Happy Canada Day

EH!

 

Yes I am Canadian and very proud of it. Even though I am in America I still celebrated. I think one of the hardest things about being an international D1 athlete is being away from home, especially when holidays come around. My family was able to go to a huge amusement park in Canada and my brother was able to go to a lake with some friends. I still had class and practice, but I had some amazing friends who still made my day special.

Practice was different today as Richard is off recruiting so it was just my teammate Caleb and I getting work done. It wasn't too bad of a practice. As an athlete I always love someone else giving an opinion on my dives. A second look tends to catch something the first look didn't see. Caleb is great for that! He always sees things in my dives no one else does, that's why he is a wicked coach! He coaches a country club team during the day when he isn't diving. I'm lucky to have him as a teammate and as a friend. 

For a second day in a row I ran 5km on the treadmill. For anyone who knows me that is a shock! I'm loving it! Just me and my music giving it my all. I ran it in a little under 30 minutes, but I know I will improve. I'm looking to run a 10km race at the end of this summer, it will be a lot of work, but since there are no dives and I'm super competitive I need something to work for. Wish me luck!

It's not always work, work, work... Well mostly in my case ha-ha, but I was able to end Canada Day by making some homemade poutine and Nanaimo Bars. They were DELICIOUS! I could have ate a whole pan, but with training, never a good idea! Glad I have some good guy friends who gladly took them off my hands.

-Kersten xo.

There will be challenges

The challenges we come across make us appreciate the good things we come across in life. A challenge I have to face each day is a Lupus diagnosis. People misinterpret Lupus as being lazy, not being really sick or "there's nothing wrong with you". The biggest thing people can do is educate themselves on what this disease really is. The best way I can describe it is it's an auto immune deficiency. For more information on lupus: click here

Lupus is a challenge for me, some days I don't even want to get out of bed because I am so exhausted, sometimes everything just hurts so much. And sometimes I just want to give up. It's a challenge I face, everyone faces different challenges, but when we overcome the challenges that is what makes everything worth it.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with a girl I babysit. We went swimming for 3 hours and was in the hot sun. I didn't feel to bad out in the sun, but it was as soon as I came back inside took a shower and stood for a moment. I became extremely light headed and felt HORRIBLE. I guess I forget sometimes. My lupus had been going so well I forget that I am not invincible and actually do suffer from it. It's a challenge. I was able to go home from work and rest, which was nice. Then it was time for a new day. It's that choice, stay in bed and feel sorry for myself or get up and enjoy the day.

Having lupus is just one of the challenges I face. For everyone it is different, but at the end of the day it is a challenge. We can sit back and let it consume us, or we can decide to pick ourselves up and carry on with our day. I like the second option because even though there is a big challenge in front of me overcoming it every day is the greatest feeling in this world.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
-Martin Luther King Jr. 

Be in the present

Late night, early morning. I'm starting to feel the effects of lack of sleep kick in. Today I had practice at 8 a.m. Not too bad, but any time you step on the board that early it feels like it's around 5 a.m. Surprisingly it was an amazing practice! I am fixing my hurdle (the technique used to get to the end of the board). It finally came together and started to let me jump higher and actually be able to finish my dives. I was having issues with twisting on my entry, and I fixed that too. Maybe the lack of sleep my ability to not over think my dive really helped.

Diving is such a mental sport. When you are thinking of other things, especially negative things it really effects what you do off the board and into the water. I try my best to leave my thoughts of things besides diving at the door, sometimes it's difficult, but other times it makes it so diving is a safe place, an escape from reality.

Today I learned a fair about life in general. There needs to be balance. Having a perfect life isn't being great at just one thing there needs to be balance. I was told to listen to this one song by The Byrds called Turn, Turn, Turn! The Words were adapted from The Bible, book of Ecclesiastes. The song states that there is a time for everything. Time to laugh, time to cry. Everything we do in our life isn't worthless, but there needs to be a balance and we need to live in the present. Make sure everything we do that day makes us happy. If you're doing something that doesn't make you happy, change it!

Falling into place

That moment when things are finally starting to click is the greatest feeling. Even in my life outside of diving when all of my hard work finally pays off is just a wonderful feeling.

Today I got to experience that in diving.

Practice has been quite interesting. During the summer we go back to basics, start at the bottom and build our way back up to our dives we compete. During competition season we tend to forget the basics and focus on the big dives, but ultimately if you can't do an approach, you can't do the dive! It was quite interesting going back to the "easy" dives. Trust me they weren't that easy! I was smacking on my back and on my front over and over. If I can't do the simplest dive how was I ever able to make my harder dives. The theory is if you can have the technique of the simpler dives you are able to transition into the harder dives. It has been a long few weeks of nothing but blah. Today was the first day it clicked. I was able to do my harder dive better than I have ever done. It was higher, it was faster and I had a nice come out. FINALLY!

Today in the "real world" my issue was MATH. Goodness I wonder if anyone else has as much trouble with math as I do. I feel the class started off fairly easy, I joked saying the class was a joke. I spoke too soon. I am now sitting here trying to do some conversions.... I don't even know how to start these questions. I try to tackle my math problems as if I were to tackle a new dive. Start with what I know and go for it. Don't be afraid, be confident. Sounds silly, but half the time I over think my math problems and at first I had them right, but then change them to the incorrect answer. Like in diving and life I need to trust my gut instinct even in math. If anyone knows math, let me know!

It was really exciting to be recognized for something outside of just my diving skills. My amazing teammate Al and I were acknowledged for going to the NCAA Career in Sport Forum, the one I had mentioned earlier this month. Check out this article and hear what we learned.

Happy Tuesday.

-Kersten xo.

For the LOVE of the sport

Why? Some days I ask myself that. Why do I get up at 5 a.m. Why do I have to choose sleep over hanging out with my friends? I know it sounds like I am complaining, but it does get difficult making those decisions. Sometimes it is difficult answering them too.

Today I didn't have to answer them, someone else did.

I was at outdoor tower practice, exhausted and just not feeling it. I was listing off my crazy list of things to do for the day when my coach told me that I am very lucky to be able to do all of those things. I realized he was right! I have an amazing opportunity to dive for the University of Utah. I am lucky to have a great job. I am also blessed to be in college. I tend to take the little things for granted, and to some those aren't little things, they are huge.

I just did a terrible dive and a little boy swam over to me and said "That was a good dive. Do you dive for the University of Utah? It's my dream to go there!" He smiled got up and did his dive flying over. He laughed and got up and did another one, almost perfect. He had so much energy and passion, he was what reminded me of why I get up early, why I choose sleep over friends... FOR THE LOVE OF THE SPORT.

I learned that it was only his second time diving and he was already doing inward dives on the three meter... Now that is quite impressive if you know ANYTHING about diving. His Mom said he loves diving and has wanted to do it for two years. He was a gymnast so has that body awareness, but it's not that awareness that will make him good, it's his passion! He reminded me of when I started and how much I loved my sport. It's worth missing one night out with a friend here and there. I sadly will only be an athlete for a short time, but I will be a friend for a lifetime. 

Thanks to that little boy I remembered why I do what I do. I love diving, every bit of it. The early mornings, the smacks, the frustration, but also the fun, the feeling of learning a new dive, the traveling, the friends, the memories! If the positives outweigh the negatives you are doing it right.

Finding the balance of being a division one athlete is difficult, don't get me wrong. I sit and reminiscence on the nights I didn't see that movie, go to that concert or hang out with my friends. I am working on trying to find the right fit for everything in my life without leaving anyone or anything behind, especially my dreams.

-Kersten xo.

Life in the fast lane

Well there goes my daily blog entry already. I was wondering how long that would last, I'm trying my best, but the only excuse I can think of is I'M SO BUSY. That is one excuse I hate hearing, but it is one I tend to use on a daily basis.

A typical weekday schedule this summer for me seems to be:

Monday: Gym 7-745am. Tower practice 8-930am. Math 10-1130am. Internship 12-1pm. Springboard practice 1pm-245pm. Work 3-11pm.
Tuesday: Weights 9-945am. Math 10-1130am.Internship 12-1pm. Springboard practice 1pm-245pm. Work 3-11pm.
Wednesday: Gym 7-745am. Tower practice 8-930am. Math 10-1130am. Internship 12-1pm. Springboard practice 1pm-245pm. Work 3-11pm.
Thursday: Weights 9-945am. Math 10-1130am.Internship 12-1pm. Springboard practice 1pm-245pm. Work 3-11pm.
Friday: MORNING OFF! Practice 1-245pm. Work 3-11pm.

That is a rough draft of my schedule. Some days I have off of work, as I will work a weekend shift instead.

As my Mom always told me "That's life in the fast lane."

Being a student-athlete a lot of the time feels like an athlete-student. Your sport is most important, but you still have to manage being a student with impeccable grades. Work to pay the bills and an internship to build your resume. I feel like I am the big nerd in high school trying to cram every extra circular activity in like I am applying for Harvard.

At the end of the day when I am passing out as soon as I hit my pillow I remember one thing.... It's worth it.

Fitness: skinny vs. fit

"I can be skinny after my senior year!" I told my teammate that today during practice. I don't mean I am obese or overweight, I mean I am in training mode.

I haven't really lifted since December when I hit my foot on the board, as I wasn't able to put much impact on it. I lost ALL of my muscle and I personally felt great. I loved looking at myself in a mirror in passing. Today was my second day back in the weight room, and about my fifth day doing daily cardio. I already have that feeling of "I'm getting bigger" not necessarily in a bad way, but in a muscular way. I guess it's tough to define the difference. For my sport I need leg power and pretty much every other muscle. With loosing a lot of my muscle in the past six months I saw a "skinny" side of myself, but it doesn't help with my diving. Yes I feel great, but I was struggling pushing the board. Now I'm back to lifting and already feeling like uh this is going to be a long year. I need to realize that it's awesome I am putting on muscle, as it will benefit me through my senior season. I can be skinny if I want when I'm finished my last meet... But than again I may eat a lot of junk food haha.

Remember: skinny doesn't necessarily mean fit.

When you start seeing the numbers add on the scale instead of subtract, don't panic. If you're eating healthy, working out and giving it your all you're gaining that muscle, not fat. Again this is another reminder for myself!

-Kersten xo.