I'll call this post the "Catch-up" post because I have been a bad blogger.
Make a Splash
A few weeks ago {really it was a month, but I am resisting to let time fly by as quickly as it is, so I'll call it just a few weeks} we traveled to Akron, OH. We got to visit Mark's family who live in Akron and Mark got to participate in a Make a Splash event at a local YMCA. You can read about it here. A big shout out to Andrew Appleby and John {we call him Johnny, but I think he is now going with the more professional, "John"} Albrecht! Thanks for including us.
Mark also hosted a clinic in Hudson, OH that weekend. He is quite modest considering all of his accomplishments, but I could see a little twinkle in his eye as he looked up to the pool record board and saw his name still nailed to it. I believe the date next to the time was 1999.
A Few Good Sets {One of my favorite movies of all time is A Few Good Men... not sure why this came to mind, but I thought you might want to know}
Remember our trip to Charlotte for the UltraSwim? Mark walked away from the meet a little disappointed. I walked away from the meet not knowing exactly how to feel and definitely didn't know how to talk about it with Mark. You can read about it here. Well, the day after Mark returned from Charlotte, he sat down with Brett (his coach) and discussed how he was feeling, how he was swimming, and how he wanted to feel and swim going forward. With a few minor tweaks, not a total deviance from the plan, Mark is back on track. After a few weeks of coming home and saying nothing more than, "It was just okay," to respond to my question "How was practice?" it was nice to see Mark excited to come home and gush about good sets and fun practices. He has regained his overall positive attitude about the plan and his direction.
Mark tries very hard to balance listening to his body and listening to his coach. In Charlotte, Marks body was telling him to talk to his coach. He did. They're both {or should I say all three: Mark, Brett, and Mark's body} happy and excited about the coming weeks.
The Flu
It got us. Ugh. Not really much more to say than that... or at least nothing more that I think you would enjoy reading about.
Oh yeah... and today is our everyday Olympian's birthday! Happy birthday, Old Man River. 29?! You're old.
Showing posts with label Racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Racing. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Mark cried at swim camp
Mark gives a lot of speeches. It is part of his job. It is so funny to me when people ask, "So, he just swims for a living?" No. He swims, yes, but he also hosts clinics, gives speeches, and makes appearances.
One of Mark's favorite "jobs" is talking to the Auburn Swim Camp each summer. We love Auburn (see picture below for proof). So, Mark is more than thrilled to speak to young swimmers that travel from far and wide to participate in Auburn Swim Camp. One night during swim camp, the campers gather in the big auditorium and Mark tells them stories about the day he decided that he was going to become an Olympian (this is my favorite story, have you heard it? Someday, I'll ask him to tell you), about how his coach pushed him to a best time with Van Halen tickets, and how all he used to want was to get on TV. The kids love it. They ask a lot of questions which often make Mark laugh.
Last night Mark told me that he cried at swim camp.
I guess I should tell you that Mark, generally speaking, is a crier to begin with. He is an emotional guy. He cries when he is happy (this wedding season has been rough for him) and when he is sad. He even told me that last night one of the kids asked if he had ever cried at practice. Mark's response? "Yes. I've also said a lot of bad words. But, in both situations I made sure I was under water." He even told the kids that after any practice, even those in which your coach makes you cry, to thank your coach for making you better. Ha!
Why did Mark cry at swim camp last night? He was retelling the story of the 2004 Auburn University 200 medley relay at NCAA's. It was Mark's senior year (and mine, too). The AU relay consisted of Mark, Doug Van Wie, Derek Gibb, and Fred Bousquet. They were swimming against the Texas relay (others were in the race, but no one else seemed to matter) which consisted of Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Ian Crocker--they were pretty much the All-star team. Long story short, and against all odds, Auburn won.
When Mark retells this story he emphasizes the determination of the underdog. He talks about the power of a collective effort. He highlights the importance of belief in yourself even when the odds are against you. Makes me want to cry just telling you about how he cried as retold the epic story. I have often heard him tell people that that moment, that relay, that race, and those guys made up one of the best moments of his life.
I did not attend Mark's speech last night, but I wish I were a fly on the wall. I wish I could have seen those campers faces when Might Mark started boo-hooing as he spoke of the relay. My guess is that first they were uncomfortable. But then, I would almost put money on it, I bet those kids walked away from Mark's session with a different attitude, a different perspective, and a different commitment to the sport of swimming, to their coaches, to their teammates, and to themselves. I'm confident that each and every one of those campers are hoping that someday they'll have a swimming moment that brings them to tears.
One of Mark's favorite "jobs" is talking to the Auburn Swim Camp each summer. We love Auburn (see picture below for proof). So, Mark is more than thrilled to speak to young swimmers that travel from far and wide to participate in Auburn Swim Camp. One night during swim camp, the campers gather in the big auditorium and Mark tells them stories about the day he decided that he was going to become an Olympian (this is my favorite story, have you heard it? Someday, I'll ask him to tell you), about how his coach pushed him to a best time with Van Halen tickets, and how all he used to want was to get on TV. The kids love it. They ask a lot of questions which often make Mark laugh.
Last night Mark told me that he cried at swim camp.
I guess I should tell you that Mark, generally speaking, is a crier to begin with. He is an emotional guy. He cries when he is happy (this wedding season has been rough for him) and when he is sad. He even told me that last night one of the kids asked if he had ever cried at practice. Mark's response? "Yes. I've also said a lot of bad words. But, in both situations I made sure I was under water." He even told the kids that after any practice, even those in which your coach makes you cry, to thank your coach for making you better. Ha!
Why did Mark cry at swim camp last night? He was retelling the story of the 2004 Auburn University 200 medley relay at NCAA's. It was Mark's senior year (and mine, too). The AU relay consisted of Mark, Doug Van Wie, Derek Gibb, and Fred Bousquet. They were swimming against the Texas relay (others were in the race, but no one else seemed to matter) which consisted of Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Ian Crocker--they were pretty much the All-star team. Long story short, and against all odds, Auburn won.
When Mark retells this story he emphasizes the determination of the underdog. He talks about the power of a collective effort. He highlights the importance of belief in yourself even when the odds are against you. Makes me want to cry just telling you about how he cried as retold the epic story. I have often heard him tell people that that moment, that relay, that race, and those guys made up one of the best moments of his life.I did not attend Mark's speech last night, but I wish I were a fly on the wall. I wish I could have seen those campers faces when Might Mark started boo-hooing as he spoke of the relay. My guess is that first they were uncomfortable. But then, I would almost put money on it, I bet those kids walked away from Mark's session with a different attitude, a different perspective, and a different commitment to the sport of swimming, to their coaches, to their teammates, and to themselves. I'm confident that each and every one of those campers are hoping that someday they'll have a swimming moment that brings them to tears.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Ahhhhh... the Queen City
Annabelle sitting in the stands at the Charlotte UltraSwimWe visited the Queen City (Charlotte, NC) last weekend. We used to live there. We loved it there and love getting the chance to visit when we can. Last weekend was the perfect excuse. For Mark it was a working weekend full of appearances, races, and clinics. For Annabelle and I it was a chance to hang out with Mark, revisit our fav Charlotte restaurant, and see old friends.
Mark's weekend actually started on Wednesday when he visited the BMW plant in South Carolina. BMW and USA Swimming are now partners (as of July 2010), so USA Swimming sent Mark to take a little tour. When Mark heard their request, he said, "Uh... yes, please!" I get a kick out of thinking of Mark driving up to the fancy shmancy BMW plant in his old Dodge Intrepid that squeaks and has no air conditioning (it also has rips in the seats and sometimes the power windows poop out... but who's keeping count?).
After his appearance he made his way to Charlotte. Annabelle and I met him Friday night. He had qualified for the finals of the 100m breaststroke, so we quickly made our way to the pool. Waiting quietly, still, and in anticipation... oh wait, we weren't sitting quietly or still. I took an 18-month old to the swim meet. I was wrestling, chasing, and promising, "Just a little bit longer then I will give you another cookie." Finally, Mark swam. He was not entirely pleased. Now, I'm no expert (at least not an expert coach... I do consider myself an expert swim-wife), but he looked a little sluggish. He got third place and a full second slower than he raced earlier this year. Not satisfactory according to his standards. We didn't talk much about it.
Saturday we took our time in the morning as Mark wasn't slated to swim until 11-something. He swam the 200m breaststroke. He qualified for finals, however I could see it in his face, that he was hoping that he'd feel a little better that night. After prelims, and maybe the highlight of the trip (no offense to Mark's swimming, this is more about how absolutely perfect the chicken tacos are) we went to our old favorite restaurant, Cabo Fish Taco. Evidently this little hole in the wall was featured on some TV show, so they've had to expand since we last visited, but it still tastes like perfection with just enough kick, just enough stickiness on the table, and just enough loud music and tattooed servers.
Outside of our favorite restaurant, Cabo Fish TacoAfter lunch, while Mark napped, I took Annabelle to run a few errands. We met up with old friends and neighbors. It was wonderful.
Saturday night we headed back to the pool. Annabelle, with two long, hot, sessions already under her belt, was a pro spectator. We sat with our dear friend, Janet (Eric Shanteau's mother). She helped me wrangle the baby as we caught a race here and there, but mostly talked (a lot about the upcoming wedding--Eric and one of my very best friends in the world, Jeri, are getting married this week. Mark is a groomsmen, I am a bridesmaid, and Annabelle is the flower girl--this is why I love our swimming family).
