Lara's Blog

May 2012: Preview Lara’s Summer Swimming

Tina — Sun, 20 May 2012 14:21:11 +0000

About one year ago our family was happy celebrating Lara’s graduation from the University of Arizona with her B.S. A couple of months later, Lara won the 50 M free at US Nationals, got a sponsorship with FINIS and buckled down to train for this Olympic year. Now we are looking at six weeks until the US Olympic Trials begin. I’m getting excited about that already. Comparing Lara now from four years ago, she is much better prepared for the Trials. She no longer has the distraction of being a student. FINIS pays Lara to train and that’s her main job. Lara says that her life now is rather boring, eat, train and spend time with her dog, Sasha and her horse Calypso. But Lara is extremely focused on the Olympic Trials. Lara is four years more mature and experienced since 2008. She’s ready! Bring it on!
The Olympic Trials begin on Monday, June 25th in Omaha, Nebraska. Lara will be competing in the 100 free prelims on Friday morning, June 29th. The 100 free semifinals are later in the evening with the finals on Saturday, June 30th. The 50 free preliminaries are on Sunday morning June 1st with semifinals in the evening. The 50 free finals will be Monday evening, June 2nd. Evening events will be telecast live on NBC. I, of course, will be writing on this blog from Omaha keeping you updated as well as updating on my Twitter account, ElPasoMartina. And Lara’s sister, Carly Rose will also be tweeting from her Twitter, CRoseJack. Let’s pull together and root Lara on! Lara Jackson, may your dreams come true!
You can also check out Lara’s web page on larajackson.net

Peru, Then Indianapolis Grand Prix

Tina — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:19:02 +0000

Haven’t had much to report lately with Lara’s swimming. She is in the midst of working hard in her training. Still living in Tucson. And of course spending quality time with her beloved dog, Sasha and her sweet horse, Calypso. Her sponsor, FINIS has been promoting Lara and taking great care of her. Lara was in El Paso in January making an appearance after a local meet. She handed out the awards, signed autographs and spoke to the kids about what to do to succeed in swimming. There was nice local media coverage and boy, did she not feel like a celebrity! Nice to have such great support from your home town.
Also, FINIS has Lara pictured in a couple of ads in Swimming World Magazine. The ad appears on the inside covers of the January and February issues. I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to see her featured in an ad! Hope you all get a chance to see them.
So this Sunday Lara is heading to Peru! FINIS has scheduled for Lara to make an appearance and to do swim clinics. I guess since Lara is the 50 Meter free champ of the Pan Am Games held in Guadalajara last October, that there was an interest to have her fly down there. So bon voyage my girl and have a blast in Peru. Hope you can find a refrigerator magnet for me.
After returning from Peru, Lara will continue to train hard in Tucson. She is looking towards competing at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Meet March 29-31. Various people ask me when Lara’s next meet will be. So you can watch for that meet on the usaswimming.org site. And of course Lara is working towards the big meet, Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska June 25-July 2 at the Century Link Center (formerly the Quest Center).
That’s the update for now. This is your year to shine Lara, and all of us are rooting for you. Bear down!

Happy New Year 2012!

Tina — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:02:09 +0000

The year 2012 has finally arrived. Ever since Lara almost made the 2008 US Olympic Team, she’s been looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Trials, once again in Omaha, Nebraska. This time she has experience under her belt and knows better how to prepare for the Trials. Looking back at 2008, it was truly incredible that she actually was a contender to make the team. Lara had done well at 2007 US Nationals, earning a spot on the team to travel to the Japan Invitational. But 2008 was really her first serious national meet where she realized, “Wow, I’m an elite swimmer!” To swim next to Dara Torres and set a new American Record in prelims of the 50 M free was such a shock! But the lack of experience made that her best swim of the Trials and she was unable to keep up the momentum to make the team, but she DID come in third! And she could have been added to the team after Jessica Hardy failed her drug tests, but due to technical reasons, that did not happen. So Lara did well. Now it’s four years later and we are all so excited to see what will happen this year.
Lara is in a great place with her swimming. She’s a lean, mean machine. She’s more confident having won the JAX 50 in April, Nationals in August and Pan Am Games in October in the 50 M free. FINIS signed up to sponsor her and that has been a huge blessing in so many ways. So what’s up in the mean time? Basically for now it’s training, training and more training. Remember, in swimming Lara needs to build up strong, so she can taper well for when it counts. Lara is considering competing at the Indianapolis Grand Prix meet March 29-31, 2012. But she wants to compete just minimal amount of times this spring. And dare I say that the JAX 50 meet in Jacksonville, Florida may invite her back in April? Since she’s the reigning champ, I should hope so.
So that’s the latest update for Lara Jackson. She is where she wants to be at this point, has a great confident attitude and she is in charge of her life. Lara, this is your year to shine!

