5 heats of each event had very little difference between the swimmer times. Val was close to the top 25% in 50 breaststroke and 50 free and in the top 40% in 200 free. She was about in the middle of the pack for the other events. Jason is only 9 in the 9/10 age group. He was in the middle of the pack for every event but when we look at only 9 year olds, his stats are quite a bit better.
It was a tiring weekend and now my week looks just as bad. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I'm book solid all the work day, including meetings over lunch. Thursday we have off for Veteran's Day. I'm looking forward to that day off!
I didn't get any formal exercise in all weekend. The dancing on Friday night should count for something though; as should being on my feet for 7 hours officiating the swim meet. I hope I get to run tomorrow during swim practice, but I have a 4:30pm meeting, so I might not make it to RPAC with time to run. We'll see how it goes.
Saturday and Sunday mornings (and Saturday late night) we had to work on a major school project for Val. Then in the afternoons and evenings the kids had a swim meet and I officiated. Val improved her time on 50 free, 200 IM, and 200 free. Jason improved his time on 50 free, 50 back, 100 IM, 50 breast, and 100 free. Both kids had some major time drops, too. Val dropped 12 seconds on her 200 free. Jason dropped 8 seconds on 100 free and 13 seconds on a 50 breast. Usually time improvements are less than a second. Even 3 seconds is a big time drop.
The competition at this meet was fierce compared to most meets we've attended in the past. The top 4 or 5 heats of each event had very little difference between the swimmer times. Val was close to the top 25% in 50 breaststroke and 50 free and in the top 40% in 200 free. She was about in the middle of the pack for the other events. Jason is only 9 in the 9/10 age group. He was in the middle of the pack for every event but when we look at only 9 year olds, his stats are quite a bit better.
It was a tiring weekend and now my week looks just as bad. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I'm book solid all the work day, including meetings over lunch. Thursday we have off for Veteran's Day. I'm looking forward to that day off!
I didn't get any formal exercise in all weekend. The dancing on Friday night should count for something though; as should being on my feet for 7 hours officiating the swim meet. I hope I get to run tomorrow during swim practice, but I have a 4:30pm meeting, so I might not make it to RPAC with time to run. We'll see how it goes.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Hang in there, Jan!
Ken's mother had a shoulder replacement surgery on Friday, so he and his sister went to Cleveland to support her. Her surgery went well and she went home today. I guess she's in a lot of pain now, though. Jan is a retired surgical nurse, so she certainly knows the score with these things. I'm sure it doesn't make the pain any easier to handle, though. Hang in there, Jan!!! I wish we lived closer and could check in on her daily for awhile. I'm sure Jim will be a great caretaker and perhaps her brother and sister-in-law will be able to visit.
Today I took the kids to RPAC at OSU and we all put in a swimming workout. I swam about 1200 meters (about 3/4 of a mile). I did most of the workout in freestyle; however I put in some breaststroke and backstroke lengths, too. Tomorrow, I bet I won't be able to put my arms over my head. I'll be soooooooo sore. My lats are already feeling it.
Initially, I thought it would be good to put Val and Jason in a fast lane and let them do a workout together. However, Jason got very discouraged and was completely giving up and down on himself. Then, he came to swim with me and I got him back in the swing of things. We did a 200 free and he beat me by 25 meters. He's 9. I know, it's depressing. But, hey, freestyle is his favorite stroke and I'm obviously getting my money's worth because he's doing so well. I can give him a tough race in breaststroke, though. That was my favorite stroke and his least favorite. I didn't even try the fly. I couldn't do more than a terrible 25 fly before these surgeries. Now, I don't think it's wise to even try. Butterfly requires a range of motion and significant strength which I just don't have right now.
I didn't pay close attention to the time, but I think we swam for 45 minutes or so. Then I stretched a bit and loosened up my back which had been tight for a few days. The kids played for about 30 minutes in the leisure pool while I got a shower and then we got them cleaned up and headed home.