Mark raced. Again, from a wife's perspective, he looked a little tired. He went almost 5 seconds slower than he had gone earlier this spring. When he touched the wall and I saw his face, I could definitely tell that he was tired. Bummer. The Charlotte Ultraswim is hit or miss for our everyday Olympian. Sometimes he is right on best times, other years he is in the middle of getting his booty kicked in practice at home and misses the mark. What do I do in this situation? I watch. I cheer. I still give him the 'air-clap' when he looks over. And, then, like usual, I resume whatever conversation I was in and life goes on.
Honestly, we were all a little bit tiredAfter dinner, we stayed up late talking with our dear friends who were nice enough to invite us to stay at their home all weekend (thank you Frank, Janis, and the rest of the fam!). We talked about recruiting and why each of us chose the schools we chose (one of my favorite conversations--it is so telling about someone's character). We talked about Olympic trials (our friend is also an Olympian--just a different year). We talked about kids and family. We talked a lot about perspective. It was nice.
Laying in bed I asked Mark about his races. He said, "I'm tired and I'm a little disappointed-of course I wanted to swim faster. But, I still believe in the plan."
So, there you have it folks. A less than perfect moment in the life of our everyday Olympian and in that of a nervous swim-wife who is always afraid to say the wrong thing. I despise vulnerability, but in a moment (or weekend) where things are less than perfect, I have to embrace it--it is what it is.
Sunday, Mark flew to Greenville, NC for a couple of clinics with Christine Magnasun (what a nice girl!), then Monday he got to do this.... lucky guy.
Mark is not that famous... so, when someone asks for his autograph, I feel the need to document it. Many apologies for the blurriness--I was juggling a baby, the cookies I was bribing her with, a diaper bag, and a camera.Friday, April 22, 2011
Shout out from our everyday Olympian himself!
Our everyday Olympian was interviewed recently. Check it out here.
See... I told you he didn't mind doing the laundry!
See... I told you he didn't mind doing the laundry!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Two weeks is a long time
Okay, so I am officially the worst swim wife-PhD student-new mom-blogger. I stink. I don't even remember the last time I posted. Well, shame on me. Now, let's put the past behind us and move forward. Which is really a funny thing to say, since I will be going back to tell you about all of the things that I have failed to tell you over the last few weeks.
I'm not sure where I left off, so I'll pick it up wherever I want which is three weeks ago. Three weeks ago, after a family trip to Albany, GA with Mark for a Mutual of Omaha Break Out Swim Clinic, we took Mark to the airport, waved goodbye, and said, "we'll see you in a couple of weeks." Boo. I hate long training trips, though I appreciate them for Mark and do see their value. You see, Mark trains with the Auburn University college team (kind of) and with the Auburn coaches. So, come college championship season (conference championships are in February and NCAA championships are in March), those swimmers that train with college teams and college coaches must find alternative training. Mark used to just hang around and, without fail, be a bit disappointed in his lack of training. So this year, Brett (Mark's coach) and Mark decided that he would go on training trips as to not disrupt the plan. In February, Mark went to Florida to train with a French team and SwimMAC for a couple weeks, and just a few weeks ago he took a little USOC National Training Center tour. He first trained at Chula Vista and then at Colorado Springs with our friend Dave Denniston and his team.
This was Mark's first visit to Chula Vista. He said it was amazing--beautiful with fantastic accommodations. The only hitch is that there is not a pool on site (not sure why), so the swimmers were bused to a near-by pool. Mark enjoyed breaststroke specific workouts with some of the best breaststrokers in the country including Mike Alexandrov, Clark Burckle, and Kevin Swander. He loved racing the best of the best. The only other thing I really heard about, remember Mark is not a big talker, is that Mark crossed paths with the Facebook rowers. Remember the twins that were at Harvard, claimed that they came up with the idea for Facebook, and then sued the Facebook guy (and I think are suing again)? Well, they are Olympians (Rowing) and evidently still training... at Chula Vista in fact. Mark saw them and immediately texted me. Yes, we are still in awe of real famous people. Mark, though not a big talker is funny, and texted, "Do you think I should sue them for copying my idea to become an Olympian?" Good one, hon.
In Colorado Springs Mark trained with the Paraolympic national team. Here is a quick video starring Mark and the guys he trained with.
He said they were amazing. He said that no matter what their challenge, that they made it up and down the pool. He said that they worked their booties off. And, it seemed to work as Mark did get beat in practice a few times. Mark explained to me about the altitude and said that no matter how good of shape you think you are, that altitude will royally kick your butt.
Two weeks is a long time, so my mother came down to stay with Annabelle and I for the last half of Mark's trip. I am always ready for Mark to come home, though. Not to mention help with the baby, running errands, and other daily things that seem so difficult alone, I just miss my buddy when he is away. I think he feels the same, because Mark changed his return ticket and surprised us two days early! It was awesome. My girl friend (a swim coach's wife), Annabelle, and I were huddled on the sofa watching the live streaming of the NCAA championships (Congrats Dave!) when in walks Mark. I turned my head in complete shock. Even Annabelle was paralyzed with surprise. We were so happy to see him. And, again, though I understand the reason he travels, and I support it whole-heartedly, sometimes we just want him to be home.
Okay, now I promise to post again. Soon. Really soon... I swear. I've got to tell you about a note to a sponsor, and I want to follow up on a great suggestion by Turtle. Stay tuned... I'm going to tell you all about the swag.
I'm not sure where I left off, so I'll pick it up wherever I want which is three weeks ago. Three weeks ago, after a family trip to Albany, GA with Mark for a Mutual of Omaha Break Out Swim Clinic, we took Mark to the airport, waved goodbye, and said, "we'll see you in a couple of weeks." Boo. I hate long training trips, though I appreciate them for Mark and do see their value. You see, Mark trains with the Auburn University college team (kind of) and with the Auburn coaches. So, come college championship season (conference championships are in February and NCAA championships are in March), those swimmers that train with college teams and college coaches must find alternative training. Mark used to just hang around and, without fail, be a bit disappointed in his lack of training. So this year, Brett (Mark's coach) and Mark decided that he would go on training trips as to not disrupt the plan. In February, Mark went to Florida to train with a French team and SwimMAC for a couple weeks, and just a few weeks ago he took a little USOC National Training Center tour. He first trained at Chula Vista and then at Colorado Springs with our friend Dave Denniston and his team.
This was Mark's first visit to Chula Vista. He said it was amazing--beautiful with fantastic accommodations. The only hitch is that there is not a pool on site (not sure why), so the swimmers were bused to a near-by pool. Mark enjoyed breaststroke specific workouts with some of the best breaststrokers in the country including Mike Alexandrov, Clark Burckle, and Kevin Swander. He loved racing the best of the best. The only other thing I really heard about, remember Mark is not a big talker, is that Mark crossed paths with the Facebook rowers. Remember the twins that were at Harvard, claimed that they came up with the idea for Facebook, and then sued the Facebook guy (and I think are suing again)? Well, they are Olympians (Rowing) and evidently still training... at Chula Vista in fact. Mark saw them and immediately texted me. Yes, we are still in awe of real famous people. Mark, though not a big talker is funny, and texted, "Do you think I should sue them for copying my idea to become an Olympian?" Good one, hon.
In Colorado Springs Mark trained with the Paraolympic national team. Here is a quick video starring Mark and the guys he trained with.
He said they were amazing. He said that no matter what their challenge, that they made it up and down the pool. He said that they worked their booties off. And, it seemed to work as Mark did get beat in practice a few times. Mark explained to me about the altitude and said that no matter how good of shape you think you are, that altitude will royally kick your butt.
Two weeks is a long time, so my mother came down to stay with Annabelle and I for the last half of Mark's trip. I am always ready for Mark to come home, though. Not to mention help with the baby, running errands, and other daily things that seem so difficult alone, I just miss my buddy when he is away. I think he feels the same, because Mark changed his return ticket and surprised us two days early! It was awesome. My girl friend (a swim coach's wife), Annabelle, and I were huddled on the sofa watching the live streaming of the NCAA championships (Congrats Dave!) when in walks Mark. I turned my head in complete shock. Even Annabelle was paralyzed with surprise. We were so happy to see him. And, again, though I understand the reason he travels, and I support it whole-heartedly, sometimes we just want him to be home.
Okay, now I promise to post again. Soon. Really soon... I swear. I've got to tell you about a note to a sponsor, and I want to follow up on a great suggestion by Turtle. Stay tuned... I'm going to tell you all about the swag.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Where to begin?
Well, friends, we've been everywhere. Mark has been to Miami, Columbia, MO, Indianapolis, IN, St. Louis, MO, Albany, GA, and Atlanta, GA. I have been to Napa, CA, Columbia, MO, Albany, GA, and Atlanta, GA. Annabelle has been to Columbia, MO, Albany, GA, and Atlanta, too. All in the last 5 weeks. Now sweet baby is napping (much needed) and I am trying to remember where I left off so that I can update you on our mile-a-minute life.
Where to begin?
Mark has been racing, and training, and clinicing (definitely not a word--until today because my Dunkin Donuts coffee just kicked in and I'm on a roll). Mark raced in Columbia, MO at the Missouri Grand Prix. Columbia is my hometown, therefore it is Mark's hometown-in-law. So the pressure was on. Well, not really... or at least not because of his Columbia connection, but because of all of the hard work he had put in the weeks prior.
Mark had been in Miami for about a week and a half training with a French team (coached by an old college friend) and David Marsh and some of the SwimMAC swimmers prior to the Missouri Grand Prix. He had a blast. And, trained hard. He was in his own world. Eat, sleep, swim, repeat. No wife (nagging or otherwise), no baby, no taxes, no bills, no real life. He loved it and got a chance to really focus on him. He told me yesterday that one of the highlights of the training trip was going to IHOP at 2pm after a long, hard, 11am workout.
