Greetings from the University of Michigan Graduate Library! I swore I would never step foot into this den of iniquity, but hey, ya gotta get out of the cold sometimes. And they have free internet access.
Why are we here? It's not a very long story. The idea was that, while Lexy was swimming this morning, Sydney was going to make good use of her Saturday morning and spend it researching a topic here at la bibliotheque. We thought they opened at 8, but they didn't open until 10. So, poor Sydney had to suffer through the swim meet at Saline High School.
Lexy did well today. She swam four individual events and a relay. Her four events were the 100 I.M., the 100 Backstroke, the 50 Breaststroke and the 50 Free. She also swam the breaststroke leg of the 200 Medley relay.
In the 100 IM, she got a best time of 1:34.79, and in the 100 Backstroke she added a lot -- about eight seconds. Not sure what happened there! In the 50 Breast she also added time (about two seconds, to 51.93), but finally, in the 50 Free, she lost .02 seconds for a best time of 35.65. The girls finished 8th in the relay, adding about 5 seconds to their best combined time. See below for the links to all of today's videos.
100 IM Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9i-lsIcgNg
100 Backstroke Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ywmhuFCjug
50 Free Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA739axrN_E
50 Breaststroke Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeqVuul8h4ks
The meet ended at about 12:30, so we were all hungry for lunch. Sydney suggested a place that she had heard about from a friend who spends a lot of time in Ann Arbor. So we plugged "Crazy Jim's Blimpy Burger" into the GPS, and off we went.
Crazy Jim's is in the heart of Ann Arbor, at the corner of Division and Packard. As I turned the corner and got my first glimpse of the "joint" I recoiled. "Eww, Sydney, I don't think I want to eat there!" To which she replied, "C'mon Mom, where's your sense of adventure?" Famous last words.
Welcome to Blimpy Burger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOc8_ngYZ3ss
Crazy Jim's advertises that they're "cheaper than food," but I beg to differ. After ordering four double-burgers (they're MINI) an order or fries, rings and a few sodas, it was as much as we would have paid anywhere. We waited for about 15 minutes in a line of about thirty, until it was our turn to make fools of ourselves at the counter, where we OBVIOUSLY had no idea how to order. The burger guy said "Don't talk to me about cheese!" He also whined at me about taking a video.
Whiny burger guy video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqV-Eem5S9A
Let me also add that the line winds through the tables and chairs, which are bolted to the floor and makes it nearly impossible for anyone to get in or out. People were a lot smaller in the 50's! We also got admonished by the cashier for having Lexy sit at a table while we ordered. There aren't a lot of places to sit, and I guess it's against the rules! Whatever. And, the burgers were "OK."
Walking back to the car, belching, hiccuping and feeling generally sluggish, I announced that everyone would be having salads for dinner! The response was lukewarm at best.
With all this grease now coursing through our rapidly clogging veins, we headed back over the library, dropped Sydney off, and thought about what to do. Lexy and I donated all my change to another parking meter and set off for the University of Michigan Museum of Art. The museum is only half a block away from the libary but we were frozen by the time we got there. Correction, Lexy's hair, which was still damp from the swim meet, was frozen. And yes mom, she WAS wearing a hat.
The Museum, of course, is closed until March! The Michigan Union was across the street so we darted over there and asked the woman at the desk if there was anything open. She mentioned the planetarium on the other side of The Diag (that's U of M slang) and it just looked too far to walk in the cold and wind. So we hoofed back over to the library, where we sit now, me blogging and Lexy getting caught up on her Webkinz miniature golf.
The question remains: where is Sydney? Lost in the stacks in the U of M graduate library. She's doing research and refining her topic for her IB paper. That happens to be something along the lines of post-World War II reconstruction of European cities. But what type of reconstruction? Architectural? Political? Cultural? I suppose we must wait.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Caro Dual Meet - Caro vs. Midland - Jan 17, 2009
It was a blustery day in Michigan's thumb. The wind swirled the blowing and drifting snow along Route 81 east to make the road appear to be in constant motion. The sub-zero wind chills made keeping the car warm a challenge. Our toes were freezing as we approached small farm houses with dilapidated barns outlined against miles of white. Less experienced drivers slowed to about 35 miles per hour along a the two-lane road where 55 mph was more likely.
