Skipping the Charlotte Grand Prix

My plan earlier this month was to attend the Charlotte Grand Prix this coming week.  However I found myself still pretty run down from the transition into serious training.  Considering a flight would have been $500.00 plus hotels and food totalling another $500.00 or more.  I didn't feel that I could have swum well enough to justify a $1,000.00 trip.  I'm confident this decision will moderately disappoint the coaching staff at CW however I'm comfortable with my choice.  To swim well at a high profile meet, I need to be acclimated to my new training and although I almost never feel READY to race, I would like to be more prepared than 3 weeks of intense training and no taper.  I'm going to research a local meet at EMU this summer and aim at that for some good long course times.

Due to a crazy schedule at the U of M natatorium I have avoided training there the last few days.  The practice times are inconsistent and frankly, it annoys me.  It's only this week which will be like this, I believe there is a big water polo tournament so the swim teams are displaced for a few days.  I find myself a little out of the loop on these scheduling changes and I've shown up at least twice (per the schedule) and the practice times had changed last minute.  I chose to train at EMU today where I knew I could get pool time and a lane to myself.  No pool feels like home quite like EMU's Michael H. Jones Natatorium.  I love that pool.  It was great to be back.