First of all Good luck to everyone competing this weekend and to all our S.Hemi friends who are just starting their season.

Secondly - I am BACK! I am slowly recovering emotionally from DBF's death in May. I am back at the gym, building up running edurance, swimming and doing spin classes. I wrote down my goals for the Tri next June.

Now, that is all well and good and I am excited about all that, BUT the best part is my swim coach - YES I have an actual coach! real workouts. Not a masters program per se - we don't have any here.

Here is the story: Have any of you read about a 16 year old named Dagny Knutson from Minot, ND? She was just in Swimming World because last weekend she broke Janet Evan's HS rec set in 1988, by 3 seconds. She is a member of the US Junior national team going to the Pan Pacifics in January

Anyway my new claim to fame is: 4 out of 5 weekday mornings at 6 am I am in lane 2 and she is in lane 8 Her coach is my coach AND our coach is part of the US junior national team coaching staff for the Pan Pacifics

I mean how cool is that ? ? ? ?

OK my swimming level doesn't really deserve that level of expertise but WOW I am going to take it while I can get it. The coach is a coworker of mine. I always told her she was the best in the state NOW I know she is one of the best in the nation

Dagny went to the US Olympic trials this past summer and didn't quite make it (but she did make the finals) so I am cheering for her to make the 1012's and I can say "Yup, Dagny and I trained together"
Ha ha ha ha (actually it is more like - I choked on the water Dagny swam in)
The downside is I often recover longer because I am so engrossed in watching her.

I told my students yesterday I had the same time as Dagny on our 20 min swim - we both had 20:21 . . . Think about it