Have another great week of training down, taper is well..... ummm I think on its way. I sure hope so!! I think the week after a meet is one of the hardest weeks ever, your body hurts soooo much, yet you have to do all the same training and swim just as fast if not faster than before, cause you are trying to get better!! So needless to say I have been a little bit on the tired side. I love when its 7pm on a Friday night and I am getting ready for bed already. Ahhh 12 hrs of sleep is truly glorious!
In some exciting news... It was announced on Tuesday that any swimmers who break a World Record at our up coming nationals win a car!!! How sweet is that? Not that there is anything wrong with my old car, but a sweet new 2010 Pontiac Wave,,, I wont say no to that! :)
I have been trying to get my swim from CIS to post on here, but am having a few technical difficulties... Hopefully next week it will be up.
Well that's about all I can think of for now. So I am going to post some pics, of a few random things nothing in particular!The hot springs in Greece, that everyone was covering themselves with this mud, seemed like a good idea at the time... It wasn't,,, we were stained orange for the rest of the day.
One of my favorite places Ever! I have decided, and one of the most beautiful. Oia Greece!
Lynda and I in Ios, at Harmony Grill!! So delicious and wonderful
Erica and I in Singapore, pre Beijing, glowing like the angels we are :)My ladies, Jo, Vix and Shawna out on a walk xox

Toodaloo
xox

Pancake day!!!

Yummy yummy yummy pancake Tuesday today!! Probably one of my favorite days ever cause you get to eat pancakes for dinner. I mean ya you can do that whenever you want but you actually have to eat them today!!! This however means that I have to give something up tomorrow for lent.... This year my gal Sharon and I have decided that Shopping should be that thing.. This may be the hardest thing I will ever do, shopping is my love!! There are 2 exceptions that I am allowed to breech this pact, one... I have to find a bridesmaids dress for my darling Jo's wedding, and two... If I swim super fast in 3 weeks I am allowed to treat myself.
Yesterday I experienced probably one of the WORST days of my life. So I have this acid reflux problem, and my docs wanted to check out how bad things actually were. This meant that I had to have a tube shoved up my nose, and down my throat. Now apparently this isn't supposed to be that bad, the tube should slide smoothly and the numbing gel should make it not hurt too much, my nose decided to be the difficult one... The first tube he put in was one that was to measure how I swallowed, and see how my sphincters were functioning. Holy Crap not cool! The doc tried my left nostril first, and well the tube just didn't want to go, apparently there was not a big enough space for it to get through, so he proceeds to try the next side, which is even smaller so doesn't work either. Then he goes back to the first side; all the while saying well sometimes, not often but sometimes this does not work. SO I asked well what do you do if it doesn't fit, he responded we cant do the test, but then figures he just has to be a bit more forceful. Now I don't know if you have ever been punched in the nose, or had a nose job but Cheese Sauce... NOT FUN!! but I imagine that is what this felt like, someone was ramming something too big through my nasal passage and it hurt like hell. It didn't get better from there; the tube now had to go down my throat, all the while hitting your gag reflex, so now, not only does my nose hurt like hell, and my eyes watering like mad but you can now add to it cause I am heaving and barfing my guts out. I know know why they tell you not to eat before coming in. Finally the tube was in and the doc does the 5 min test with me swallowing little amounts of water with the tube at different positions in my esophagus. Hard part done.. The tube was then taken out (not easy either on my now broken feeling nose) and another one (a much thinner one) needing to be put in. This new tube was way smaller than the first, thank the Lord, and should have gone right in. NOPE, it was still quite large for my poor delicate nose. So more pain, and more gagging, but finally it was in. Now this new tube had to stay in for 24 hrs attached to a little machine that I had to record when I ate, slept had symptoms etc. Ugh, it wasn't too bad, more irritating than anything, but every now and again when I would swallow it would pull on my nose and send pain shooting through my head. Sleeping with it was too bad, I think I was so exhausted from the weekend I passed out relatively easy. The tube was slightly pulled out when I woke up, and I couldn't get it back in so just took it out myself. RELIEF! I still have a sore nose, but at least now they will know what is happening and can come up with a solution. :)
On the swimming front, taper is about to start!!! YAY!!!! I love taper, it means that slowly training is going to come down and I am going to swim like a rocket.
I will leave you with a pic that was in the Sun paper last week of me and 2 of my little sistas.
Toodaloo
xox

2 days down,,,, OH so Close!!!

