Nationals

Today I competed in the finals for 3m individual at the 2008 Kaiser Permanente National Championships in Pasadena. Here is a picture of my with my awesome teammates who dove with me. They did an outstanding job and I am really proud of them! Two are 15 and one is 13--Look out 2012!!

I dove well, and I won my 5th National Title with 349 points. I was overall really pleased with how I dove. Although, there is (as always : ) room for improvement. There are some really bad habits my coach and I have been working on getting rid of for quite some time that I cannot seem to shake. So while I was a bit frustrated with that, I did dive well, and I think I am on track for what I want to accomplish in Beijing. I have a little more than two weeks until I compete.

Wow! That really is soon, isn't it?

I found out what my Olympic Suit will look like! I am sponsored by TYR, and they have done a great job with my suit. Today we also received the outfitting given to us by Speedo, which is the US diving sponsor. There was alot of great stuff in there. Soon we will be leaving for San Jose for Team Processing, where we will get outfitted by Nike--the USOC sponsor. I will have no lack of clothes to bring to Beijing! It is really really fun to get lots of USA gear. Here is a picture of my competition suit and some of the things I have received so far.

Tomorrow night the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center is hosting a send off gala for us where we will do an exhibition show. Then on Monday we will leave for San Jose where we will go through Team Processing.

Go USA!!

I love you, too!

Here is a picture of what the sign outside my church says right now. I am so blessed to know the wonderful people that go there! Thanks guys!!

Trip to the Pier

On Tuesday, I took a trip down to the Santa Monica Pier with Laura and her mom. We were in the car forever (gotta love LA traffic), but it was a fun little excursion from the pool and hotel. We ate dinner at a cute little bar and grill that served really good food while we watched a beautiful sunset. Then we got a cup of hot coffee to ward off the chilly wind while we walked around. It is a really neat area. It was a great evening!

I'm in California!

It has been a very busy (but good) week of packing and goodbyes. I will be away from home for almost 5 weeks! I am now in Pasadena for Nationals. I will dive in the Semi-finals tomorrow and the finals on Saturday. From here we will leave to go to San Jose on Monday for Team Processing. There we will get our outfitting as well as lots of information that will help us know what to expect in Beijing. I have heard the outfitting is great, and I can't wait to see it!

Laura, my teammate and her mom and I are getting ready to go to Santa Monica Pier for dinner and a nice relaxing evening away from the hotel. Pictures to come soon!

My first diving meet

My very first coach, Bill Cant, just sent me a letter with a picture from my first diving meet. Don't you love the ruffle?

Mountians and Valleys

“The height of the mountaintop is measured by the drab drudgery of the valley.” Oswald Chambers

The last week has been a good week. No doubt about it. A fantastic week.

However, I can’t help but think: What if things had gone terribly a few days ago? What if I had been injured? What if I had not been chosen?

I have been there before. I know that feeling well. So many times it has not gone the way I wanted it to. Many teams not chosen for. Times of injury, of failure, when it just didn’t happen. There is so much uncertainty in sport (and in all of life, for that matter). Everyone works hard. Everyone sweats and sacrifices. But not everyone “succeeds.”

I want to rejoice in this mountaintop experience and feel it fully, even as I have fully felt the pain of failure so many times before. And I know had the failure not been such a real part of my journey, the mountaintop would not be so sweet.

I know this, too: God was still there loving me and in control when I was hurting and feeling like a failure as when I’m rejoicing and so excited. I want to remember also that I am still me—the same me I would have been had I not been able to go to Beijing.

I found this quote by Jen Abbas that sums up just how I feel. I think she was talking right to me!

"I wonder if you’ll come to a point, as I did, when you are so frustrated with you inability to control your circumstances that you’ll finally run, exhausted and overwhelmed, to the God who willingly took your hurts and sins upon Himself on the cross, who loves you unconditionally, and who provides a peace you can’t explain." Jen Abbas, Generation Ex

A few pics

I thought I would post a few pictures from the last few weeks.

This is a great shot of everyone who came to watch me at Olympic Trials. My mom worked so hard on these hot pink (my favorite color : ) T-shirts.

This is me and my amazing husband, Matthew.

Here is Matt and my nephew Brock. Hot pink is a nice color on him, I think.

Some of my teammates and I got to go up on the catwalk at the Tennessee pool. It was so neat up there! 3m looked so far away.

Tennessee did a really great job of hosting the meet. For July the 4th, they catered a dinner for us in the new club room in the stadium. It was so nice! Here is a view of the city and the stadium.

One of the best days

So, it’s 11:45, and I really should go to bed, but not before I record some of what I’m feeling and what I’ve experienced today. This really has been one of the best days I’ve ever had.

The morning started early, when I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep in anticipation. I got to see my mother and grandmother in law for a few minutes this morning before heading to the pool. My teammates and I decided to meet at the pool to hear the team announcement together. It was bittersweet. So excited for my first Olympic birth, and devastated for my teammates who were not chosen. I have been there so many times before. I know that feeling well, and my heart really breaks for them.

My teammate, Laura, who just earned her 3rd Olympic birth, brought her Olympic ring from 2000 for me to wear until I get my own.

Although sadness mingled with excitement, the excitement grew as I got to tell my friends and family the wonderful news. So many people have been with me on this long long road, and it was incredible to be able to share in this with them.

Tonight I went to dinner with my family that was in town (one of my sisters and my mom were unable to make it) for a night of celebration. We went to P.F. Chang’s (fitting, don’t you think?) and had a fantastic time.

I really am so blessed and so humbled. And ready for bed. : ).

I am going to the Olympic Games.

I can hardly even believe it. What a long road it’s been. But God has been faithful every single step of the way. And so good. Even when things were so hard and so painful, God was so good and faithful to me. And, if this venture hadn’t turned out quite the way I’d have hoped, God still would have been so good and faithful.

I really was happy with how I dove this week. I was very consistent, as all four of my lists were within 7 points of each other. I even got my personal best on the first list with 353 points.

I am so thankful and happy I don’t even know what to say. And so very humbled.

We will be home for about 2 weeks, then go to nationals in CA. We will leave from there to go to Beijing. I will dive in Beijing on August 15-17.

I am so excited!