Motivation in Unique Ways By:Garrett Weber-Gale Date:
Nov 11, 2008 - 12:16 PM
I took this picture (you'll see this picture in my profile pictures) of the scoreboard during the final of the 50 Freestyle of the Beijing Olympics. Unfortunately I was in the stands taking this picture because I failed to qualify for the final of the 50 free just as I did for the 100 free. Both were huge disappointments for me not only because I had high expectations of winning medals, but because I felt like I let America down in not representing better. It wasn't until I actually got to the Olympics that I realized how meaningful it was to wear the American flag on my cap. Unfortunately this time around I was not able to wear that flag for what would have been the two most important individual swims of my life:(
As I snapped this picture I had an empty feeling inside me. A feeling of disarray that I still don't know how to best describe or make sense of. There have been few times in my swimming career when I honestly have no idea what happened at a particular meet. Generally I can always pinpoint things that went wrong, reasons why I didn't perform like I wanted to, or reasons why I swam unbelievable. Watching that 50 free final and even today I don't know what happened in my individual races at the Olympics? I wasn't nervous, I was well prepared, I stayed on my strict diet as best I could, I wasn't sick, my races were swum to the best of my ability at that time...I just didn't have it, what I had just wasn't enough. It's crazy for me to say that because that's one of the few times, if not the only time, I can say I did everything right I possibly could and just didn't have what it took to get the job done.
The interesting thing about swimming and I think life in general, is that we don't need to know all the answers, at least not right away. I'm content for right now not knowing what went wrong. I know in time, like everything else, I will figure this out and do it better next time. My mom always tells me, "everything happens for a reason." I completely believe this. For now, I just don't know the reason.
I didn't know specifically what I would use this picture for at the time, but I needed to take it because somehow down the road it would fuel my fire. I knew I was going to look at it in the future and become motivated by it. Last night I was preparing for my first morning practice of this new season. I hate morning practice. It isn't the swimming I hate, it isn't event he early wake-up I hate. I hate diving into that cold water. If you tell me to wake up at 5:45am and lift weights or run or bike I would say, great. However, that cold water does something to my mind that is just not good.
So last night I knew what I had to do. I hung this picture of the 50 free final in my bathroom. I understand this is a bit more detail than might be needed but I need to tell you the truth. The bathroom is the point during every early morning when I say to myself, "I hate morning practice." This is when I need the motivation. This morning I looked to my right and instead of saying, "I hate morning practice," I said, "%#@* that, I don't ever want to miss another final again." It was just what I needed to wake myself up and get my mind ready and excited for the morning practice I had ahead of me. I urge all of you to motivate yourself in unique ways. Do something different, find things that work for you. I find the best motivation comes in little instances I know I will need a helping hand!
Ft. Lauderdale By:Garrett Weber-Gale Date:
Nov 2, 2008 - 07:45 AM This weekend I'm traveling to Ft. Lauderdale to stay and visit with a great friend and Coach who made a real difference in my life, Jack Nelson. Coach Nelson was a 1956 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 200 Fly as well as the World Record holder. He was also the US Olympic swimming head coach for women in 1976. Jack is the only person in USA swimming history to both compete in an Olympic Games and be a head coach of an Olympic team.Coach Nelson was one of the first coaches who really recognized my talent as a swimmer. When I was younger my grandparents lived in Ft. Lauderdale and I trained with Coach Nelson on Winter and Spring breaks. He really made me believe I could do something special in swimming as well as ingrained in my mind that you must work hard for what you want. However, there are two things Jack has always told me that have made a huge impact on my life: 1, it doesn't matter how tall you are in the sport of swimming. 2, as long as you are continually getting faster the place doesn't matter. I have never been the tallest among my competitors and at times I was a little discouraged about it. Obviously Jack was right about size not being a factor. Secondly, he made me believe that it's not always about place. If you are improving that means you are obviously doing something right and need to stay consistent at it. There have been many times throughout my career when I didn't place as high as I would've liked, but was still getting faster. Even though I would sometimes feel a bit bad about the place, I generally always left these meets encouraged by my improvement due to Jack's motto. Even today I think about what he told me and still remind myself of this when I am not placing as high as I may like.This weekend Ft. Lauderdale is hosting their annual boat show which is the biggest and most