Happy Birthday to my past teammate Michael Phelps!
I always loved the water from the time I was a baby. In fact, I think my first word was "duck."
I started swimming competitively when I was six, and then joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, where I swam from the age of seven until I left for college. I developed my closest friendships there. We practiced every weekday, eleven months out of the year and weekends were spent at practice or at travel meets.
Some of my best memories of childhood were making waffles in the lobbies during meet weekends, traveling for a team practice trip to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and just hanging out at Meadowbrook Aquatic Center.
I learned a lot about working hard to achieve my goals, but most importantly I learned the value of teamwork.
These are a few great lessons from my coaches I still incorporate into my life.
Focus on the present and not the past. The past is the past and you can't change anything about it. Focus on the present and making yourself better in the future.
Listen to your body and listen to what it tells you. Take rest days.
Visualize and use the power of my mind. Often I had trouble with the 3rd lap or 7th lap of a race, and the only way I could "break the wall" was to use the power of my mind.
Always just be yourself and everything will fall into place.
And most importantly, a lesson that I learned from past teammate and the most decorated Olympian of all time Michael Phelps, is that it is ok to be vulnerable. I so respect that he has shared his mental health struggles. The world of competitive athletics can be hard on one's soul at times. I have suffered from anxiety too. It is ok to let others know that they aren't alone. No one is perfect and it is overcoming those tough obstacles will always make you stronger.
Eat, sleep, and swim.....and just enjoy life!!
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