So, in Missouri he wasn't quite sure how the hard training (and exhausted body) would fare. Well, it fared well. Mark was second in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke behind Ryo Tateishi. He swam well--looked good. He always says, "Did I look 'long'?" looking for my approval. So, without really knowing what I am talking I always say, "Good race. You looked long."
After swimming the 100 and 200 breaststroke, Mark swam the 200IM (some might find this event strange for Mark, but really the 200IM was Mark's third event in college and he is actually pretty good at it), Mark decided to scratch the finals and spend the afternoon golfing with my father, brother, and Tyler McGill. Fred Bousquet, who was also staying with us at my parents house, did not play golf and instead hung out at the house and helped my mother with the baby as I had already left to come back to Auburn (and work). The next day Mark, Annabelle, and the other Auburn pros came home. Our little family was together for almost 2 full weeks.
A couple of weeks later Mark flew to Indy for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Another good meet and another couple of great swims. Mark beat Kitajima. When I asked him about it he said, "That was fun." We watched from home. After racing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning, Mark drove to St. Louis to watch the last day of the NAIA swimming National championships--his little sister, Cindy, was swimming in her last meet. It was important to Mark to be there for her (go ahead... in unison... "awwww, so sweet!").
(please ignore the Christmas table cloth-our regular is in the wash-and the left over Valentines day decorations around the candle sticks and the less-than-healthy mac-n-cheese and diet coke. This, however, is real life.)
This weekend, because of the lack of together time, Annabelle and I decided to join Mark on the road and attended a clinic that Mark and Josh Davis hosted in Albany, GA. We left the house at 5:45am with a baby (still in her PJs), a box of books (you still haven't purchased one?! Click here), and a trunk full of, well, crap (cooler with the antibiotics for an ear infection, blocks, baby dolls, pak-n-play, swim bag, suit case, yadda, yadda, yadda). After almost 3 hours in the car, we dropped Mark off at the pool in Albany. Annabelle and I went shopping. After a cranky shopping trip we headed back to the pool to catch the tail end of the clinic. We listened to Josh pump up the kids, we watched Mark demonstrate drills, and we watched them both poke fun at each other--what great rapport they have.
During the autograph signing session, a parent (who was wearing an Auburn shirt, so I automatically liked him) came up to me. He said, "Mrs. Gangloff?" Yipes--I felt old. I corrected him. "Ashley." He continued, "Ashley, Mark talked to my son on the pool deck at a meet in Auburn a couple of months ago and it made his day. His year. He came home and called his grandparents to tell them that Mark had talked to him." After a little chit chat the Auburn fan and his son were on their way. Later in the car (we were next on our way to Atlanta to welcome a friend's baby--another Olympic baby--into the world) I told Mark about the Auburn fan and his son. Mark simply said, "This world is too small to not be a good guy."
BAM! It hit me. Mark is a good guy. And he inspires people. And, every once in a while he beats Kitojima. Wow.
Where to begin?
Mark has been racing, and training, and clinicing (definitely not a word--until today because my Dunkin Donuts coffee just kicked in and I'm on a roll). Mark raced in Columbia, MO at the Missouri Grand Prix. Columbia is my hometown, therefore it is Mark's hometown-in-law. So the pressure was on. Well, not really... or at least not because of his Columbia connection, but because of all of the hard work he had put in the weeks prior.
Mark had been in Miami for about a week and a half training with a French team (coached by an old college friend) and David Marsh and some of the SwimMAC swimmers prior to the Missouri Grand Prix. He had a blast. And, trained hard. He was in his own world. Eat, sleep, swim, repeat. No wife (nagging or otherwise), no baby, no taxes, no bills, no real life. He loved it and got a chance to really focus on him. He told me yesterday that one of the highlights of the training trip was going to IHOP at 2pm after a long, hard, 11am workout.
So, in Missouri he wasn't quite sure how the hard training (and exhausted body) would fare. Well, it fared well. Mark was second in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke behind Ryo Tateishi. He swam well--looked good. He always says, "Did I look 'long'?" looking for my approval. So, without really knowing what I am talking I always say, "Good race. You looked long."
After swimming the 100 and 200 breaststroke, Mark swam the 200IM (some might find this event strange for Mark, but really the 200IM was Mark's third event in college and he is actually pretty good at it), Mark decided to scratch the finals and spend the afternoon golfing with my father, brother, and Tyler McGill. Fred Bousquet, who was also staying with us at my parents house, did not play golf and instead hung out at the house and helped my mother with the baby as I had already left to come back to Auburn (and work). The next day Mark, Annabelle, and the other Auburn pros came home. Our little family was together for almost 2 full weeks.
A couple of weeks later Mark flew to Indy for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Another good meet and another couple of great swims. Mark beat Kitajima. When I asked him about it he said, "That was fun." We watched from home. After racing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning, Mark drove to St. Louis to watch the last day of the NAIA swimming National championships--his little sister, Cindy, was swimming in her last meet. It was important to Mark to be there for her (go ahead... in unison... "awwww, so sweet!").
(please ignore the Christmas table cloth-our regular is in the wash-and the left over Valentines day decorations around the candle sticks and the less-than-healthy mac-n-cheese and diet coke. This, however, is real life.)This weekend, because of the lack of together time, Annabelle and I decided to join Mark on the road and attended a clinic that Mark and Josh Davis hosted in Albany, GA. We left the house at 5:45am with a baby (still in her PJs), a box of books (you still haven't purchased one?! Click here), and a trunk full of, well, crap (cooler with the antibiotics for an ear infection, blocks, baby dolls, pak-n-play, swim bag, suit case, yadda, yadda, yadda). After almost 3 hours in the car, we dropped Mark off at the pool in Albany. Annabelle and I went shopping. After a cranky shopping trip we headed back to the pool to catch the tail end of the clinic. We listened to Josh pump up the kids, we watched Mark demonstrate drills, and we watched them both poke fun at each other--what great rapport they have.
During the autograph signing session, a parent (who was wearing an Auburn shirt, so I automatically liked him) came up to me. He said, "Mrs. Gangloff?" Yipes--I felt old. I corrected him. "Ashley." He continued, "Ashley, Mark talked to my son on the pool deck at a meet in Auburn a couple of months ago and it made his day. His year. He came home and called his grandparents to tell them that Mark had talked to him." After a little chit chat the Auburn fan and his son were on their way. Later in the car (we were next on our way to Atlanta to welcome a friend's baby--another Olympic baby--into the world) I told Mark about the Auburn fan and his son. Mark simply said, "This world is too small to not be a good guy."
BAM! It hit me. Mark is a good guy. And he inspires people. And, every once in a while he beats Kitojima. Wow.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Another year, another meet (and many more to come)
Well, it is another year. We were at another meet. And, we have many more on the horizon.
The day after Christmas Mark met with his coach. They discussed the next 18 months (these are an important 18 months in the lives of those working towards the opportunity to compete in the Olympic games). The two of them (Mark and his coach, Brett) then spent the next few weeks working on "the plan." The plan is complicated. It uses a ton of technical jargon, lots of color coded boxes, various phases, and multiple cycles. Mark is excited about it.
At the end of the day, however (without trying to sound too self-centered), all I really need to know is what does this mean for us... the Gangloff Family?
More meets.
More pool time.
More travel (as long as we don't break the bank).
Mark has always swum in meets, but "the plan" requires him to race more. Once a month or so. Feeling good, feeling bad, going hard, training a lot, tired, rested.... it doesn't matter. He's going to race... often.
Last weekend Mark's new race-a-lot plan started at the Ralph Crocker Invite at Auburn (we miss Ralph terribly and think of him often--he was a great coach and an even better man and will be a part of Auburn forever). Mark swam well (he thinks). When I asked, "How was that swim?" or "How was the meet?" He said that he didn't really know. He has never really trained and raced quite like he is now. Hmmmm.... as a nervous swim wife this is going to be a hard pill to swallow.
I'm not really trying to gush about Mark (really, I'm not), but isn't it impressive that he continues to change, try new things, and take risks?
So, as Mark enters uncharted waters (this is me trying to be clever), Annabelle and I will be there.
The day after Christmas Mark met with his coach. They discussed the next 18 months (these are an important 18 months in the lives of those working towards the opportunity to compete in the Olympic games). The two of them (Mark and his coach, Brett) then spent the next few weeks working on "the plan." The plan is complicated. It uses a ton of technical jargon, lots of color coded boxes, various phases, and multiple cycles. Mark is excited about it.At the end of the day, however (without trying to sound too self-centered), all I really need to know is what does this mean for us... the Gangloff Family?
More meets.
More pool time.
More travel (as long as we don't break the bank).
Mark has always swum in meets, but "the plan" requires him to race more. Once a month or so. Feeling good, feeling bad, going hard, training a lot, tired, rested.... it doesn't matter. He's going to race... often.
Last weekend Mark's new race-a-lot plan started at the Ralph Crocker Invite at Auburn (we miss Ralph terribly and think of him often--he was a great coach and an even better man and will be a part of Auburn forever). Mark swam well (he thinks). When I asked, "How was that swim?" or "How was the meet?" He said that he didn't really know. He has never really trained and raced quite like he is now. Hmmmm.... as a nervous swim wife this is going to be a hard pill to swallow.
I'm not really trying to gush about Mark (really, I'm not), but isn't it impressive that he continues to change, try new things, and take risks?