Caro, Michigan is the absolute middle of nowhere. Imagine my surprise when we arrived at their high school to find a very nice 50 Meter pool! It took me a while, however, to realize the pool was 50 meters. Typically in the winter season, we are swimming in 50 Yard pools, which, as you know, are shorter by a good margin. The times posted in the program seemed odd to me, until I figured it out, got home, and did the Meters to Yards conversion. As it turned out, Lexy had a spectacular day!
The first event was the 200 Meter relay, with each girl swimming their best stroke for 50 meters (two lengths). They dropped about four seconds as a team, winning first in their age division.
In the 50 Fly, Lexy dropped about three-tenths of a second from her 50 yard time (converted). This was her best time all year. She came in second behind her 10-year old teammate. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n1rUjKGtRI
In the 50 backstroke, Lexy dropped more than two seconds (converted time). Again, a second place behind the same teammate. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoYxUvvpCDk
And in the 50 Meter breaststroke win, she dropped about two-tenths of a second in her converted time, and finally won a legitimate first place this season. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THZEdOL44Y4
This was a great way to spend a blustery Saturday. By the time we left, there were several inches of snow on the ground. By Sunday morning, at home, we had about eight inches of the fluffy stuff!
Caro, Michigan is the absolute middle of nowhere. Imagine my surprise when we arrived at their high school to find a very nice 50 Meter pool! It took me a while, however, to realize the pool was 50 meters. Typically in the winter season, we are swimming in 50 Yard pools, which, as you know, are shorter by a good margin. The times posted in the program seemed odd to me, until I figured it out, got home, and did the Meters to Yards conversion. As it turned out, Lexy had a spectacular day!
The first event was the 200 Meter relay, with each girl swimming their best stroke for 50 meters (two lengths). They dropped about four seconds as a team, winning first in their age division.
In the 50 Fly, Lexy dropped about three-tenths of a second from her 50 yard time (converted). This was her best time all year. She came in second behind her 10-year old teammate. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n1rUjKGtRI
In the 50 backstroke, Lexy dropped more than two seconds (converted time). Again, a second place behind the same teammate. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoYxUvvpCDk
And in the 50 Meter breaststroke win, she dropped about two-tenths of a second in her converted time, and finally won a legitimate first place this season. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THZEdOL44Y4
This was a great way to spend a blustery Saturday. By the time we left, there were several inches of snow on the ground. By Sunday morning, at home, we had about eight inches of the fluffy stuff!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Bulldog Aquatic Club (BAC) Winterfest, Jan 10-11, 2009
We are into our winter swim season, and what a winter! It snowed the entire time we were in Royal Oak, to the tune of about 8-10 inches of new snow. With the arctic blast that is coming in this week, we are going into the traditional January deep freeze, with a -20 wind chill predicted by the end of the week. A warm indoor pool isn't a bad place to be, this time of year.
I tried out my new digital video camera this weekend, but I'm not sure I uploaded the right versions of the videos. I'll try to get this fixed, but in the meantime, feel free to get a look at Lexy's performance this weekend. She swam 10 events total -- 8 individual and two relays, but I only have a few uploaded.
50 Backstroke. Lexy is at the top of the screen in lane 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZKhh3UuljQ
50 Butterfly. Lexy is in the middle of the screen in lane 2. She dropped .25 seconds in this race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6-sWZCGhDc
200 Mixed Medley Relay. Lexy and friends swim the 200 yd. medley. Lexy leads off with a nice backstroke start, but gets disqualified for her long glide at the turn. Her compadres are Ally Kiekaefer on the breaststroke, Nehemiah Mork on the butterfly and Jennifer Yu on the Freestyle leg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8CTOG9_nNw
I think you can watch all the videos I have uploaded so far at: http://www.youtube.com/user/jsohayda. If you have trouble with that let me know and I'll try to figure out how to fix it!
