This semester I started swimming again. I had stopped
because I felt like I could not manage, tennis, track and swimming at the same
time and give it my best. Although I do not regret that decision I realized
that swimming really was a key part of my health. It gave me endurance for
track and field, but also helped me used up my energy and have a balanced body
When I started the team again it was really hard. The
training was not easy, as we had to get ready for the NASA meets. I worked as
hard as I could and was not disappointed by the results I achieved in the meets
a month after. I broke a few swimming records and even got an article in the
newspaper
Daily Nation. I met the new
people of the team and especially the team captain, Caela. I think she played a
very important role psychologically for me and I feel for the rest of the team
as well. She takes swimming very seriously and is always ready to cheer up
anyone in the pool. She brought sportsmanship to our team and made us come
closer.
The most important meet of the season was the Kasarani meet.
We competed against all the best swimmers in Kenya. It really was an amazing
experience. I was not expecting such a high level of sport. In my first race I
came 12
th, which was a big shock for me. I was not used being out of
the top 6 in a meet. Coach Murithii came to me and said, Louise you came 12
th
in the whole of Kenya. Although it was not exactly true this taught me how to
balance my emotions. It means nothing to come 1
st in a meet where
you have no competition and if you do not achieve a personal best time. However
coming 12
th in a national meet is some kind of achievement. After
having understood that I went back to swim my next race thinking of does my
best and not necessary beat my opponents. I got a personal best and placed 5
th.
The race where I was hoping to get a medal was the 100m butterflies. I was
really nervous when I came on the blocks. All the girls I was against were a
lot taller and bigger than me. I however focused and gave the race everything I
had. This was a real success, I improved my time by 4 seconds and placed 3
rd
overall!! Considering it was the last race of the meet, I can fairly say that
the meet was a well-spent weekend!
Kasarani was our last big meet. Right now we are all
training very hard for the Addis Ababa ISSEA next week. Although I do not feel
like I am ready, I still think we will do well. We have a very small team but a
very efficient team also. The older Varsity girl along with me, have a great
chance of bringing a trophy back home. In order to be ready for this meet we
have had a very tight schedule
We must now come 5 times a week to practice and each day has
a specific focus. On Mondays I work on my endurance. The usual works out are 6
times 300meters and a 15min in the end to cool off and get use for the long
runs. Tuesday afterschool I do some triple jump. Since Kasarani I have really
started to enjoy this discipline. I find it a lot more fun than long jump. It
requires more technique and muscles. The work that is needed behind every jump
really fascinates me. I felt like I had come to my best distance in long jump
and would only improve by a few centimeters at every meet. In triple jump
however I am just learning how to do it and for this reason I improve by at
least 20cm every practice. My coach says that she feels confident to but my
goal at 11m for next week. I do not know if I will be able to get such a
distance but I will do everything I can for it. On Wednesday I do some shorter
distance work. We do intervals of 200m or 150m. These are for me to be able to
sprint off my events even if the fatigue is kicking in. And after the work I usually
do some relay work to get familiar with my team and put all our chances on our
side to win. Thursdays resemble my Tuesday practice, except that I spend the
second half of practice in the gym doing strength work. I really do no like
working out in the gym, however the exercises we do really do help on my sprints.
This taught me that sometimes you must do what you do like to get better
results and enjoy your races a lot more. On Fridays I do shot put and relay
work. Shot put is a very complete discipline. After having done it for over 4
years I still learn new tricks every practice. Last practice I worked on my releasing
angle and on timing my throw with my slide. This is for me the hardest part of
it all. Staying low requires a lot of leg muscles especially in my thighs.
After the glide comes the hardest part. I need to time my releasing time with
the right angle to my standing up to maximize the amount of force I transfer in
my shot. I really enjoy learning about all the different technics of shot put
as it proves that sports is not all about strength but has a very important
mental aspect.