Ken got back this afternoon, he took Jason to baseball practice. Jason will be wiped out after swimming and baseball.
The kids both were mildly sick with a cold or bad allergies or something last week. They are still a bit stuffy, but getting better. I got it late this week and have been on Clariton D during the days and Benadryl and cough drops at night. I think I'm on the upswing and have lots of energy today. Ken doesn't feel well at all though. I tried to get him to let me take Jason to baseball practice, but he wanted to be there.
Tuesday, I'm off to a conference and will be gone until Saturday early evening. I really love this conference (HR Technology) and it's great to see many of the same people there year after year. We'll be hearing from the leaders in HR technology and seeing many software demonstrations. I've got my list of vendors to visit on the exhibition floor so I can keep up with what is going on in Talent Management (a passion of mine). Of course, I'll also be attending the parties sponsored by the vendors and various meet and greet events which run late into the night. I expect Knowledge Infusion's 5th year anniversary bash will be the primo vendor event this year. I'm really looking forward to the knowledge-tinis (martinis with green LED lights in them). Last year, I brought home a green LED plastic ice cube for each kid and put it in their milk at breakfast. It was a hoot.
Today I took the kids to RPAC at OSU and we all put in a swimming workout. I swam about 1200 meters (about 3/4 of a mile). I did most of the workout in freestyle; however I put in some breaststroke and backstroke lengths, too. Tomorrow, I bet I won't be able to put my arms over my head. I'll be soooooooo sore. My lats are already feeling it.
Initially, I thought it would be good to put Val and Jason in a fast lane and let them do a workout together. However, Jason got very discouraged and was completely giving up and down on himself. Then, he came to swim with me and I got him back in the swing of things. We did a 200 free and he beat me by 25 meters. He's 9. I know, it's depressing. But, hey, freestyle is his favorite stroke and I'm obviously getting my money's worth because he's doing so well. I can give him a tough race in breaststroke, though. That was my favorite stroke and his least favorite. I didn't even try the fly. I couldn't do more than a terrible 25 fly before these surgeries. Now, I don't think it's wise to even try. Butterfly requires a range of motion and significant strength which I just don't have right now.
I didn't pay close attention to the time, but I think we swam for 45 minutes or so. Then I stretched a bit and loosened up my back which had been tight for a few days. The kids played for about 30 minutes in the leisure pool while I got a shower and then we got them cleaned up and headed home.
Ken got back this afternoon, he took Jason to baseball practice. Jason will be wiped out after swimming and baseball.
The kids both were mildly sick with a cold or bad allergies or something last week. They are still a bit stuffy, but getting better. I got it late this week and have been on Clariton D during the days and Benadryl and cough drops at night. I think I'm on the upswing and have lots of energy today. Ken doesn't feel well at all though. I tried to get him to let me take Jason to baseball practice, but he wanted to be there.
Tuesday, I'm off to a conference and will be gone until Saturday early evening. I really love this conference (HR Technology) and it's great to see many of the same people there year after year. We'll be hearing from the leaders in HR technology and seeing many software demonstrations. I've got my list of vendors to visit on the exhibition floor so I can keep up with what is going on in Talent Management (a passion of mine). Of course, I'll also be attending the parties sponsored by the vendors and various meet and greet events which run late into the night. I expect Knowledge Infusion's 5th year anniversary bash will be the primo vendor event this year. I'm really looking forward to the knowledge-tinis (martinis with green LED lights in them). Last year, I brought home a green LED plastic ice cube for each kid and put it in their milk at breakfast. It was a hoot.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Three Days in a Row
Val dropped time in everything she swam for three days in a row - the entire Regionals meet. Today she dropped 4.19 seconds in the 100 Free and 2.1 seconds in the 50 back. That's a LOT of time improvement, but it didn't qualify her for finals or state. She wasn't as disappointed as on Friday, though. I think she got more realistic expectations as the weekend went along. Val was able to swim breaststroke with the A medley relay, and that made her feel good. They finished 2 seconds too late to make the state time in the relay.
