We found a great coach from the Pirouettes of Texas who let us join her girls for a long practice one Saturday in the fall. The amount of time they put in to make themselves as perfect as possible is astonishing - we got there at 7am and left around Noon, but they had another couple of hours left. And that's only on Saturdays - most meet at least two other days a week!
We first got in the water to get some instruction on just HOW you are supposed to suspend yourself in the water while sticking arms, feet or legs out - and make it look effortless. We donned our new PTX swim caps and nose plugs and jumped in. The motion you make with your legs was described like an old school egg beater - legs bent at the hips and knees, then rotating in small circles opposite directions. Hands simply flat, with fingers together, elbows bent and making "parade wave" motions forward and back in unison. Some of us got the hang of it quickly while others fought the very unnatural motion for most of the day. We worked on the timing with the coach tapping on the edge of the pool so we could hear while under the water then the basic staggered formation the six of us would try to keep in the water.
Next we moved on to the basic movements we'd be making - "sail" arms while on our side that would start from parallel to our bodies to sticking straight out of the water perpendicular to our bodies; "sinking twists" with our arms straight over head while we turned like a screw down into the water; backward somersaults; "splashy kicks" on our backs with legs straight out; "pinwheels" on our backs, knees bent and turned such that one foot rested on the other knee, but all parallel to the surface of the water; "ballet legs" on our backs with knees first bent but sticking out of the water, then legs straight up out of the water; "clamshells" where we'd lay on our back, then fold at the waist, closing like a clam; and "barracudas" where we'd be upside down in the water and push our legs straight up and out of the water, to exposed knees. We all began to wonder just what we'd gotten ourselves into - it had already been a couple of hours!
We took a quick break for our coach to show us the routine she had put together and diagrammed on paper.
Coach L showing us our formations
We jumped back in and went through the routine slowly a few times. Then we took another break to get ready for our show. We wanted to really get into the moment, so the coach and a couple of moms "knoxed" our hair for us. Yes, "knox" as in Knox gelatin. Since synchronization also includes everyone looking as exactly the same as possible, they use gelatin to slick their hair back into motionless helmets. It's smelly, uses a million hair pins and nearly impossible to get out, plus we looked like rejects from a Robert Palmer video, but we all were glad we took the time for this step.
L2 getting some last touches
Back into the water to do our routine for REAL! First we went as a group, then divided up to do doubles. We worked out how to start since some of us were comfortable with diving in while others weren't. I'm going to attempt to get an actual video uploaded, but for now, picture us being perfectly synchronized while perusing a few pictures!
All the PTX girls watched and cheered - here we're doing our "pinwheels"
Our "sail" arms
L1 & L2 diving in for doubles
K & M had the best "ballet legs"
R & J doing their "clamshell"
After a long morning, we climbed out of the water one last time to an ovation from the PTX girls and their parents. They were all so kind and welcoming - and rather amazed at how much we had accomplished in a few short hours. We were all so proud of ourselves!!!
Our starting pose - Synchro Swimming complete!
Although the pictures do it much better justice, here is the group routine video. Enjoy!
There are five different rowing events for the women at the Olympics: single sculls, double sculls, quad sculls, coxless pairs and eights. Sculling is when the athlete uses two oars, whereas in the pairs and eights, each athlete only has one oar. All races are over a 2000m course.
We met bright and early on a Saturday morning at the Trinity River boathouse to work with two coaches from the Fort Worth Rowing Club. We had reviewed some paperwork and videos ahead of time to give us an idea of the motion used for sculling. We all did some work on the ergs first - a rowing machine that allows you to practice the motion. It's quite an exact science to get the hang of in order to optimize your stroke. A huge amount of the stroke is all in the legs, with the waist and arms following. It should actually be rather relaxing once you really get it. You start with legs bent and seat slid all of the way forward, leaning forward with hands/oars near your feet. First, you push strongly with legs, staying bent forward at the waist. At the end of the leg push, you continue the motion by leaning back, then bending elbows and bringing your hands to your chest. Then you do it all in reverse. The lean, both forward and back, should only be about 20 degrees either way.
We headed out with our solo boats to try it on the water. Sitting up high, rather than in the boat is a bit disconcerting at first, but once we started rowing, we forgot about that part. It takes a while to get in a rhythm, but once you do, you can take a moment to see how it really propels you. The harder part for me was getting the hand motion right - to make sure the oars were in the water at the right angle. More than once, I would pull but not go anywhere because I had the oars feathered and gliding through the water instead of square and pulling.
L2 heading out to do solo sculls
After solos, some of us were able to go out in the quad boat on Sunday. A nice round trip down the river and back.