I tried out my new digital video camera this weekend, but I'm not sure I uploaded the right versions of the videos. I'll try to get this fixed, but in the meantime, feel free to get a look at Lexy's performance this weekend. She swam 10 events total -- 8 individual and two relays, but I only have a few uploaded.
50 Backstroke. Lexy is at the top of the screen in lane 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZKhh3UuljQ
50 Butterfly. Lexy is in the middle of the screen in lane 2. She dropped .25 seconds in this race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6-sWZCGhDc
200 Mixed Medley Relay. Lexy and friends swim the 200 yd. medley. Lexy leads off with a nice backstroke start, but gets disqualified for her long glide at the turn. Her compadres are Ally Kiekaefer on the breaststroke, Nehemiah Mork on the butterfly and Jennifer Yu on the Freestyle leg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8CTOG9_nNw
I think you can watch all the videos I have uploaded so far at: http://www.youtube.com/user/jsohayda. If you have trouble with that let me know and I'll try to figure out how to fix it!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Midland Dolphin Invitational -- Last Meet of the Season
It's the last meet of the fall season. That's right, winter doesn't arrive until December 21 -- even though we've already had over a foot of snow.
Lexy has had a tough start to the 9-10 age group, but she's slowly but surely chipping seconds off her times. The winter season, starting in Janaury, should be pretty good. To put it into perspective, Lexy has taken 10 seconds off her 50 Breaststroke since the start of the season. She started out in the one minute range, and she's down to 49.68! That's a huge improvement. She needs to make 47 seconds to qualify for the championship meet in March.
The Midland Dolphin invitational was a success this year -- 14 teams and over 500 kids participated! There were so many kids in the afternoon session that they had to cut them down to three events from four.
Lexy swam in the morning session, where she swam four individual events and two relays. Her relay team came in third both times, and she held her own in her individual events. She cut almost two seconds off her 50 Free, and this qualified her to swim at the state champ meet in March. She will also swim the 100 Free at that meet. We're trying for one my qualifying time -- either 50 Breast or 50 Back. We have a few more meets to try for those times, and we're only talking about a second or two.
Sometimes the winter break gives the kids just enough rest to let them pull off some big upsets when they get back in the pool! Either way, we'll have fun on the way.
Lexy has had a tough start to the 9-10 age group, but she's slowly but surely chipping seconds off her times. The winter season, starting in Janaury, should be pretty good. To put it into perspective, Lexy has taken 10 seconds off her 50 Breaststroke since the start of the season. She started out in the one minute range, and she's down to 49.68! That's a huge improvement. She needs to make 47 seconds to qualify for the championship meet in March.
The Midland Dolphin invitational was a success this year -- 14 teams and over 500 kids participated! There were so many kids in the afternoon session that they had to cut them down to three events from four.
Lexy swam in the morning session, where she swam four individual events and two relays. Her relay team came in third both times, and she held her own in her individual events. She cut almost two seconds off her 50 Free, and this qualified her to swim at the state champ meet in March. She will also swim the 100 Free at that meet. We're trying for one my qualifying time -- either 50 Breast or 50 Back. We have a few more meets to try for those times, and we're only talking about a second or two.
Sometimes the winter break gives the kids just enough rest to let them pull off some big upsets when they get back in the pool! Either way, we'll have fun on the way.
St. Johns and U of Mich
It's been a pretty busy fall, with a swim meet nearly every weekend except for Thanksgiving. I guess I've fallen behind on my blogging! I'll try to catch up here with two new blogs.
