April 23
Only three weeks left until the end of the year! It feels so weird to say that. This happens every year, though. The first semester seems to crawl by because there is so much to do. Then second semester rolls around and since I finally have time to do fun things, it flies! Kind of a bummer.
Since things have gotten so busy with school and work, I haven’t had as much time to work out which is probably killing my swimming. There is just so much to do that by the time I get it all done I’m too tired to feel even remotely motivated to work out. But, again, this happens every year! I justify it though because when I go home, the only things I need to focus on are my job and training. So I’ll have more time to dedicate to swim training. I will be swimming long course this summer instead of regular. I have actually never done long course before in my life so it should be interesting! I’m expecting to basically pass out after practices.
Although I have been busy, I can’t complain too much. I have been able to go out and see more of my friends now that I don’t revolve around swim. So this is what it feels like to not do a sport! My weekends are my own and I can sleep in and do whatever I please! I do think if this was my life all the time I would get bored.
Well there is a lot of work to be done so this is all for today! Time to get back to the daily grind and get all the work done! Good thing I have coffee.
April 9
Well I’ve been back at LU for a week now since spring break. Coming back from break is hard every year because now I’m just on summer break mode! I got in the pool to workout once while I was home and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t totally out of shape.
My first stop on my spring break was visiting my friend Katie at Illinois State University. It was a lot of fun and the campus in comparison to Lindenwood is huge! After that I just went home to Chicago and spent some time with my family. I had an amazing shopping spree with my mom and I got some nicer clothes for my professional wardrobe! It was at the outlet mall too so I got it all for really cheap which is always key for a college student.
Although I do love being home, I always get into bad eating habits which I know is no good for my training! I had all
sorts of home made food and my favorites: Chicago style pizza and Italian beef subs soaked in au jus. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! So of course after break I had to hit the gym hard again. I’m pretty proud to say that the weight I can lift is continuously rising! Muscle woman grr!
Unfortunately this weekend I couldn’t go home for Easter since I had just made the trip last weekend. So instead I worked! But the Easter bunny did come early to my house. My parents sent me a basket full of goodies and I “accidentally” ate the bulk of it before it was even Easter day.
March 19
One more week until spring break! I’m really excited. Even though I’m not going to a tropical place, I do have some good plans. First I’m going to spend a few days visiting my friend Katie at ISU. Her spring break was this past week so it works out perfectly. Then after a few days I plan on going home to see my family.
My mom, sister and I have some plans to go shopping which is always awesome! Then I want to spend time with my older brother Cliff. He is in the Marines and this is the last time we know for sure he will be home; he might be training or off stationed somewhere for awhile. I’m really sad about that. But it’s okay because he is living his dream and that’s what everyone should do!
I’m realizing that a lot of my classes are back loaded this semester. That’s when there is more work and assignments in the second half of the semester verse the first. That might be bad because now that summer weather is approaching and the end of the year is in sight, I might get off track. I need to keep myself focused!
I’ve been trying to work out a couple times a week. Although this weekend I kind of slacked, whoops! I guess I just have to make it up this week. I haven’t decided if I’m going to try to swim over break when I’m home, maybe I’ll bring my suit just in case since I have been missing it lately!
March 14
So after three weeks of only doing workout videos, I finally made my way back to the gym. I have to say I surprised myself because I only had to go down in weight about 5 pounds, woo! Although I have to admit, it did make me pretty sore the next day.
This week was pretty routine, school work and getting back into training. However my weekend was pretty interesting. Friday night I had the opportunity to get a psychic reading done! I don’t usually believe in that kind of stuff but this lady knew so much about me without even knowing my name. She told me about my future too and if it goes as she said, I’m pretty excited about it. It will be interesting to see if things play out like she is predicting.
Today the sprinters had a meeting with our coach, Simon Morley. Unfortunately he will not be coaching us next year and wanted to give us a goodbye in person. We will be seeing him again but I just want to say good luck to one of the best coaches I have ever had. I’m already jealous of the future swimmers he will be coaching!
March 6
It has been two weeks since the season ended, and I’m getting back into working out. After one workout session, my legs were jello! It’s amazing how fast you can get out of shape. Anyone else ever notice how unfair being fit it? It takes double the time to get into tip top shape as it does to get out of shape. Unfair!
I started up the Jillian Michaels 30-day shred workout DVD. It’s really challenging. I never end a workout without sweat dripping down my face. I haven’t gotten into any running yet, but I know I need to start or I’ll regret it once I’m running this summer.
Registration for classes is also going to be happening soon and I’ve been busy trying to get my schedule together. It’s crazy how freshman year I was freaking out about getting my classes all done in time to graduate and now I’m looking at the final 11 classes I have to take before graduation. Time flew by that’s for sure!
