I have been meaning to get this posting up for a few days, but between getting caught up on sleep (almost there), the 100 emails I needed to reply to and getting ready for swim lessons I just didn’t get a chance to until today.
Upon our arrival to the Harrisburg airport there was a remarkable scene….one that makes you reflect on just what is important in life. Ahead of us in the walk to the baggage claim was a solider dressed in uniform…as he walked through the gate there were a collection of family and friends. He was met with little American flags waving, cameras flashing, hugs and tears. I couldn’t help but to stop and admire the sight….for me it was an amazing sense of pride and patriotism (and I didn’t even know the dude).
Just something special about a solider coming home…awesome, just awesome.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Dinner & Riot
Last I left you I was headed to bed…a nice peaceful rest up before our long travel day home…never happened.
(not so evil) Ed, (Fairmont Coach) Pat and myself had a nice dinner at Shula’s … so nice that the menu didn’t include prices on stuff … so nice that when you add up the bill for the 3 of us we used a weeks worth of per diem…each. Good news was the Coach Denny (Ed) was buying. Holy crap was that a good lobster bisque, steak, and steak fries (in hind site I didn’t need the $7 french fries)
Made my way up to the room shortly after dinner and was met with a really loud ruckus … turns out the wrestlers staying in the room next to Pat and myself had scored themselves a lot of “adult beverages” and from the sounds coming from most of the floors they weren’t alone. (side note: strongly worded email is headed the way of the institution…that behavior is unacceptable on any level)
The party lasted well into the night … around 2:30am (having still not slept a wink) the ridiculously loud screaming/cheering began….it lasted a good little bit and by around 3am. Since we were meeting in the lobby at 4am, I decided to get dressed and head down. The lobby was full of 30 or 40 Houston Police officers … there was streams of toilet paper everywhere and the gentleman behind the desk was holding ice on his head (found out a bottle through from above hit him…unbelieveable).
We ended up not being able to check out for about 30 to 40 minutes while they were sorting out the mess…so we got a late start to the airport, eventually got there in plenty of time to return the rental car and hope a shuttle.
Decent flight to Philly (had a dude on our plane pass out and scare the wits out of everyone for a little bit … turned out he was okay, paramedics me him at the gate to check him out). Enjoyed 2 large slices of Sbarro pizza and a huge mountain dew…taking of shortly.
To aid my sleeping on the plane ride I bought a nice horseshoe travel pillow in the color scheme of the Texas flag.
Can’t wait to be home!
(not so evil) Ed, (Fairmont Coach) Pat and myself had a nice dinner at Shula’s … so nice that the menu didn’t include prices on stuff … so nice that when you add up the bill for the 3 of us we used a weeks worth of per diem…each. Good news was the Coach Denny (Ed) was buying. Holy crap was that a good lobster bisque, steak, and steak fries (in hind site I didn’t need the $7 french fries)
Made my way up to the room shortly after dinner and was met with a really loud ruckus … turns out the wrestlers staying in the room next to Pat and myself had scored themselves a lot of “adult beverages” and from the sounds coming from most of the floors they weren’t alone. (side note: strongly worded email is headed the way of the institution…that behavior is unacceptable on any level)
The party lasted well into the night … around 2:30am (having still not slept a wink) the ridiculously loud screaming/cheering began….it lasted a good little bit and by around 3am. Since we were meeting in the lobby at 4am, I decided to get dressed and head down. The lobby was full of 30 or 40 Houston Police officers … there was streams of toilet paper everywhere and the gentleman behind the desk was holding ice on his head (found out a bottle through from above hit him…unbelieveable).
We ended up not being able to check out for about 30 to 40 minutes while they were sorting out the mess…so we got a late start to the airport, eventually got there in plenty of time to return the rental car and hope a shuttle.
Decent flight to Philly (had a dude on our plane pass out and scare the wits out of everyone for a little bit … turned out he was okay, paramedics me him at the gate to check him out). Enjoyed 2 large slices of Sbarro pizza and a huge mountain dew…taking of shortly.
To aid my sleeping on the plane ride I bought a nice horseshoe travel pillow in the color scheme of the Texas flag.
Can’t wait to be home!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
200 back finals
This afternoon’s lunch was a revisit of our first meal here in Houston … Freebirds. We brought along Longhorn Swim Camp vetern & IUP GA coach Kim to join us. Um, delish. I enjoyed a monster and chips … of course there was Dew involved.
