Thank you, Mutual of Omaha!

We had an exciting weekend in Atlanta at Duel in the Pool, sponsored by Mutual of Omaha (the great company that also takes good care of Mark). This was Mark's 4th appearance at Duel in the Pool. It has taken him to LA (2005), Australia (2007), Manchester (2009-2 weeks after Annabelle was born), and back to good ol' Hotlanta (2011). It is a fun meet for the athletes because the format is that of a college duel meet. Short and sweet (perfect for swim wives with 2-year olds).

The meet kicked off on Friday night at 7pm. There were some great swims-records were broken. This meet, and any other meet this time of year, is always a little quirky. Some athletes are fully shaved and tapered, others are a little rested, and some are in the midst of getting their butts kicked in practice. So, needless to say there is a wide range of performances. Mark is came down in his training a little bit this week, but was not shaved and tapered. So, rather than really compare himself to others, he had to focus on himself and make comparisons to previous years and other in-season swims.

This meet was also short course meters--which totally throws me off. Typically Mark swims long course (50m long) meters. College swimming is short course yards. So, when Mark swam others spectators would look at me and say, "Was that a good swim?" Heck if I know... I just look to Mark's face. Blank stare=not a good swim... a hint of emotion or life=decent swim... fist pump and flexing of the biceps (I've only seen this once)=swim of a lifetime.

I got a hint of life after both races (100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke), so I deduced that both swims were decent.

Mark did get DQ'd in the 200 breast. Bummer. Sad, really, because after talking with Mark's father (who remembers each of Mark's swims to the 100th of a second), it was really a pretty solid swim for Mark. Why the DQ? Something about not separating his hands before he kicked on the pull out.

All in all it was a successful weekend. Saw some old friends (a quick shout out to Aunt Lala, Dr. Ross and Baby Dash!), watched some good racing, and had fun at our slumber party with fellow swim wife, Julianne McGill.

Thanks, again, Mutual of Omaha... you ROCK!

Back in the race of things

The last few weeks have been characterized by treading water. With a trip to Italy (yes, I actually made the flight), the holidays, and Nationals the Gangloffs have been on the road and in the water.

First things first. I feel as though I owe you brief commentary about our trip to Italy. Last time I tried to travel with Mark to an exotic destination sans baby it was a complete disaster (read about it here). This time, nervous to jinx it, I hardly spoke of our planned trip to Bolzano, Italy. No, it was not some fancy luxurious vacation, it was for a swim meet, but Mark and I got to go together, enjoy long dinner with friends, and watch whatever movies we wanted on the plane (our 2-year old stayed at home with Grandma). We traveled with the McGills. It was lovely. We drank wine, ate pasta, and race. Well, I watched, Mark raced. He raced pretty well and even won a box of apples, which we had to give away because after all what were we going to to with a box of apples in Bolzano when we were leaving the next morning?

Last night we, my new swim wife partner in crime, Julianne, drove to Atlanta last night to cheer for the boys at nationals. Mark and Tyler did well considering they were not shaved and tapered and Tyler is fresh off of a honeymoon (Congrats, McGills!). Mark was 4th and Ty was 2nd in their respective events. Mark went a 1:01.0. Not bad and much better than he has been known to swim this time of year. We'll chalk this up to a good race and a great starting point heading into 2012.

After dinner we met our dear friends, Richard Long (Auburn Unviersity Assistant coach) and Pat Calhoun (2000 Olympic breaststroker) for dinner. We told inappropriate stories from college for almost two hours before us girls, Julianne, Annabelle, and I loaded up for the long drive home.

Mark swam again today. I watched. I didn't text Mark but rather waited for his call. He called and said, "Well, that was painful." Yep... I could tell. Our everyday Olympian went out a little too fast to hold on for a full 200. Oh well.

We'll be heading back to Atlanta in two weeks for Dual in the Pool. Will you be there? Will you be watching? As always... we need your speedy wishes and fast thoughts. A prayer or two wouldn't hurt either.

Click here link to the live streaming of U.S. Nationals.

Congrats!

Congratulations to...

BILL WEBBER

Because you follow this blog, are eternally cheering for Mark (if this is not true, don't tell me), and a swimmer, swimmer at hear, swim parent or swim fan (I don't know you personally, but can assume that you fall into one of the aforementioned categories), you have won our random drawing for an autographed copy of Mark's book!

Please send your mailing address to: everydayolympian@gmail.com and we'll get your book in the mail (this makes for a great stocking stuffer right in time for the holidays--yay for you!)

PS- stay tuned for commentary and pics from our trip to Italy... this was Mark's mulligan from our France debacle. If you've forgotten about our French flop you can read about it here.