Lara’s Blog

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As a condition of receiving a grant from USA Swimming, Lara is obligated to participate in three Grand Prix Meets in 2010.  I’ve mentioned before that Lara has been putting her main focus into her studies at University of Arizona this semester.  Although she is working hard in practice, she is not at the caliber to swim fast times at this meet.  Checking out the psych sheet, she is listed top 5 in the 100 fly and is the top seed in the 50 free.  I know that Lara is usually quite competitive, so I know that she will put out full effort for each of her races.  But be prepared that she will not be at her peak for this meet.  She’s saving that for the Pan Pac Trials in early August.  Whatever happens, go Lara, go!

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Life is a blessing every day, right?  Or every day is a blessing.  It’s winter, kind of cold here in El Paso.  Enjoying watching the winter Olympics on TV. Working well at my day job.  And pleased to know that each of my daughters is working hard at school.  Carly is completing her master’s degree at Emerson College in Boston.  And Lara is working on her bachelor’s degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson.  In the wake of losing Keith, I sometimes wonder if we’ll be okay financially.  Thankfully working as a physical therapist provides a good living.  But trying to launch Lara’s career as a professional swimmer can be challenging with this economy.  Travel expenses to out of town meets can get expensive as well as just paying the rent and eating.  So it was nice that Lara got some notifications from USA Swimming that there are grants and moneys available to help with training expenses.  We wanted to take advantage of any moneys that Lara was eligible for.
The first grant application was due in November 2009.  Lara received notification on February 6th that she was selected to receive the William E. Simon grant this year.  Very nice news, to say the least.  When Lara received this notification, she had just completed an application for the 2010 Athlete Investment Plan.  And Lara received notification on February 9th, “Dear Lara, We received thirty-five proposals for this funding from current National Team athletes and 2008 Olympians and we were extremely impressed with the thoughtfulness that went into them.  We have reviewed all of the plans we received and we are pleased to tell you we will be awarding you $____  to support the goals and objectives discussed in your plan.  Specifically, this funding can address horse care and horseback riding.”   Wow, Lara!  You are awarded moneys from USA Swimming to assist paying for your training in preparation for the 2012 Olympics and somehow you get your horse funded!   Only you can pull this off.  And you know what?  You and Calypso deserve this because I know that she has a huge impact on your success in swimming.  Way to go, Calypso!

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I continue to be in awe of my talented swim baby, Lara Jackson.  She continues to astound me.  Just got back from Tucson where I had a good one-on-one visit with Lara.  We were able to connect on a couple of occasions on what’s going on in our lives as we gradually recover from our great loss.  We remembered Keith and shed a couple of tears, but it was very cleansing.
Lara is back in class at University of Arizona pounding the books and enjoying the farm where she’s taking a yearling class, learning to train baby horses.  She’s in her element there!  What impresses me is the focus and drive that she exhibits as she returns to academics and training in her swimming.  And with all of this, she loves to have fun.  You go girl!  We were pleased to learn that Lara was awarded a grant from USA Swimming for which she applied last November.  I had about given up hope on that grant and we were able to complete an application for another funding opportunity through USA Swimming.  Lara spent a couple of hours on the application Saturday evening and again on Sunday.  It needed to be faxed on Monday morning, February 1.  What a pleasant surprise to get a text from Lara today stating that she got the grant.  I was so thrilled I could not stand it.  Such a blessing to get this.
So Lara’s big goal for 2010 is to swim well at Pan Pac Trials in August in Irvine, California.  The Pan Pacs are hosted by USA about two weeks later in Irvine, California.  A nice experience to make an international team and not have to leave the country!  In the meantime, Lara will be traveling to Austin, Texas to compete in the Austin Grand Prix Meet March 4-6.  So I know that all of her fans will wish her well as she works towards her ultimate goal of the 2012 Olympics in London, England.  We believe in you Lara, we believe!

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