The results are in and below are her placements. Next year she'll be at the top of her age group and will be more likely to make the top 12 (14, including the 2 alternates) in some of her events to qualify for finals.
100 Breaststroke 17th out of 46
50 Breaststroke 22nd out of 54
50 Butterfly 26th out of 56
50 Back 35th out of 80
100 IM 36th out of 88
100 Free 36th out of 88 (not a mistake, she placed the same in the Free and IM)
50 Free 42nd out of 101
6th out of 17 in the A Medley Relay (Val swam breaststroke)
9th out of 18 in the B Free Relay
Her largest time improvements were in the 100 Free (4.19 seconds) and the 100 Breaststroke (3.5 seconds).
As for me, I worked all three days of the meet and I'm wiped out. I'm tired and sore (my back mostly). Today was the longest day - we were there from 7:30am to 3:30pm. However the officials had more breaks today since we had enough officials to rotate out for 15 minutes about every hour. We got even more time off during the long freestyle events (freestyle doesn't take many officials because there are very few things someone can get disqualified for in the freestyle).
On another note, we didn't get the rain/sleet/snow mix they were calling for today, thank goodness. I hope it's not just late, but is a scratch/no-show.
Hope everyone else had a great weekend. I'm taking the night off to do nothing. Maybe I'll read. Or watch a movie. Or both. Val has homework reading to do and Jason always has reading or math to do for his monthly minutes they track on a calendar.
The results are in and below are her placements. Next year she'll be at the top of her age group and will be more likely to make the top 12 (14, including the 2 alternates) in some of her events to qualify for finals.
100 Breaststroke 17th out of 46
50 Breaststroke 22nd out of 54
50 Butterfly 26th out of 56
50 Back 35th out of 80
100 IM 36th out of 88
100 Free 36th out of 88 (not a mistake, she placed the same in the Free and IM)
50 Free 42nd out of 101
6th out of 17 in the A Medley Relay (Val swam breaststroke)
9th out of 18 in the B Free Relay
Her largest time improvements were in the 100 Free (4.19 seconds) and the 100 Breaststroke (3.5 seconds).
As for me, I worked all three days of the meet and I'm wiped out. I'm tired and sore (my back mostly). Today was the longest day - we were there from 7:30am to 3:30pm. However the officials had more breaks today since we had enough officials to rotate out for 15 minutes about every hour. We got even more time off during the long freestyle events (freestyle doesn't take many officials because there are very few things someone can get disqualified for in the freestyle).
On another note, we didn't get the rain/sleet/snow mix they were calling for today, thank goodness. I hope it's not just late, but is a scratch/no-show.
Hope everyone else had a great weekend. I'm taking the night off to do nothing. Maybe I'll read. Or watch a movie. Or both. Val has homework reading to do and Jason always has reading or math to do for his monthly minutes they track on a calendar.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Steverunner and swim team
I didn't get up in time to run this morning, but it was an unusual day because I had time to run after work. Yea! I left the office at 4:30 and had about 90 minutes before a swim team event. I walked over to OSU's state of the art recreation/activity center to change clothes and then headed outside with my mp3 player, Garmin watch, and a bottle of water. It was HOT. The wind was blowing pretty hard and was a welcome companion since I was more concerned about being cooled down than slowed down.
I put in 3 miles. The first was slow and labored at 11:49. My calves are sore . . . yes, both of them now. I loosened up a little as I went along, though, running the other miles in 11:27 and 10:27. Unfortunately, I was still sore when I was done. I walked a little and stretched as I made my way back to the activity center to shower before heading across the sidewalk to the aquatic pavilion.
