First, I have to give a HUGE shout out to our dear friends Jim and Tracy Aust. Tom and I met Jim and Tracy a few years ago. Tracy is friends with my mother-in-law and over the years, we've gotten to know Jim and Tracy and become great friends with them. They are truly amazing people and Tracy has become almost like a mom to me. They are by far the most caring, sincere, humble and fun people I think I've ever met. Oh, and did I mention that they are absolute rock stars in the tri and du world? I'm talking A-MAZING! Just to give you a little run down of how much in awe of them I am, here are some stats about the Aust:
- At the Elite Endeavors Triathlon in Sylvania, Ohio the Austs all made the top 10 overall with Jim at 6th, Zach (their son who just started racing this summer on a whim) at 7th (and only his 3rd tri) and Tracy at 10th (1st overall woman).
- Tracy has had 7 1st Overall Female race finishes ... this year.
- She repeatedly qualifies for Nationals and this year was the 1st in her Age Group by 10 minutes and 4th Overall Female (missed third by a mere 3 seconds)
- She's a USA Triathlon 2009 All-American and ranked #13 in her age group
- Jim's a freaking stud too - always in the top 10 at any race we do, one hell of a biker (and swimmer and runner) and has competed a multiple times in Nationals and Worlds. Oh... and he only took up the sport a few years ago.
Anyhoo, so this past weekend they head to Budapest to represent the USA at Sprint Worlds and they both kicked some major butt! Jim was smokin' fast in a super tough AG and came in 13th, and Tracy freaking WON her AG. She's the World Champion. The. World. Champion.
And we know them. I wish I could be fast just by association or that some of their awesomeness would rub off on me. I'm determined to find out their secret (besides an amazing amount of hard work). Heck... maybe I should hire them to coach me.
In any event, I'm so super proud of them and just think that the world should know how much Tom and I admire them, look up to them, want to be like them and love them!
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My second thing is TOTALLY off the subject of awesomeness.
So right after the Ironman, Tom and I went to a friend's pool and hung out with my sister and brother-in-law and their kiddos. My brother-in-law used to be a swimmer so as we were splashing around, Tom asked Richard to check out my stroke and tell me what I can do to improve. I swam once across the pool, popped up and looked at him for wisdom and his response was "do you always kick that much because I couldn't concentrate on anything but your kicking?". Lovely. I guess I do. I don't know.
He had me put a kick board (because that's all we could find) between my legs to prevent the kick. I swam some more. We talked some more and it was determined that I need to kick less. His suggestion "swim with a pool boy between your legs".
A WHAT???
I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.
Richard is originally from England and still has a very thick accent. He repeated himself, probably because at this point everyone was cracking up. The jokes started...my husband was definitely not in favor of me getting faster if it it meant I had to put a pool boy between my legs.
In any event, I finally stopped laughing, told him it's a pull buoy and promised that I'd buy one of those and work with it. Went out, got one, and tried it out today.
Hot damn that thing killed my inner thighs. Am I doing something wrong? Not only were my shoulders on fire from pulling without a kick, but I seriously must be squeezing the thing way hard. It's definitely like the thigh-master.
Everyone always said that swimming works every part of your body... I can barely walk tonight.
hehehe - all because of Richard suggesting I get a pool boy. :)
13 comments:
Wow, Budapest...World Champ...just awesome!!
Funny about the swimming...I don't think I kick enough!!
pull buoy's are amazing! When I feel off my bike and couldn't kick in the pool and had to do all pulling with the pull buoy my stroke improved immensely. It's a pain in the butt and it's hard but now I'd rather pull than kick anyday!
Congrats to your friends and where can I get a pool boy!?
Wow! Jim and Tracy sound like quite the people! That's awesome.
LOL about the "Pool boy"!! Sounds like you found just the trick to help with the swimming! It's amazing the difference I notice in my upper body strength after using the pull bouy for a while!
Haha, Steve and I laughed at the pool boy comment. Wow, I can say I "know" a world champ in sprints too now. Haha, ok so I just talked with her once, but that counts, right? HA.
Oh and the pull buoy really shouldn't hurt your inner thighs. Did you buy the adjustable one where you pull on the straps and make space between them to put your legs? Hard to describe but the buoys are then on either side of your legs (top and bottom). Steve and I use them all the time. I prefer the buoys to kickboards anyday, since I like upper body workouts best!
Ha ha!! Funny! When I use a Pull buoy I put it between either my knees or ankles. you should just barely be squezzing it. And your lats should hurt more than your shoulders do. Try utilixing your lats when pulling. Im not the bestest swimmer, but I've gotten these tips for myself!! :)
The 'pool boy' story is just hilarious! I think I will remember that whenever I see people swimming with those now.
That is so cool that you know the World Champion! That's such a huge accomplishment and so cool that you have someone like that in your life.
I was going to echo Rebecca and say you need the pull buoy that has the straps between two cones and won't slip. Here's an example: http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/1241.htm
So much more comfortable and won't hurt your inner thighs!
So funny about the pool boy! I love pool buoys--you must be squeezing too tight, though. Just remember--don't get too dependent on it. It's a pretty common thing for triathletes to have lousy kicks and thus we love our pool buoys. But it's also important to work on your kick by itself.
Your friends are serious studs!
Love the pool boy comment! ;)
Budapest - completely amazing.
HAHAHA A pool boy made you walk funny ;) Naughty!!
Lol about the "pool boy"! Haha. I just started using a pull buoy during my swim workouts, I like it! I definitely feel it in my arms and shoulders! Maybe you are squeezing it too much in your thighs but it will only make you have stronger thigh muscles right?!?! That's so awesome that you know that family! World Champ, that's awesome!
that is hilarious about the pool boy, and that family is AmaZing!!
Thanks so much for all your comments during my marathon week, I can't believe it's over already...I'm ready for the next one! : )
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