Lara’s Blog

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

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Lara is making progress with her training and we are all excited that she took third in the 50 meter free at the LA Grand Prix Meet on Saturday, July 10th.  So why would we be happy with that?  I mentioned before that Lara stepped back from her training a bit to focus on her studies at the University of Arizona.  For the summer long course season, Lara is playing a little catch up with her training.  And the high tech suits are gone as well.  That may also be an adjustment.  It’s funny, but the long course season is rather short when compared to the short course (25 yards) season.  There’s not much time to get up to speed (no pun intended), during long course meters.  Lara got her feet wet (no pun intended again), with the first meet of the season at the Tucson Classic in early June.  Then one week later she was competing at the Santa Clara Grand Prix Meet.  She barely got her 100 M free down to under one minute.  And she tied for 7th in the 50 meter free with a 25.84.  I know that she may not have been happy with that because I remember her swimming the 50 in a 25.50 at Tucson.  But her text to me was, “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.”
I was curious to see what would happen in LA.  Lara was seeded fourth for finals out of prelims with a 25.77.  I nervously watched finals on the live webcast with my sister on the phone, trying not to scream too loudly into the phone.  The race went off and Lara was looking good!  She lead all the way and I thought that she would win it, but she got third with a 25.23.  Whew!  Best time so far this season.  Kara Lynn Joyce won with a 25.14 and Jessica Hardy took second with 25.16.  Lara sent me a text after I congratulated her, “I know I still need to fix some things but it was progress.  And I was only 0.09 behind first.  I was leading and when I finish I’ll be unbeatable.”   I know Lara, you will be unbeatable at Nationals in Irvine.  Can’t wait to see!

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

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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!

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http://twitter.com/

Long course season is about to begin for Lara.  Next weekend is the Southwest Tucson Classic Meet at the University of Arizona pool.  The meet begins Thursday evening, June 10 and concludes Sunday evening, June 13.  I love going to this meet.  Hard to believe I actually look forward to this when it is so oppressively hot in Tucson in the summer.  But our family has such found memories of this meet.  We first took Lara to compete in Tucson when she was just 11 years old swimming age group level.  We continued to return to this meet most years.  We did not realize back then that Lara would actually end up going to college here AND swimming on the  Division I  University of Arizona Swim Team.  Woo-hoo!   So this will start out the summer season for Lara.  Lara had an excellent semester focusing on her studies during the spring.  But this summer it’s all about her swimming.  She’s training hard and gearing up.
Which brings me to this post.  I will definitely be blogging about how Lara’s season is going on this site.  But I want to try out my tweeting skills.  Some of you may be familiar with Twitter, but let me give you a few instructions.  Go on the Twitter.com website link and look for ElPasoMartina.  You can sign up to follow my tweets.  And you can also allow updates of my tweets to go to your cell phone as well.  So convenient, eh?
As the season progresses and I attend or follow any of the meets in which Lara participates, I can send out up to the minute tweets.  So get connected if you want to “play” along.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the summer.  Lara will travel to the Santa Clara International Grand Prix Swim Meet June 17-20.  The Janet Evans International Grand Prix Swim Meet in LA, California is July 8-11.  Then I will be joining Lara in Irvine, California August 3-7 for the Conoco Philips US National Championships.  Hopefully Lara will qualify out of that meet for 2010 Pan Pacific Championships August 18-22, also in Irvine, California.  So hopefully I’ll have lots of opportunity to both blog and tweet all about Lara and our family swim experiences.  Go Lara!  I believe in you.  You have greatness in you.  Her Dad always believed that.

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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!!!!!

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http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&ItemId=2750&mid=2943

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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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.

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