Open Water Swimming Connection

25K by Erica Rose

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:09:47 -0700

Hello,

Well, my final race is over. It did not go very well, as you´ve probably seen in the results. To be honest, I have no idea what happened or why it did not go well at all. I did everything I could to prepare and I was ready to go. Some days, I guess, are better than others. Yesterday was not one of my better days.

Even though the swim did not go well, the support I received throughout and after the race made it difficult to be upset. I had four of the best coaches out there on the course with me, giving me nutrition and encouraging me even when they knew how much I was struggling. Coaches from other countries were cheering me on as well. Britta, one of my very best friends, was out on a feeding pontoon working with the German athletes and she helped me so much each time I went by her station. When I finished, the team doctor and trainer were both there to greet me and the officials allowed Shelley Clark (another one of my very best friends) to run down to greet me and help me out of the water. The entire US team was there to congratulate me and support me and it was a pretty incredible feeling to know that I had so many friends and teammates no matter how I did in the water.

Brendan arrived the day before my race and watched every minute of it. He was there for me at the end, as well, and has been incredible. I can´t possibly describe how much it means to me to know that I have such a wonderful group of people who care about me and support me through all of these events.

I don´t have too much to report as far as how the other races went. Mark Warkentin had a GREAT swim and got a silver medal in the 25K. Olympic qualification in the 10K and sliver medal in the 25K - what a week!

I was able to celebrate for a while last night with my international friends. It´s now 4am and I´m at a hostel in Seville... not sleeping because I can never sleep the night after a race like that... waiting until 5am when we´ll head to the airport to begin our travels around Europe.

Erica

10K results by Erica Rose

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:48:55 -0700

Hello -

Well, I'm not even really sure where to begin. Thank you for all of the emails... it sounds like most of you have checked the results and have realized that it has been a pretty crazy 48 hours for the US team over here at the World Championships in Spain. I'll try to give you a little bit from our point of view...

The women's race was yesterday (Saturday) morning. Everything went according to schedule for the preparations - our girls were up early, at breakfast, warmed up in the river, and had their numbers and transponders on well before they were sent to the call room. The organizers did a great job of getting all of the competitors organized, lined up, announced and on the dock right on time for a punctual start. There was a bit of an issue with a false start, actually - one of the volunteers had a siren that went off and a few girls (including Micha) jumped in early. They were not disqualified, though, and they got back up on the dock and the official re-started the race.

The race was fast and rough. It was clear that the pack was tight and that they were working to hold their positions and to swim fast enough to stay in the group. We were able to see a lot with our binoculars and we also had radio communication with coaches on the feeding pontoon and with coaches on bridges and on the other side of the course. Kirsten was in the top 5 or so almost the entire race. Micha was right up there, too - sitting at about 12th most of the time. Cassie Patten (from Great Britian) had a VERY gutsy swim - she led the ENTIRE way (well, right up until Larissa from Russia passed her in the last 400 meters.)

Anyway, I could write more but I'm sure you can find race reports online. Basically, the last 1K was a shock for everyone. Girls surged ahead that had been at the back of the pack and girls that had been sitting out in front all of a sudden fell off. Kirsten wound up 21st and Micha was 31st. My good friend Britta from Germany (who, in 20 World Championship races throughout her career has NEVER finished lower than 7th place) came in 39th yesterday. Her teammate, Angela, made the Olympic team but Britta did not. Edith, another best friend, came in 11th and will represent the Netherdlands in Beijing in August. I can't possibly explain the emotion invovled in watching the finish of yesterday's race. It was just a bizzare experience to witness. Watching from the stands, you could look around and see some countries rejoicing with girls that were living the happiest moment of their lives... and then you could turn the other way and see girls just completely devastated and in complete shock and disbelief.