Before Thanksgiving Lexy had a meet in St. Johns, Michigan. This was the same meet she swam last year where she swam her first 100 IM and won it handily. We knew that aging up into to 9-10 age group would be tough, and this meet really made it obvious. She had some really slow times and we left a little disappointed.
After Thanksgiving we packed up the car and headed to Ann Arbor for a two-day meet at the University of Michigan. We had never been to this meet and were kind of excited about it. This is where Michael Phelps trained for the Olympics.
About 15 minutes into the drive south, Lexy announced she wasn't feeling well; and about two minutes later she started throwing up in the back seat. Poor kid! We made it to an exit to get her cleaned up and into clean clothes. Unfortunately, due to the winter weather, turning around and going home wasn't really an option. Going north we had noticed multiple spin-outs and cars in the ditch -- enough to stop traffic for miles. Going south, the traffic was still moving fine though we did pass a skid or two.
As we ventured farther south, parts of the freeway were closed because of multiple car pile-ups. At one point the state police detoured us off the freeway for a few miles to clean up an accident. Now we were starting to get nervous that we would miss check-in. If you miss check-in, the meet officials assume you have scratched for the day and you can't swim. We made a call and got one of our team's parents to check us in. We arrived after a three hour trip -- one that normally takes two.
Lexy swam her first two events with no success. With one event to go she asked if she could scratch because she felt like she would vomit again. The coach agreed and we went to our hotel for the rest of the afternoon. Lexy promptly threw up again. We wondered if she would swim on Sunday!
Sunday morning, after a good night sleep and a good breakfast, Lexy felt ready to tackle the four events in front of her, and she had a great day. This included swimming the 100 backstroke for the first time and dropping 22 seconds. She dropped a second in her 50 freestyle and another second in her 50 breaststroke. She had a successful day among the thousand or so other swimmers who had showed up for this annual event.
Before Thanksgiving Lexy had a meet in St. Johns, Michigan. This was the same meet she swam last year where she swam her first 100 IM and won it handily. We knew that aging up into to 9-10 age group would be tough, and this meet really made it obvious. She had some really slow times and we left a little disappointed.
After Thanksgiving we packed up the car and headed to Ann Arbor for a two-day meet at the University of Michigan. We had never been to this meet and were kind of excited about it. This is where Michael Phelps trained for the Olympics.
About 15 minutes into the drive south, Lexy announced she wasn't feeling well; and about two minutes later she started throwing up in the back seat. Poor kid! We made it to an exit to get her cleaned up and into clean clothes. Unfortunately, due to the winter weather, turning around and going home wasn't really an option. Going north we had noticed multiple spin-outs and cars in the ditch -- enough to stop traffic for miles. Going south, the traffic was still moving fine though we did pass a skid or two.
As we ventured farther south, parts of the freeway were closed because of multiple car pile-ups. At one point the state police detoured us off the freeway for a few miles to clean up an accident. Now we were starting to get nervous that we would miss check-in. If you miss check-in, the meet officials assume you have scratched for the day and you can't swim. We made a call and got one of our team's parents to check us in. We arrived after a three hour trip -- one that normally takes two.
Lexy swam her first two events with no success. With one event to go she asked if she could scratch because she felt like she would vomit again. The coach agreed and we went to our hotel for the rest of the afternoon. Lexy promptly threw up again. We wondered if she would swim on Sunday!
Sunday morning, after a good night sleep and a good breakfast, Lexy felt ready to tackle the four events in front of her, and she had a great day. This included swimming the 100 backstroke for the first time and dropping 22 seconds. She dropped a second in her 50 freestyle and another second in her 50 breaststroke. She had a successful day among the thousand or so other swimmers who had showed up for this annual event.
Monday, November 10, 2008
PCC - Autumn Cruise, Huron High School, Ann Arbor
The first thing you notice when you get to Huron High School is that it is simply massive, making the pool almost impossible to find. The second thing is that they are practically on the bank of the Huron River, which flows through Ann Arbor. The third and most amusing thing is that, above the football stadium are these words: "Home of the Huron River Rats."
