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Check out Garrett Weber-Gale at Nationals next week right here on Swimnetwork!

07/30/10

The home stretch is here!

After months and months of hard work and several weeks of taper, the moment I’ve been working for is finally getting near. Next week I’ll be competing in the 50 and 100 free at the US National Championships in Irvine, California. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since Rome and already two years since Beijing. Where has the time gone? What I know is that I’m feeling great about the training I’ve done this year. My taper is going really well and I’m supremely excitement for Irvine. Each day I get closer to my races a sense of laughter and happiness enters my body. Great things are in store.

I’ll be leaving my home of Austin, Texas on Sunday and traveling to Irvine. It’s always important to arrive at the venue plenty of time before the big events. First of all, what happens if you get delayed, or even worse, the flight gets cancelled? Making sure you have plenty of time to figure out travel logistics is essential. Once I arrive at the competition site it’s always nice to get into a little bit of a schedule to have some normalcy again. I plan on doing some sort of time trial or solid pace work on Tuesday. The plan Eddie and I have formed is to have all of Wednesday off to chill before the 50 on Thursday.

What will I be eating in Irvine? Starting in Omaha at the 2008 Olympic Trials my parents have been preparing food for me at the big selection meets and bringing it to the competition. There’s nothing better than finishing a race and having the food you know and love waiting for you in your hotel room. Plus, this way I know exactly what I’m eating and it allows me to continue the diet that has fueled me for great training and racing the entire year. A few weeks ago my Dad was in town and we made a bunch of food and froze it for the meet. I’ll be packing it up in a cooler to take with me to Nationals with me. Of course all the fresh stuff like fruits, veggies and the like will be purchased upon arrival.

My time in Austin before Irvine is coming to an end. As another taper comes to a conclusion I’m very confident moving forward and expect Irvine to be a lot of fun. As Eddie puts it, there’s only one thing left to do…put my body on the line and give it everything I’ve got. I can’t wait! See y’all in Irvine.

You can cheer on Olympian Garrett Weber-Gale and the rest of the swimmers next week at Nationals live right here on Swimnetwork.