Second Swim Meet

This one went much better than last week. Not only did Eli not get a bloody nose, but he was faster and stronger in his events. I got to work as a lane manager this week, so I spent 90% of the time with Eli by my side. (Another GREAT thing about this meet.)

Before the meet, Eli reminded me to draw a few things on his back. Since his team is the Sharks, we discussed drawing one on his skin with a marker. I am not an artist, so I chose to try and print a stencil. Unless I was willing to pay, the only stencils I could find were tiny. No problem: I printed and cut one out and Eli used it as a 'model' to draw from. Five minutes after I gave it to him, he came back to me with a perfect shark, drawn and colored in by my boy. He cut it out and I traced it on his upper back. And when we arrived at the pool, the uniforms had finally arrived, so Eli got to swim in his 'tight baggies'. He was over the moon about this!

Eli only had two events this week: 25 Freestyle and 25 Backstroke. He was very nervous about the backstroke. Not only does he not enjoy that variety, he did not get to compete in it last week, so he's never actually completed a full 25 on his back. Lehr was on camera duty, but he will be pulled from it next week as he taped most kids Eli's age, but then turned the camera off when it was Eli's turn to swim the 25 Freestyle. (DOH!) Eli swam even better than last week too! I haven't been able to compare the times yet, but his pace was consistent and strong.

A few hours later it was Eli's chance to try the Backstroke. I'd never seen him practice this type of 'entry' during his team practices, but he'd been watching the last few heats, and he set up like a pro. Again, no clue what his time was, but he made it all of the way without grabbing the rope or giving up. So proud of that little shark!