famous in the world. I literally cannot wait. I'm sure some of you already know this but I absolutely love boats and being on the water! I have a dream to someday circumnavigate the world on my own boat. There is a particular line of long-range trawlers that I intend to make this journey on. The company that makes them is called Nordhavn. Nordhavn will be showing three boats in the Ft. Lauderdale show, the Nordhavn 55, 62, and 76. I am scheduled to see all three and can't even stand myself I'm so excited. The amazing thing about these boats is that they are specifically made to cross oceans. I actually met with a guy named Jim a couple weeks ago who just took delivery of a brand new 55. My heart-rate and adrenaline were literally elevated the entire lunch just talking to him about his upcoming journeys.Here are a couple sites/blogs you may enjoy checking out that relate to Nordhavn's and the journeys people have taken on them...http://www.nordhavn.com/http://www.nordhavn68.com/
Always Evolving By:Garrett Weber-Gale Date:
Oct 22, 2008 - 09:43 AM I constantly think about my stroke. I try different head positions, different angles of my elbows through my pull, change the pitch of my hands as they enter the water. I am constantly looking for something to make myself better.One of the keys to continually getting faster in the sport of swimming is to become more fine-tuned in the small, technical things every season. We must always continue to evolve our strokes, and discipline ourselves to fix our imperfections. Luckily swimming gives us so much time and repetition to continuously fine-tune. I can definitively tell you what I have done every single season to make myself better than I was the year before. Can you tell me, or your coach this same type of thing? If not, start thinking about it more...The reason I know I must continue to perfect my stroke is because my body still changes shape a little every season, because I continually get stronger, and because I never think my stroke is good enough. For example, my head position this summer might not put my body at the same position next summer, if I gain three or four pounds of muscle. Maybe I'm stronger now so I can have even higher elbows through my pull. There are a number of different things we must all look at in our strokes in order to adapt to the changes our bodies go through each and every season.
I will tell you flat out. If you want to be successful in swimming, work on your technique everyday. If you fail to work on your technique you will not improve in the long-term. Swimming is about being efficient, and maximizing ever ounce of power and energy our body gives us. We cannot take anything for-granted nor waste energy. Start working on your stroke today so you can be more fine-tuned tomorrow!
Saturday was a day filled with lots of tailgating and football. I went to practice in the morning and actually swam for about an hour and a half. This was longer than I had planned because my idea was to increase my time in the pool by five minutes per day. Yesterday I was supposed to swim for only an hour and ten minutes. Twenty extra minutes doesn't seem like much but twenty more minutes in a workout run by Eddie Reese can be a lot more than you would expect or want.
I finished practice and began tailgating. I love tailgating, it's a time to eat good food, prepare for the game, make predictions and hang out with friends.
The game started and Texas looked awesome. Our offense was clicking and our defense was making big stops!
I was on the field for the second half of the game. It was great to be so close to the action. You really get a sense for how hard the hits are because you can hear the plastic smashing together and the grunts of the players when they collide. Derek Jeter and Roger Clemens were about ten feet away from me on the sideline. I got a picture with Jeter. At one point they showed Jeter on the Jumbo-tron and the entire stadium started to boo him. It was crazy! I really have no idea why the Texas fans booed him, but it was quite comical to say the least.
In terms of Roger Clemens, I couldn't help but think what his current legal situation must be. My guess is that other people wonder the same thing? Who knows if we will ever find out the truth of that situation?
Either way, it's sad that one of the best baseball players of all time is now tarnished forever.
Wow...Today was my fourth day back in the water. Needless to say I almost forgot how boring training can be:( I am not in shape to train with the team yet considering I took two months off, so I am swimming by myself in the diving well. Training by yourself is lonely and tedious.
I did have a good set today though. I swam ten 200 freestyles on 2:30 and averaged between 2:03 and 2:05. Even though these are not that great of times in general, I was satisfied with my current fitness after taking such an extended break. At the end of the set I could tell that my arms were really starting to break down and get fatigued.
I literally kicked the kick into high gear and tried to motor home.
The great thing about swimming and working out in general, is that I always know it will get better. The harder I work, the more in-shape I become. The fitter I am, the less training and racing hurts. Although training is very strenuous on my mind and body, it's what puts me in a position to swim fast and achieve my goals at the end of the year.
