The Fall Season Begins, USSC Trick-or-Treat Meet, October 24, 2010

It's been a while since States, and we're ready to get back into the swing of things with the slate of meets lined up for fall. Lexy has aged up into the 11-12 age group, so we have different objectives this year: just swim your best and try to drop time. I believe she achieved those objectives this weekend.

We only swam one day of this meet, which will probably be our strategy for the season. Since we'll be relocating next year, we need our weekends to work on getting things cleaned up/organized/repaired/thrown out. This year, the chances are pretty slim that we'll be devoting entire weekends to meets as we have in the past.

Lexy had a very good meet, even though it was her first swimming in the 11-12 age group. She was seeded pretty well in all four of her events, which helped tremendously.

In the 100 Breaststroke, she was seeded 27 of 66, and dropped two seconds, from 132.29 to 130.13. Breaststroke has always been a good event for Lex and it was great start to the day.

In the 200 IM, she was seeded 31 of 71, and managed a drop of 6 seconds! She went from a 2:59.88 to 2:53.92. That was just delightful.

In the 100 Free, she was seeded 34 of 102, and finished about a second slower, but no major change.

Finally, in the 50 Fly, she was seeded 47 of 82 and finished again, about a second slower.

Overall, she had a great day, but the competition will get tougher as the season progresses.

Long Course State Championships, Day Four

Ahh, Sunday. It's the last day of long course championships, and I'm just getting comfortable with my surroundings. We pack up, check out, and make a beeline for the Lake Michigan beach. We hang out for a couple of hours, soak up some sun, watch the sailboats head out for the day and, finally, head over to the pool for Lexy's last four events.

Today Lexy has 50 Breast, 200 IM, 50 Free, and the Free relay with three of her teammates. In the 50 Breast, she drops 0.23 seconds, to finish at 48.55. Right on her time -- respectable.

It's the 200 IM where Lexy decides to surprise us. Going in with a 3:20.14 and knowing she could really take some time off after her surprise 50 Backstroke time in the relay, I watched and dutifully copied down split times. She had a great 50 Fly length and then it looked like she was getting slower. But then -- lo and behold! She wound up with a 3:14.78! Way to go, Lex, you really showed us you could swim.

The 50 Free, just a few minutes later, was right on her best time -- no real change there.

Then, in the 200 Free Relay, the girls had a good chance for a medal, as they were seeded 8th. Lexy swam her 50 Free leg at 36.84, which is 0.13 better than her best time. I know she was tired but she gave it her best shot. The girls came in 9th or 10th -- they'll bring home a ribbon--but it was fun anyway to have the relay.

We headed home tired, but satisfied that Lex has had a great summer season as a 10 year old. Lexy turns 11 on Friday and, when she starts swimming as an 11-year old in the fall, that will bring a whole new round of challenges.

Long Course State Championships, Day Three

In an effort to get "up and at 'em", we went in search of Lake Michigan this morning. How can a lake that big be so hard to find? I just got so turned around in downtown Holland (I know, that was my first mistake), that I got really frustrated. It was raining anyway, so we gave up, parked, and window-shopped.

Today's events were a far cry better than the past two days. Lexy swam just two. First was the backstroke leg of the Medley Relay. Backstroke hasn't been her strong stroke this year, but today she did an awesome job! Backstroke is the first one out of the chute in this relay, followed by breaststroke, fly, and free. She's been languishing at 46.89 for a 50 Meter backstroke for about a month -- but today, she dropped three seconds, finishing at 43.87! This is even within the state qualifying time for this event. Something must have clicked there, though I don't know where or when.

When it came to the 100 breaststroke event, I felt she would do well. She ended up dropping .41 to finish at 1:46.47.

In the afternoon, the sun had come out, so we got ourselves a REAL map, and headed over to Holland State Park. We gathered up our umbrella, towels, and I grabbed a book, and we sat on an actual beach for a couple of hours. Lexy played in the surf and dug in the sand just like I did when I was a kid, but she didn't get to lick her arm and taste salt. Definitely missing the salt.

Just one day left for states, and there will be four events tomorrow. A busy day -- see you then!