Tonight the kids were fitted for OSU age group swim team suits and we watched the OSU varsity swim team (men and women) swim against Kenyon. It's amazing to watch really good swimmers. I swam competitively in the summer from about age 10 to 16 and even qualified for Junior Olympics (our state meet) once. However, the kids nowadays are in a TOTALLY different league. My 11 year old already swims every stroke better than I ever did, as do all of her swimmer friends. My 8 year old is very impressive, too, especially in back and free. Even his butterfly is better than mine.
My favorite and fastest stroke was breast stroke (yes, another ironic thing).
I had lunch with two former colleagues who are good friends. It was great to see them again and check in. We talked a lot about my breast cancer diagnosis; the great news that it was caught early and the sad news that I have to lose both breasts anyway. We also caught up on work and personal things. Thanks for a great lunch, Whitney and Andy!
My Medical Oncologist consultation appointment is now scheduled, so things continue to move along. I wanted to see her before the operation just to get an idea of what I might have in store afterward. I know she can't tell me anything certain until they have the results of my post-surgery tests, however. Still, I'd like to know under what conditions I may need to take tamoxofin or get radiation and/or chemo. I'm also planning to ask about post-op treatment differences if I choose the lumpectomy over the bilateral mastectomy even though I'm almost 100% sure I'm going with the latter.
I think Steverunner mentioned me in his podcast posted today because I saw my blog address posted in his show notes on his web site. I haven't listened to the episode because I want to put it on my mp3 player and take it on a run. You can listen to it directly by clicking here or you can go to his web site and download the episode titled Fdip211: Gifts, Gadgets and Gizmos for Runners. Although I haven't listened to it yet, I would guess his mention of my blog will be toward the end of the show when he talks about emails he receives from fellow runners. Today, I listened to his episode #206. To learn about other favorite podcasts, check out my submission called Ran 5! Listening to Podcasts.
I put in 3 miles. The first was slow and labored at 11:49. My calves are sore . . . yes, both of them now. I loosened up a little as I went along, though, running the other miles in 11:27 and 10:27. Unfortunately, I was still sore when I was done. I walked a little and stretched as I made my way back to the activity center to shower before heading across the sidewalk to the aquatic pavilion.
Tonight the kids were fitted for OSU age group swim team suits and we watched the OSU varsity swim team (men and women) swim against Kenyon. It's amazing to watch really good swimmers. I swam competitively in the summer from about age 10 to 16 and even qualified for Junior Olympics (our state meet) once. However, the kids nowadays are in a TOTALLY different league. My 11 year old already swims every stroke better than I ever did, as do all of her swimmer friends. My 8 year old is very impressive, too, especially in back and free. Even his butterfly is better than mine.
My favorite and fastest stroke was breast stroke (yes, another ironic thing).
I had lunch with two former colleagues who are good friends. It was great to see them again and check in. We talked a lot about my breast cancer diagnosis; the great news that it was caught early and the sad news that I have to lose both breasts anyway. We also caught up on work and personal things. Thanks for a great lunch, Whitney and Andy!
My Medical Oncologist consultation appointment is now scheduled, so things continue to move along. I wanted to see her before the operation just to get an idea of what I might have in store afterward. I know she can't tell me anything certain until they have the results of my post-surgery tests, however. Still, I'd like to know under what conditions I may need to take tamoxofin or get radiation and/or chemo. I'm also planning to ask about post-op treatment differences if I choose the lumpectomy over the bilateral mastectomy even though I'm almost 100% sure I'm going with the latter.
I think Steverunner mentioned me in his podcast posted today because I saw my blog address posted in his show notes on his web site. I haven't listened to the episode because I want to put it on my mp3 player and take it on a run. You can listen to it directly by clicking here or you can go to his web site and download the episode titled Fdip211: Gifts, Gadgets and Gizmos for Runners. Although I haven't listened to it yet, I would guess his mention of my blog will be toward the end of the show when he talks about emails he receives from fellow runners. Today, I listened to his episode #206. To learn about other favorite podcasts, check out my submission called Ran 5! Listening to Podcasts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)