Got back, to the hotel and hung out in anticipation for finals.
We had to sit through 2 heats of the mile and 4 heats of the 100 free (NOTE: the greatest male swimmer in d2 had a record broken today … Ben Michelson had his 100 free record by a .03 seconds, lots of records broken this weekend and to see one of his go is just flat our impressive) awards and then the 200 backstroke.
Amanda was very relaxed and just seemed excited…about the most relaxed I have ever seen her before a big race. Her first 50 was faster than this morning but instead of rocking it out in the 2nd 50 she pumped the brakes a little bit and kept it under control. She let up a little too much at the 3rd 50, but was able to close it out strong to finish faster than this morning. Another Honorable Mention All American performance … and proving that she is one of the best swimmers in all of d2.
It was a long weekend, but I am looking forward to the future…LHU now has a 4 time All American swimmer, not bad.
We are meeting to leave at 4am…bright and early!
6amish flight to Philly … 2hourish layover there then to Harrisburg … then back to the Haven.
Got back, to the hotel and hung out in anticipation for finals.
We had to sit through 2 heats of the mile and 4 heats of the 100 free (NOTE: the greatest male swimmer in d2 had a record broken today … Ben Michelson had his 100 free record by a .03 seconds, lots of records broken this weekend and to see one of his go is just flat our impressive) awards and then the 200 backstroke.
Amanda was very relaxed and just seemed excited…about the most relaxed I have ever seen her before a big race. Her first 50 was faster than this morning but instead of rocking it out in the 2nd 50 she pumped the brakes a little bit and kept it under control. She let up a little too much at the 3rd 50, but was able to close it out strong to finish faster than this morning. Another Honorable Mention All American performance … and proving that she is one of the best swimmers in all of d2.
It was a long weekend, but I am looking forward to the future…LHU now has a 4 time All American swimmer, not bad.
We are meeting to leave at 4am…bright and early!
6amish flight to Philly … 2hourish layover there then to Harrisburg … then back to the Haven.
200 back prelims
Not the result we were looking for .... ended up going about the same time as the final at PSAC and 12th going into tonight's final. Took it out super quick (58.8) and just got a little tired towards the end. We will give it a nice long warm up and control that first 100 and bring it on home to bust out another fast swim.
Longer afternoon today, as the first event tonight is the 1650...which is right after the senior rec, so no big rush to get there. Probably leave in the 4:15/4:30 range.
Longer afternoon today, as the first event tonight is the 1650...which is right after the senior rec, so no big rush to get there. Probably leave in the 4:15/4:30 range.
Friday, March 13, 2009
100 back finals
We took the short drive to the pool around 3:45 … and were one of the first groups of people there (emptyish pool warm up). There were 4 heats of the 500, all of when went really fast … then her heat of the 100 back. She was in lane 2, seeded 13th … by the end of the race she finished 13th and honorable mention All-American….but, I get ahead of myself.
Amanda looked excited and confident as the referee whistled …. Take our mark … stand down (F bomb…sorry mah) {non swimming people … when the starter says stand down it means relax, b/c are going to start over} I HATE it when the starter says stand down. I am sure it bothers me wayyyy more than it bothers Amanda, but oh well, nothing I can do about it.
Take your mark …. Beep … {non swimming people … the beep starts the race} Amanda looked great getting to the wall and a breakout…first 25 was the same as this mornings 25. (13.5ish). the turn was a bit of ummm …. well, it was a C minus, just kinda got jammed. Which made her 2nd 25 a bit slower (by 2 tenths of a second). The rest of the race was a bit of a blur as I was moderately light headed from all the whistling I was doing…but she ended up going a lifetime best, school record 57.09 … again, staying 13th place. She went out slower, but brought it back MUCH faster than this morning. {non swimming people….this is a good sign for the 200 backstroke}
Amanda rewarded herself with room service (don’t worry Sharon {my boss} this was a special treat from her mom for a job well done) … well earned. Hope the meal properly fuels her for a killer 200 backstroke tomorrow…where she will be re-visiting lane 2, in the first of three circle seeded heats. {non swimming people … the circle seed is not very easy to explain in writing, so I won’t}
Going to go for a little jog on the treadmill then catch the second half of the WVU / Syracuse game.
