A Day in the Life: Kalyn Keller

LOS ANGELES, California, November 10. YESTERDAY, Kalyn Keller wrote about the excitement of the college dual meet season as part of the “A Day in the Life” series on SwimmingWorldMagazine.com. The University of Southern California senior also gave some advice on getting past tough pre-race pace times.

Thursday, November 9
Getting up at 5:27 a.m. is something I will NEVER get used to. NEVER.

I apparently failed to get the daylight savings memo this year…either that or I really am that incredibly stupid. I have no idea what happened. I must have been going off my internal clock for THE PAST 2 WEEKS because this morning when I looked at my clock I was certain that I had another hour of sleep. WRONG. Thankfully, that little voice inside my head told me to GET UP NOW…saved me 50 pushups. Unfortunately, it left me no time to make my beloved liquid heaven (ahh…coffee).

We have a dual meet this weekend against the University of Arizona and Arizona State. This should be a good gauge of where we are in our training. The entire team has been working hard, and I think it will bode well for us this weekend when we swim the ‘Zona’s! Even though this is a dual meet, I believe every opportunity I have to race is important. I take full advantage of every chance to race – be it in the 500 free, 200 breaststroke, the Schwinn to class or a blog deadline! Gearing up for a meet means fine tuning your race strategy and pace. This afternoon we had a stellar pace set led by the one and only Adam “Checkers” Crossen.

4x [5×100’s]
Interval by rounds: 1:05, 1:10, 1:10, 1:15
All sets were build with the last 2 or 3 100’s being at goal 500 pace.

Pace is good to do before a meet, but more importantly it is mentally preparing. I see a lot of swimmers let their pace times in workout or at a meet pre-determine the outcome of their race. Pace times are just times…that’s it! If you don’t hit your pace right on, it’s not the end of the world, just the end of warm-up! At a meet, I think attitude is everything. Your excitement level and confidence in your preparation is much more important…one of the worst things I think you can do pre-race is let a few pace 100’s get you down. If I have a bad pace workout or warm-up, I look to my teammates for the energy I need to do my best. The team camaraderie and excitement levels at dual meets are unlike any other swimming event. College swimming is one of a kind, an experience like no other, and something I will greatly miss when I am done. Every single member of a team has their own place and is greatly valued. (Even Xena is a valued spectator and cheerleader). Teammates who don’t score points are just as valuable as those who do. Our team would not be complete without the men and women who have the continuous energy, spirit and excitement that embodies a true TROJAN! It is hard to believe I am a senior already – it’s so clich&é, but time has simply flown by! I am sad my college dual meets are coming to an end this year, but I am SO PROUD to have been a part of the NCAA process for four straight years. More than that, the pride I will have as an alum will last forever.

Fight On Trojans!!!

Oh, and a Happy Birthday today to the hardest working dad I know. I’ll be checking up on him later to make sure plenty of paramedics and firemen were on hand for the blowing out of the candles.

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