I have the word “taper” in quotes because my coach doesn’t like to use that word. Rather, he calls it “fine tuning.” I am resting for Trials differently than I have in the past couple of years for my big meets, not cutting back as much, because my training is different: I do not lift, I have only been doing two doubles a week, am with a different coach then when at Cal, and because my times from meets this summer have consistently been where we want them. I am rather correcting the small things that I sometimes overlooked during the training season, and doing a lot of racing in practice. It’s been FUN! Fun not only because I love to race, but also because there seems to be a certain “buzz” in the atmosphere on deck with exactly seven days till we depart for Trials! I know that every swimmer in the nation that’s attending the meet next week knows that “buzz” feeling that I am talking about, I know that everyone out there has a level of nervousness….but you have to have fun with it! I have been saying all year that I am very excited to attend my second US Olympic Trials (even though I am EXTREMELY bummed they’re not in my hometown this time!!!!!!!!!!), and I am excited for the opportunity to qualify for my first US Olympic Team…..but it’s finally here!

The hardest part about “taper time” or “fine tuning time,” whatever you want to call it, is keeping myself from running in circles and climbing the walls with excitement and anticipation. I bought myself some TV series on DVD’s, which has kept me calm and off my legs all day. I am almost done with season 1 of The Office, and I think I have laughed harder at that show than any other time I can remember in my life! I used to think the show was kind of weird and awkward, and didn’t really care to get into it, but now that I have started, those two qualities are exactly what I LOVE about it. For those other Office fans out there, I have to say that I wish I knew Dwight in real life, let alone getting to work with him everyday. I can only imagine what he could get himself into at a swim practice…….I think I am the only one who has the free time to imagine situations like this.

I am not sure if I will blog again before Trials start, but know that I am heading into it head on. I am excited to travel to paradise (Omaha) and going to fight till the end to make the Team! Be sure to follow the results, maybe light a candle for good luck for me! And as always, thanks for reading!

Love everyone of you,
Jessica

Well, thought I’d check in and say hello again. Since the last post, honestly, not much has happened. I competed and did really well at SMOC, I’ve been training my butt off, and not much else. It’s gotten to that point where it is crunch time with training, I am leaving every last ounce of energy in the pool in practice everyday. Taper is right around the corner, and so are the Trials, so I am not having any trouble staying motivated. The countdown continues!
Since the last time I posted, I was named the USOC co-athlete of the month with Ryan Lochte for my performances at Short Course Worlds. In my opinion, this is the highest award I have ever received and I am stoked to be honored!
Additionally, I have been doing some local interviews, including one for CBS Sunday morning News that aired last weekend about the new Speedo LZR. I think I was chosen mainly because I live in LA, close to the production studios, and also because of my positive experiences in the suit. The reason I am mentioning it is because the clip has been added to the site, under Multimedia; be sure to check it out!
Finally, I am competing in the Irvine Speedo Grand Challenge this weekend, if you are local and can make it out you should come watch. I don’t think too many teams are competing since Santa Clara had such a large turnout last weekend, but I will have fun racing as always! I am swimming more events than usual, motivated slightly because of a rumor I heard that they are giving away a car this year! Keep your fingers crossed that I WIN! After this meet, JEI (in two weeks) will be our last meet before Trials. I love to race, so I am going to use these last two meets to get all my kinks out and see what I can do while still tired.
Thanks for reading. Until next time,
Jessica

a quick PS - I wanted to share some videos of my swims from Manchester. Check out the links below

50 breast (World Record): http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-Y7IUlq2wc
100 breast (American Record): http://youtube.com/watch?v=atqbw8KY-5o
400 Medley Relay (they only show the freestyle leg, but this was another World Record, and I split a 1.03. in my breast, two seconds faster than anyone in the field!): http://youtube.com/watch?v=OP7yfU3Ju4w

enjoy

So I am pretty sure I am the worst blogger ever; failing to update is definitely an underexaggeration. Last time I left off, it was January. It is now the end of April. Not much has really happened, considering my entire life revolves around swimming, sleeping and eating, with the occasional meet or appearance. I have done a lot of all five, which have been both excruciatingly tiring, and extremely exciting at times.