Well 2 days of the meet are finished, and wow are Canadians doing a hell of a job out here! First race of the meet started with my great friend Erica Morningstar capturing the Canadian record in the 200 free, followed up by fellow Olympian Collin Russel in the men's 200 free. What else was I supposed to do? All these friends of mine swimming so fast I just had to go in there and see what I could do. 100 breast was the event, I felt a bit slow on the out but went into the turn with some great speed and rocketed home with my fastest 2nd 50 split ever. A new best time by 1.1 seconds and a new Canadian record to boot!
The night got even more exciting from there, our T-Bird men had a PHENOMENAL race in their relay against the Calgary boys and WON!!! In another Canadian record time, it was such an awesome race, the boys put it all out there and deserve everything they got.
Some other great races of the night, Scott Dickens tied the Canadian record in the men's 100 br, lil sista Hanna won her 400 IM for the second year in a row and made FISU games this summer, and even litteler sis Grainne was quite the little rookie star and had a fabulous 100 bk moving up to 5th, and relay having the fastest split out of all 4 of us!
Day 2!
200 breast was on the menu for me today, went in this morning just had a relaxed easy swim to make it into the finals. The real business was tonight.
I have had some great training as of late so knew it was going to be a fast swim. Race went pretty much as planned, was right on world record (yes world record) pace after the first 100. The crowd was awesome cheering for me as I powered home in the last 100 trying to get as close to that time as possible. 2.18.59 was the final time, that is 86/100ths off Leisle Jones' world record time! When I get to taper over the next few weeks leading into Toronto, things should be GREAT! It definitely wasn't the perfect race, had a few slow turn, which is good to know, there are things I can fix to be faster down the road.
Maybe swimming this fast will finally get some sponsorships knocking on my door. :)
Grainne told me I should write a letter to Mr. Christian Louboutin and ask him for a sponsorship if I do break this record, haha she thinks that I should tell him I will walk out at worlds wearing his shoes!! I fully agree, I mean what better advertisement would you want than that?? So if anybody knows how to pass that on?? Let me know. :-)
Once again our men's relay was one of the swims of the night, it was a 3 way battle between us, Calgary and Toronto. Colin Russel for Toronto had one of the fastest relay splits ever in Canada to give them a commanding lead, but our boys fought until the end, with Duncan Furer having the swim of his life getting the TBirds in for their second relay win of the meet!
So far I think there have been 9 Canadian records broken here! What a meet for us Canadians!
Well, one more day to go, 3 events left for me. The 50 br, 200 IM and medley relay. I think it is time for bed, I am feeling a little pooped and it's a big day tomorrow.
Toodaloo
xoxox

It all begins here!

Well we are on the eve of my last ever meet as a T-Bird! CIS starts tomorrow, wooo hooo!!!! First event on the menu is the 100 breast, I've had some pretty good 100's in the past few races, so I am pretty pumped to see how fast I can get it tomorrow.
My momma and dadda and sistas get in tomorrow to!! EEEeeeee that's the best part of this whole weekend, that and seeing my good friends who are here from around the country.
So good luck to all my T-Bird mates and to all the other swimmers out there. History is going to be made I think this weekend, Canadian records don't stand much of a chance. Just wait for it!
Till tomorrow
xox

Back home, in good ol' Vancouver, the best place on earth :)
It was quite the long travel day, but felt awesome to finally get home, see my little sista, some friends and get back to the everyday regular home schedule.
Spent Valentines day with some girlfriends, with the typical chick flick, and junk food. Always good.
We had a girls team get together on Sunday to make posters for CIS this week, such artistic folk we are (haha) Sticking to the pool is better for most on the team :)
To finish off the weekend I went and saw the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic. Soooooo good!!! Almost a biopic of my life, but you know,,, haha it was hilarious, if you want a great laugh movie I suggest going to see this. At one point I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of my seat, and if I had to pee,,, well that would have been all sorts of bad news. It did however make me desperately want to go shopping and just spend like she does without conscience, the shoes alone ohhh especially one pair of Christian Louboutin's that I am pretty sure I would give a toe for. :) haha they are completely FABULOUS!!!! One day I will own shoes like this...
Oh they are what I dream about at night! haha What I wouldn't do for a pair of red soled Louboutin shoes.