Loss & Blessings Part 2

Tina — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:48:20 +0000

Up until April 2009, I’ve lead a fairly charmed life. I have a career that I absolutely love. I found the love of my life and married him. I have two amazingly smart and talented daughters. I have loving family all around including my parents and sisters in New York and my in-laws in California. And we were all healthy and happy. Then my world was shaken with Keith’s death. My daughters and I have been managing and we found a new normal. Life was good again. Life was good until a routine mammogram showed abnormalities. The surgeon I was referred to recommended a biopsy on my left breast and the results were good. He recommended that I come back 6 months later for a follow up. By October I was concerned about a lump in my right breast. And I went in for another biopsy. This result was not good and I would need surgical intervention along with chemo and radiation treatment since there was definitely some lymph node involvement.
So on Monday, December 12th I was scheduled to have a lumpectomy. That was okay, I could handle this. However, just prior to surgery, an MRI showed 4 satellites in the right breast and now my surgery was postponed until the 15th for a modified radical mastectomy. With the support of prayer from the 4 corners and throughout the US, I got through the procedure well, and I was thrilled that the worst was behind me. I am on medical leave, but my benefits are great and I continue to receive my salary. Being a longtime employee has definitely paid off. And I am grateful that I have good medical coverage as well.
Here in El Paso, I have a number of supportive friends that are helping me through this ordeal. And I am amazed at just how many women go through this diagnosis. The statistics show that 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer and that over 80% of those women have NO family history.
So why does a healthy and happy woman like me get breast cancer? No one knows. But luckily this cancer has tons of research and there is a lot of knowledge out there for treatment. I focus on my blessings of supportive family and friends. I am grateful for my career and the benefits I have with my job. I am thankful that my surgery went well and am on the road to recovery. And I am grateful to God for being with me through the good times and the bad.
I did not choose this, it chose me. But survival does not depend on the situation as much as one’s reaction. I go on living my life with gratitude. And hopefully in one year I will be healthy and back to living my normal, wonderful life.

Winter Nationals Atlanta 2011

Tina — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:51:44 +0000

Lara’s back to taper mode this Thanksgiving week. AT&T Winter Nationals are set for Atlanta, Georgia for December 1-3, 2011. Usually this is a short course championship meet, but since we’re heading into a summer Olympics year, all big meets until then are long course meters. So Winter Nationals it is! You can grab the link on usaswimming.org to watch results. Lara will swim the 50 free on Thursday, December 1 and the 100 free on Saturday, December 3. U of A’s post grads from Ford Aquatics will be well represented by several of the pro swimmers. While the college team heads to Austin, Texas for the Texas Invitational with all of the coaches that same time, the pros are usually on their own at this big meet in December. But not this year. Lara has arranged for her El Paso coach, Wright Stanton III to travel to Atlanta with them. It’s a great win-win situation. Coach has always wanted the experience of working with elite swimmers. This talented group of elites can benefit from a coach with Wright’s knowledge and experience. And my daughter will have her substitute “Dad” along for support. Go kick some butt in Atlanta Ford! Swim fast, Lara!