Let’s Go……
{non-wvu fans … that is the start of a WVU cheer}
Amanda looked excited and confident as the referee whistled …. Take our mark … stand down (F bomb…sorry mah) {non swimming people … when the starter says stand down it means relax, b/c are going to start over} I HATE it when the starter says stand down. I am sure it bothers me wayyyy more than it bothers Amanda, but oh well, nothing I can do about it.
Take your mark …. Beep … {non swimming people … the beep starts the race} Amanda looked great getting to the wall and a breakout…first 25 was the same as this mornings 25. (13.5ish). the turn was a bit of ummm …. well, it was a C minus, just kinda got jammed. Which made her 2nd 25 a bit slower (by 2 tenths of a second). The rest of the race was a bit of a blur as I was moderately light headed from all the whistling I was doing…but she ended up going a lifetime best, school record 57.09 … again, staying 13th place. She went out slower, but brought it back MUCH faster than this morning. {non swimming people….this is a good sign for the 200 backstroke}
Amanda rewarded herself with room service (don’t worry Sharon {my boss} this was a special treat from her mom for a job well done) … well earned. Hope the meal properly fuels her for a killer 200 backstroke tomorrow…where she will be re-visiting lane 2, in the first of three circle seeded heats. {non swimming people … the circle seed is not very easy to explain in writing, so I won’t}
Going to go for a little jog on the treadmill then catch the second half of the WVU / Syracuse game.
Let’s Go……
{non-wvu fans … that is the start of a WVU cheer}
friday lunch / entertainment
I had me some wendy's for lunch ... a spicy chicken sandwich. Happy to report that wendy's hasn't bought into the "texas hot" fad and it was a delish meal.
This afternoon in between dozing on and off I watched the Maury show. This was a special update episode...the kind that updates all the past guests. What makes this type of show so awesome is that they don't just have a few guests in the studio but they go rapid fire style through the traditional Maury stories.
My favorite "update" was the person who brought her boyfriend on to the show have him take a polygraph to see if he was cheating...naturally he was, she forgave him and they were a happy couple again. On a different episode she brought him back to the show to confess that she was in fact cheating on him..."oh my goodness"...they have since broken up and she'd like the world to know she is single and looking.
This afternoon in between dozing on and off I watched the Maury show. This was a special update episode...the kind that updates all the past guests. What makes this type of show so awesome is that they don't just have a few guests in the studio but they go rapid fire style through the traditional Maury stories.
My favorite "update" was the person who brought her boyfriend on to the show have him take a polygraph to see if he was cheating...naturally he was, she forgave him and they were a happy couple again. On a different episode she brought him back to the show to confess that she was in fact cheating on him..."oh my goodness"...they have since broken up and she'd like the world to know she is single and looking.
100 back prelims
Ended up falling alseep last night to the Syracuse / UCONN game … just couldn’t make it through the 6 OT’s it took to see the end. Woke up pretty much super duper early … checked the online tracking for the suit that was being fed-ex’d … saw it was on the truck for delivery and went downstairs to wait for it. Somewhere between my checking and the elevator ride down 18 floors the suit arrived.
We jumped into the car and made our way to the pool. Another cold and rainy day.
The suit fit like a glove … maybe a little snugger, and Amanda had a really great warm up. Did some 25’s and they may have been her 3 best 25’s ever. Then a long delay while the 12 heats of mens and womens 500 freestyles competed.
Amanda was seeded 17th and by the end of the race was 13th. Had a great start and her fastest (by 2 tenths) first 50 ever, backed off on the 3rd 25 and come home really strong. She felt, and Katie noticed as well, that she had a lot left in the end.
Key to tonight’s race will be to keep the same first 50 (if not a hair faster) and bring it home super strong. Amanda is a tremendous racer and I think that she will do great tonight.
I need a nap.
Headed back to the pool at 3:45.
We jumped into the car and made our way to the pool. Another cold and rainy day.
The suit fit like a glove … maybe a little snugger, and Amanda had a really great warm up. Did some 25’s and they may have been her 3 best 25’s ever. Then a long delay while the 12 heats of mens and womens 500 freestyles competed.
Amanda was seeded 17th and by the end of the race was 13th. Had a great start and her fastest (by 2 tenths) first 50 ever, backed off on the 3rd 25 and come home really strong. She felt, and Katie noticed as well, that she had a lot left in the end.
Key to tonight’s race will be to keep the same first 50 (if not a hair faster) and bring it home super strong. Amanda is a tremendous racer and I think that she will do great tonight.