So, as Mark enters uncharted waters (this is me trying to be clever), Annabelle and I will be there.
Friday, December 17, 2010
If this doesn't get you pumped up...
I don't know what would.
Annabelle decided to send her dad this picture to get him ready for the 50m breaststroke at Short Course World Championships. Don't let the cookie fool you... she is a fierce competitor.
Thanks to our dear friend, Yari, for giving us this ADORABLE gold medal onsie--Annabelle looks like a champ!
Annabelle decided to send her dad this picture to get him ready for the 50m breaststroke at Short Course World Championships. Don't let the cookie fool you... she is a fierce competitor.Thanks to our dear friend, Yari, for giving us this ADORABLE gold medal onsie--Annabelle looks like a champ!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
It's the name of the game
Tough. Challenging. Hard. It's the name of the game for a professional athlete (and his wife!).
Mark swam the 100m breaststroke today at the Short Course World Championships. He had a good morning swim (58.2). I set my alarm for 1:45 to see it online (though I didn't need an alarm. Annabelle was up all night with an ear infection and respiratory funk). I felt good. Confident. It looked like he did, too. I saw his name next to "4th." I thought this meant that he was fourth going into finals.
He was not.
Mark was 4th going into semi-finals. Semi-finals?! I didn't even think this meet had semi-finals. Bad swim wife. Bad.
So, after a quick trip to the pediatrician and a swift internal conversation with myself in which I questioned going into my office to watch the race versus staying at home with Turtle-my mother-and Annabelle, I sat in the living room with my girls to watch our everyday Olympian swim. Just as he was getting on the block to start, Brett, Mark's coach, called me. We watched the race together over the phone and live streaming.
He swam.
Not as fast as he had hoped. He added a little time. 58.4. This is where my heart breaks for him. 2 tenths of a second is nothing, right? Well, in this game it is and was enough to keep him from moving onto the finals.
No, this is actually not that big of a deal. It was not a great swim, but this meet (in a weird way) doesn't mean as much as others. However, it doesn't matter to me or my heart whether it is a friendly race in a backyard pool or the Olympic games, it hurts when Mark doesn't not swim the way he wants to swim. So, a million, ga-zillion, miles and a 10 hour time difference away, I sat on my living room floor to watch Mark swim to an 11th place finish. He did not make the finals. I was sad for him.
Though it was a disappointing race, I still got the chance to chuckle a little bit. I watched the race via live streaming from a German website, so I got to hear "Gangloff" repeated over and over in native tongue. For some reason this was quite amusing. It was like the mother ship calling back her Gangloff.
After a little sadness following Mark's race I picked myself up, loaded up my computer bag, and headed to Panera to work (nothing like crunching data that just doesn't want to work with me to get my mind off of swimming). I got an email from Mark. It read, "Are you by your computer?' Yep. So I logged into Skype (did we tell you that we got it working?!).
There I sat, at Panera, talking to my computer like some crazy lady. Mark was fine. Disappointed, but fine. I was happy to get to talk to him, even though I looked like a complete loon with voices in her head. I just wanted to make an announcement to everyone drinking their coffees and eating their Gingerbread bagels, "My husband is an Olympian. He is in Dubai. He just swam. I haven't gotten to talk to him in days, so I am talking to him via Skype. Yes, I realize that I am in public, but please stop staring--turn around and get back to applying your utterly delicious Honey Walnut cream cheese to the bagel that is nothing more than a cookie!"
Mark swam the 100m breaststroke today at the Short Course World Championships. He had a good morning swim (58.2). I set my alarm for 1:45 to see it online (though I didn't need an alarm. Annabelle was up all night with an ear infection and respiratory funk). I felt good. Confident. It looked like he did, too. I saw his name next to "4th." I thought this meant that he was fourth going into finals.
He was not.
Mark was 4th going into semi-finals. Semi-finals?! I didn't even think this meet had semi-finals. Bad swim wife. Bad.
So, after a quick trip to the pediatrician and a swift internal conversation with myself in which I questioned going into my office to watch the race versus staying at home with Turtle-my mother-and Annabelle, I sat in the living room with my girls to watch our everyday Olympian swim. Just as he was getting on the block to start, Brett, Mark's coach, called me. We watched the race together over the phone and live streaming.
He swam.
Not as fast as he had hoped. He added a little time. 58.4. This is where my heart breaks for him. 2 tenths of a second is nothing, right? Well, in this game it is and was enough to keep him from moving onto the finals.
No, this is actually not that big of a deal. It was not a great swim, but this meet (in a weird way) doesn't mean as much as others. However, it doesn't matter to me or my heart whether it is a friendly race in a backyard pool or the Olympic games, it hurts when Mark doesn't not swim the way he wants to swim. So, a million, ga-zillion, miles and a 10 hour time difference away, I sat on my living room floor to watch Mark swim to an 11th place finish. He did not make the finals. I was sad for him.
Though it was a disappointing race, I still got the chance to chuckle a little bit. I watched the race via live streaming from a German website, so I got to hear "Gangloff" repeated over and over in native tongue. For some reason this was quite amusing. It was like the mother ship calling back her Gangloff.
After a little sadness following Mark's race I picked myself up, loaded up my computer bag, and headed to Panera to work (nothing like crunching data that just doesn't want to work with me to get my mind off of swimming). I got an email from Mark. It read, "Are you by your computer?' Yep. So I logged into Skype (did we tell you that we got it working?!).
There I sat, at Panera, talking to my computer like some crazy lady. Mark was fine. Disappointed, but fine. I was happy to get to talk to him, even though I looked like a complete loon with voices in her head. I just wanted to make an announcement to everyone drinking their coffees and eating their Gingerbread bagels, "My husband is an Olympian. He is in Dubai. He just swam. I haven't gotten to talk to him in days, so I am talking to him via Skype. Yes, I realize that I am in public, but please stop staring--turn around and get back to applying your utterly delicious Honey Walnut cream cheese to the bagel that is nothing more than a cookie!"
Monday, December 13, 2010
No skype, but plenty of sand
Mark is officially in the UAE. I received an email at 10:15 last night and then again at 2:07 this morning. Yes, I woke up to check. Well, technically I sleep with my blackberry under my pillow (I know this is weird, but it is a habit I picked up somewhere), so I didn't have to really wake up, just barely pry open my sleepy eyes. Mark, who does know me better than anyone, wrote this last sentence in his email at 2:07: "Stop checking your messages in bed, it will wake your mom up."
Turtle (my mother) is staying with me while Mark is away.
Mark's first email was short, yet still captured Mark's dry sense of humor as he was making fun of me. The first bit of the email recapped the fact that for some reason Skype is banned from the UAE (this was a minor crisis in our household when we found out last week) and that his phone (which we just paid an extra $64 this month to have the international plan) was also not working. The second bit of the email went like this: "The flight wasn't too bad, I slept for about 8 hours. Eric is my roomie so we are happy to be bffs again."
This is a lot of information from Mark (who is typically like the super hero of silence). That last sentence, if you didn't pick up on it, was Mark mocking me. Well, Mr. Olympian, I am happy that you are back with your BFF. The wives (Eric will be marrying my best friend in less than six months!) have already been talking. We're happy that you're roomies again, too. Don't stay up too late telling ghost stories or playing "light as a feather stiff as a board." This is serious business.
Mark's second email talked about how amazing the pool is. He said it is one of the best (if not THE best) venue he has ever seen. That is pretty impressive considering some of the venues in which Mark has swam. "It is a huge stadium in the middle of the desert." Cool. I'd tell him to take a lot of pictures, but I kept the camera because I couldn't not take pictures of Annabelle this week.
If you'd like to send Mark well wishes and "good lucks" you are welcome to include them as a comment on the blog or you can email them to everydayolympian@gmail.com.
You can follow the meet and results here. Mark will swim both the 50 and 100 meter breaststroke on the 15th, so I expect a lot of positive energy, crossing of the fingers, and little prayers on that day. Our everyday Olympian will have a full day of racing and will need all of the support we can give him.
Turtle (my mother) is staying with me while Mark is away.
Mark's first email was short, yet still captured Mark's dry sense of humor as he was making fun of me. The first bit of the email recapped the fact that for some reason Skype is banned from the UAE (this was a minor crisis in our household when we found out last week) and that his phone (which we just paid an extra $64 this month to have the international plan) was also not working. The second bit of the email went like this: "The flight wasn't too bad, I slept for about 8 hours. Eric is my roomie so we are happy to be bffs again."
This is a lot of information from Mark (who is typically like the super hero of silence). That last sentence, if you didn't pick up on it, was Mark mocking me. Well, Mr. Olympian, I am happy that you are back with your BFF. The wives (Eric will be marrying my best friend in less than six months!) have already been talking. We're happy that you're roomies again, too. Don't stay up too late telling ghost stories or playing "light as a feather stiff as a board." This is serious business.
Mark's second email talked about how amazing the pool is. He said it is one of the best (if not THE best) venue he has ever seen. That is pretty impressive considering some of the venues in which Mark has swam. "It is a huge stadium in the middle of the desert." Cool. I'd tell him to take a lot of pictures, but I kept the camera because I couldn't not take pictures of Annabelle this week.
If you'd like to send Mark well wishes and "good lucks" you are welcome to include them as a comment on the blog or you can email them to everydayolympian@gmail.com.
