While diving was a fun distraction, it's time to get back into the (50 meter) pool and start the spring/summer swim meet season. For our first meet of the season, we're back at Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti, where the pool is huge, the diving platforms are intimidating and the viewing stands are full.
On Friday night, however, the stands were only about a quarter full, as Fridays are generally reserved to get the longer events out of the way. We're thankful we didn't have to sit through the 1500 meter events! But after about 10 heats of the 400 IM, Lexy was finally ready to swim the 200 meter Freestyle. She has only swum this event once before in competition, last summer, so she had a whole year to improve and I was certain she would do well. Her previous time was a 3:23.48, and she needed a 3:09 to make an "A" time.
The video may be a little difficult to watch because of the perspective (straight on instead of from the side), and I swear I tried to control myself because Lexy hates to hear me cheering her on in the videos, but when I realized she was going to get the "A" time, I just couldn't help myself. What is a mother to do? Her new time is now 3:07.36 and she was in the "B" division coming in which means she finished first among the "B"s, but she will be seeded in the "A"s next time.
Watch Lexy swim the 200 Freestyle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3A-BQagP3Q
With this "A" time under her belt, over a pasta dinner we pored over the remaining events for Saturday and Sunday to see where she was seeded and where we thought she could achieve another "A" time, or even better, a Q1. Swimmers need a Q1 to qualify for the State Long Course championship meet in August. This is difficult to do, and many swimmers reach for this prize but few attain it.
One of the events we identified for this goal was her first event on Saturday, the 50 meter breaststroke. Lexy had a 54.14 going into this event, and needed a 51.09 for the Q1. She finished the event at 50.97! I was nearly in tears. She jumped up and down when her coach told her she had just gotten her first state cut. This is truly a huge accomplishment and we couldn't be more proud of her. If you are a Lexacuda blog follower, you will recognize the irony in that, at one point, breaststroke was Lexy's least favorite. I need not point out that is no longer the case! Now, we have to make good on our promise: we told Lexy that when she got her first Q1 we would buy her a Fastskin suit. These are the suits the Olympians wear, and it's sort of a rite of passage that swimmers get Fastskins when they break the Q1 barrier. These suits are buoyant and actually help you swim faster as a result.
Watch Lexy swim the 50 Breaststroke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeidsHIVCxA
Lexy's next event was the 50 meter Freestyle. Going in she had a 38.78 and needed to shave a little more than a second for a Q1. We thought she had this one all wrapped up and in the bag, but it proved to be tougher than we thought--she finished one second slower. Well, we have until July 31 to break this barrier!
Her last event on Saturday was the 100 meter Backstroke. This was the event she swam last December at the University of Michigan, when she had some sort of stomach flu. That day, she shaved 22 seconds off her best time. So, she went into this event with a 1:49.16, and needed a 1:43.49 for the "A" time. She managed to drop 5 seconds, to 1:44.44, about 1.5 seconds shy of the "A" time. These are all very manageable and I feel really confident that she'll surpass the A and Q1 times in both of these events in the next two months.
Watch Lexy swim the 100 meter Backstroke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FaLUwz5dKo
Tomorrow, we'll be watching her swim the 50 Fly, 50 Back and 100 Free! Can't wait to share more good news!
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