I need a nap.
Headed back to the pool at 3:45.
thursday part 2
We continued our off day with some high quality rest and relaxation. I revisited the "texas hot" chinese food place ... they redeemed themselves big time with their chicken and noodle dish. The gentleman in front of me ordered the beef and onion special and it looked quite appealing …
Terray spent the afternoon sleeping for multiple hours. We went to the pool in enough time to watch some swimming and the diving warm ups … then went on a mission to find some dinner. Last year’s nationals was way easier to find some dining options … not that Houston has fewer options, but the options include parking, traffic and going out of our way to get there. (how did anybody get anywhere before the GPS was invented?)
After finding a pitch black IHOP in the not so nice part of town we settled on quiznos … not Amanda’s favorite, but it was getting late and with a big day of swimming tomorrow it was time to grab and go.
Speaking of tomorrow…we have the 100 back. Last year Amanda went a 57.14 in prelims to be seeded 8th going into finals. I think this year it will take a 56.7ish to make it back into the top 8 and the 57.1 just to make it back into consols (9th-16th). Amanda is seeded 17th and is in the final heat lane 7 … a good place to be as long as she doesn’t try to look up at the clock after her first 50 (I should mention that the timing system scoreboard is right above lane 7 and 8) … we need the first 50 to be at least a 27.
We are going with the back up suit … during the 50 the Tracer Rise filled with some water and Amanda wants to go with something she knows and trusts … so we are going back to the Tracer Light (same suit as last year). We had to have one Fed Ex’d to the hotel from Lock Haven (thanks KIM ………… and pam for helping us out).
Terray spent the afternoon sleeping for multiple hours. We went to the pool in enough time to watch some swimming and the diving warm ups … then went on a mission to find some dinner. Last year’s nationals was way easier to find some dining options … not that Houston has fewer options, but the options include parking, traffic and going out of our way to get there. (how did anybody get anywhere before the GPS was invented?)
After finding a pitch black IHOP in the not so nice part of town we settled on quiznos … not Amanda’s favorite, but it was getting late and with a big day of swimming tomorrow it was time to grab and go.
Speaking of tomorrow…we have the 100 back. Last year Amanda went a 57.14 in prelims to be seeded 8th going into finals. I think this year it will take a 56.7ish to make it back into the top 8 and the 57.1 just to make it back into consols (9th-16th). Amanda is seeded 17th and is in the final heat lane 7 … a good place to be as long as she doesn’t try to look up at the clock after her first 50 (I should mention that the timing system scoreboard is right above lane 7 and 8) … we need the first 50 to be at least a 27.
We are going with the back up suit … during the 50 the Tracer Rise filled with some water and Amanda wants to go with something she knows and trusts … so we are going back to the Tracer Light (same suit as last year). We had to have one Fed Ex’d to the hotel from Lock Haven (thanks KIM ………… and pam for helping us out).
Thursday, March 12, 2009
thursday
The rockin' Houston weather turned chilly overnight ... from 80ish to 50ish. (won't keep me from hitting up smoothy king) We drove to the pool at 8am (about the same time we are going to head over tomorrow) ... Amanda was able to get some "stim" with the trainer and said she felt great after it. We did some starts and ended with a fast 50. Watched a few of the swims this morning and then hit the tunnel for some lunch.
A rather uneventful day so far ... heading over to the pool tonight at 5pm.
A rather uneventful day so far ... heading over to the pool tonight at 5pm.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Texas Hot
So after returning from the morning session I did a little blogging (see below) before heading to lunch...I decided to get an Asian inspired meal. I saw on the menu a Generals Chicken and I think to myself, I pretty much love me some General Tso chicken so how much different can this version be. The menu did say ‘hot’ but they always say ‘hot’ when refereeing to the great General Tso and it usually isn’t all that hot. Well down here in Texas when the menu says hot, you best bet your britches that (expletive) is going to be spicy hot. It is about 10 hours later and my stomach is still on fire.
We went back to the pool for Amanda to splash around and watch some more national records get broken…this year’s meet is crazy fast. Day off tomorrow, but we are going to keep the pre-race routine in tact…just leaving a little bit earlier in an attempt to swim with fewer people in the pool.
We went back to the pool for Amanda to splash around and watch some more national records get broken…this year’s meet is crazy fast. Day off tomorrow, but we are going to keep the pre-race routine in tact…just leaving a little bit earlier in an attempt to swim with fewer people in the pool.