I will keep ya'll updated with my swimming as the season goes on.
Luckily I stayed in the weight-room while I was on my break. The most important thing for me to do in order to get faster is to get stronger. The weight training I did in my time out of the water will help me lay the foundation for building greater strength throughout the course of this next season. Plus, I am not super sore right now which is always a huge positive!
Visit to the White House By:Garrett Weber-Gale Date:
Oct 15, 2008 - 09:47 AM As many of you know I visited the White House this past week with many other Olympians. We had a big celebration dinner at our hotel the night of the sixth. It was nice to see many people on the swim team and other teams that I hadn't seen since Beijing. The US Olympic Committee made a really cool highlight video of the events in Beijing that we all watched and ended up getting really pumped up to!The morning of the seventh we all woke up and left the hotel by 6:30 am. It ended up taking us about an hour and a half to actually get to the White House due to traffic. We showed up and went through security to get onto the front lawn. I was taken into the first floor of the White House because Michael Phelps, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Luikin and I were in a video with the First Dog named Barney. The past eight years Barney has had a video where he takes viewers around the White House and shows them the holiday decorations. All four of us had individual roles and then we had a role with our fellow teammate. Michael and I talked about swimming and the relay of course. Shawn and Nastia told Barney it looked like his decorating job was a perfect 10. The lines were all pretty corny but it was fun. At one point I was sitting on the couch with Barney and discussing the decorations with him. We finished the taping and went out to the stage on the front lawn where President Bush was going to speak to us. Shawn, Michael, Nastia and I all had marked spots right behind Laura Bush and President Bush. It was really cool to see them. He came out and shook our hands. We all listened to him speak and then he came and talked to us briefly afterwards. I got my picture taken with him but unfortunately the person taking the picture took it before he was looking at the camera:(At the conclusion of the festivities outside, Michael and I were escorted inside and got a private tour of the White House with a secret service agent and a White House representative. The coolest thing about the White House is certainly the history of the building, much more than the beauty of the decor. It is nice inside but just thinking about what went on in all of these rooms is incredible. The room we did the filming of the video in was the strategic meeting room where President Eisenhower planned the D-Day invasion. Wow, Amazing huh!!!
My favorite part of the tour was when I stood and got my picture behind the podium in the news conference room. There have been a lot of important speeches that have been given there and I was at the same spot...
I just finished a sailing race on Lake Michigan with my dad, cousin and uncle. It was officially the last race of the year here in the soon-to-be very cold town known as Milwaukee:(We raced on a 44ft steel boat that was onced cruised extensively in the South Pacific. This was the first time I sailed on this particular boat with its current owner...for this story let's just call him 'Bart'.Bart has a very interesting philosophy of being on the boat and in the race: Relax, everything will work out and be fine. For those of you who are not familiar with racing just let me tell you this is probably not the best ideology.Imagine this; 115 to 120 boats ranging in size from 8ft to 70ft and from $5000 to a million or more dollars. Now all these boats are in an area of about a square mile of each other weaving in and out, fighting for position at the starting line. There are many protocols for rights of way so that boats stay relatively safe.Essentially Bart was a little too relaxed with the protocols. We nearly clipped the rear end of two boats. On one we actually caught some of their rigging on our bow (front). Needless to say it was not a good/safe situation.A crash could cause serious damage to boats as well as their crews.I had a great time being on the water, as I always do. The weather was perfect, 75 and sunny with a light breeze. Bart's racing tactics are somewhat hilarious as you look back at them from the safety of the dock.