Long Course State Championships, Day Two

After a relaxing morning wandering downtown Holland and finding some fun buys, we headed back to the pool. I dropped Lex at the door and then wandered the streets of Holland looking for someplace, anyplace, to park. I'm sorry to say, I had to park illegally, in the hospital parking lot. I'm thrilled that so many kids qualified for states and that so many people showed up to watch them swim. I'm less excited about this daily ritual.

Today was more fun for Lexy since she wasn't the only swimmer in the 12 & under category! Her teammates Nehemiah (a.k.a. Nemo), Bridget, and Jenny came to keep her company (and also swim their qualifying events). It was a special treat to see Jenny since her family moved to Texas a few weeks ago, and they've come back especially to swim at States. A brief but fun reunion!

Nemo and Jenny did really well; both got on the medal stand having finished in the top 8 in their 50 Fly events. Bridget also finished well, right on her best time. Lexy, well, not so much. Her only event today was the 200 Free, normally an event where she shines. Lexy has always been more of an endurance swimmer than a sprinter, so I felt confident going in that she would do well. However, she was a little slower again. Not enough to cause concern -- she's still well within the qualifying time range.

We have two days, two relays and four events to go. I hope she can find her motivation and bring her pool face with her.

Long Course State Championships, Day One

Here we are, at Lexy's second trip to Long Course State Championships,this time in Holland, Michigan. Lexy had a pretty good year, getting six qualifying times during the season. Because there are so many kids who need to get through all their events, the meet starts on a Thursday and goes through Sunday. In all, she'll swim six individual events and two relays.

Her first event for the weekend was the 400 Freestyle, which I think went pretty well. She was seeded 11th of 24 competing, she swam just 8 seconds slower than her best time, and still a qualifying time (6:00.39). There was quite a long wait between warm-ups and the time she got to swim, so I'm sure she lost a fair amount of adrenaline along the way, but I think she did a great job.

Looking forward to tomorrow when she'll swim the 200 Free.

Barracuda Summer Sizzler June 26-27, 2010

After the half-mile Open Water swim on Friday night, we hoped Lexy wasn't too pooped to swim well on Saturday. She had five events in front of her: 50 Fly, 100 Free, 100 Breast, 50 Back and 200 Free. While the day started with a drizzle, it cleared up quickly and we had a quick home meet. Lexy didn't make any best times on Saturday, which I think can be attributed to the previous night's activity, and also the fact that she's been swimming pretty well this season.


Sunday was a different story. It was cloudy and dark when we got up, and it started to rain when we left the house. We managed to get three or four events in before the thunder and lightning required us to clear the pool and take cover under tents. I think it was a good hour before the storm had passed and we could start again!

Then, Lexy had a great day. She got three new best times, in the 100 Fly, the 50 Breast and the 100 Back. For her other two events, the 200 Free and 50 Free, she already had state qualifying times, but came in very close to those times.

Now, we're taking a bit of a break since our next meet isn't for two weeks. This will be a good time for Lexy to work on her technique and start getting ready for States at the end of the month. She's already qualified to swim six events at States: 50 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 50 Breast, 100 Breast and 200 IM. Lexy really seems to enjoy the distance events as opposed to the sprints. When she ages up in August, we'll see what other longer events we can start adding to her repertoire!

CUDA Open Water June 25, 2010

On Friday, June 25, about 20 swimmers from our team and a few other competitors joined us at Sanford Lake in Sanford, Michigan for our first ever Open Water swim meet. Open Water is basically any swim competition that does not take place in a pool. There were several events in which swimmers could participate: 2 mile, 1.5 mile, 1 mile and .5 mile. Swimmers in Lexy's age group could only do the half mile. I think this was a great way to get her feet wet (if you'll pardon the pun) with open water events.

Before the event, Lexy put in some quality sandcastle time.

Swimmers in each event were easily distinguishable by the different color caps they wore. Green denoted half mile; red denoted the one mile swimmers. Both groups started at the same and then as they came in their times were recorded.