Lara Wins & Sets New Record at Pan Am Games 2011

Tina — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 12:47:57 +0000

She did it! Lara arrived one week prior with Team USA in Guadalajara, Mexico for the 2011 Pan Am Games. It was a long week of holding her taper, hanging out at the athlete village, watching other swimmers race, eating and resting. Lara was able to call me a few times and we’d chat. Her mood was good, but she was wanting very much to get on with it! Then the day finally arrived on Friday, October 21st. Off to prelims where she won her heat and was seated 2nd for finals behind Brazil’s Graciele Herrmann. Then finals arrived. I am still at work trying to finish my documentation. Thankfully my friend, Mindy was also finishing up so she hung out and we watched the results page on the website, refreshing every minute or so. Then as I refreshed the last time, my phone goes off with a text message and we see on the computer screen that Lara won the 50m free with a new Pan AmGames record of 25.09! Woo-hoo! She got the gold!
There was no live video feed from her race, but luckily a little after I did find a file video of the race and medal ceremony. How awesome to see her in action. Her coach from El Paso, Wright Stanton emailed me back. He wrote that he watched the race about 20 times, stated that it was not a good race for her and he wants to talk with her. Ha! Typical Wright. Lara won gold, but there’s still work to be done! That’s why he’s the best!
On USA Swimming website, they posted an article titled, “Team USA Wraps Up Pool Competition With Two Golds, Three Meet Records”. It said that the American Women won gold in all but two events over the course of the meet. Isn’t that something! And there was a quote from Lara in the article,
“Lara Jackson (El Paso, Texas) also won gold for the U.S. Friday, taking the women’s 50m freestyle with a meet-record time of 25.09. Teammate Madison Kennedy (Avon, Conn.) finished third in 25.24.
“I don’t like to fixate on my time before I race,” Jackson said. “I just focus on nailing all the details. If I focus on all the details, the times will come. I couldn’t be happier with things coming out the way they did.” We agree. Great job Lara! Love you. See you soon.

Lara to Compete at Pan Am Games 2011

Tina — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:34:50 +0000

The swimming events start today on October 15th at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. And Lara made her second Team USA roster, last one in 2007 when she competed in Japan. Now it’s not all glam and excitement being in a beautiful resort town. Lara says she basically sees the pool and the athlete village. She could basically be anywhere in the world, but she’s all business, so all she sees is her room and the pool. Also she’s in “taper blues”. She’s not allowed to work hard in practice and she needs to maintain the taper for fast swimming. Plus she’s not at home where she can stay busy visiting her horse or playing with her dog. So it’s tough for Lara and hopefully she won’t go too stir crazy waiting for her 50 free event on Friday, October 21st.
But making this team is huge for Lara’s journey to make the Olympic team next year. She has the opportunity to be back in the international arena and gain the valuable experience there. So how does a girl from a small swim town make it to the international stage? In the US there are thousands of young swimmers competing on club teams with the hope of one day making the Olympics. Lara got into swimming as an afterthought and had no illusions of being a big time swimmer. But she just happened to have incredible talent. A talent too big to ignore. And sometimes under protest, Lara would be thrust upward into the next level. Along with talent, Lara had a firm foundation for the sport with her first coach, Melissa Lomeli. Melissa recognized the potential in Lara and set up the foundation of her skills with excellent fundamentals and solid sportsmanship. As Lara got to the turbulent teenage years, Wright Stanton III became her main coach and coaxed Lara along. He knew when to push Lara and when to let up. With her talent and these two incredible coaches, Lara was able to harness her strong work ethic and competitive spirit to rise up to NCAA Division I swimming. Receiving a great opportunity as a walk-on, Lara started as the slowest swimmer on the team and ended up as a 13 time All-American and 2 time individual national champion.
Of course it also helps to have two amazing parents! Lara got Keith’s great athletic ability and my long arms and legs. There was nothing Lara couldn’t do athletically if she put her mind to it. And though it was tough at times, we learned to be supportive parents without overly interfering with the process of developing an Olympic hopeful. This recipe worked for Lara and our family. It may not work for others. But I am grateful for all of the experiences we’ve had with Lara’s swimming, and for those experiences to come. Go Team USA! Go Lara!

http://usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1419&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en