I'm now off to eat with my Uncle Bill who made the outstanding chickens. Unfortunately I won't be eating his chickens tonight:(
Restaurant Daniel!!!!! By:Garrett Weber-Gale Date:
Sep 17, 2008 - 09:25 AM Unbelievable. Tantalizing and Exquisite. Unforgettable!!! These are the first words that come to mind when I think back to the experience I had with my sister on Friday night at Daniel. Daniel is revered as one of the finest restaurants in NYC.I met Daniel Boulud, the most famous French chef in the world, while I was in Beijing. While talking to him there, I told him I wanted to go to his restaurant in the fall with my sister and would email him about when I was arriving. (Little did I know that I would be invited later that week to his newly opened restaurant in Beijing, it was fabulous and free!!!)Daniel in New York had been closed for five weeks for renovations and we got a reservation for 7pm on Friday night. It helps to have the Chef's personal email address!As soon as we sat down and before we even knew what was happening, they brought champagne to our table. Briefly afterwards they started to bring small tasters to warm our palettes. The first tray included three tasters, octopus, a shot of cocoa bean soup and a little rice ball that had been delicately deep fried and filled with wild mushrooms and burrata cheese. Thereafter they continued to bring more and more tiny edibles and placed them on our plates. For me, fine-dining is not all about the taste of the delicate flavors. Of course the unique foods and tastes are wonderful. However, I am so interested in why the flavors go together, how the food is prepared, where the food comes from, etc. The luxury of going to a restaurant like Daniel is that everyone on the wait staff knows everything about the food and its preparation. I had great pleasure asking tons of questions about all the food.For example, the cheese tray had about thirty different choices on it. I asked about dozens of different cheeses, how they were prepared, why they have certain flavors, what makes them have their certain textures.
Stay tuned. There will be much more about our experience at Daniel in the coming days!!!
New York New York By:Garrett Weber-Gale Date:
Sep 15, 2008 - 08:42 AM
Today I traveled to New York City to visit my older sister Hillary. On the cab ride from the airport to the city I saw a man driving in chaotic traffic while flossing his teeth. At that very moment I thought to myself, "only in New York City would you see this!"I went straight from the airport to my sister's office. She is a designer at JCREW. I met a bunch of her co-workers and everyone wanted to see my medals. I took them out, everyone was so excited. It was great to see their reactions. A few more people came, then a few people told a few more people. Before I knew it there were tons of people around and the CEO of the company was on the Intercom of the entire office telling everyone I was in the office with my gold medals.As soon as this happened I was swept away upstairs where all the top executives and designers were meeting in a conference room. As soon as they saw me walking down the hall they all began cheering and clapping. Everyone was so excited for me and could not tell me enough how proud they were of Team USA.The CEO, a very funny and straight to the point man named Mickey asked me when I seriously started swimming. I told him when I went to high school my parents told me I needed to decide what sport or activity I really wanted to do and focus on that. I explained to him that I really loved swimming and decided I was going to do it to the best of my abilities. He raised his arms and said, "WHHHHOOOAAA, do you hear that everybody??? Garrett just said you need to pick what you really love and do it the best that you can!!" He then explained to me that my philosophy was exactly what he had been telling the entire company at countless meetings over the past several months. He was so excited about it that he got on the intercom and told everyone that I just told him something amazing. He then prodded me into saying the quote over the intercom, I agreed and everyone thought it was really funny. It was all quite comical.
The day in New York and at JCREW was fantastic!!! I got the opportunity to meet many unique and influential people. Best of all I reunited with my sister:)
To welcome SwimRooom.com’s newest featured member, here are
some of Garrett Weber-Gale’s favorite things outside of the pool!
Movie: The Man FromSnowyRiver
Book: Into Thin Air
Drink: Milk
Food: Ribs from the Historic Open-Pit Texas Barbeque named
Smitty's, Sicilian Tomato Salad from Mandola's Italian Deli.
Dessert: I have a huge sweet tooth and really like anything
baked, cakes, cookies, any type of pastry, etc. (but I don't eat them much,
especially near big competitions).
Recipe: One I created myself, "Salmon with Sweet Red
Onions", it is easy to cook, fool-proof. I absolutely love to cook and
want to work in the food industry one day.
Song: Anything on the Michael Jackson Thriller album
Favorite Smack-Down: Whipping my roommate on NFL Blitz 2000
for N64
Biggest sacrifice for swimming: I don't get to snowboard
much anymore. I once had an amazing family trip to Vail...I miss it so much.
Biggest Accomplishment outside swimming: Graduating from theUniversityofTexaswith a GPA of 3.245!
Post-Swimming Dream: Cruising around the world on my
private yacht.
Favorite Sports Team: Without a doubt the Green Bay
Packers, I love Brett Favre, even if he has retired... or has he?
Favorite Philosopher: Eddie Reese hahaha...seriously he
says, "Our purpose for being on this earth is to help each other."