The Fairmont Connection
Myself, (evil) Ed Denny, (fairmont coach) Pat
For those who don't know the story ... California University of PA's coach, Ed Denny, was my coach during all 4 years of college swimming at Fairmont State College. After my senior year Coach Denny went to Cal to start the team. Pat was a 5th year senior during my freshman year, a 6th year senior during my sophomore year and I am pretty sure a 7th year senior during my junior year. After Ed went to Cal, Pat took over at Fairmont (somewhere in there he finished his Masters at WVU).
We got a 'Fairmont Connection' T shirt for NCAA's
wednesday morning
Amanda had the 50 free today. Not a super awesome result, but it could have been a lot worse. We added a few hundreths of a second to the seed time...just jammed turn and left hand finish (we hoped it worked out for a right hand finish...much stronger). She is a little bummed but we didn't come here to swim the 50 free as much as we did for the backstrokes. She is a very strong swimmer who gets better the more she swims (up to 200 yards, lol). I remain nothing but confident that her backstrokes (aka the bread and butter) will be faster than ever.
We will head to the pool this evening to splash around a little bit and watch a few races then head out for another delish dinner.
We will head to the pool this evening to splash around a little bit and watch a few races then head out for another delish dinner.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Stolen Pictures from Katie :-)
~Not Scuba Steve ... Scuba Amanda
~Palm Trees do grow in Texas
~Opening Ceremony
~Hard Rock Cafe ... No Mrs Terray (and Sharon) that is not an illegal beverage she is drinking there
tuesday
Today was a pretty solid day.
After our morning swim (which went pretty well ... Amanda looks great in the water) we hit up the UH bookstore and have to say all 3 of us were fairly disappointed with the selection of paraphernalia. Amanda bought her stock nalgene bottle…and then found the sonic on campus for lunch (last year with her sister Dorothy she purchased a lucky 44 ounce apple juice slushy…so this year the fact that she purchased the same slushy this year is a good sign). Speaking of lucky drinks, I think I will purchase the stock moderately over priced hotel mountain dew tomorrow morning on the way to the pool for the 50 free.
The coaches meeting was interesting to say the least … lots of items on the agenda, but it was kicked off with a bang when they announced that, pending the approval of the NCAA championship committee in April, the 2010 NCAA’s will be held in Canton Ohio and that the 2011 national championships will be held in San Antonio … (again, all pending approval meaning not quite official just yet)
PS – Lock Haven University will be the host institution of the 2010 meet in Canton … (did I mention it was pending approval in April) so it is kind of a big deal for us.
Amanda and I ventured out to the verizon store to save her phone from the fate of being pitched off of the 9th floor balcony into a million pieces … they had to re-program it, which took 30 minutesish, so we hit the grocery store in the same complex. I bought some lucky gum for Katie and lucky hot tamalales for myself.
PSS – I think I forgot to mention that rooms got messed up upon check in and we had 1 less room upon check in … long story short, (Fairmont) Coach Pat and I are roommates…and since he is one of the SID’s for FSC …. I mean FSU, he purchased the world wide web access for his computer which I am utilizing right now.
Opening Ceremonies was held at the Houston Aquarium … really cool stuff, a lot of student athletes. (Indoor Track and Field along with Wrestling are having their national championships here at the same time). We rode the bus over with some friendly wrestlers from San Francisco State University…We ate some super delish shrimp, chicken, and some steak option as well. Kate and Amanda scored some free sunglasses.
Arrived back at the hotel where I am going to hit the tredmill … and crash out.
50 free tomorrow … heat 3 of 9 … lane 6. And not that I put much stock in seed times at this meet but in Amanda’s heat the fastest time is a 24.39 … the slowest is a 24.49 (Amanda’s seed is a 24.42).
After our morning swim (which went pretty well ... Amanda looks great in the water) we hit up the UH bookstore and have to say all 3 of us were fairly disappointed with the selection of paraphernalia. Amanda bought her stock nalgene bottle…and then found the sonic on campus for lunch (last year with her sister Dorothy she purchased a lucky 44 ounce apple juice slushy…so this year the fact that she purchased the same slushy this year is a good sign). Speaking of lucky drinks, I think I will purchase the stock moderately over priced hotel mountain dew tomorrow morning on the way to the pool for the 50 free.