Some of us still have the quad to finish, and we all have the doubles and eights to do. Our coaches explained that doubles is extremely difficult, so we should focus on the other events first. Hopefully by the time we finish the other events, we'll be confident enough to get into the doubles boats!
Carrying the quad boat to the water with one of the coaches
L2, M and J with one of the coaches, heading out in the quad
Diving. We all talked about how we'd actually do this one - some of us having last dived as kids (and not competitively) and others never at all. Luckily, the SMU head diving coach agreed to have us come out and he'd show us how to get started. Last October, we headed over on a Friday morning and took our chances...
There are four women's diving events at the Olympics:
3m springboard - singles and synchronized
10m platform - singles and synchronized
The coach said we'd just work on jumping in, which was fine by all of us. And, um, by the way, was the 10m platform REALLY that MASSIVE concrete thing looming above us? Holy cow! I think I was the only one crazy enough going in to do it, but I admittedly chickened out after going off the 5m a couple of times.
We started on the side of the pool jumping in, to get used to the arm motion and, well, clenching that had to happen to protect us on our jumps. Then we moved up to the 1m springboard. L1 and L2 both dived off of this one. Next up was the 3m springboard, followed by the 5m platform. Not everyone did the 5m, and some did it with quite a bit of hesitation and a lot of cheering from below.
The fear factor was pretty high on this event, much like our track cycling, but we're all learning to lean on each other and help our friends succeed. I think everyone was happy with what they did accomplish here - more than some of us thought we could do!
J (and baby L!) stepping off the 1m springboard
L1 prepping to dive off the 1m springboard
R overcame her fears and did the 3m springboard
L1 and L2 preparing for the 3m springboard synchro jump
L1 on her way down from the 5m platform
Everyone accomplished just a bit more than expected!
Only three of us have bikes of our own, so we decided to get together early on a Saturday morning to beat the September heat. There are two cycling races - a time trial that is 1000m and a road race that varies in distance, but is generally over a paved terrain. I charted out a course at CF Brewer High School that was exactly a 1 mile loop. We used this for both events, doing one lap for the time trial and three laps for the road race.
These events were a welcome comfort from some of the more exotic sports we'd been trying!
Wow - there are a lot of swimming events! We decided to join the TCU swimming pool for a month over the summer of 2014 to work on getting all of them accomplished. We met once or twice a week and completed these events at our own pace. Some of us are much more comfortable in the water than others, but everyone did great and we got to enjoy some time outside during the month of July - not something that happens a lot in Texas!
Some info about Olympic women's swimming:
Swimming has been a sport at every modern Summer Olympics. It has been open to women since 1912. Along with track & field athletics and gymnastics it is one of the most popular spectator sports at the Games and the one with the second largest number of events (after Athletics).
The women's events:
Freestyle - 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m
Backstroke - 100m, 200m
Breaststroke - 100m, 200m
Butterfly - 100m, 200m
Individual Medley - 200m, 400m
Relays - 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, 4x100m medley
Marathon - 10km
M did complete the marathon on her own, over the course of our visits. The rest of us decided we would combine our freestyle swimming to cover it. None of us quite thought doing it all in one session would be wise!
Some info on the sport:
The two competition lifts in order are the snatch (one smooth motion lifting the bar overhead from a squat) and the clean and jerk (two distinct motions - first to the chest from a squat, then over the head with feet split into a lunge). Each weightlifter receives three attempts in each, and the combined total of the highest two successful lifts determines the overall result within a bodyweight category. Bodyweight categories are different for women and men.
In comparison with other strength sports, which test limit strength (with or without lifting aids), Olympic weightlifting tests aspects of human ballistic limits (explosive strength); the lifts are therefore executed faster—and with more mobility and a greater range of motion during their execution - than other strength movements. Properly executed, the snatch and the clean and jerk are both dynamic and explosive while appearing graceful, especially when viewed from a recording at a slowed speed.
While there are relatively few competitive Olympic weightlifters, the lifts performed in the Olympics, and in particular their component lifts (e.g. squats, deadlifts, cleans), are commonly used by elite athletes in other sports to train for both explosive and functional strength.
We first warmed up and stretched, then our instructor had us practice form using a wooden dowel. After that, we took turns lifting just the bar, then added a little weight, as we were comfortable. I focused on the form more than the weight being lifted, as it is a rather strange movement you make in both events. It was great to watch some of the other lifters there to see just how explosive this really is in order to lift large amounts of weight!
It's been a while since a post has been made on our adventure... No, we haven't quit, we've just been busy with these events, among other little life occurrences. For example, J, our fearless leader, had a baby! L1 and K have both gotten engaged! And unfortunately, M has decided to carry on with the challenge on her own.
We've been busy, but I (L2) have volunteered to catch you up! Now on to the highlights............
