Trying New Things

 Austin had been wanting to try out the swim team at Discovery MS and is now in the middle of the season and loving it! Since he didn't like cross country that much because it was tiring and he didn't like being out of breath, I wasn't sure what he would think of swim. After the first practice, he said, "it's even more tiring than cross country and I can't breathe at all, but I love it!" Since then, he really has loved all the practices and meets. I've never seen him get ready so fast for anything as he does for swim practice. He's very motivated. 

There are a bunch 7th graders that have been on swim teams before, and some of the 8th graders swam on the team last year, and then there are the kids who haven't been on a swim team before. Austin's in that category, though he has had lessons from friends here and a few from Grandpa Dave. He was practicing in the middle of the skill level group but has quickly moved up to practice with those who were previously on teams. From his first to his second meet, he took 10 seconds off his 50 free, and from the second meet to the 3rd he took off another 4 seconds! He has raced the 100 free twice and two relays as well. He raced his first breast on Thursday and did pretty good. He has been racing in the top heats, so he's never the first, but he has improved so much and I'm so proud of his efforts and motivation! 

He's at the end, ready to jump in!

In motion!

This video was his second time racing the 50 free. He's in the farthest lane. He came in last here, but he was racing in the fastest heat for the first time. 

And, check out these hats he's been making for his friends.

 He's a hat-making machine!

Victoria wanted to try track out this year, she even did last year, but we didn't get good notifications about it last year, being virtual for most of the school year. She very excitedly joined at the beginning of the year for off-season training and made many fast friends being in the weight room with them on a daily basis for almost the whole school year. She kept maxing out on weights, beating most everyone in pull-ups (no surprise there, being the daughter and niece of the pull-up champs from our younger years...) and loves the camaraderie of being part of a team for her school. 

She was invited to the first invitational to run the 200 M and the 4 x 3 relay. We were surprised, it being her first season and she wasn't on varsity yet and they know that dance is her first priority. Well, she did so awesome and even earned her varsity letter at that meet! We weren't able to go since it was a school day, about 2 hours away, and took the entire day, but she loved every minute of it! 

The problem we have now is that sometime when track started picking up more with more intense running and training, about a month and a half ago, she's been experiencing shortness of breath and pain in her chest, and experiencing some dizziness. I was observing these problems even when she was home and in between track and dance, not working out. 

My siblings and I all have a problem with catching our breath once in a while, even though we're all very active and don't have asthma. We used to think it was related to my sister's allergy to milk when she was younger. I always notice mine when I feel anxious or overwhelmed, or overexcited. My kids have all exhibited the same thing at times and have worried about it. I took them all to the doctor during their times of worry and each time has resulted in no cause for concern. None of the others seem to have any problems right now, so I think their breathing "issues" are like mine. We have to take a step back and I even do cleansing breathes to help. 

Victoria's has been much more severe and the pains she was experiencing were causing concern. We went to the doctor and since she had Covid in January, they're not sure what to think about it, since we don't know enough about the long-term effects of Covid in athletes. The dr said her lungs and heart sounded good while we were there, but she ordered an inhaler for Victoria and we are scheduled to see the cardiologist on May 12. The inhaler seemed to be helping a little, meaning that maybe she is asthmatic (we have one blood relative with asthma, my nephew), but I don't think it helps her enough. 

To make matters more complicated, she actually has P.E. this semester and they're in the swim unit. She was swimming for 45 minutes each morning, weight training or running for track each afternoon for about 1 1/2 hours, and then dancing 7 hours a week. (Don't even get me started on why she has to take this P.E. class when she's on the track team....) Anyhow, after getting the inhaler and noticing that she still didn't feel right, she asked her counselor if she could get out of P.E., but it was too late for that. She asked the P.E. teacher if she could just walk during class and was told she could if she had a doctor's note. The doctor would only write the note to include that she be excluded from P.E, track, and dance, if she really wasn't feeling well until we see the cardiologist. I was certain she would just say, "never mind, I'm fine", but she didn't. She is now taking it easy during P.E., attending all track practices and dance classes, but only observing, stretching, and or doing minimal activity. She still doesn't feel great after some of the minimal work-outs. The worst part is that she had been invited to the next invitational and missed that last Saturday and will miss most of the track season, waiting for this appointment. She's kinda bummed, but taking it in stride. I don't really know what to make of it, since this has never happened before. We're praying that everything will be okay and that she will make improvements after this time of "rest".

At the invitational in the relay.

She tried some high jumps too and was going to compete in that as well.

Getting ready for the high jump.