The kids (and some adults!) waded out for the start. On their way back , they had to swim through two specific buoys and run to the finish gate. If the kids swam through the seaweed patch, it made the running less pleasant.

Lexy finished first for the girls in her age group. We are still waiting to find out her time, but were thrilled with her finish. Great job Lexy!

Freeze or Fry, June 20, 2010

It's Father's Day, so Happy Father's Day to you dads, and especially to swim dads who willingly spend such a huge part of their lives watching, volunteering, coaching, officiating and just being supportive of their swimmers. You make a huge difference. Thank you!

This is the third day of an outdoor meet where the heat has had an incredible effect on the spectators, if not the swimmers. We were all moving just a little more slowly today than on Friday or Saturday. The umbrellas were more prevalent and the sweet scent of sunblock is in the air. I took refuge under the team tent, but there are still many parents who are braving the sun, sitting right by the pool where the sun's rays reflecting off the pool can be blinding. A hearty "thank you" goes out to the DRD parent who took pity on me and gave me some ibuprofen from his personal stash. The headache did go away, but I'm sure was from a lethal combination of dehydration, restaurant food and overexposure to the sun. Sometimes being a spectator is just as hard as being a participant.

Lexy did well today -- no best times to speak of, but a very solid performance in her four events: 200 free, 50 breast, 100 back and 50 fly. For the most part she was right on her best times, give or take a second or so. She'll go to practice in the morning and get lots of ribbons or medals, especially for her Q1 in the 200 IM which she took on Friday night. Great weekend Lexy! Now it's on to the Summer Sizzler, and Lexy's first open water event on Friday afternoon.

Dearborn Freeze or Fry, June 19, 2010

Up and at'em early today, for Lexy to swim four events: 50 Back, 100 Breast, 50 Free and 100 Fly. It rained overnight and the day is clear but still a little muggy. I'm glad the rain was over with last night -- in some areas the power is out and there were tornado warnings. Some of our teammates were camping a little north of where the meet is being held, and they had a pretty rough night. Hope they have a good day of swimming.

The backstroke isn't Lexy's best, but today she managed to cut about 2.5 seconds off her best time, finishing at 46.89. She's getting better at this, but a better breaststroke time is what we were after today. She came through, finishing 10th overall in her age group and shaving about 2 seconds off her best time to finish at 1:46.88. Way to go!

In the 50 Free, Lexy had qualified for states last weekend with a 37.22, and she was able to better her time today by about .25 seconds, finishing at 36.97. Her time in the 100 Fly, her last event, was about the same as her seed time, so there was no major change up or down on that one. Surprisingly, she finished 5th overall in that event. Once again, we had a great day. It easy to see that all the practice is paying off.

Just for fun, in the afternoon, Lexy and Jenny and I went to see Toy Story 3 in IMAX 3D at the Henry Ford. What a great way to end the series. Granted, it was a bittersweet ending. This movie is such a huge part of my life, I even based a presentation at work on it. I bought my own Woody and Buzz figures and couldn't ever think of parting with them. This was also a fun thing to do with the girls, since Jenny will be moving soon and swimming with a new team. Lexy will miss her, but she will remember seeing Toy Story 3 with her.

Dearborn Freeze or Fry, June 18, 2010

Freeze or Fry? I'd like to suggest a third option -- how about Melt? It was in the 90's today when we arrived, and we are thankful to have a couple of E-Z-up tents to help shield us from the afternoon sun. There's a little breeze, but the humidity must be up in the 90's too, because not one of us wants to move! As each of Lexy's events comes up, I take my wide-brimmed hat and get myself over to the bleachers to cheer her on, and then I get myself right back into the shade.

She had a great afternoon, finishing her 100 Free 2.2 seconds faster than her seed time and just a half second off the state qualifying time.

The big surprise of the evening, however, was watching Lexy swim the 200 IM. Last weekend, she had finished at 3:26.44, but today she finished at 3:20.14, 4 seconds below the qualifying time! She managed to shave more than 10 seconds in the last two meets. Way to go Lex!

