CSI State Championships (February 26-27) and CSI Silver State Championships (March 4-6)

 

I have been spending a ton of time on my kids sports over the last month.  I love seeing all of their hard work pay off.

I don’t encourage my kids to do sports so they are the best athletes.  I just believe that sports really prepare you for real life: disappointments, injuries, problem solving, fear, exhaustion, relationships… They teach you how to be successful in the real world.

I encourage my kids to work hard and not give up.

Carly made it to State in the Medley Relay and Freestyle Relay so I bought her a blanket to celebrate this accomplishment.

We stayed in Westminster for the weekend.  She got Freestyle PR of 29.62.  Previous time of 29.69

Watching her warmup was pretty humorous with everyone crashing into each other.

She got a Backstroke PR of 34.99.  Previous time of 35.04

State was at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center, which is huge.  I actually completed in a swim meet there when I was on Rock Tri Club.

Although I loved the pool, the area of town was not very nice.  We stayed at a nice Marriott but theft and homeless were high.  I was scared to leave my car parked in front of the hotel.  I removed everything of value and I am pretty sure I saw a hooker checking into the hotel.

I did get the girls In-N-Out burger for the first time.  Even though the burgers were good, I still don’t understand why people love them so much.

Silver State Championships were held at DU.  This is also a nice pool but Carly said the water felt thick and I felt like there could be more natural light in there.

Carly absolutely loves her Grandpa and was so excited to see him.

I had to volunteer at the meet because none of the other parents would, so I couldn’t really visit with anyone or help Carly to her events.  Right when the meet started, I saw a young girl puke in the trashcan as soon as she finished her event.  I thought it was so sad to see these young kids experience so much stress.

Her times for the first 2 events were not good.  200 free was about 2 seconds slower than normal.

50 breaststroke was also slower than normal.

She was swimming slower than normal and missed an event.  She wasn’t her normal self.  At first I blamed myself for not forcing her to rest or not volunteering at the meet so I could be with her.

Grandpa blamed himself for talking to her and distracting her.  But, in the end, her head was just not in the game.  And you know what? That happens.  I remember races that I just couldn’t get myself in the game.  We are all human and have those days.

I felt pretty stressed about it.  I took the day off to be with her and was upset that she didn’t try harder. At some point, I had to just accept that these things happen and she is just a kid.

I treated myself to a pedicure and spent some sweet time with Lola at Washington Park.

Then on Saturday, Carly got a PR of 34.98 in backstroke. Her head was back in the game!

I got her 2nd Championship meet decal put on her blanket.

We celebrated at Torchys with Lloyd and Great Grandma.

On Sunday, Carly swam 100 Breaststroke.  She got 1:27:35 and this is the same time she got when she qualified for State.

Carly’s 2nd Event was 50 Free.  She got a 30:29 and previously had a 29:69.

She loved seeing Grandma and Grandpa there supporting her.

Her last event was 500 Free.  She got a 6:39:68 and previously had a 6:39:42.

Grandpa bought Carly a new pair of socks and Grandma bought Carly a new swimsuit.

We then went to lunch at Torchy’s.

This was Carly’s most successful swim season since she made it into State in 2 events and Silver State in 7 events.  I also saw her gain a true love for swimming.