A Day in the Life: Kelly Reitz, Day 1

WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia, November 28. THE next person kind enough to devote their time to the "A Day in the Life" series on SwimmingWorldMagazine.com is William & Mary senior Kelly Reitz. While our first two blog writers came from Pac-10 schools, we want our readers to have a chance to experience the lives of a complete spectrum of swimmers. As the series progresses, look for swimmers from all walks of life to let their voices be heard here.

Although William & Mary does not measure its successes by national titles, a random spectator would not know that if they witnessed the intensity the team brings to the table during meets at the Rec Center on the campus of the second-oldest college in the U.S.

Last year, Reitz won three Colonial Athletic Association championships, and finished second in three other events. She is an all-around performer for the Tribe, and is one of five seniors on the team's roster.

Monday, November 28, Day 1
Being back at school after the Thanksgiving holiday made it difficult to get back into the swing of things, and the pool was no different. I felt like the turkey I ate on Thursday was still weighing me down during warm-ups! Luckily after the first set, I began to get my rhythm back. My favorite set from today's practice was the 12 x 75 on 1:15. It gave me a chance to work on two weak aspects of my races. During the 200 IM, I always lag behind my opponents during backstroke, and then I have a lot of ground to make up to catch them. So, I took the opportunity to focus on my underwater catch in backstroke during the IM set.

Sometimes, it's hard to focus for a whole set let alone a whole practice, but I need to improve my backstroke! The other aspect of the IM set that I found helpful was the double pullouts during the breaststroke portion. I have struggled with efficiently adding a legal dolphin kick to the end of my pullouts, so I focused on my technique and tried to lengthen the pullout. Then, during the main set, my focal point was the 50s. During that portion of the set, I increased my tempo in breaststroke. This was important for me because on Wednesday I am traveling with some of my teammates to the U.S. Open and I need to be ready to swim fast!

Here is our practice from today:
Warm-up – 800 swim, 6×100 kick/drill with fins on 1:30, 400 pull
1st Set – 9×100 swim on 1:20, descend 1-3, 4-6, 7-9
IM Set – 12×75 on 1:15, odd-25 fly (no breath), 50 back (all out), even- 25 back (all out), 50 breaststroke (double pull outs)
Main Set – 3x through
500 swim on 6:20 (descend by set)
4×50 on :55 odd- 25 fast, 25, easy, even- all out
1x 50 on :55 easy
10×50 on :50 (with fins) 25 sprint kick to a break out, 25 fast swim (butterfly or freestyle)
200 warmdown

It was fun to be back with my friends after the four-day holiday, so I spent too much time catching up with them and not enough on my homework due for today. But, classes went well and one of them was even cancelled.

With the newfound opening in my schedule, I went to the Caf (a campus dining hall), and had a chance to chat with my teammates before practice. Practice was at 2 p.m., and after that I did some miscellaneous activities like laundry and unpacking my suitcase (which I still haven't finished!). Then, I had dinner and attended my sorority meeting. I'm a member of Pi Beta Phi Virginia Gamma chapter and our meetings are every Monday night. I am so blessed that I can be a member of the swim team and Pi Phi. Through both groups, I have made wonderful friends! After the chapter meeting, the seniors stayed for a special workshop where we talked about applying for jobs and graduate schools. The future is frightening for all of the seniors, myself included, but I know I'll land on my feet. I just don't know where!

Then to finish up my day, I worked on the final major paper due for this semester and once that's finished then I am home free….at least until exams!

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