Training this week is going to come down a little, definitely not a taper, but a few days rest is better than nothing. Racing will still be great! After all the hard training at camp there is bound to be some good results.
The other teams get here tomorrow, I think this will make things more exciting around the pool, and the meet starts Thursday.
Well until next time
toodaloo
xox

Done and Done!

Well the Florida camp is finally over.... oh man, I am pretty sure I have been hit by a few trucks and then they have backed up and hit me again....
All in all it was a pretty great camp, the weather finally warmed up, as terrible as I felt in the water, I had some pretty kick as* sets. A few of them I am really not all that sure how in the good heavens I did it. One in particular I thought I was going to strait up die right there in the middle of the pool, and the only thing left to do at the end of it all was get out of the pool lie on the deck and cry! You know it's been something great when that happens. I have to say it really is quite the feeling to know that there was nothing else left in my body after that and I truly gave my everything.
I am pretty stoked to race next weekend and see how I do. We have the CIS university championships. My last ever race as a university student, and a T-Bird, pretty sad when you come to think of it. Although I have only been a bird for 3 years, it has been quite the experience. The lady birds are just awesome, and although we aren't going to come up with a 12th title, we will die trying and I am proud to be apart of it. (Calgary just has too many girls for us to compete with, I think they have 28 more races than us, and when it's all scored that is just too much to catch up, especially when they've got some pretty amazing girls who I know are going to have phenomenal races)
One good thing about being here has been staying on the beach, the hotel was a little sketchy but the beach was AWESOME! Us girls had a bit of a dance slash picture party so here are some lovely pics for you to enjoy.
Haylee and I
Sisters looking pretty oh so pretty
And Even prettier here... hee hee
The Breaststroke girls,, team tb
Look at our talents,,, so much more than swimming, and yes that is me the one having trouble getting both feet up..
Our new friend Bro, we wanted to steal and keep forever!
Toodaloo Florida! It's been a slice, and now I must go to bed cause a 3:15 am wakeup call is coming and that SUCKS!!!
xoxox

25 Random things about me

This is a facebook post that is going around but its got some interesting stuff about me so here ya go....
Well for those of you who know me most of these things are not going to come as a surprise or anything new, I am perhaps a bit of a talker and sharer.

1. I love to talk; I love meeting people and can pretty much talk to anyone anywhere. Some people may think this is a bad thing but I love it, I love encountering new people, and talking to them.
2. I have never been shy a day in my life, and love being in front of people, I think I was born to be on stage
3. I absolutely LOVE to shop. Another thing I was born to do, and I think I am pretty good at it. I love finding a great deal, or an amazing buy.
4. On the above note,,, I HATE when people copy me,, it is one of my biggest pet peeves. My mom says I should be flattered but I love trying to be an individual so when I buy something kind of unique it really makes me mad when someone sees it and tells me oo that’s nice and then goes out and buys the same thing.
5. My friends and family are the most important people in my life, they are AMAZING!!
6. I have realized that life doesn’t always go to plan and can be pretty tough sometimes, but that being said I wouldn’t change my past at all, it has made me who I am today.
7. I hate school, always have. Love learning but hate when you are told what you need to know and studying
8. I do not apply myself when it comes to school, I squeak by and figure that is good enough
9. I know I am going to be successful in life because I am too driven and stubborn not to be. When I want to do something I pretty much never give up (this is sometimes not a good thing)
10. I am very disorganized, mostly because I procrastinate and somewhat because I am lazy.
11. I believe in fairytale love, it hasn’t happened yet but one day I know it will.
12. It had been my dream since I was 6 years old to make it to the Olympics, after 18 years it finally came true and was mind blowing.
13. My favorite moment of the Olympics was seeing my family after my 100 breast prelims and my dad was so excited he cried. This just showed me how much it meant not only to me but to my family after all I had been through
14. Swimming is my life, it takes priority over pretty much anything. I love being in the water and training, it makes me feel like home.
15. My goal is to get the tri-fecta that my coach talks about
16. I am a crier. I cry when I am happy, sad, mad, excited, or completely exhausted (kind of like today)
17. My dream job would be being either a movie star or fashion designer.
18. I not so secretly wish I were a singer; I am terrible this I know but it makes me happy and I sing all the time, everywhere no matter who hears me. (It’s a good thing I’m not shy) I love all types of music, especially country, and if I ever was a singer my dream would be to perform as Cossette in Les Miserables
19. I do not have the best eating habits, I love junk food and chocolate. I wish I didn’t have such a sweet tooth
20. I can be a very girly girl, and love the color pink, and wish I owned one of those amazing tutu’s prima ballerinas have.
21. When I grow up I want to live in either New York, Paris, Dublin or Vancouver.
22. I think traveling is one of the greatest things ever, and have been lucky enough to travel this world and have many the adventure.
23. I love Disney and kids movies. I think this comes from having so many little sisters, I always had an excuse to watch little kid movies Peter Pan is my favorite
24. I love reading a great book, I get so into them, and often laugh out loud or cry if necessary. I am also a very speedy ready
25. I should be studying for an English midterm that I am supposed to write tomorrow, but instead I am doing this….