Some highlights of the past 4 months (that I can remember!):

- I competed at the Long Beach Grand Prix. It was a very fun meet for me since I am from Long Beach, and my parents still live there. I was able to invite all of my Trojan teammates over to relax in between prelim and finals sessions, as well as show some of my National teammates my house. I had some best times coming off of the very intense Christmas training, with no rest, which was fabulous to say the least.
- I swam the Missouri Grand Prix meet, which was also fun to see more National teammate friends that don’t live on the West Coast. It was the first time I got to race in the LZR Racer. I had tried it in the water a couple of times before that at Speedo fittings, but it wasn’t legal to race in until that meet. I swam really well again, and was really pleased to get the experience racing in the suit. They take absolutely FOREVER to put on and are somewhat fragile as well, so I was able to get used to those things at a low-pressure meet.
- I had a Speedo photo shoot in March. It is really fun getting your hair and makeup done, and it is exciting to be able to see the new training suits and cute clothes that are coming out next. I absolutely love the new challenge of modeling that I have been presented with since this time last year, and I feel like I get more comfortable at every one of these shoots.
- I filmed a Pontiac commercial! It was a very quick process, the day of the first call and the day we filmed were less than a week apart. It was a commercial featuring athletes from various Olympic Sports, and how the strength, sleekness, tone, etc. in what we do compares to how the car moves and is built. It was a really cool experience and I met some very cool athletes. My job was to walk up to a starting block, take a deep breath, place my goggles, take my mark, and flex. The hardest part was the fact that I had to be sprayed with freezing cold water in between each of the 45 shots. Brrrr!! The commercial unfortunately will only air in Canada. So if you’re over there anytime soon, keep an eye out for it!
- I turned 21 on March 12!!!!!! My mom surprised me and took me to Vegas for a day and a half, (I only missed one practice, not to worry!) We got a free upgrade to the Penthouse Suite at the Mirage, saw the Cirque du Soleil show “O,” gambled and celebrated my legalization! It was an amazing trip, a birthday that I’ll remember for the rest of my life!
- I got to go to Men’s NCAA’s. I traveled with the USC team, got some great workouts in before prelims everyday, and got to watch my boyfriend’s last ever collegiate meet. He then went straight home to Switzerland to compete in his Olympic Trials. He swam amazing, breaking National Records right and left, and officially qualifying for Beijing! I am very jealous that he knows for sure that he is going, has that pressure off, but at the same time am absolutely thrilled for him.
- The next week I left with my coach, Dave Salo, and teammates Larsen Jensen and Peter Marshall for Manchester, UK to compete in the 2008 FINA Short Course World Championships. I had the meet of my life! I broke two World Records (in the 50m breaststroke and the 4X100 Medley Relay, with Margaret Hoelzer, Rachel Komisarz, and Kara Denby), broke an American Record in the 100m breaststroke, won three gold medals in those respective events, placed 4th in the 50 free with another personal best time, and 5th in the 4X100 Freestyle relay. Some interesting things happened while I was racing over there; in the semi of the 50 breaststroke, my hands separated on the entry of my dive, and I face-planted over six feet to the bottom of the pool! I had to keep my calm, did my pulldown and, thankfully the new dolphin kick rule allowed me to get up to the surface only a little over a body length behind my heat. I reacted purely instinctually, and still managed to make it into the final as the 5th seed. One of the other nights I had to swim three times in less than an hour and a half, with less than a 200 warm down total - had the 100 breast final, awards and parading, the 50 free semi, then the 4X100 Freestyle relay, followed by drug testing and media. I wasn’t tapered for the meet, so I was definitely in shape enough where it wasn’t too bad, but having that kind of a schedule was exhausting! I definitely have a newfound respect for people like Michael and Ryan who have to do that kind of thing so frequently. I’m glad I’m a sprinter!
- I had another Speedo photo shoot last week. It was a smaller group including Kim Vandenberg and one of the men’s National Team water polo players. It was fun to have someone who wasn’t a swimmer involved. It was a quick shoot, but again I had a blast!
- I feel like I just got home from Manchester (I haven’t even finished returning emails yet, sorry if I owe you one!), but I am already racing again this weekend in Mission Viejo at their annual Swim Meet of Champions. I used to live in Mission Viejo when I was much younger, and swam with the Nadadores (however, not very successfully), so this meet is always a blast from the past. It’ll be fun to race in another pool that I am so comfortable with, and good to see how I am shaping up LCM after racing SCM two weeks ago.