That said... our girls do have another chance. They did not qualify for the Olympics yesterday, but there is one more race where 9 more girls will be selected. That race is the Beijing test event at the end of this month. Right now, we're not sure which Americans will be going. Most likely, it will be Kirsten and Micha again. The decision is up to the head USA National Team coach, though, and that is Mark Schubert. He will wait to see how the team does throughout the rest of this week and he will then decide who we will take to the test event in Beijing. At most, we can qualify one girl now. It is our job now to get these girls back on their feet and to show them that we're here for them and proud of them even though they did not qualify for the Olympic Games... yet.

Switching gears... today we witnessed the men's 10K race. Like the women's race, it went off smoothly and was a fast and brutal race. The referees were whistling and going crazy and there were several "yellow cards" given. In fact, Australia's amazing and world famous swimmer Grant Hacket was disqualified today - something that very rarely happens at a World Championship event. I'm going to go ahead and omit more race details here because I'm sure you will be able to read other reports online. Davies (Great Britain) had an incredible race - he never stopped to feed at all and led the entire way (until, similarly to yesterday's race, Vladimir from Russia touched him out at the very end.) Turns out, by the way, that neglecting to feed is not necessarily the best tactic. Davies passed out on his way off the awards podium after the race. No worries... his teammates were there to catch him and he was taken to the medical tent and is fine now.

Anyway, it was once again an extremely emotional finish for the American team to witness. Mark Warkentin finished 7th, earning a spot at the 2008 Olympic Games and becoming the first open water Olympian from the USA. Chip Peterson finished 13th... and therefore does not get to go to the Games. I have spent several weeks throughout the past 2 years training with Chip and he has become one of my closest friends in the sport. Catherine, his coach, has taken me under her wing and coached me at several international races. Watching the two of them after his race was absolutely heart breaking. I still have no idea what to say. It's not okay. There isn't necessarily another chance.

So... that's where we are today. Right now, we're waiting for dinner and then we'll have a team meeting later this evening. We still have 4 more races here at the World Championships - both the men and women will race the 5K on Tuesday, May 6th, and then both the men and women will race the 25K on Thursday, May 8th. Tomorrow will be a day to re-focus and help each other and I'm sure we'll be fired up and ready to go again by Tuesday.

For a quick personal update... although the past two days have been a roller coaster of emotion, I'm still focused and ready to go for a great 25K later on this week. My training has been GREAT over here in Spain and it has been so much fun to catch up with friends and live this experience one more time. I can't wait for Thursday!

I'm not sure we'll have much internet access after this, so this might be my last email for a while. Keep cheering for the USA - and thank you for all of your support and encouragement. More fast thoughts on Tuesday and Thursday!

Go USA!

Erica

World Championships, May 2, by Erica Rose

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:36:36 -0700

Today is internet day again, so I figured I'd send a quick update to let you know how things are going over here in Spain. We've settled into a routine of training, eating, and sleeping... but tomorrow the schedule will change as we kick things off with Day One of the 2008 Open Water World Championships. The women will dive in at 10am for the start of the 10K. When all is said and done, fifteen of those girls will be on their way to Beijing to represent their country at the 2008 Olympic Games. The men will follow on Sunday with the same routine. I will update you as soon as I can after both races. I'm sure you will be able to find almost immediate results on the USA Swimming, FINA, or Australian Swimming websites. (Grant Hackett is here so the Australian media is all over this race!)

The USA is looking good - Micha, Kirsten, Chip and Mark (our 10K swimmers) all look tough, rested, and ready to go. We did a trial run yesterday morning - the whole team got up early, ate breakfast together, walked over to the starting area, got ready, and dove into the river together to simulate the start of the race. The water looks a little murky, but it seems rather clean and the temperature is great. There's a big buzz about all of the new suits but we're trying not to get too distracted by all of it. Basically, the idea seems to be that we're wearing whatever is most comfortable and not worrying about how buoyant it is or what fabric it's made of. We know we'll be fast no matter what we've got on!