JAWS, Day 3 -- June 13, 2010

Lexy continued her great swimming performance on Sunday even though the day started with the 100 Butterfly and continued with the 200 IM, two of the toughest events of the weekend. Once she finished the 200 I.M., however, we found out that four kids on our team -- Arthur Manwell, Lydia Hillbrand, Bridget Bruneau and, of course, Lexy, had all qualified for trophies for completing the requirements of the IMX Challenge.

To complete the IMX Challenge, 9 & 10 year olds had to swim five events: the 200 Free, 200 IM, 100 Fly, 100 Back and 100 Breaststroke.

In addition to that honor, Lexy had another great day, finishing all four events today within a second or two of her best time.

We have swim meets for the next few weekends leading up to the 4th of July weekend, so Lexy has a lot of opportunity to better her times even further.

JAWS, Day 2 - June 12, 2010

After Friday night's performance, we were excited to get up and return to the pool to see what Saturday would hold. Lexy was scheduled to swim four events today: the 200 Free, the 100 Breast, the 50 Free and the 100 Backstroke.

Lexy was seeded third in the 200 Free and was already qualified for the State meet with a 2:50. 57, but succeeded in dropping 4 seconds to finish second overall with a 2:46.73. It was a great start to the day!

When Lexy swam the 100 Breaststroke, we mistakenly thought she already had a 1:44.44, but that is her backstroke time. She actually had a 1:48.18, and managed to shave off 0.14 to finish at 1:48.04. At first we thought she had added time, but we realized the error and congratulated her for the improvement! I'm pretty sure she placed in the top 5 or 6, but will need to check the results.

The next event, the 50 Free, was a real surprise. Lexy went into this event with a 37.43 and needed to drop 0.04 to get a state qualifying time. She dropped 0.21! Her finish time was a 37.22, and I had to look twice to realize she had just qualified for states. This earned her a meet T-shirt from mom!

Finally, Lexy geared up to swim the 100 backstroke, definitely not one of her favorite events. She again surprised us by dropping 2.21 seconds, to finish at 1:42.23. So far, she's finished five events finished and has come away with five best times! All I can say is -- way to go kiddo!

Jenison Area Wildcats Swimming, June 11

Hey, who turned on the heat? Wow, is it ever HOT and MUGGY here in Southwestern Michigan! The weather on the web says it is 82 and feels like 88. That, my friends, makes the air a little thick.

But that's nothing to the sizzle our CUDA swimmers are leaving in the Jenison High School pool. Tonight, Lexy swam her first of 9 events. the 400 freestyle. She was seeded first at 6:02, and the entire event she was, literally, neck and neck with two other girls. She really swam her heart out and I was so proud when she finished at 5:52.60, just three-tenths behind the first place finisher. She dropped 10 seconds from her best time!

What made this finish even more special was that this is the first meet where we have guests attending! Lexy's grama and grampa came all the way from New Jersey to attend Lexy's older sister's high school graduation, and they decided to stick around and see what a real swim meet is like. It's a great start to the weekend.

2010 Michigan 12 & Under Short Course State Championships

It is with great pride in Lexy's achievements this season that we find ourselves at the Short Course State meet at Waterford Mott High School in Waterford, Michigan.

Just a handful of swimmers from Lexy's team made qualifying cuts, so we went into this meet very aware of what a special honor it is.

Lexy's first event at the meet starting Friday was the 500 freestyle -- 20 laps in a 25 yard pool. She qualified for this event just a few short weeks ago at the Michigan Open, beating the qualifiying time by 7 seconds. I chose not to video this event because it does get to be quite long (seven minutes)!

Here's Lexy, waiting for the start.

Lexy swam a good race. Her turns looked good, and she did a dolphin kick off the wall a few times, which is important. While she finished a few seconds slower than her qualifying time, her overall ranking went up to 27 out of 35.

Here she is after her race: still smiling!

On Saturday, we went back for the balance of Lexy's races: the 200 Free and the 100 Breaststroke. In both races, she was seeded last or next to last. Her goals for the day were to improve her standing in the rankings.