Besides all of that stuff, it’s pretty much training, training, and more training for me! I am stronger, in better shape, and training better than I ever have in my entire life. I am motivated and excited for the next 68 days until our Olympic Trails begin!

Thanks again for checking out my site. Love you all,
Jessica

Have been on a whirlwind lately, composed exclusively of traveling and training. Imagine that.

I had the opportunity to travel to Europe for the holidays. Spent Christmas and several days leading up to it in Switzerland, but also managed to visit Venice (Italy), and we snuck over to Austria and Germany for literally a half hour each, just so I could say I have been there, done that! Switzerland absolutely blew me away. It was interesting being exposed to Swiss-German for the first time (and creating a self-imposed challenge of learning as many words/phrases as I could in 12 days… I like to think I was fairly successful). Going there in the winter was stunning; seeing the snow-covered countryside, tobogganing in the Alps, and meeting some of the nicest people I have ever met were all experiences I will never forget (but hope to repeat)!

Then it was straight back into Christmas training. We got to travel all the way to Soka University! (I am being facetious: Soka University is about 45 min away from my parent’s house in Long Beach, and is where I trained for over a year in high school. Therefore, not very far compared to other teams who traveled internationally, or Colorado Springs, Hawaii, etc.). I normally do not do two water sessions a day. If I workout again in the afternoon, it is without a coach or organized group, at the gym, lifting or spinning. It works though, I went a best time at Short Course Nationals a couple of weeks ago for the first time since my senior year of high school (finally broke into the :58 range!), and other people on Trojan Swim Club also have been improving their best times. However, during Christmas training I hopped into doing over three times as much workout time as usual. We have been doing running, bungee cords, lifting heavily, medicine ball stuff, boxing, jumping rope, rowing, as well as swimming for over 4 hours a day. We even had a practice with fastskins on doing repetitive all-out swims off the block, for over two hours. I have been very enthused about all these new challenges. While I am thoroughly exhausted everyday, I can also feel myself getting WAY stronger as I go through it all.

It is officially 2008! My New Years’ Resolutions are set, my swimming goals are set, and I am embracing this landmark year head-on. I hope that everyone had a fabulous holiday season and are approaching this New Year with all the enthusiasm it deserves!

Until next time,
Jessica

So much has been happening lately! I love being busy, so I have nothing to complain about, but I guess that means I have some stuff to catch up on in here!  

First of all, I got to travel recently when I went to the Minneapolis Grand Prix meet two weeks ago . I swam the 100 breaststroke, 100 fly, and the 50 and 100 freestyles. I traveled to Minneapolis the day before the meet started, which I don’t think helped contribute to any fast swimming at the beginning of the meet. I typically like to have at least a day before I compete to recover from traveling, but I wasn’t too stressed out about how I performed at a Grand Prix meet. However, I ended up swimming lifetime best-times in the 100 fly, 100 and 50 frees, so I am a little curious how I would have swam in the 100 breast if I had a little more time before the race. Oh well, there is more time for that to come! I decided to wear fastskins at that meet, while some of the people I raced did not, but I figured why travel out there without the intention to swim fast! I ended up doing just that and had a good time doing so. It was also fun to see some friends!

It was also fun to see some friends when I got the opportunity to participate in a media day with NBC Olympic broadcasts, NBC pre-Games marketing, NBCOlympics.com, USOC interviews, USOlympicteam.com, Getty Images, Access Hollywood, and Channel One last Friday. It was an awesome experience getting to talk about the thing that I like talking about best (myself!), got to get my hair and makeup done, got to wear some cool Speedo clothes, meet some very cool people, and it definitely pumped me up even more leading into the Olympic year!

