It's been a while since I've updated this. I'll try to do a better job at this.

So as all the dual meets for high school have finished, the real intense part of high school swimming is starting to arise. Yesterday was prelims of Districts. It was held at Lee District. My coach was very impressed with my team's times and splits. I'm very proud of my team through the team captain's perspective.

My coach decided that it would be fun for me to swim the 50 free and the 100 breast for Districts this year. To be honest, I was not at all excited about the 50 free. I am so not a sprinter, and my defects are that I am short and I get "stuck" on the wall when I flip turn. What I mean by "stuck" is that I have a slow turn, and I get sorta "stuck" on the wall when everyone else is pushing off. My club coach and I are trying to fix this problem now. I mean, I'm not a sprinter, but I can do it. I can keep up with everyone that first lap, but then my turn kills the race and I end up playing catch up with everyone else. So I swam the 50 free last night, and my time was a 26.60. Not too shabby for a girl who is 5' 2''.

My 100 breast race on the other hand, was a success! I went into that race worried and nervous; worried because I haven't been down around my best time (1:08.11) for a long time now, and nervous because I so badly wanted to get my states cut (1:08.89). I thought to myself, "Just swim a 1:09 at least. I will be happy with that." I just decided that I will swim my hardest and be proud of my time. I think what also bugged me a little before the race was the fact that it was my LAST Districts ever!

But I swam the 100 breast, and the first thing I heard was my dad asking me what the states cut was. I told him, "1:08.89." He then turns to my timers and says to me, "I think you just got your states cut." With the biggest smile on my face, I got out of the water and headed towards my team area. My coach was there to congratulate me. My time was a 1:08.58, and I am now seated FIRST for the 100 breast stroke in my District.

Tonight are the finals for Districts, so things will be more intense. But again, I'm just going to swim my heart out and see what happens.
Hopefully I can get my time down to at least a 1:06 for Jr. Nationals when Regionals and States come around in the upcoming weeks. (:

-Rachel



PS. I got my first acceptance letter to Cleveland State University (: