Ask any swimmer which is the most crucial leg of any race, and they'll tell you it's the second-to-last. The third 25 of a 100 is where you explode off the wall; the third 50 of a 200 is where your legs beat the water like a bully. Jenn is constantly talking up the importance of the penultimate to the team. (I have another theory that she just thinks 'penultimate' a cool word, but that's fodder for another time.)
We live and train for the penultimate leg. Friday morning was our penultimate practice in California; fittingly, we rocked it with an intra-team time trial session. Each swimmer raced a 100 free, 100 stroke, 50 free and a 200. Though the air was chilly, the hot sun and exciting racing made for a fun morning of fast swimming.
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| Galen warms up before time trials. |
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| Doing our daily pre-practice shoulder exercises. |
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| Rachael, gearing up her shoulders for another day at the pool. |
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| View from the three-meter diving board. |
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| Robby, cheesing between sprints. |
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| Genay, Ellen and Tazi take off. |
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| Sara cheers on the 100 backstrokers. |
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| Jo dives into a final sprint. |
We would also like to extend a huge thank-you the Banks family for another wonderful night in your home. The kumquats and delicious food were just the thing before our last day in the sun!
