This week I’m super lucky to be staying with fellow pro Sara McLarty. Sara and I swam for rival colleges (Florida for her and Georgia for me), but that doesn’t mean I’m not a fan! Sara was one of the first collegiate swimmers I knew to make a big splash in the triathlon world, paving the way for people like me!

Rain in Clermont is still better than snow in Atlanta! Trainer party with Misty, Jill, and Sara

Earlier this week Sara and I jumped in the NTC pool for a quick Coach Matthew swim workout.

I had a crazy amount of fun swimming with her and it did feel a bit like I was back in college. Our main set from that workout is this week’s TYR Swim Set of the Week! Give it a try and be sure to cheer for Sara as she takes on the Life Time Tri Series this year!

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Wow, my heart goes out to everyone stuck in snowy Atlanta. It sounds like a nightmare! I got super lucky this time and just before the snow started falling on ATL, I snuck down to Clermont, Florida for a warm and sunny training camp.

That’s a pic of my Dynamo teammate April Gellatly and I doing a sunrise swim at the National Training Center. Swimming outdoors is a HUGE treat, as is riding and running in shorts! Another major bonus has been hanging out with lots of other triathletes, including a fun swim and ride with super swimmer and fellow SEC Swim Alum (she’s a Florida Gator) Sara McLarty! I’ll be posting our swim workout as tomorrow’s TYR Swim Set of the Week, so be sure to check back!

My trip to Clermont came after a great weekend in Athens. First I stopped by the Georgia vs. Tennessee swim meet (Dawgs Sweep!) and caught up with my favorite Dynamo coach turned UGA assistant, Alex Braunfeld, my favorite UGA Swimmer turned Athens Police Detective, Andrew Mahaney, and one of  my all-time favorite Bulldog teammates, Tricia Harm Adams!

Then I headed down the road for an Athens/Dream Team swim clinic!

I LOVED the enthusiasm in both clinic sessions! I saw lots of fast swimming and had a great time with both new and familiar faces. I can’t wait to see everyone tearing it up on the swim course at races this season!!

In the meantime, I’ll be slathering on the sunscreen and enjoying the Florida sunshine for a few more days! Fingers crossed that ATL snow melts quick!

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Sports Center tweeted this AP Images photo of the Norwegian curling team yesterday:

In my blog-world, those amazing uniforms definitely make up for the slight lack of water/ice in the pic! And even curlers need to stay well hydrated, right?!?

I may be a summer sports athlete, but I am SUPER pumped about the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Opening ceremonies kick off on Friday, February 7th. That means you have 16 days to GET EXCITED!!!

I LOVE the Proctor & Gamble “Thank You Mom” commercial. After watching it for the 1 millionth time on YouTube, I decided to check out some of the other P&G athlete features. I started with the skiers, Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, and Ted Ligety. And then things just got out of control! I watched Evan Lysacek skate. I read all of the subtitles in the Felix Neureuther feature. Before I knew it I was crying over Canadian figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. I don’t even know how to figure skate!!!

All of the videos in the “Raising an Olympian” series are worth a watch. The stories are inspiring and I’ve become fans of athletes in sports I didn’t even know existed! I may not relate to competitions in snow and ice, but I can relate to the years and years of hard work and help from my mom! Check them out, and let me know your favorite! And of course, GO TEAM USA!!!

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Yesterday was such a fantastic news day!

First, thank you all for the AMAZING support following my bike sponsorship announcement with Quintana Roo! I was excited about the deal, but all of the tweets, posts, and emails made me feel even BETTER! Thank you!!

Second, I am SO HAPPY the NCAA voted to make Women’s Triathlon an emerging sport. This means Colleges can form teams and start competing as early as this fall! Collegiate athletics taught me SO much. I made lifelong friendships, had more fun than I could ever imagine, and I’m pretty sure swimming was what landed me my first “real job” after graduation. The addition of triathlon as an NCAA sport will not only create opportunities for future athletes but it’s going to help everyone involved in the sport. I’m psyched to see it grow!

Third, I obviously need to get myself to Australia!! The overwhelming response to my Swimming Pools post on Wednesday was the coolest pool ever is at Bondi Beach, Sydney:

Thanks to Jerry for the fantastic pic! Apparently it’s not always this “sloshy,” but it’s always incredible!

From what everyone tells me, the ocean-side pool is “cool” in every sense of the word, but I’d be happy to brave the frigid temps for a view like that!

And Finally, what you came here for – the TYR Swim Set of the Week! This week’s set is fresh from the pool! I literally did this set at Coach Maria Thrash’s Dynamo Masters practice THIS MORNING. I thought it was a good mix of aerobic (800s) and anaerobic (fast stuff with short rest) work. Try it out and have a great weekend!!

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