Days 41 and 42 - So long, synchro!

I will wait until tomorrow to write about Day 43 (which is today), because I am frankly too frustrated with how my day has gone so far to rehash it now.

Yes, I'm Bad Mood Sarah today.

Nevertheless, I'll tell you a bit about my weekend:

This weekend was Easterns, the Canadian University Synchronised Swimming League's qualifier for Nationals, which take place in February. Because I've left on elective as of last night, this weekend was my last opportunity to practice with my fantastic, fun, amazing, outstanding team, and my last chance to cheer them on.

The weekend started out great, for me at least. We had practice and spacing on Saturday night, and I finally had the revelation I've been waiting for all season. In other words, I got over the mental block I'd had about swimming the routine and just swam it properly and fully. Of course, I managed to mess up the actual spacing swim, but I still felt pretty good. I noticed while we were practicing that my height was closer to my old standard, my body positions more stable, and my spins straighter. I actually felt able to use my left arm to scull, which I've been quite ginger about recently.

Arty composition compliments of Renee.

Sunday I cheered on my team as they swam. This year I requested an alternate position (and probably will again next year), which means I don't swim in competition with the team and am just available if anyone is sick or injured at competition time. The position suited me well this year, since my schedule is a bit more frenzied and a bit less flexible than it has been in the past, and also since I've still been getting my left arm working. I could never have imagined requesting an alternate position a few years ago, so maybe this is actually a sign that I've matured a bit...?

Team time! I'm in the blue and white Queen's jacket on deck.

The team swam the first half of the routine really superbly, but we did run into a few problems later in the routine. Nevertheless, we placed a respectable 6th of 14 teams, with lots of potential to do even better at Nationals.

I'll miss swimming with the team, who really embraced me despite the fact that I was  bit physically limited this year and that I'm...um...a few years older than most of them. They're all fantastic girls and talented swimmers, and I'll miss seeing them shine at Nationals.

After the competition, we had some delicious cake, baked by our coach, Renee, and decorated to replicate our own swimsuits - so cool! And then I rode back to Toronto with the U of T team, including Karen, a lawyer and masters student who I swam with way back when I was an undergrad at U of T. So nice to reconnect, and fun to hear that she reads the blog (even if she was a bit disappointed about my lack of answer regarding whether one should exercise with a cold!).

A yummy cake wearing a synchro suit! Who could ask for more to end the season with?

PS, Apologies for the awkward formatting - I apparently left my power cord at home and I'm struggling with Lisa's computer at the moment...