2024 Road to Paris
Welcome to 2024 everyone!
The Paris Olympics are seven months away and I have the axe to the grindstone. The winter months are a grueling stretch of training so it can be difficult to stay motivated (especially when you don’t have SECs and NCAAs on the horizon).
Last March I read the inspirational book (and now movie) “The Boys in the Boat” about the 1936 Olympic gold medal winning US rowing team. There was a quote from George Pocock that really stuck with me that I like to think about during the hardest workouts:
“It’s not a question of whether it will hurt, or of how much you will hurt; it’s a question of what you will do, and how well you will do it, while pain has her wanton way with you”
I am proud to announce TallSlim Tees as my official tall companion as I chase the Olympic dream this summer. Catch me on deck this June at Olympic trials wearing the best fitting clothes in the business. As a tall and slim person, I rarely find clothing that properly fits me. I’m either getting baggy XXLs or XLs that aren’t long enough.
I love TallSlim Tees because they fit my shoulders well and I don’t have to worry about my belly button being exposed if I raise my arms too high. They also have a massive collection of products and colors which seems to grow every day. My personal favorites are the joggers, the pro-performance T-shirt and the zip up hoodie. The joggers are unmatched in comfort and the added bonus of them not riding up my ankles makes them my go-to whenever it’s chilly. The pro-performance T-shirt is breathable and great for working out in. I feel confident walking around the pool deck in the zip up hoodie and can’t wait to wear it at all my future meets!
If you place an order at TallSlim Tees using my referral link, I will receive a commission. You can also get a 15% discount on your order by using my code: JACK15. Thank you!
What’s Happening?
Since my last update, I have raced at the US Open in Greensboro and the first stop of the Pro Swim Series in Knoxville. Racing during training has its challenges, but I have been putting up faster times than previous seasons so that is positive progress! If you recall from my November newsletter, I am trying to get as many Olympic trials cuts as possible. I have taken cracks at the 50 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley. I’ve gotten close, but have yet to add any of those to my Olympic trials repertoire. Check out the Olympic trial rankings here.
In Knoxville, I received a surprise on the last day of competition when I found out I was still entered in the 200 medley after thinking I had been scratched out of the event. You can imagine my surprise after mentally preparing for the 50 and then finding out I get to swim an event four times longer immediately beforehand! I ended up going a seven second personal best in the medley (having not raced the event since 2017), so it all worked out. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.
Looking Ahead
Coming up, I will be training and then doing some more training. Oh, and after that I will probably train some more. My next competition is in March at the second Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, so I will be working on improving my game in the meantime.
At my family’s cabin (which is a 100 year old farmhouse with no running water), we have three classic John Deere tractors!
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