You can follow the meet and results here. Mark will swim both the 50 and 100 meter breaststroke on the 15th, so I expect a lot of positive energy, crossing of the fingers, and little prayers on that day. Our everyday Olympian will have a full day of racing and will need all of the support we can give him.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Today was special
After the race, Mark took Annabelle for a little Daddy/daughter swim before the rest of us joined them in the water. This weekend started out pretty typical. Mark traveled (to New Mexico for a couple of Fitter and Faster events) and Annabelle and I held down the home front.
Saturday, rather than waiting at home for Mark's working weekend to end, Annabelle and I drove to Atlanta to meet our sweet friends Eric and Jeri. Eric hosted the first ever Swim For Your Life open water swim to benefit Livestrong and cancer research and we weren't going to miss a chance to support him.
Once in Atlanta, while I was getting dressed and catching up with my sweet friend, Jeri, Annabelle sat in the living room with Aaron (Peirsol) and Eric. When I peeked out to check on her I saw all three kneeling in front of the tv. Eric and Aaron were playing Nintendo and Annabelle was on her knees just watching them. Once we were all showered and dressed, we headed to Eric's pre-race banquet. We ate, talked, and supported Eric as he welcomed the participants with a touching speech about his experience with cancer.
Some participants couldn't quite figure out who Annabelle and I were and how we were connected to Eric. They didn't know that we've known Eric for almost a decade. They didn't know that Mark and Eric lived next door to each other all through college. They didn't know that Eric's girlfriend, Jeri, is also my best friend. They didn't know that I have sat with Janet (Eric's mom at swim meets for years. They didn't know that we love Eric like a brother. I also don't wear a sign that say, "My husband is an Olympian," so people usually just see me as a funny little girl with a baby that seems to start a conversation with just about anyone. Sometimes people just think that I'm a groupy (maybe I am). See, for us, it is not uncommon to fly "solo" without Mark. We attend plenty of functions, dinners and social events less one. I feel comfortable being a third wheel because it is often that Mark is traveling and I am home alone. What else would I do? Stay home every time Mark traveled? It's not in my nature. So, instead, I pull on my big girl panties and tag along with friends. Such was the case Saturday night.
After dinner we headed back to Eric's house. I put the baby down and waited for Mark who was to land at the Atlanta airport at midnight. Finally, long after I had given up on waiting up, Mark showed up (1:30am!). We said a quick hello and went to sleep-we were planning on leaving the house a little after 7am to head to the lake for the swim.
Exhausted, we all rolled out of bed and shuffled to the car (everyone was dressed except for Annabelle who was still in her PJs-so jealous). We arrived at the swim venue.
Though I had hoped to (and planned on) swim, someone had to stay on the beach with Annabelle.
We watched our friends swim. We watched our friends' parents swim. We watched children and adults swim. All were swimming for the cause. By the way, I am sniffling back tears as I type because the entire day was so special. It was so touching. It was such an honor to be a part of.
Eric, Janet (Eric's mother), and Mark after the race. After Eric ran in, he noticed that his mother was still out in the water. He went back out to finish the race with his mother.
Annabelle was in the middle of everything. During a quick little photo op, Annabelle decided to try a handful of sand... Some people ask if Mark gets paid for swimming in things like this. For this particular event, the answer is absolutely not. Eric is our friend. We attended and Mark swam to support him. Mark actually paid to be a part of it. That's the point, right? To raise money for cancer research and awareness.
Very rarely do we get a picture of the two of us together (I am usually behind the camera), but we got a quick squeeze in before the swim.I started crying tonight. I was overwhelmed with emotion-after such a wonderful day I was overwhelmed with gratuity. Now, I'm not trying to be too mushy, but sometimes I just can't help it. Here are the reasons why I am so thankful:
- I am happy and healthy
- My husband is happy and healthy
- My baby is happy and healthy
- My husband loves what he does
- I love what I do
- We have such good friends that we lump them into the category of 'family'
- All of our friends (even those that don't have children yet) love our baby
- Some of our friends (even those that don't have children yet) love her so much that they are willing to change her poopy diapers
- We are able to show our support of our friends so that they know how much we love them
Sniff, sniff. Tissue, please.
Okay... enough lovey, dovey, mushy, love stuff.
The highlights of my weekend include:
- Arriving at Eric's lake house which immediately brought back memories of college
- Listening to Jeri explain the mysterious stain on the table (let's just say it included a diaper)
- Watching Aaron and Eric teach Annabelle about Super Mario Bros.
- Swimming with Annabelle in the lake with Mark and Jeri
- Eating my weight in biscuits with Bryce (a dear friend and Mark's college roommate and roommate from the 2004 Olympic games) at Cracker Barrel
- Getting to see so many friends that we typically do not get to see because everyone lives in their own corner of the country
Aaron and Annabelle on the beach. Both look a little tired after the 1k race. What a day!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
BBM/UPS/FRA to USA
Sounds like a bunch of jibberish, huh? Well this is what I have been doing this morning. First, I get a BBM (blackberry messenger) from our dear friend who is in France. She is trying to ship a swim suit to Mark (who is in Newport Beach, CA). This suit is the suit that Mark has chosen to race in next week. The manufacturer is actually in Japan... Are you following me? Okay, here it is more simply:
Mark's friend is sponsored by a Japanese company. Mark borrowed this friend's suit a few weeks ago and LOVED racing in it. So, he asked his friend to borrow one. This friend is currently racing at a different meet in Europe right now, so it is up to us wives and girlfriends to get the job done. The suit was shipped from Japan to France and now we (the wife and the girlfriend) are trying to get it from France to California as to not burden the boys with the task while they are focusing on fast swimming. What would they do without us?!
So I get a BBM from our friend (the girlfriend) in France. She asks me to set up a UPS account so that she can ship the suit to Mark. I do so and send the UPS account info to her. She tries to set up the shipment but has trouble. Technical error. Ugh x a million. I hate technology and evidently this hatred is a worldwide phenonmenon because our friend BBMs me to tell me that the computer is 'killing' her. After a phone call to UPS (USA) and a retreival of the phone number for UPS (France) she is able to use our newly created UPS account to set up a shipment for Mark's suit.
We BBM back and forth a while longer to confirm phone numbers, zip codes and account numbers. All for a tiny little suit.
I cannot express how thankful I am for all of our friends around the world that have a hand in Mark's career. I told our friend that Mark should definitely dedicate his swims next week to her and her family.
So, when you watch Mark's races on the computer next week (I know all of you will be glued to results just like me, right?), notice the little suit that he is wearing. It is a special suit that will have experienced quit a journey just to land on his rear end for less than a minute (fingers crossed for a sub-1-minute race) of swimming.
And you thought a suit was just a suit...
Mark's friend is sponsored by a Japanese company. Mark borrowed this friend's suit a few weeks ago and LOVED racing in it. So, he asked his friend to borrow one. This friend is currently racing at a different meet in Europe right now, so it is up to us wives and girlfriends to get the job done. The suit was shipped from Japan to France and now we (the wife and the girlfriend) are trying to get it from France to California as to not burden the boys with the task while they are focusing on fast swimming. What would they do without us?!
So I get a BBM from our friend (the girlfriend) in France. She asks me to set up a UPS account so that she can ship the suit to Mark. I do so and send the UPS account info to her. She tries to set up the shipment but has trouble. Technical error. Ugh x a million. I hate technology and evidently this hatred is a worldwide phenonmenon because our friend BBMs me to tell me that the computer is 'killing' her. After a phone call to UPS (USA) and a retreival of the phone number for UPS (France) she is able to use our newly created UPS account to set up a shipment for Mark's suit.
We BBM back and forth a while longer to confirm phone numbers, zip codes and account numbers. All for a tiny little suit.
I cannot express how thankful I am for all of our friends around the world that have a hand in Mark's career. I told our friend that Mark should definitely dedicate his swims next week to her and her family.
So, when you watch Mark's races on the computer next week (I know all of you will be glued to results just like me, right?), notice the little suit that he is wearing. It is a special suit that will have experienced quit a journey just to land on his rear end for less than a minute (fingers crossed for a sub-1-minute race) of swimming.
And you thought a suit was just a suit...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Beijing arrest? No thank you.
I am trying to figure out exactly what baby 'gear' I should be taking with me to California and to the meet. Should I plan on being allowed to bring the stroller in? Should I ditch the stroller and just plan on using a sling? Baby Bjorn? Moby wrap? Should I attempt to pack our homemade baby food or just bite the bullet and buy baby food there? How should I prepare Annabelle for the time change? I think the hospital forgot to give us the baby manual. Can I borrow yours?
My other minor concern is event tickets for the Pan Pacific Games (Pan Pacs). I just bought my all-session pass for $106 assuming that Annabelle will not need her own ticket. Fair assumption? Fingers crossed. If she does need a ticket, this meet (not including travel expenses) will cost us $212... for a swim meet!
The cost of this trip is slowly but surely creeping up (and up, and up, and up). I thought "Yippee a big international meet right in our own backyard... this is going to be great... and cheap!" Yeah right. Thankfully (kind of), because I never took my trip to France I used my Delta credit to buy my plane ticket to California. Not a bad deal, though I was really hoping to wear a beret this summer. Don't tell me that I could still wear a beret... that's just ridiculous.
