Eileen Swanson's Tales

I ran into some friends and athletes that I coach this morning at the club. It was so great to see them and so awesome to see how hard they were working. Sometimes we forget that it really does take patience and ALOT of HARD WORK to get to where we want to in sport. At times I think we want, want, want and forget about how much work, work, work it takes to reach our goals and dreams!

One of my friends that I hadn’t seen in quite some time wanted to ask me some questions about gymnastics. Her daughter is currently a Level 4 and almost ready to start competing. Very exciting times. So, Mo wanted to ask me all about growing up as a gymnast, the sacrifices my parents had to make, how hard it was to have friends at school (when your gym teammates become your family), and if I would want my kids (assuming I will have some oneday) to go through this process. It took me back in time for sure and I was reminded of how hard I worked back in the day. I need to remember this everytime I am out training this year! I really do want to have an amazing season and I really do KNOW HOW and WANT to work my butt off

I loved sharing my experiences with Mo today!! We could have talked all day, but unfortunately we were both in a hurry to get somewhere. So, we’ll have to chat more soon! What a great feeling to be able to share our own experiences to help others!!

Back to relaxing before getting back to working my butt off next week!!

You know who your true friends are when things aren’t going so great! You REALLY TRULY know who they are. They are there for you through ups and downs no matter what. I made some major changes in my life this entire year AND it was through these changes that I was clearly able to see who would stand by my side. I want to say thank you to all of my friends out there who have always stood by me. Yesterday I attempted a very tough and unique event. Of all events out there, I decided to finish out the TriCal series with an ‘off season’ attempt at an ITU Pan American Cup. Yea, you can call me crazy, but I wanted to see what it was like to toe the line with the BEST of the BEST in short course. Also, I had some series prize money on the line and I just needed to start the race. Plus it was a 40 min drive from my house!

So, after a rocky road this year, a couple of weeks off in October due to illness, I wanted to see what it would be like to test my long course, slow twitch fitness at this fast twitch event You can say what you want, but it is only those that are brave enough to TRY and TRY again and get up time and time again that will someday reach their dreams. It was an exhilirating feeling to be in the company of athletes whom I have met over the years and who have risen to the top of the sport but who continue to be humble as ever! In true ITU style we all lined up on a pontoon and waited for the gun to go off. I had an awesome dive, made it straight to the front sandwiched between 2 awesome athletes and started the long journey to becoming the best that I can possibly be. This was the start of an amazing journey that I know and truly believe will flourish someday.

I had alot to learn and take in on the swim, I now know what I need to do to get closer to those top girls, aside from swimming more than 2xs-3xs a week. I knew I would exit with some girls and I did. It was not a great swim time for me, but you know what? I hung in there, I learned so much, and it made me hungrier for more. The rest of the race was filled with more and more firsts and I have to admit it was humbling at times, but every single one of those top girls went through this before. I talked to several of the girls post race and they said it is a tough road and that they were once in my shoes and they kept fighting. So I will continue to fight, work as hard as I can, and I WILL get there someday. As I have said before PATIENCE and BELIEVING are key AND no one can take that away from me. It is up to me and people can say what they want to say, but this is my DREAM and my desire and I am NOT giving up.

** Oh and I did get the series prize money, a check for $900

2008 has been a year filled with joy, laughter, frustration, excitement, disappointment, and best of all ALOT of LEARNING!! I would not trade these exeperiences in for anything. Although I would have LOVED to have had an amazing, fulfilling season, I am happy to say that I learned so much from all of my rough and not so stellar races.

I hired a new coach at the beginning of the year and I was super excited about the possibility of learning and growing and most all becoming a better triathlete. I had previously trained no more than 8-10 hours a week and had some good results. So I thought that with the new coach, new program of 1.5 to 2 times the volume, I would see gains in performance. I followed the plan to a T. I did all I could with also working 50 hours a week. I soon realized that I was not getting in enough recovery time. I was working hard, killing myself at times, and seeing improvements in training, but come race day I never had it. I was not used to training through races and I now know this is not for everyone. Good for those that can do it and handle the stress on their bodies, but this was not what my body could handle. After several training camps, with training time in the 25-30 hour range, I had some great fitness gains, but again, I never rested enough to actually let this show in my races. I did however have the GREATEST EXPERIENCES ever at these camps. It was all because of the awesome girls who I trained with, roomed with, and chatted the nights away with. They all taught me so much and I hope that I helped them out too. My favorite camp of all times was in Noosa, Aus! What a great memory!

After the last camp of the year in Victoria, I had gotten really sick. I was just coming off of IM Lou, an ITU race and then trying to push my body hard again at a camp. It was not happening and I was not communicating the way I wanted to with my coach. I do not think he realized how serious my sickness was and that I was dangerously close to completely shutting down. Sometimes coaches just don’t ‘get us’ and as much as we try and try to make it work, it just is not the right chemistry. And that is OK. It doesn’t mean that one person is completely at fault, it’s just not the right fit for everyone.

It took me close to 4 weeks to get back to feeling like my self again, perky and ready to GO! Thanks to some good friends and awesome communicators (ELF and Jen H), I was able to get back to training and feeling like I had some POP and liveliness again! I have to say that communication is KEY to any coach/athlete relationship. If that is not there and the coach doesnt ‘get you’ then it is not a perfect fit. I am HAPPY to say that Jen H is the RIGHT fit for me!

Cheers to a successful and most of all FUN 2009!

E

Thanks CY for asking me if I was on page 66 of Triathlete Mag I would have never known that Team ALCiS had a nice 4 page article and some pics. Team ALCiS kicked some serious butt this year. My teammates did amazing! I am so happy to be a part of such an awesome group of sweet, cool and talented athletes. It has been an honor!

Hope you all had a great Halloween and fresh start to a new month. November will be a GREAT month, I just know it. As I said in my previous post, it feels so great to have a fresh start. I was not happy with how some ’stuff’ played out over the past year, so I made some important changes and can confidently say that I now feel the love. Aside from my past sports experiences, I never knew how important it was in our sport to have a coach “have your back and BELIEVE in you” 100% of the time. Not just SAY IT, but actually mean it and whole heartedly believe it. Wow, believing and following through can make a HUGE difference!! I am super excited for GREAT things to come in the future…….

Happy November!!