In the 200 Free, she swam strong, finishing with a 2:30.80, right on her qualifing time and better than the time she got at Junior Olympics. She finished ranked 18th of 25, and was second alternate to swim the Finals if anyone in the top 16 scratched from the Finals. Unfortunately no one scratched, so she didn't get to swim in the final.

Watch Lexy swim the 200 Free:

In her last event, the 100 Breaststroke, she finished about one second slower than her qualifying time, next to last in the rankings.

Watch Lexy swim the 100 Breast:

Overall, Lexy had a great season, qualifying for three events and getting to participate in the short course state meet for the first time. Now Lexy gets a much-deserved break before the next season starts.

Junior Olympics, March 6, 2010

It turns out that it is hard to describe the Junior Olympics swim meet. For that reason, I'm going to quote the meet program's description: "The Junior Olympics meet is the middle level meet (above Districts and below State Meets) of the Michigan Swimming, Inc. Championship Meets. Thus, it is a "Faster than/Slower than" stated time standard swim meet." To enter this meet, Lexy needed to have "Q2" times, which are faster than an "A" time but slower than a Q1, or state, time. Confused? No worries. It was a fun day.

One of the reasons kids choose to swim the Junior Olympics (other than to say they did it!) is to try to better their Q2 times to Q1 times. Lexy is close to a Q1 on a lot of her times, and if she were able to get Q1 times in any event she swam today, she would automatically qualify to swim that event at the state meet next weekend.

Her first event, the 50 Free (two lengths), is one she has been struggling with all season. Lexy has proven herself to be a good endurance swimmer, less so a sprinter. She has been sitting at a best time of 33.53 for a few months for the 50 Free and, for this event, was seeded last out of 27 qualified swimmers. Today, by some miracle, she finally dropped half a second to finish at 33 seconds flat, in 18th place. The Q1 time was 31.69, so we didn't get there today, but this drop of half second was a huge accomplishment. Great job Lex!

Watch Lexy swim the 50 Free:

Next up, and without much rest time between events, was the 100 IM. Lexy went into this event with a 1:23.60 and needed a 1:19.99. She was seeded 13th, but we didn't think there was much chance for her to drop more than four seconds. This is another event where Lexy hasn't been able to take time off. I attribute this primarily to the fact that her transitions in and out of the backstroke aren't that strong. She finished a little slower today (not more than a second) and in 24th place. Still, a very strong finish.

Watch Lexy swim the 100 I.M.:

Now came the event where we knew Lexy could shine. She has been dropping time all season, but started plateauing about six weeks ago. A couple of times she even added a second or two. When we looked at the list of seeded swimmers, Lexy was seeded first! She was going into the event with a 2:32.13, and needed a 2.31.59 to qualify for States. She needed to drop a little more than half a second.

She pulled it out! Lexy came through and finished at 2:30.91, and third overall. We were thrilled that we were able to finish this meet on such a high note.

Here's Lexy sporting her third place medal!

Watch parts 1 & 2 of Lexy swimming the 200 Freestyle (8 lengths):

We will be back in the pool tomorrow (Sunday), to swim in the League championship meet at Dow High School. Lexy has a few more chances to get qualifying times and achieve personal bests before States next weekend!

Michigan Open, Feb 12-14, 2010

This was Lexy's first trip to the Michigan Open, a meet for swimmers with "A" times. Lexy was qualified to swim 9 events in this meet. There are only two meets left in the season now: the Junior Olympics and the short course state meet. The swimmers in the meet this weekend were trying to improve their times, either to a Q1 (state meet) or Q2 (junior olympics). Q1 is faster than Q2.

The weekend started very well, with Lexy dropping 33 seconds in the 500 Freestyle, her Friday night event. This qualified her for the state meet with a Q1 time! She iss now qualified to swim three events at states, which is my minimum to make the trip.

On Saturday Lexy swam four individual events: 200 Free, 100 IM, 100 Fly and 100 Breast. Lexy already has Q1 times in the last two, so she was going for faster times in the first two. She swam solidly in both the other events, but still not enough for the Q1. She can swim them at JO's and try again.

Saturday we went for a good pasta dinner to get Lexy revved up with carbs for Sunday (and to celebrate Valentine's Day). Lelli's in Auburn Hills was a welcome surprise.

Sunday started with the 200 IM. Lex needed to drop 12 seconds for the Q1. She dropped an amazing 6 and a half, to finish at 3:00.13. Her times in the 50 free, the 100 Free and the 50 breast were all good, but none earned her spots at states. She will swim those at JO's and, if she makes the Q1, can go on to swim those events at states.

As a family, we feel so fortunate to be able to go to these special meets to cheer Lexy on. She is a talented swimmer and we will continue this as long as she continues to enjoy the sport.

May I Please Have Second(s)?

At this year's BAYS Valentine's Day Invitational, we were seeing red. Not because things were going poorly, not at all. Red is the color of every ribbon Lexy will get for today's meet.

Lexy swam six events total and, every time, came in second. That goes for both relays as well as her four individual events.

We don't usually focus too much on Lexy's place in races. Usually it's whether she bettered her time -- that's what's really important. A couple of years ago, when she swam 8 & Under at the MTSL championships, she took first in everything, and Ed was so surprised when he came home to four 1st place tropies.

But 10 is a long way from 8.

Lexy's first event today was the 200 Freestyle -- one of her better events. She's good at the endurance races, less so in the sprints. Her last best time was 2:35.90, and she needed 2:31.59 to get a state qualifying time. She did better her time by nearly 4 seconds, finishing at 2:32.13. She was neck and neck with her teammate, Jenny Yu, the whole time, but at the end Jenny finished with a 2:29, sealing the win.

The 100 IM was next, which has always been a strong event for Lexy. Jenny and Lexy were the top two seeds, with times only two seconds apart. But Jenny Yu is CRAZY fast at backstroke, and it's a weak stroke for Lexy. So, second place again.

In the 50 Free, there were three people seeded faster than Lexy, and even though Lexy swam it one second slower than usual, she took second!

Lastly, she swam the 50 breaststroke. This is Lexy's strongest stroke, and she and Jenny Yu were the top two seeds again, with Jenny two seconds faster. Lexy dropped the two seconds to finish at 42.89, but Jenny was just on fire today, finishing first again. Lexy had to be content with second yet again.

I definitely do not want to sound disappointed about second place. There have been some meets where Lexy has finished at or near the bottom of the pack. We are very pleased with how well she has been swimming. Most of all, I am so glad she has been hitting her turns! All the extra attention paid to the turns has paid dividends in dropped time. Way to go Lexy!!

Lastly, there are no videos again this week for a couple reasons: first, my preferred video capture device had a nervous breakdown. Second, I used my backup video capture device (my phone) but cannot upload those to YouTube. Boo. Hiss.

See you next week at the Michigan Open!!

Thumb, Pre-Dawn

Last year about this time, we made our way to Caro, Mich., in the thumb of the mitten. Unlike last year, this time the weather cooperated and, even though we left early anticipating snowy roads and blowing snow, it was a lovely morning. We saw the sun come up over a "hill", though at this time of year the sun doesn't officially rise until sometime after 8.

This year, I was ready for the difference in pool length (Meters vs. Yards), and asked Sydney to convert Lexy's times for me as she finished so we could compare apples to apples. Lexy swam a relay and three individual events, and had a great day!

I didn't take video this year, as this pool tends to be poorly lit. Good thing too, because I was just cheering away, and I think you would find it somewhat distracting.

In the 200 Medley Relay, Lexy was in her glory in the breaststroke leg. The first swimmer, doing backstroke, fell behind the other teams, but she is a relatively small 9-year old. Lexy dived in and made up the shortfall during the breaststroke leg, and I think the girls came in second.

Lexy's second event was the 100 I.M., and her only real competiton was a girl from the Bay City team, who has always given Lex a run for her money. This year, however, Lexy was right in the game, and finished just half a second behind the Bay City swimmer and four seconds faster than her best time!

In the 50 Free, Lexy finished first, and was right on her regular time. In the 50 Breaststroke, she also finished first, narrowly edging her teammate Jenny, and finishing a few seconds faster than her best time. I'm waiting to see the official times from the coaches before I update her times.