University of Northern Iowa Athletics
New Diary Entry From Sarah Hedeen
1/25/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 25, 2011
My name is Sarah Hedeen, I am a sophomore on the UNI Women's Swim Team specializing in breast stroke.
It is at this point in the season, as we are entering taper, that all our little swimmer dreams come true. At this point we are given the opportunity to sit back, relax, and reflect upon the mind-blowingly hard workouts we have muscled through this season.
Well, not quite.
We do still have to do some work, but the load is “tapered” significantly. We taper so that we can be well rested for our final meet, the MVC Conference Championships.
Taper is when we finally reap the benefits of all the hard hours spent in the pool. We rest a little so we can cut time and swim the fastest races of the season and our lives. In these races, just as in those hard workouts, we will leave absolutely everything in the pool. And in these exhausting moments we think to ourselves, “how did I get myself into this in the first place?” Only a swimmer knows how difficult a season can be. Waking up at 5:30 am, walking to practice in the bitter cold, diving into an equally freezing pool, all to accomplish what? I ask myself this question often, but the answer has become simple.
I submit to the requirements of my sport because what they demand from me ends in a rewarding sense of accomplishment. Obviously there is a high level of satisfaction in doing something that very few others can do. There is an even higher level of satisfaction in doing this “something” well, even expertly. However, there is no prouder feeling than looking at the pleased face of a teammate after she gets a best time, completes a difficult dive, or “touches out” an opponent and wins. She is my teammate – swimming and diving on the team's behalf and therefore on my behalf. There is no greater feeling of pride, for all of us. Being on this team has been the richest experience of my life, and I am infinitely grateful for all the heroes, friends, and best friends I have encountered by simply swimming back and forth, every single day.
So I want my teammates to understand that I know for what and for whom they are competing. It is all for that moment after their last race or dive when they look up at the clock or judges and see that close finish, best dive, personal record, school record, pool record - whatever it may be. I know and understand each's level of satisfaction and all the laps, sweat, pain, and joy that are behind it. Our pride, theirs for me, mine for them – for that difficult thing done well, for each of us doing better than we have done before.
Happy taper! Go Cats!
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