Yikes! Who wants to tell the grandkids that the mascot for their alma mater was a rodent? Well, I guess a lot of people. Look at all those crazy University of Michigan people cheering for their beloved Wolverines.
This was a two-day meet in Ann Arbor, and Lexy swam four events on day one and two on day two. Even though she was swimming in the afternoon, the events were well organized and the meets went like clockwork. Much better than last week!
The way they categorize times at these levels are Q1, A, B and C times. If you get a Q1 time that means you are CRAZY FAST!! It also means you qualify to compete in the state finals at the end of the season. Each event has it's own qualifying times in each category, boys' and girls' times are different, and are separated by a few seconds. Lexy has mostly B times, with a couple of C times that are really close to Bs. Our goal for this meet was not to lose any time on the Bs, but to do better in those events where she has C times, and move them into Bs. For example, she needed about 3.5 seconds in the 5o Breaststroke to get a B time, and she needed 1 second in the 5o Backstroke to get a B time.
On Saturday, Lexy swam the 100 IM, the 50 Fly, 50 Free and 50 Br. Of these, she had three new best times: 1:39.82 in the 100 IM; 37.05 for the 50 Free, shaving off about 1 and three-tenths seconds (and staying in B time range), and a new best time for the 50 Breaststroke, shaving off about 3 seconds. She needed another three-tenths of a second to get a B time!! We will be trying for this next weekend!
On Sunday she swam the 50 Backstroke and needed only one second to get a B time. Her fastest time was 47.77 and she got a 47.79 -- so essentially the same. Again, we'll try to get better next weekend on that one.
Lex gets a little discouraged when she comes away from these meets without making any visible progress but these USS meets bring in some amazing talent from all over the state. I think it will be key to keep her interested while she is 9, to get her to that 10-year old status where she is at least in the top 8 again, and, I hope, getting some A times!!
Yikes! Who wants to tell the grandkids that the mascot for their alma mater was a rodent? Well, I guess a lot of people. Look at all those crazy University of Michigan people cheering for their beloved Wolverines.
This was a two-day meet in Ann Arbor, and Lexy swam four events on day one and two on day two. Even though she was swimming in the afternoon, the events were well organized and the meets went like clockwork. Much better than last week!
The way they categorize times at these levels are Q1, A, B and C times. If you get a Q1 time that means you are CRAZY FAST!! It also means you qualify to compete in the state finals at the end of the season. Each event has it's own qualifying times in each category, boys' and girls' times are different, and are separated by a few seconds. Lexy has mostly B times, with a couple of C times that are really close to Bs. Our goal for this meet was not to lose any time on the Bs, but to do better in those events where she has C times, and move them into Bs. For example, she needed about 3.5 seconds in the 5o Breaststroke to get a B time, and she needed 1 second in the 5o Backstroke to get a B time.
On Saturday, Lexy swam the 100 IM, the 50 Fly, 50 Free and 50 Br. Of these, she had three new best times: 1:39.82 in the 100 IM; 37.05 for the 50 Free, shaving off about 1 and three-tenths seconds (and staying in B time range), and a new best time for the 50 Breaststroke, shaving off about 3 seconds. She needed another three-tenths of a second to get a B time!! We will be trying for this next weekend!
On Sunday she swam the 50 Backstroke and needed only one second to get a B time. Her fastest time was 47.77 and she got a 47.79 -- so essentially the same. Again, we'll try to get better next weekend on that one.
Lex gets a little discouraged when she comes away from these meets without making any visible progress but these USS meets bring in some amazing talent from all over the state. I think it will be key to keep her interested while she is 9, to get her to that 10-year old status where she is at least in the top 8 again, and, I hope, getting some A times!!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Dale Gooding Meet - WORST MEET EVER!