The Blessings Keep Coming

Tina — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:17:42 +0000

I think that Lara and I are still pinching ourselves over the results of her swimming this summer. Lara exited the pool in Irvine, California in August 2010 as a very discouraged competitor. Her performance then was way below expectations and we felt so down. I recently spoke with Lara and mentioned what a difference a year makes and she told me something that makes you think. She said, “Mom, I needed THAT year to have this year.” And what a year this was!
Lara started back to competing in April 2011 at the JAX 50 Meet in Florida. She was blessed to get invited as a pro, arrived, took names and conquered! She won it and got some nice prize money to boot. From that point on she approached each meet with determination and a renewed confidence, improving her times with each race. She gradually built up her skills to win the 50 free at US Nationals. And now she’s looking forward to competing at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico October 15-22. Lara is finally back where she should be since competing at Olympic Trials in 2008.
I definitely see a pattern with Lara’s progress in her swim career. University of Arizona took a chance on her as a walk on in 2005. She was an “unknown” not truly tested in a large arena. Her freshman year was tough, but her coaches and friends helped her to hang in there. She did compete in the “A” relay of the 200 medley relay at NCAA’s and was named an All-American her freshman year. By sophomore year she broke a school record, got second in the 50 free at NCAA’s. She won the 50 free both junior and senior years at NCAA’s and broke the American record in the 50 yd free a few times during senior year. And she claimed the Ruby Award for the Female Athlete of the Year at U of A. Lara had a ton of potential that panned out nicely with her college career.
Then she turned professional in 2009. There were many ups and downs with the learning process of being a pro, while finishing her studies at U of A. And of course losing her biggest fan, her Dad in April 2009 had a huge impact. Lara always worked hard in training, but the spirit needs time to heal from such a great loss. And by 2011, Lara was ready to make things happen.
So she wins the 50 M free at US Nationals 2011 AND lands a sponsorship with FINIS! What an incredible blessing that is! To have a company show such confidence in Lara is HUGE! This economy has not be able to offer much opportunity to pro swimmers, except to a select few, usually Olympians. So once again Lara gets the support she needs as an “untested” athlete. Thank you FINIS.
Can you stand a little more great news? Lara just found out this past week that she has been awarded another training grant from USA Swimming! She has received several grants in the past and these are a huge blessing. But this grant solidifies the confidence that USA Swimming has in Lara’s potential.
Lara, you are awesome. You hung in there when someone else in your shoes would’ve quit. You took charge of your situation and turned everything around. You have shown true grit and the best is yet to come. You deserve all of your successes. And you have made me very proud!

Lara Signs With FINIS INC

Tina — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:43:30 +0000

A dream has come true for Lara! She was offered a sponsorship with FINIS INC and she officially signed up this week! She was offered a nice package and is looking forward towards her first photo shoot with Jason Lezak in September. And what a happy accident of timing that made this all possible.
Lara’s teammate at Tucson Ford Swimming, Annie Chandler had gotten some suits from FINIS to try and the suits did not fit the 6′ tall swimmer. So Annie asked Lara if she wanted to give the suits a try while they were at the LA Meet in July. Lara did try the suit and loved it. FINNIS did contact Lara and sent her a copy of a contract that was less than stellar. Lara let them know that she wanted to wait until after Nationals to make any commitments. Well, Lara did win the 50 M free at US Nationals. She contacted FINNIS and said that she was not happy with the contract originally offered. FINNIS rep told Lara that Lara was the first athlete to win in their suit and that they were looking at a new contract for her. They came back with a very nice offer and after considering it carefully, Lara signed it. And I hear that I will also be offered FINIS shirts to wear at Olympic Trials next summer. How cool is that I get in on part of the deal. And Lara is happy to have some financial independence. Lara, you have officially arrived as a pro. Way to go!

Lara Jackson Takes 50 M Free at US Nationals 2011

Tina — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 02:50:31 +0000

It finally happened! Lara won her first US National title in the 50 meter freestyle. She was able to beat out Madison Kennedy, Kara Lynn Joyce and Amanda Weir for the prize. She has been building for this all year. The good news is that she won. Is there bad news? Sort of. With a winning time of 24.98, she barely squeaked out of a top 16 world ranking. This does cost her a stipend from USA Swimming. But she will compete at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico in October. Keep up with the training Miss Lara, and you’ll be in that top 16 next!