The coaches meeting was interesting to say the least … lots of items on the agenda, but it was kicked off with a bang when they announced that, pending the approval of the NCAA championship committee in April, the 2010 NCAA’s will be held in Canton Ohio and that the 2011 national championships will be held in San Antonio … (again, all pending approval meaning not quite official just yet)
PS – Lock Haven University will be the host institution of the 2010 meet in Canton … (did I mention it was pending approval in April) so it is kind of a big deal for us.
Amanda and I ventured out to the verizon store to save her phone from the fate of being pitched off of the 9th floor balcony into a million pieces … they had to re-program it, which took 30 minutesish, so we hit the grocery store in the same complex. I bought some lucky gum for Katie and lucky hot tamalales for myself.
PSS – I think I forgot to mention that rooms got messed up upon check in and we had 1 less room upon check in … long story short, (Fairmont) Coach Pat and I are roommates…and since he is one of the SID’s for FSC …. I mean FSU, he purchased the world wide web access for his computer which I am utilizing right now.
Opening Ceremonies was held at the Houston Aquarium … really cool stuff, a lot of student athletes. (Indoor Track and Field along with Wrestling are having their national championships here at the same time). We rode the bus over with some friendly wrestlers from San Francisco State University…We ate some super delish shrimp, chicken, and some steak option as well. Kate and Amanda scored some free sunglasses.
Arrived back at the hotel where I am going to hit the tredmill … and crash out.
50 free tomorrow … heat 3 of 9 … lane 6. And not that I put much stock in seed times at this meet but in Amanda’s heat the fastest time is a 24.39 … the slowest is a 24.49 (Amanda’s seed is a 24.42).
dinner = delish
Dinner at Hard Rock Café Houston was delish…Coach Pat and his swimmer, Cassie, joined us (or we joined them…depending on who you ask) It was about a 6 or 7 block walk from the hotel and we got there just in time, beating Cal PA and Grand Valley State’s large traveling party.
After dinner I drove Pat and Cassie to the pool to get in a swim before they shut it down for the night (9pm).
Tomorrow we are headed to the pool at 9am … coaches meeting at 12:30.
***
No internet in the rooms, so as I post last night's "story" I am eating breakfast...some wonderfully, overs syruped, pancakes
After dinner I drove Pat and Cassie to the pool to get in a swim before they shut it down for the night (9pm).
Tomorrow we are headed to the pool at 9am … coaches meeting at 12:30.
***
No internet in the rooms, so as I post last night's "story" I am eating breakfast...some wonderfully, overs syruped, pancakes
Monday, March 9, 2009
No Internet Monday / Internet Tuesday
NO INTERNET MONDAY
Painless flights to Philly & Houston … sat next to a high school soccer coach who doubles as an engineer of sorts who was making his way to Houston for a business trip. Nice guy who knew of The Larry Fish … small world. We found our rental car and got a pimpin’ navy blue Toyota SUV, the GPS took us the 23 minutes to the hotel.
Very nice hotel…very not cheap for anything. Wireless internet costs $9.95 for 24 hours … ugh, so I will give it my best shot in terms of getting the computer out and update our blog.
After a hottttttt shower and quick nap we set off for a wonderful, delicious burrito establishment named Freebirds. Katie and I know this place from working the UT swim camp in Austin…same hippy feel. I ordered the traditional monster burrito with chips and queso.
Pit stop to CVS to get a few supplies and then back to the hotel … going to hit the treadmill then crash out.
10am trip to the pool for a morning swim.
INTERNET TUESDAY
Good News loyal blog readers (Mom, Kim, Mr E and Mrs Rehrig) … the student-athlete lounge has the free wireless internet so, the blog will be updated …. FO FREE
Slept super good last night … woke up in time to enjoy the provided breakfast … eggs, ham bits and salsa...yup, salsa … welcome (back) to Texas!! The pool was relatively easy to find and very nice. Not quite as nice as last year at Columbia, but we aren’t complaining.
Amanda swam a long warm up finished up with some sprint 25’s … she looked sharp.
We came back to the hotel and headed out to explore Houston.
What is really cool about Houston is the “Tunnel” … 7 miles of tunnels that contain every version of food around (we ate at the closest ‘spot’ … I had BBQ, Amanda had chicken and fries, Katie had a freaking awesome looking roastbeef sandwich and salad). We explored the tunnels and eventually walked 10 blocksish back to the hotel.