November 1, 2008 -- Since we've been swimming, we've had our share of good and bad experiences at swim meets. Since these events can really take a long time, we've developed a genuine appreciation for swim meets that run like a Swiss watch. We've had more experience with these since we started attending more of the U.S. Swimming sanctioned meets. These are meets that must finish within a certain time period or risk being fined by USS.
This past weekend, Lexy was looking forward to swimming in a Dolphin meet at a local high school in Saginaw. There is less pressure, and more of her friends go since it is local.
She was scheduled for four events: 200 Free, 50 Fly, 100 Free and 50 Breast. She did well in the 200, swimming the event for the first time in a timed meet and getting a time under 3 minutes, 2:57. There's a lot of room for improvement here, but we really wanted her to get experience with this event. The 50 Fly was about a second slower, but still a very good swim. The 100 Free -- not really anything to write home about. We'll talk about the 4th event in a moment.
What struck us, as we went through the order of events, was there appeared to be a break in the action about mid-meet. When the organizers started making announcements over the PA system, we realized our fears -- they were stopping the meet in the middle to have a "still got it -- prove it" event for anyone over the age of 21 who wanted to swim a 50. What this meant was that anyone who happened to have a bathing suit with them and wanted to do this "exhibition" swim, could strut their stuff.
What this did, in essence, was set the entire swim meet back half an hour -- first to let those swimmers warm up, and then swim their event. Because this took so much time away from the regular meet, they had to spend another half hour to let all the participating kids warm up again, and then -- there must have been a real brainiac at work scheduling this meet -- they scheduled 5 heats of the 500 Free. On average a 500 Freestyle takes about 6 minutes to swim -- so there went yet another half hour.
Once we figured out that all this activity was basically resulting in us having to sit and wait another two hours for Lexy to swim a 50, we decided to bail.
Not only we were very disappointed in the organization of the meet, the organizers should have also been able to calculate that the meet would go well through the lunch hour. By noon, they were running out of food and drinks at their concession stand, both for the swimmers and for the spectators.
Needless to say, this one is off our list for next year. We are anxiously looking forward to a very well organized meet in Ann Arbor next weekend at Huron High School.
This past weekend, Lexy was looking forward to swimming in a Dolphin meet at a local high school in Saginaw. There is less pressure, and more of her friends go since it is local.
She was scheduled for four events: 200 Free, 50 Fly, 100 Free and 50 Breast. She did well in the 200, swimming the event for the first time in a timed meet and getting a time under 3 minutes, 2:57. There's a lot of room for improvement here, but we really wanted her to get experience with this event. The 50 Fly was about a second slower, but still a very good swim. The 100 Free -- not really anything to write home about. We'll talk about the 4th event in a moment.
What struck us, as we went through the order of events, was there appeared to be a break in the action about mid-meet. When the organizers started making announcements over the PA system, we realized our fears -- they were stopping the meet in the middle to have a "still got it -- prove it" event for anyone over the age of 21 who wanted to swim a 50. What this meant was that anyone who happened to have a bathing suit with them and wanted to do this "exhibition" swim, could strut their stuff.
What this did, in essence, was set the entire swim meet back half an hour -- first to let those swimmers warm up, and then swim their event. Because this took so much time away from the regular meet, they had to spend another half hour to let all the participating kids warm up again, and then -- there must have been a real brainiac at work scheduling this meet -- they scheduled 5 heats of the 500 Free. On average a 500 Freestyle takes about 6 minutes to swim -- so there went yet another half hour.
Once we figured out that all this activity was basically resulting in us having to sit and wait another two hours for Lexy to swim a 50, we decided to bail.
Not only we were very disappointed in the organization of the meet, the organizers should have also been able to calculate that the meet would go well through the lunch hour. By noon, they were running out of food and drinks at their concession stand, both for the swimmers and for the spectators.
Needless to say, this one is off our list for next year. We are anxiously looking forward to a very well organized meet in Ann Arbor next weekend at Huron High School.
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