Lara’s Blog

The update completed successfully. Please inform me if you run into any glitches, please.

No comments »

As an elite athlete (and an older one at that) I can say that sometimes you need to step back and relax. Clear your head of competition and set aside family/friend time. Get your mind totally off of swimming. After a week or so get back into the pool non-competitively, remember that’s it’s supposed to be fun. Then get back into it. It’s tougher when a loved one has passed on cause you have to live with it every day, put you need to get passed it and freeing your mind again is the only way to do it…

1 Comment »

The blog site will be undergoing a software update tonight at 11 pm.  The site will be unavailable until 11:30.

No comments »

It’s 50 free day.

No comments »

I am getting so excited for next week!  US Swimming Nationals will be held in Irvine, California August 2-7, 2010.  And Lara is ready.  She has been focusing on her training and her workouts have been going well.  I will post the link to US Swimming on the coverage available online and on TV, at the end of this blog entry.  The results of this meet will qualify swimmers for the Pan Pacs in Irvine August 18-22, 2010 and also for the World Champs in Shenghai, China in 2011.  So you see why this is all so very exciting for Lara.
Here’s how the week will play out.  On Wednesday, August 4th, Lara will lead off the Women’s 4 x 100 free relay with Ford Aquatics.  Her goal is to have a good swim and to get one swim under her belt before the big day.  Which big day?  The next day, Thursday, August 5th is the 50 M free.  No Dara Torres this year.  She must still be recovering from her most recent knee surgery.  The top seeds on the pysch sheet are: 1. Weir 24.23, 2. Jackson 24.71, 3. Botek 24.89, 4. Hardy 24.90, 5. Magnuson 25.09, 6. Vollmer, 7. Joyce 25.14 and 8. Franklin 25.23.  You go Lara and show them what you’ve got!  On Friday Lara will rest for Saturday, August 7th for the Women’s 100 M free.  She’s a bit low on the seeding, but who knows what will happen?  If she is on her game, the ranking will be higher on the list after.
I will be busy blogging and tweeting on ElPasoMartina.  So stay tuned for the big week.  And let me have your comments so I know that you are out there!  We all need to get behind our girl and cheer her on.  She’s going to kick butt!

http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&ItemId=2920&mid=9822

3 Comments »

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/wQwonHkm45y/Santa+Clara+Invitational/2VF5L8LhUxg/Lara+Jackson

No comments »

So Lara completed her second meet of the long course season.  Lara is still getting used to competing again after spending the spring semester concentrating on her studies.  On Friday of the meet, Lara swam the 100 free in prelims and finals, plus swam the lead off leg for the Tucson Ford “B” relay.  She’s back under one minute, but was hoping to go a little faster.  Saturday was an off day, so she swam the 100 breast in prelims for fun.  Got to rest Saturday evening from competition.  Sunday was 50 free day and Lara was geared up for that event.  In the morning Lara was second seed after prelims for finals that evening.  Her prelim time was 25.78 from her seed time of 24.71.  In finals Lara tied for seventh with a 25.84.  The 14 year old Aussie won with a 25.13.  I know that Lara does not swim her fastest at the beginning of the season.  In fact, in the past Lara has avoided swimming the 50 to compete in “off” races such as the 200 IM or the 200 free.  But I also know that Lara is quite competitive and does not like coming in at the bottom of the pack.  So I tentatively sent her a text message telling her that I love her.  I was relieved when I saw her reply, “Yea, I’m not too worried.  I had some good elements on my race today but it’s all about learning what to fix and where to go from here.”  So back to Tucson to work hard and to get ready to go to the LA Grand Prix Meet July 8-11.  Then begin the taper for US Nationals.  Lara, you are right on track!

No comments »

Bloggers,

The blog is being deluged with SPAM.  I’m doing my best to keep it filtered as best I can but I need some help from everyone:

1) If  your posting but not seeing it you need to let me know right here as a post,

2) Tina, Lara,  I need you to check the user list and tell me me if you know of evil doers.

Yesterday I removed 104 pieces of spam so I need all the help I can get!!!!!

No comments »

We’re missing someone very important to us, especially as the holiday season arrives.  Eight months ago our lives changed forever when we lost Keith in an accident.  The courses of our lives have veered and we’ve had to pick up the pieces and figure out how to go on without a husband, dad, son, brother and friend.  For the most part, we are functioning and even thriving.  But as Lara put it, it’s as if we’re living an alternative reality and time does not seem the same.  I know what she means.  Carly, Lara and I are looking at the world in a different way.  And time has a different perspective.
When I get excited about something or hear something interesting, I initially want to share that with Keith.  But then I realize that’s no longer possible.  I still can’t grasp at times that he’s gone.  Gone now for eight months.  But I found out this past weekend that he is not forgotten.  The Arizona Swim Team paid a special tribute to Keith, placing a quote of Keith’s from the 2009 NCAA’s banquet on the parent t-shirts this year.  To see Keith’s name on many of the parents’ shirts just was so touching to me.  And I thank them for the honor.  Wouldn’t Keith be tickled to know all about this?
So Keith, if you “see” this, know how much you are loved, admired and missed.  Just know that our world will never be the same without you.

2 Comments »

I just finished talking with Lara on skype and asked her a few questions about her experiences on this world tour.   Whitney Myers, Lara’s traveling companion for the past 6 weeks was also in the room answering my questions.  First of all, the two agreed on how close they’ve become and have enjoyed being each other’s closest friend, colleague, and even coach.  They’ve had to rely totally on each other, push each other and also give each other advice.  That’s another new situation for Lara, being at major meets without her coach.  Besides relying on Whitney, Lara also had alot of help from South African Swimmers, Roland Schoeman and Lyndon Ferns and American swimmer, Aaron Peirsol.
Lara said that she’s learned alot and that her eyes have been opened to new ways of doing things.  First of all, should she decide to do the World Cup again, there needs to be different preparation with her training.  She needs to concentrate on more fine tuning with techniques.  Especially nailing the turns and finishes.  Lara said that on her 50 fly last night, she swam an awesome stroke, but her turn was very sloppy.  That costs valuable time, especially in the short distance sprint races where there is no room for error.
Lara sounded great.  She has some evaluating to do for her post-grad goals so she can be all set for 2012 Olympic Trials.  She is definitely glad that she had this experience on the world tour and she and Whitney would love to do it again in the future.  I say that there’s no stopping her now and man, isn’t this all just too exciting?  My baby girl up on the world stage.  I’m sure Keith is smiling from heaven.

1 Comment »