February brought even more travels.
Instead of just hitting the road, I flew out to Veracruz, Mexico, for the International Cup near the end of the month. I also spent time in the otherworldly Death Valley National Park. Lots of cool things to share!
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All pictures of Violet brought to you by Victoria Veterinary Hospital
What’s Happening?
I started the month in California. The Mission Viejo Nadadores were in an adaptation week. This is basically a recovery week focusing on setting your technique back up. In the midst of a difficult training cycle, it is important not to lose sight of the little things. At the end of the week, the butterfly clinic with Trenton Julian went well. We combined our knowledge of butterfly progression drills and were able to get more one-on-one time with the athletes. The Nadador pro group had a grill-out and played some Catan the night before I left (Trenton won going all-in on development cards).
Audrey, Violet and I headed northeast to Death Valley next. There was no cell reception when we arrived, so we watched a downloaded movie and then witnessed spectacular stargazing. In the morning as we were packing up camp, a fighter jet flew through Rainbow Canyon and did some barrel rolls right over our heads. We crossed the Panamint Mountains and descended into the valley proper. The half mile wide Ubehebe Crater caused from a steam explosion between magma and water was breathtaking. The lowest point in North America is located in the park at Badwater Basin, sitting at 282 feet below sea level. Did you know there is a snail that is adapted to living in the tiny little ponds one would expect to be uninhabitable?
We continued on to Las Vegas to spend a few nights in the city that never sleeps. During this stint of the trip, I trained with the Sandpipers of Nevada. Bumping up the volume and toughing out intense broken races resulted in some of the best practices of my roadtrip thus far. Audrey and I explored the city and lost some money in the casinos.
We drove back to ASU where I got to train one on one with Ilya Khuran. It was inspiring to train next to the Olympic bronze medalist in my main event and see first hand what I need to do to get to that level.
The ASU pro group soon headed off to Veracruz, Mexico for the International Cup and I joined along. This competition was a blast with all the kids vying for our autographs and being treated as VIPs by the meet organizers. The water was frigid and heavy winds persisted until the last day, leading to difficult racing conditions. I still swam well, winning the 100 fly in a nail biter 54.37 to 54.44 against Michael Andrew. I also placed 2nd in both the 200 free (1:51.03) and 200 fly (2:00.82), as well as 4th in the 100 free in 51.46. Audrey and I did get to enjoy some time at the beach on the last day when the sun came out! As my official travel partner, Direct Travel always strives for the perfect trip and supports me in all my swimming excursions.
Looking Ahead
The first stop of the Pro Swim Series is in Westmont March 5-8. You can watch along on USA Swimming Network and Peacock TV.
We celebrated Violet’s first birthday this month!
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