Looking towards my future I can’t help but notice that my wardrobe is lacking! Swimming for so long has made my wardrobe mostly consist of sweat pants, hoodies, t-shirts, and every other athletic wear you can think of! It’s time to boost my closet for my future. Guess that means I get to shop and I have no complaints there!
February 27
So the season has been done for one week now and I have done none of the workouts I planned on. Whoops! I figure I been working hard all year and I only have three months left here at school. I might as well have fun with friends before I go home and training starts up again! I have to admit though, it’s only been a week and I already miss the water. I should have been a fish.
I do have plans to start running though. My sister and I swim together back home and as additional training are looking into running in a 5K or two over the summer. One we’re looking into is the Warrior Dash. Not only is it running but it’s an obstacle course too! While swimming does give me a lot of cardio exercise, running is a whole different animal. I am definitely not in running shape currently! Hopefully I can motivate myself to start up this week. My legs are going to be jello!
After being gone for three days from classes I am caught up. But it seems that right when I get caught up I get another attack of assignments, tests, and projects. It never ends! Looking at my BINGO sheet though, I am almost done with all my core classes. It’s so weird knowing I’ll be signing up for my senior year classes soon! I feel like I’m still a freshman.
February 20
It’s official! Swim season is over. I’m not really sure what to do with all my spare time now other than just stay in shape for next season! As much as I complain about having to train so much during season and how it takes up the bulk of my life, I have to admit I’m going to miss it until next season starts up.
Conference this weekend hosted by Principia College went extremely well not just for me but for everyone on the team. Personally I got best times in every event I swam which was an awesome feeling. Knowing that all the hard work and training paid off in the end made all the pain through the year worth it! Along with that, the men took first place overall in points and the women took second.
It’s moments like at this Conference meet that make me proud to be a Lindenwood Lion. I couldn’t ask for a better, more supportive team who will cheer their hearts out for all their teammates. And the coaching staff is just beyond amazing! Not only are they there as coaches, but also as a major support system. I think I speak for all the swimmers when I say how lucky I am to be coached by them.
The 2011-2012 season was a success through the blood, sweat, and tears. I finally get to have a couple weeks off, but after that its back to training. Swimming is a year-round sport and if you stop for a little you’re in for a huge set back. So let’s hop back on that pain train lions and get ready to make next season even better! All aboard!!!
February 13
Conference is almost here! I’m really excited to see how effective taper has been this year as well as training in general.
All my teammates are looking great in the water and everyone’s times in practice have dropped, which is a really good sign. Personally, earlier in the week I wasn’t feeling that speedy in the water but now I’m seeing more results that I want.
Preparing for the meet on the swimming side has been easy, but getting everything done school-wise has been more difficult. I have to get all the homework and projects done before I leave on Wednesday, since I’ll be gone until Monday. It has made things a lot more hectic.
With season winding down, it’s also bringing into question what I’m going to do to stay in shape. So far a couple of teammates and I are planning on taking yoga class as well as going to the LU gym. But no worries about that quite yet, it’s time to focus on conference!
February 7
Hey there readers! So this week the swimmers finally started taper… yay! For everyone who doesn’t know what taper is, it’s when you take your training yardage and intensity down so that your body can fully recover and muscles can be at their peek condition. Swimmers usually do this before big meets and in our case, we’re doing it for Liberal Arts
Conference.
I finally got my technical suit for Conference and it cost me a pretty penny. However, I have to give a shout out to Off The Blocks aquatic shop because they were able to give all the Lindenwood team (as well as the student body, faculty, and staff) a great discount on them. The suit I got this year was the Speedo LZR Racer Elite.
Speaking of suits, has anyone seen the newest Speedo trio (suit, cap, goggles) that the Olympians are supposed to wear (pictured above)? I think the goggles make them look a little like aliens. I also found out that in order to get into one of the knee skins, you have to go through the arm hole! I’m excited to see them be worn.
January 31
Welcome to my blog! My name is Tiffany Oskvarek and I’m a junior here at Lindenwood. My major is Mass Communications and let me just say, it’s probably the most fun major out there. I’m on the swim team here and couldn’t imagine college life without it.
Home is where the heart is, and my heart is in Chicago. Don’t get me wrong though, having the away-from-home college experience has been the greatest time of my life! I lived two years in the dorms and now I am currently in a house. Even though I’m away from family, I have a family here too: the swim team!
Our swim season lasts from September all the way to March so having everyone there to push each other is essential. We swim two hours a day and also do weightlifting and HIT Center training. It’s exhausting, but having all your teammates with you makes it a lot of fun. Well that’s it for now! Come back and read more of my blog. I’ll be posting about the swim team, training, classes, and just college life!