Going to hit the tredmill (note: found out last night they have TV on the treadmill!!...how awesome is that?!) then come back to post this (cut and paste from word).
(Fairmont) Coach Pat and his swimmer will be here this afternoon and we will try to convince them to join us for dinner tonight.
Painless flights to Philly & Houston … sat next to a high school soccer coach who doubles as an engineer of sorts who was making his way to Houston for a business trip. Nice guy who knew of The Larry Fish … small world. We found our rental car and got a pimpin’ navy blue Toyota SUV, the GPS took us the 23 minutes to the hotel.
Very nice hotel…very not cheap for anything. Wireless internet costs $9.95 for 24 hours … ugh, so I will give it my best shot in terms of getting the computer out and update our blog.
After a hottttttt shower and quick nap we set off for a wonderful, delicious burrito establishment named Freebirds. Katie and I know this place from working the UT swim camp in Austin…same hippy feel. I ordered the traditional monster burrito with chips and queso.
Pit stop to CVS to get a few supplies and then back to the hotel … going to hit the treadmill then crash out.
10am trip to the pool for a morning swim.
INTERNET TUESDAY
Good News loyal blog readers (Mom, Kim, Mr E and Mrs Rehrig) … the student-athlete lounge has the free wireless internet so, the blog will be updated …. FO FREE
Slept super good last night … woke up in time to enjoy the provided breakfast … eggs, ham bits and salsa...yup, salsa … welcome (back) to Texas!! The pool was relatively easy to find and very nice. Not quite as nice as last year at Columbia, but we aren’t complaining.
Amanda swam a long warm up finished up with some sprint 25’s … she looked sharp.
We came back to the hotel and headed out to explore Houston.
What is really cool about Houston is the “Tunnel” … 7 miles of tunnels that contain every version of food around (we ate at the closest ‘spot’ … I had BBQ, Amanda had chicken and fries, Katie had a freaking awesome looking roastbeef sandwich and salad). We explored the tunnels and eventually walked 10 blocksish back to the hotel.
Going to hit the tredmill (note: found out last night they have TV on the treadmill!!...how awesome is that?!) then come back to post this (cut and paste from word).
(Fairmont) Coach Pat and his swimmer will be here this afternoon and we will try to convince them to join us for dinner tonight.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
"sheetz really let me down"
You know your day started early when you have been driving for about 53 minutes and the big starbucks sign is dark. What doesn't always help is the ever exciting spring daylight savings time. After about an hour we stopped at the sheetz in lewisburg for some gas...and here is where sheetz really let me know (sorry to report this jo-el). The gas pump #4 was slow...super slow, a molassas reference comes to mind....I watched 2 not so fuel efficent trucks stop, load up with $14 and $9 worth of gas before I even got to $21. Deep breath.....
Smooth sailing the rest of the way to the airport, parked near B5/B6 ... shuttle stop 3.
(that information is more for me then you)
Katie see's some coffee in her future, I am hoping to see some deep fried potato, hopefully in the shape of a mcdonalds hashbrown. I didn't ask Amanda, but I am sure there will be some sleep...and food.
Smooth sailing the rest of the way to the airport, parked near B5/B6 ... shuttle stop 3.
(that information is more for me then you)
Katie see's some coffee in her future, I am hoping to see some deep fried potato, hopefully in the shape of a mcdonalds hashbrown. I didn't ask Amanda, but I am sure there will be some sleep...and food.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
rankings
In the final top times listings ... before entries ... Amanda ranks as follows
50 free ~ 65th
100 free ~ 35th
100 back ~ 17th
200 back ~ 16th
In the official psych sheet (posted here) ... after entries / before scratches ... Amanda ranks as follows
50 free ~ 59th
100 free ~ 34th
100 back ~ 17th
200 back ~ 15th
This is going to be a FAST meet.
50 free ~ 65th
100 free ~ 35th
100 back ~ 17th
200 back ~ 16th
In the official psych sheet (posted here) ... after entries / before scratches ... Amanda ranks as follows
50 free ~ 59th
100 free ~ 34th
100 back ~ 17th
200 back ~ 15th
This is going to be a FAST meet.
Monday, March 2, 2009
we love TYR
tag.jpg)
TYR really came through for us and have proven to me again they are the tops in customer service and really care about their teams. Long story short we were able to secure a Tracer Rise for Amanda.
Awesome.
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