I received a question a couple of weeks ago regarding tickets. "Don't athletes' families get free event tickets?" Nope (hence the $106 charge on my credit card). This is not usually an issue; tickets are usually only $10 or $15 a day at most (not cheap, but doesn't totally break the bank) until it comes to the Olympics. USA Swimming reserves 2 tickets per athlete for each day that he or she competes (which we totally appreciate), however, there are a few things about this arrangement that make things difficult. First, the only day athletes are garaunteed to swim are prelims. Then you have to retrieve new tickets for the days of semi-finals and finals. Luckily this has been a problem---in other words, at both Olympic Games Mark has qualified for semi-finals and finals. The second issue occurs when you have so many family members willing to travel around the world to watch you swim (yes, I traveled to China and back--even threw up in the Olympic bushes but that is a whole different story--to watch Mark swim for a total of 3 minutes). In 2008 Mark's mother, father and sister traveled to Beijing as well as my mother and I. One of Mark's dear friends from high school (Go Firestone) and his wife also came to cheer for Mark. Let's do the math... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... less the 2 free tickets. That leaves us with 5. 5 tickets short. Ugh.
We searched ebay, ticket websites (some scams), ticketmaster and other organizations selling tickets. It was a nightmare. Yes, there was an $800 ticket. Yes, we bought it. Before the Beijing Games there was a big scare that there would be no scalping tickets and anyone seen buying or selling tickets outside of the venues would be arrested. I certainly did not want to get arrested in Beijing. This is what led us to our crazy ticket-searching project.
See, in Athens in 2004 you could pretty much find a ticket 10 minutes before just about any event at any venue. Piece of cake. But almost a full year out from the Beijing Games I let people get to me and I let myself get nervous (imagine that).
The reports of ticket scalper arrests scared the mess out of us and scared us into $800 ebay tickets. Of course, once in Beijing we saw plenty of tickets being bought and sold and no arrests. Ugh. Also, dissappointingly, there were empty seats at every venue we visited. They actually had "seat fillers" to make each venue look more crowded for tv.
Note to self: DO NOT BUY EXPENSIVE EVENT TICKETS BEFORE THE NEXT OLYMPICS.
Anyway, Annabelle and I are hanging in there without Mark. Mark, on the other hand, is really seeming to miss us (oh, who am I kidding... he is really missing Annabelle... I guess he is missing me a little bit, too). He says that training camp has been "pretty good." Whatever that means. He got a massage today and said that he certainly enjoyed his 'recovery' day (easy training days that follow a day or two of difficult trianing days to allow your body to recover) today.
When I asked, "Are you getting excited about the meet?!" He said, "Not yet."
This is equivilant to me asking, "How was practice?"
"Fine."
Huh?
Well, we are getting excited.
Please comment to tell Mark good luck and share your support. You are also welcome to email him at everydayolympian@gmail.com.
My other minor concern is event tickets for the Pan Pacific Games (Pan Pacs). I just bought my all-session pass for $106 assuming that Annabelle will not need her own ticket. Fair assumption? Fingers crossed. If she does need a ticket, this meet (not including travel expenses) will cost us $212... for a swim meet!
The cost of this trip is slowly but surely creeping up (and up, and up, and up). I thought "Yippee a big international meet right in our own backyard... this is going to be great... and cheap!" Yeah right. Thankfully (kind of), because I never took my trip to France I used my Delta credit to buy my plane ticket to California. Not a bad deal, though I was really hoping to wear a beret this summer. Don't tell me that I could still wear a beret... that's just ridiculous.
I received a question a couple of weeks ago regarding tickets. "Don't athletes' families get free event tickets?" Nope (hence the $106 charge on my credit card). This is not usually an issue; tickets are usually only $10 or $15 a day at most (not cheap, but doesn't totally break the bank) until it comes to the Olympics. USA Swimming reserves 2 tickets per athlete for each day that he or she competes (which we totally appreciate), however, there are a few things about this arrangement that make things difficult. First, the only day athletes are garaunteed to swim are prelims. Then you have to retrieve new tickets for the days of semi-finals and finals. Luckily this has been a problem---in other words, at both Olympic Games Mark has qualified for semi-finals and finals. The second issue occurs when you have so many family members willing to travel around the world to watch you swim (yes, I traveled to China and back--even threw up in the Olympic bushes but that is a whole different story--to watch Mark swim for a total of 3 minutes). In 2008 Mark's mother, father and sister traveled to Beijing as well as my mother and I. One of Mark's dear friends from high school (Go Firestone) and his wife also came to cheer for Mark. Let's do the math... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... less the 2 free tickets. That leaves us with 5. 5 tickets short. Ugh.
We searched ebay, ticket websites (some scams), ticketmaster and other organizations selling tickets. It was a nightmare. Yes, there was an $800 ticket. Yes, we bought it. Before the Beijing Games there was a big scare that there would be no scalping tickets and anyone seen buying or selling tickets outside of the venues would be arrested. I certainly did not want to get arrested in Beijing. This is what led us to our crazy ticket-searching project.
See, in Athens in 2004 you could pretty much find a ticket 10 minutes before just about any event at any venue. Piece of cake. But almost a full year out from the Beijing Games I let people get to me and I let myself get nervous (imagine that).
The reports of ticket scalper arrests scared the mess out of us and scared us into $800 ebay tickets. Of course, once in Beijing we saw plenty of tickets being bought and sold and no arrests. Ugh. Also, dissappointingly, there were empty seats at every venue we visited. They actually had "seat fillers" to make each venue look more crowded for tv.
Note to self: DO NOT BUY EXPENSIVE EVENT TICKETS BEFORE THE NEXT OLYMPICS.
Anyway, Annabelle and I are hanging in there without Mark. Mark, on the other hand, is really seeming to miss us (oh, who am I kidding... he is really missing Annabelle... I guess he is missing me a little bit, too). He says that training camp has been "pretty good." Whatever that means. He got a massage today and said that he certainly enjoyed his 'recovery' day (easy training days that follow a day or two of difficult trianing days to allow your body to recover) today.
When I asked, "Are you getting excited about the meet?!" He said, "Not yet."
This is equivilant to me asking, "How was practice?"
"Fine."
Huh?
Well, we are getting excited.
Please comment to tell Mark good luck and share your support. You are also welcome to email him at everydayolympian@gmail.com.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
New leaf
So, I have decided to turn over a new leaf.
Last night as I was talking to my mother (Turtle); we analyzed Mark's races (for the past 12 years) and his career as a professional swimmer. He is good. He has been successful. He will continue to be successful. He is happy.
Enter: new leaf.
I am vowing right here and right now to not be a nervous wreck going forward. I know, I know... you'll believe it when you see it, but I swear. Here is my analysis...
I have faith in Mark, in the hard work that he has put in, in his experience and in his ability to race. Honestly, I did not have that much fun in California watching Mark. I was too nervous. This is not right. This is not what swimming is about. This is not what life is about.
Yes, swimming is a big deal. It is Mark's job and the Gangloff Clan's livelihood. But, at the end of the day, you have to enjoy what you're doing. I worry that my crazy nervousness shows. This is the opposite of what I want and who I want to be. I want to be flexible, easy going and breezy.
Side note: I used to tell Mark that Breezy was my first name and Danger was my middle name (these are the 'people' I want to be... kind of sounds like a super hero, right?). So, going forward, you can call me Breezy Danger Gangloff. I can see the comic book now.
Anyway... back to my new leaf...
The beauty of professional swimming now is that there are opportunities to work, to make money and to support your family. Yes, swimming fast does make it easier to make a living, but, like anything else, hard work pays off.
Now, I'm not saying that I don't think Mark can swim fast. Nor am I saying that I don't want Mark to swim fast...'cause I do. But, what I am saying is that I have faith. I have faith in Mark and I have faith in other things that I know will support us in anything (and everything) we do.
Okay, so I'll still get a little nervous (who wouldn't?!), but I will not let it paralyze me, I will not let it show on my face, and I will not let it disrupt the joy Mark finds in swimming and that I find in watching him swim.
Consider this new leaf turned over.
I feel cleansed.
Though I almost through the computer screen on the floor when it kept rebooting every time I tried to login to Skype. Ugh. Serenity now. Serenity now. Serenity now... See, I'm breezy.
Last night as I was talking to my mother (Turtle); we analyzed Mark's races (for the past 12 years) and his career as a professional swimmer. He is good. He has been successful. He will continue to be successful. He is happy.
Enter: new leaf.
I am vowing right here and right now to not be a nervous wreck going forward. I know, I know... you'll believe it when you see it, but I swear. Here is my analysis...
I have faith in Mark, in the hard work that he has put in, in his experience and in his ability to race. Honestly, I did not have that much fun in California watching Mark. I was too nervous. This is not right. This is not what swimming is about. This is not what life is about.
Yes, swimming is a big deal. It is Mark's job and the Gangloff Clan's livelihood. But, at the end of the day, you have to enjoy what you're doing. I worry that my crazy nervousness shows. This is the opposite of what I want and who I want to be. I want to be flexible, easy going and breezy.
Side note: I used to tell Mark that Breezy was my first name and Danger was my middle name (these are the 'people' I want to be... kind of sounds like a super hero, right?). So, going forward, you can call me Breezy Danger Gangloff. I can see the comic book now.
Anyway... back to my new leaf...
The beauty of professional swimming now is that there are opportunities to work, to make money and to support your family. Yes, swimming fast does make it easier to make a living, but, like anything else, hard work pays off.
Now, I'm not saying that I don't think Mark can swim fast. Nor am I saying that I don't want Mark to swim fast...'cause I do. But, what I am saying is that I have faith. I have faith in Mark and I have faith in other things that I know will support us in anything (and everything) we do.
Okay, so I'll still get a little nervous (who wouldn't?!), but I will not let it paralyze me, I will not let it show on my face, and I will not let it disrupt the joy Mark finds in swimming and that I find in watching him swim.
Consider this new leaf turned over.
I feel cleansed.