Straight from that media day, I went to help out with an inner-city children’s clinic with USA Swimming’s  Make a Splash Foundation. I got to share some of my favorite breaststroke drills and got to meet some very enthusiastic little swimmers! I also participated in another clinic with my friends Jason Lezak, Lenny Krayzelburg, and Rowdy Gaines. It was a clinic with masters swimmers and I got to hop in the water to demonstrate breaststroke and various drills, which was a little more difficult as I came straight from my morning practice! I enjoyed seeing the improvements in their strokes as the clinic went on, and the morning flew by.

Golden Goggles were the next night, in Beverly Hills, CA. I live approximately 15 miles away from the hotel that we were staying in, so it was kind of weird “going on vacation” so close to where I live. I have to admit, it was super fun being walking distance to Rodeo Drive, and staying in the same hotel with all of my National Team friends. The big event was on Sunday night, which was also my boyfriend’s 23rd birthday, whom I brought as my date. I got to see everyone out of their swim suits and into their dresses and (dress up) suits! Everyone looked fabulous and I had fun getting dressed up as well.

This week is Thanksgiving, my boyfriend is joining my family for the holiday since he is from Switzerland. This will be his first authentic American feast and I am excited to show him how to pig out! My older (step) sister and her husband are flying in from Washington DC, and they are rarely out here on the West Coast, so I am also excited to see them. Her husband’s family is also going to join us, so my parent’s house is going to be packed this weekend! Should be an eventful time and I guarantee you we will be making a dent in the turkey this year.

Whoever decided to make the US Short Course National Championships the week after Thanksgiving and a week and a half after Golden Goggles was looking for a disaster! I have to be careful not too have too much pumpkin pie, as I am traveling to Atlanta next week to compete at Nationals. I have been enjoying a bit of rest in our workouts and am excited to race! I know that the meet will be tons of fun, and don’t worry, I am leaving enough time to recover from traveling this time

Since it is Thanksgiving time, I wanted to express my thanks to all of you who take the time to check out my site and read this. I appreciate all of you who support me and I hope that you all have a very happy holiday!

Lots of love, Jessica 

Wow, my first blog! It has been a goal of mine to get my website up and running for a while now, and thanks to all the people who have helped me finally acheive this. It is very exciting to be writing a blog on my newly completed website.

Well, after a very long summer of living at home in Long Beach, I finally narrowed it down and decided to move to downtown Los Angeles to be closer to the USC pool where I train. Once I decided where in LA I wanted to live, it was not hard to find the apartment complex I am living in now. I am loving the downtown life! I love the view of all the other tall buildings, I love the sound of cars and people going past all night long, the professional attire that almost everyone downtown always wears, and being able to walk to countless restaurants and entertainment 24/7! I can even walk to the gym, where I meet my friend and teammate, Vanessa for spin classes every Monday and Wednesday evenings.

The best part about finally having my own apartment was the decorating opportunities! A friend recommended a place in Orange County where they sell left-over model home furniture, where they have the absolute most beautiful furniture I have ever seen, and it is all discounted because it is being re-sold! Needless to say, I had no trouble finding everything I could have dreamt of, and had my entire apartment the exact way I wanted it within three weeks. I even moved my cat in with me that I have had for 6 years. I am a big animal lover and couldn’t ask for a better little friend than King Tut.

Training has been going super well lately. It surprisingly wasn’t too hard getting back in shape after a break at the end of the summer. I did not perform as well as I wanted during the summer, I was trying to make some technical changes to my stroke, and was adjusting being with a new team and training environment. I was very glad to take a break at the end, come back refreshed, and start moving forward for the Olympic Year! I have been enjoying some interesting practices, including sprint-kicking on physio balls in the water, to pulling a teammate behind me on a stretch cord doing breaststroke while they are surfing on a kick board (it’s a LOT harder than it sounds, believe me), and more stuff that you don’t even want to know.

I am looking forward to continue blogging on my new site! Thanks for reading and looking around.

Lots of love,
Jessica