The team is getting along well - it's tough sometimes to be around the same people in close quarters all day long like this, but I think we're actually handling it pretty well. There are lots of teams staying in this hotel - Netherlands, Australia, Hungary, Germany, and France to name a few - so it can be kind of stressful to walk around and feel like you're being watched all the time. At the same time, though, it's been nice for me to be so close to so many friends. We have been hanging out in the lobby downstairs and visiting in each other's rooms... it's so much easier than when we're thousands of miles apart! We're in a hotel that is across the street from the race venue. There is also a dorm-style residence at the venue and most of the other teams are there (Russia, Italy, Canada, China, Spain, Venezuela, etc.). I've been visiting there and they've come over here - it's a great little international village situation we've got!

I guess that's about it for now. We haven't really been out and about in the city too much (other than the drives to and from the practice facilities) so I don't have much to report about anything other than training and getting ready for the races. That's why we're here, though, so I guess we're doing a great job staying focused!

I hope everything is going well at home. I'll be in touch again after the races. Think FAST thoughts for our 10Kers on the 3rd and 4th.

GO USA!

Erica

Training by Erica Rose

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:21:05 -0700

Just a quick update to let you know that things are going fairly well over here in Spain.

We have basically been training, eating, and resting since we got here. The weather has been perfect and the hotel is great. There is a lot of downtime, though, and being in close quarters with the same people all day long tends to lead to tension rather quickly. So far, things are actually okay... we'll see how everyone does as race days approach.

Today was an afternoon off from training for most of our group. We had planned to have a team outing to the city of Cadiz but when we got ready to go, one of the vans broke down. The coaches decided to take the four youngest swimmers on the trip (along with a few staff members) and the rest of us got left behind. I thought it was boring to be here when I was training two times per day... having the ENTIRE afternoon off and nothing to do is brutal. We couldn't go anywhere else until we got a new van (no idea why we couldn't pair up and jump in cabs) and then by the time we got the van, it was siesta time and everything is closed.

So... I've been watching CNN (the only English channel) and reading. I'm already through almost 2 books... and I only brought 5. I need to slow down. Other teams are arriving today and tomorrow, so I may go look around and see what friends I can find from other countries.

Go USA!

Arrival in Spain, By Erica Rose

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:20:16 -0700

Hello everyone -

The trip to Spain went very well. None of us really slept on the flight over (tough because it was an afternoon flight based on our time that got in early in the morning local time.) Needless to say, we were all exhausted last night and in bed by about 8pm. The food on the flight was also some of the worst airplane food I've had in ages. Unbelievable. Oh, and our entire team got rather lost in the Madrid airport. We only lost a few bags by the time we got to Spain, though, and most of them were found and delivered by this morning. So... all in all... not a bad start.

The experience at the hotel so far been pretty great. We're so spoiled here - we're going to have to watch ourselves to not balloon up and float our way through the races based on the food we're getting. We have unbelievable spreads of food for all of our meals. We have special catering for lunch and dinner that USA Swimming is getting for us. The breakfast buffet this morning (served to all hotel guests, not just the USA team) was like nothing I've seen before. I could go into detail - but I think I'll just leave you with one of the most exciting parts - the chocolate fountain at breakfast! Most of us were pretty good and avoided that this morning, but we'll see how long the self control lasts.

We have already had two swim sessions. We're struggling to get the pool owners to give us enough training time, but we have lots of USA staff working on it. Speaking of which, we have 9 staff members here for 10 athletes. That's quite the ratio! They're all pretty amazing people and I'm excited to spend 2 weeks with them.

Back to the training... you would not believe how cold the water was this morning. I never warmed up throughout the entire 8K session. Not fun at all. Plus, it was pitch black out for the first hour. We had to dodge the sprinkler system as we tried to find our way to the pool on the way into workout and then we were guided only by the moonlight for the first hour. Fun... in a way. Would have been more fun if we weren't so cold.

Anyway, the one major thing I did want to let you know is that we do not have the internet access here that we assumed we would. There is great internet service, but it costs about $20 per day. My roommate and I have decided to split the cost and to buy it every 3-4 days. I'll be in touch when I can.

I hope everything is going well at home.

Go USA!