Though I almost through the computer screen on the floor when it kept rebooting every time I tried to login to Skype. Ugh. Serenity now. Serenity now. Serenity now... See, I'm breezy.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Old Man River did it again...
We're in. Mark swam the 100 meter breaststroke finals last night. He was second which earned him a spot on the Pan Pacific Games team. He will now stay in
It is very rare that a big international competition like the Pan Pacific Games is in the
Not this time. This time Annabelle and I will be there, in the flesh, cheering for him.
Yesterday was similar to most race days. Mark swam in the prelims in the morning. He went a 1.01.2. Decent for a “morning swim” (a 'morning swim' is a luxury really fast swimmers have... it means that you don't have to "go" 100% and still make it back to the finals). "Morning swims" for swim wives is miserable. You're not sure how hard he is really trying or how hard anyone else was going.
Then, the rest of the day is waiting...
All day at the meet people tell me to "relax." I am convinced that they do this for their own benefit. Yes, I am nervous, but I will be fine. Mark will be fine. I am an insider. I know how he feels... it is YOU (people in the stands) that don’t understand. You make me more nervous.
After the prelims I am officially banished from the hotel room so that Mark can spit, scratch, nap and whatever else he does to prepare himself for the finals. Yesterday I sat outside all afternoon only to get a sunburn on the tops of my feet in the shape of my flip flops.
When I received the text message (3 hours later), "You can come back now," I made my way back up to the room. Mark was getting ready to go, packing his bag, and mixing his shake. .
Once we made it through traffic on the 405 I was on official coffee fetching duty. So, I dropped Mark off at the gate and rushed to the coffee shop down the street for Mark's coffee (plus an extra shot of espresso). I delivered it to Mark about an hour before start time and then made my way to the stands.
I stood by myself at the top of the bleachers (when I say bleachers, I mean bleachers that seat thousands of people). I cannot sit next to anyone while Mark is racing. Oh, who am I fooling? I cannot sit while Mark is racing. So, I pace at the top of the bleachers.
Mark raced.
I brought along the Flip video camera in hopes that I would feel good enough to tape Mark’s race. What a joke. No way… I could hardly watch. After the race I was relieved, happy, and proud and could then start to chit chat with friends and other swimming folks.
His performance earned him a spot on the Pan Pacs team and a world ranking of 6th. At Pan Pacs he will have to defend his top two (American) finish to earn a spot on the World Championship team next summer.
It has been a big couple of days. This summer was the 12th year in a row that Mark has made the USA Swimming National Team. The youngest competitor in the meet was only 3 years old when Mark qualified for his first National Team. Way to go, Old Man River... you did it again. I couldn't be more proud.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Red, white and blue tutus and the airport
Red, white and blue tutus and the airport are on my agenda for the weekend. Mark races in four days, so The Gangloff Clan is busy getting ready.
I am working today (that is, of course, when I am not blogging), tomorrow Annabelle and I will take Mark and fellow Auburn breaststroker Adam to the Atlanta airport and tomorrow afternoon will be dedicated to finishing the red, white and blue tutu that Annabelle will wear to cheer for her Daddy (again, I am a craft project kind of gal-I can't sit still). Sunday, Annabelle and I will drive to the Montgomery (Alabama) airport to pick up my parents (the babysitters). And, Monday, my parents and Annabelle will take me back to the Montgomery airport so that I can fly out to meet Mark at Nationals. Phew. I told you that this weekend includes red, white and blue tutus and the airport. Ah, the life of the wife of an Olympian... thrilling.
Last night Mark and I went on a date (go ahead, roll your eyes). We even got a little dressed up. Mark wore a pair of "pointy" shoes he bought in France. During dinner I looked at him and said, "I think this is going to be a pretty huge summer," to which he replied, "You said that last year." Well, excuse me. Wasn't last summer a pretty huge summer? That's what I thought.
After dinner I laid on the sofa in a complete haze (yesterday I turned in a big research proposal that I had been working on all summer and felt as though my brain no longer worked) and watched Project Runway (I am reality show obsessed). Mark got his ipod ready for the big trip.
If you can remember, Mark and I are big tightwads and never had things like ipods before last summer. Don't get the wrong idea, we are very fortunate and have a lot of things, but an ipod was not one of the them... until last summer. Last summer after Mark made the World Championships and was en route to Rome he called and asked me to buy him and ipod and send it to Rome with our friend who was leaving the next day. I bought him a bright orange one (Auburn orange, duh!). It made it to Mark in Rome the next day. This is one of those small and seemingly insignificant things that makes me feel as though I am contributing to his races.
Anyway, last night Mark prepped his bright orange ipod. Today we will finish up laundry (okay, he will finish up laundry--I HATE laundry), cook a big dinner, pack up and relax. Tonight is Mark's last night at home for (hopefully) almost four weeks (Nationals + Pan Pacific Games).
I am working today (that is, of course, when I am not blogging), tomorrow Annabelle and I will take Mark and fellow Auburn breaststroker Adam to the Atlanta airport and tomorrow afternoon will be dedicated to finishing the red, white and blue tutu that Annabelle will wear to cheer for her Daddy (again, I am a craft project kind of gal-I can't sit still). Sunday, Annabelle and I will drive to the Montgomery (Alabama) airport to pick up my parents (the babysitters). And, Monday, my parents and Annabelle will take me back to the Montgomery airport so that I can fly out to meet Mark at Nationals. Phew. I told you that this weekend includes red, white and blue tutus and the airport. Ah, the life of the wife of an Olympian... thrilling.
Last night Mark and I went on a date (go ahead, roll your eyes). We even got a little dressed up. Mark wore a pair of "pointy" shoes he bought in France. During dinner I looked at him and said, "I think this is going to be a pretty huge summer," to which he replied, "You said that last year." Well, excuse me. Wasn't last summer a pretty huge summer? That's what I thought.
After dinner I laid on the sofa in a complete haze (yesterday I turned in a big research proposal that I had been working on all summer and felt as though my brain no longer worked) and watched Project Runway (I am reality show obsessed). Mark got his ipod ready for the big trip.
If you can remember, Mark and I are big tightwads and never had things like ipods before last summer. Don't get the wrong idea, we are very fortunate and have a lot of things, but an ipod was not one of the them... until last summer. Last summer after Mark made the World Championships and was en route to Rome he called and asked me to buy him and ipod and send it to Rome with our friend who was leaving the next day. I bought him a bright orange one (Auburn orange, duh!). It made it to Mark in Rome the next day. This is one of those small and seemingly insignificant things that makes me feel as though I am contributing to his races.
Anyway, last night Mark prepped his bright orange ipod. Today we will finish up laundry (okay, he will finish up laundry--I HATE laundry), cook a big dinner, pack up and relax. Tonight is Mark's last night at home for (hopefully) almost four weeks (Nationals + Pan Pacific Games).
Monday, July 26, 2010
The traveling swim wife... assuming I make my flight
So, it is that time again. I leave for the USA Swimming Nationals in one week.
While Mark is tapering, I am coordinating my trip to California (where the Nationals will be held). Nationals is my time to shine as a nervous swim wife. I will sit in the stands, talk with the other swimming wives, parents, brothers and sisters, chit chat with sponsors and agents (all of this sounds much more glamourous than it actually is), and pretend like I am cool, calm and collected.
I have booked flights, hired a babysitter (really it is just my mother, Turtle) to stay home with the babe, and I am in the process of planning when, where and how I'll get to meet up with old friends living in the area.
I never really knew if Mark cared that I was at his meets until last summer. Last summer was probably the most nervous either of us (Mark or I) had ever been. There were a lot of things going on (i.e. a new coach, new training arrangement, I had just quit my job in anticipation of going back to school and we were pregnant... talk about pressure!). Last summer was also the summer of the suits.
Last July, as usual, I traveled to Indy to watch Mark race. Mark's races were great (more than great as he set the American record in the 100m breaststroke and 50m breaststroke). Typically I can hope that fast swims are a result of my positive energy and loud cheering, but last summer I feel directly responsible for Mark's swims. Okay, not really. But I do feel ownership in the fact that Mark was able to wear a dry suit during the meet.
My job last summer was to serve as the Official Suit Dryer for the Gangloff family and other Auburn folks that might have needed a dry suit, too. In between prelims and finals I sat in a chair for an hour+ with a tech suit in one hand and a hair dryer in the other. Those things take FOREVER to dry on their own and we just didn't have that kind of time. So, I not only dried Mark's suit, but I also dried a suit for one of his teammates.
This summer, I do not envision myself drying any suits (not that there would be that much to dry anymore), so I expect to take my normal position in the stands.
Since I didn't get to go to France this summer as planned and read a just-for-fun fiction novel (thanks for all of the recommendations!), I will take my book with me on the plane to Cali. I am also contemplating learning to knit. Can you tell that I use my nervous energy on projects?
While Mark is tapering, I am coordinating my trip to California (where the Nationals will be held). Nationals is my time to shine as a nervous swim wife. I will sit in the stands, talk with the other swimming wives, parents, brothers and sisters, chit chat with sponsors and agents (all of this sounds much more glamourous than it actually is), and pretend like I am cool, calm and collected.
I have booked flights, hired a babysitter (really it is just my mother, Turtle) to stay home with the babe, and I am in the process of planning when, where and how I'll get to meet up with old friends living in the area.
I never really knew if Mark cared that I was at his meets until last summer. Last summer was probably the most nervous either of us (Mark or I) had ever been. There were a lot of things going on (i.e. a new coach, new training arrangement, I had just quit my job in anticipation of going back to school and we were pregnant... talk about pressure!). Last summer was also the summer of the suits.