Well hope you enjoyed
xox

I'm BACK!

After a 2 month hiatus, and much begging from my beloved fans,,,, I am Back!
It’s been a while I know so with a quick recap this was the past 2 months....
Went to Vegas, had a phenomenal time (apart from the snow that showed up.. who knew it snowed there? that and the blisters that did such damage to my feet I still have the scars 2 months later)
Went to Canmore for Christmas.... Had some amazing family time, got spoilt rotten, ate some delicious food, trained a little (went to the pool one day and there were 3 Olympians training, how cool is that? myself, Zoe Hoskins-Light- rower, and Simon Whitfield- triathlete medalist)
Came back to Vancouver to more snow than they have had in oh maybe EVER!!! What the hey? I so did not move to Vancouver for snow,,,
Had training camp here in Vancouver, went alright, way better than last year, didn't end up with any injuries wooo hoooo
New Years,,, WOOP WOOP welcome to 2009, can't believe it is already 2009, 2008 flew by so fast, but wow what a year it was, absolutely amazing.
Classes started again, ugh,, but actually in some pretty interesting classes, including a children lit class that I get to read Harry Potter in. Who could ask for a better class.
Then life got a little bit boring, school, swim, eat, sleep, and repeat
24 started!!!! Oh I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jack Bauer and Tony Almeda!!! They are so bad ass, what an amazing show.
We had our Can West championships in Victoria, the T-Birds had a pretty awesome meet, but Calgary just has so many more swimmers than us, they out scored us by a mile. I was pretty impressed with how I swam there, both of my races were faster than my results from CIS last year, which at the time were both Canadian records, so pretty good times to start the year with.
We have had some death training lately, I swear the better I get the harder Joe gets with me. I know this is a good thing but it doesn't make it any easier. It does however get me pretty pumped for the season ahead.
The weekend after Can West we had the annual BC Sr champs, with a top prize of 2500$ for the top swimmer of the meet. Your best 2 swims prelims and finals were added up and averaged. I ended up winning by about .5 of a point. WOO HOO, I can pay the bills for another month. Gotta love being an athlete in Canada, money just flows in..... (cough*cough)
Since the beginning of February I have been down in Ft Lauderdale Florida training with our National center swimmers. Things are going well, apart from Florida being the coldest it has been in years.... (I think I have bad luck with weather this year) Feeling pretty dead, but I know it will be worth it in the end. We have our university national championships in a week and a half, I am pumped! I love CIS and this is my 5th and final year racing as a T-Bird, one of the best parts is it's on home turf and almost my whole family is going to be there and countless amounts of friends!!
Well I guess that is all for now, enjoy the recap and stay tuned for incoming posts
Toodaloo
xox