Last July, as usual, I traveled to Indy to watch Mark race. Mark's races were great (more than great as he set the American record in the 100m breaststroke and 50m breaststroke). Typically I can hope that fast swims are a result of my positive energy and loud cheering, but last summer I feel directly responsible for Mark's swims. Okay, not really. But I do feel ownership in the fact that Mark was able to wear a dry suit during the meet.
My job last summer was to serve as the Official Suit Dryer for the Gangloff family and other Auburn folks that might have needed a dry suit, too. In between prelims and finals I sat in a chair for an hour+ with a tech suit in one hand and a hair dryer in the other. Those things take FOREVER to dry on their own and we just didn't have that kind of time. So, I not only dried Mark's suit, but I also dried a suit for one of his teammates.
This summer, I do not envision myself drying any suits (not that there would be that much to dry anymore), so I expect to take my normal position in the stands.
Since I didn't get to go to France this summer as planned and read a just-for-fun fiction novel (thanks for all of the recommendations!), I will take my book with me on the plane to Cali. I am also contemplating learning to knit. Can you tell that I use my nervous energy on projects?
Here is the round up:
Plane ticket... roughly $300
Event tickets... $45
Box of Austin Peanut Butter Crackers... $2.99
Book from the library... free
Getting to sit in the bleechers while your dear husband races for a spot on the Short Course World Championship team, the Long Course World Championship Team and the Pan Pacific Games team... PRICELESS.
If you are wondering about Mark's week-before-the-big-race routine it goes something like this...
Eat, Sleep, Swim, Massage, Rest, watch an entire season of Mad Men and repeat.
If you'd like to send him a good luck note or a few words of wisdom for this traveling swim wife as we head into this year's big meet, feel free to leave a comment or email us at everydayolympian@gmail.com.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A little press... and a mention of the wife
Check out 'our' latest interview (20 Question Tuesday with Mark Gangloff)... well, Mark's interview, but his wife (uh hem) is mentioned.
I'm not sure how I like the frequent reference to '30'
I'm not sure how I like the frequent reference to '30'
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Taper time=time to find someone to mow the lawn
We rent a home in Auburn. We are in charge of the lawn maitenance. This is not a problem most of the year. Mark typically mows the lawn.
However, taper time means that it is time to find someone else to do the job. I know, I know... I could be this someone else, but I'm not. I did mow the lawn a few times when we lived in Charlote. Let me rephrase. I did mow the lawn a few times when I lived in Charlotte and Mark was already living back in Auburn. I called Mark to just chit chat and he asked what I was doing. I said, "mowing the lawn." I could feel him rolling his eyes on the other end of the phone. It wasn't until later that I told him that while I was chatting and mowing the lawn that I was wearing the outfit that I had worn to work that day including the high heels. Evidently a work outfit, high heels, a cell phone chat and mowing the lawn don't go together. Who knew?
Now, don't take me for a diva. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but mowing the lawn (okay, and laundry, too) are things that I don't typically volunteer for. So, taper time means that it is time to find someone else to do the job.
Other things Mark does not do on taper include:
However, taper time means that it is time to find someone else to do the job. I know, I know... I could be this someone else, but I'm not. I did mow the lawn a few times when we lived in Charlote. Let me rephrase. I did mow the lawn a few times when I lived in Charlotte and Mark was already living back in Auburn. I called Mark to just chit chat and he asked what I was doing. I said, "mowing the lawn." I could feel him rolling his eyes on the other end of the phone. It wasn't until later that I told him that while I was chatting and mowing the lawn that I was wearing the outfit that I had worn to work that day including the high heels. Evidently a work outfit, high heels, a cell phone chat and mowing the lawn don't go together. Who knew?
Now, don't take me for a diva. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but mowing the lawn (okay, and laundry, too) are things that I don't typically volunteer for. So, taper time means that it is time to find someone else to do the job.
Other things Mark does not do on taper include:
- Standing up to cook dinner (this includes standing to chop, dice, or use the stove)
- Taking the dog for a walk
- Lifting, moving or rearranging furniture (sometimes we just like to change it up)
- Walking through the mall (this might just be a good excuse)
- Playing basketball, throwing a frisbee or playing vollyball
- Sitting outside in the heat
What is left?
Taper is typically when we rent entire seasons of television shows and watch all 4 DVDs in two days, go to the movies and just hang out.
But, first thing's first... I've got to find someone to mow the lawn.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Religion and tech suits
I received a comment on my facebook page a few days ago from Leah Gram... it read:
Well, Leah, you were right to think that I have an opinion about this one. And, now that you've asked, I feel compelled to run my big mouth on the topic (today and probably every so often over the course of this blog). The only problem is that my opinion has changed over the course of the last 18 months.
The other night Mark and I were eating dinner on the porch. We were recapping the Paris Open (at which he was pretty much AWESOME--if I do say so myself) and he said, "Man, I'm glad the suits are out." He was referring to the tech suits.
I remember in 2008 when Mark first slipped into a Speedo LZR he thought it was awesome. Then, last year when he wore the Jaked he felt unstoppable. The only problem was that everyone else felt this way (and it was true), too. So many people were swimming fast. Though this was great, it seemed to take the mystery, excitement and passion out of fast swims (I'm not hating on the suits... at the time, we loved them as much as the next guy).
I did not travel to the World Championships last summer with Mark (boo), but Mark later told me that world record swims were becoming so common that no one really even seemed to care (I'm sure this is an exageration). Mark says that he remembers the moment that he saw a world record swim for the first time. He says that he remembers almost all of the world record swims that he has seen since then (stroke technique, breathing patterns, celebrations at the wall). But last summer, world records were falling so fast that he doesn't quite remember them like he used to (this may also be his old age... our Old Man River is the oldest in his event most of the time); fast swims and records had become the norm.
What I loved about the suit drama was the drama (Mark hated this). I loved the discussion boards, the arguments, the meetings and rulings and the subsequent press releases. And, the suit contraversy definitely created a wave of drama. Though this drama increased television viewership and swimming conversation among non swimmers and mainstream media, it was no good for the athletes. Remind me to tell you about the time that Mark ripped his suit at nationals hours before his race and had to send everyone on, what seemed like a wild goose chase, a mission to find him a suit to wear; I hate to give the ending away but Megan Jendrick's husband was the big hero of the day.
Anyway, now that the "suits are out" I can't wait to see a world record swim (and it will happen). I can't wait to hear Rowdy Gaines shout, "He did it! He did it!" A world record swim in a textile will be a thrill for all of us waiting eagerly in the stands and a textile-only existence will ease the stress of athletes like Mark.
So, without boring those who may not know, or who may not care, about the tech suit controversy, my official opinion is...
I like fast swimming. I liked watching the fast swims in the high tech suits, but I am going to like the fast swims in textile suits, too (maybe more).
In Mark's words, "It is now back to being all about the swimming..."
My opinion, and personal angst, over what the tech suits did for sponsorship of average, everyday Olympians will come in the next few weeks.
"I have also been interested in the suit drama over the past year or so. I was wondering what your thoughts are. Or is this too much like asking about religion and politics?"
Well, Leah, you were right to think that I have an opinion about this one. And, now that you've asked, I feel compelled to run my big mouth on the topic (today and probably every so often over the course of this blog). The only problem is that my opinion has changed over the course of the last 18 months.
The other night Mark and I were eating dinner on the porch. We were recapping the Paris Open (at which he was pretty much AWESOME--if I do say so myself) and he said, "Man, I'm glad the suits are out." He was referring to the tech suits.
I remember in 2008 when Mark first slipped into a Speedo LZR he thought it was awesome. Then, last year when he wore the Jaked he felt unstoppable. The only problem was that everyone else felt this way (and it was true), too. So many people were swimming fast. Though this was great, it seemed to take the mystery, excitement and passion out of fast swims (I'm not hating on the suits... at the time, we loved them as much as the next guy).
I did not travel to the World Championships last summer with Mark (boo), but Mark later told me that world record swims were becoming so common that no one really even seemed to care (I'm sure this is an exageration). Mark says that he remembers the moment that he saw a world record swim for the first time. He says that he remembers almost all of the world record swims that he has seen since then (stroke technique, breathing patterns, celebrations at the wall). But last summer, world records were falling so fast that he doesn't quite remember them like he used to (this may also be his old age... our Old Man River is the oldest in his event most of the time); fast swims and records had become the norm.
What I loved about the suit drama was the drama (Mark hated this). I loved the discussion boards, the arguments, the meetings and rulings and the subsequent press releases. And, the suit contraversy definitely created a wave of drama. Though this drama increased television viewership and swimming conversation among non swimmers and mainstream media, it was no good for the athletes. Remind me to tell you about the time that Mark ripped his suit at nationals hours before his race and had to send everyone on, what seemed like a wild goose chase, a mission to find him a suit to wear; I hate to give the ending away but Megan Jendrick's husband was the big hero of the day.
Anyway, now that the "suits are out" I can't wait to see a world record swim (and it will happen). I can't wait to hear Rowdy Gaines shout, "He did it! He did it!" A world record swim in a textile will be a thrill for all of us waiting eagerly in the stands and a textile-only existence will ease the stress of athletes like Mark.
So, without boring those who may not know, or who may not care, about the tech suit controversy, my official opinion is...
I like fast swimming. I liked watching the fast swims in the high tech suits, but I am going to like the fast swims in textile suits, too (maybe more).
In Mark's words, "It is now back to being all about the swimming..."
My opinion, and personal angst, over what the tech suits did for sponsorship of average, everyday Olympians will come in the next few weeks.
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