Bryan Brosious: November 2013

Sunday, November 17, 2013

The Brute Squad!

*Dinner at Gambino's after a long day.

Saturday was the Turkey Trifecta swim meet in Moscow, Idaho. The pool is amazing and the event featured a specialty race called the "Brute Squad." In order to be in the brute squad a person has to swim the three toughest swim races; 1650 freestyle, 400im, and 200fly, all in the same meet. This was especially challenging for the 15 or so brave brutes because the 1650 free and 400im were back-to-back. In my brief time in competitive swimming I have taken notice that the brute squad is a big deal, and people who earn it wear it proudly. This is a huge challenge and I definitely wanted a piece of it.

*The week of the swim meet the weather at the Tri Pad was perfect, crisp, cold, and clear. AMAZING! Weather like this gives me confidence leading up to a challenge.

*Loving the Hammer Green kit on the cold runs.

If you want to look like Ferocious Brosious...

...then buy one...

....with your money.

It was very nice to have Patti and Ed join us for the meet. They were gracious in giving me a ride to the meet, it is always a treat to share the meets with my adopted grandparents. Patti did great in her events, and more than once Ed came up to me, while I was zoned out in the warm-up pool, to say, "Bryan, you're up next, heat 5, lane 6." I probably would have been late for a few of my events while I was off in la la land.

*This is us in street clothes...

*This is us in super hero outfits!!!

*Patti with "high-elbow recovery."

*Patti works the 100 breast.

There were a lot of great swimmers at the meet, and I must apologize to my friends for not getting pictures of (or with) them. I spent 4 hours in the warm-up pool, the lag time in between events is pure misery for me because I don't have a lot of visceral fat and I absolutely freeze to death. The thought of getting out of the luke-warm water was absolutely unbearable, sorry I missed action of pics of you all. I will do a better job at the next meet, I am bringing snow clothes.

I will mention a couple of my friends doing the brute squad, though. Kyle Watson did great in all three events, she's a quietly tough gal, and she showed why she is a great swimmer. Lana Lawrence also did amazing. Lana has been doing Crossfit for the past year and let me just say that she is looking fabulous. Girls are so scared of weights and "getting bulky." Women don't have the body chemistry to bulk up easily, it just doesn't happen. If you want "Jennifer Aniston arms" then you have to lift weights. I personally think that girls with defined girl-muscles, muscles that are athletic and lean, are very attractive (don't let your lazy, self-conscious boyfriends tell you otherwise). "Fit and strong is the new skinny!" Kyle and Lana both are prime examples of athletic beauty, I hope they don't mind me saying that about them here.

*Ed, Charlotte, and Patti reading their heat sheets.

Others to mention were Patti of course, she is amazing. Charlotte, at 91 totally rocked the socks off all her events. At 91 she is more athletic than people in their 60s and 70s, it's amazing. My other friend, James Adams, did a super job in the brute squad. He won the 1650, 400im, and 200 fly. His stories of eating Big Macs and drinking Mountain Dew were a welcomed distraction in the warm up pool. It was nice to get to know him more this meet.

*200 fly start

I swam 5 events, but the focus was on the three of the brute squad. The 1650 free (aka "the mile") was effortless. I swam easy and enjoyed it. The laps went super fast even if I wasn't swimming fast. The song playing in my head was Fall Out Boy's Along Together, because in this race you swim 33 laps (66 lengths) and it feels like you are alone. I enjoyed it.

The 400im I enjoyed less. This is a hard race no matter your pace is. I am in great shape right now, super fit and strong, but it is not swim/race shape. If I am in race shape in November it means something is terribly wrong with my training schedule. Even going 23 seconds slower than I went in this race when I won here in the spring brought me a lot of discomfort and was hard. This race is tough, that is the reason I love it. The theme song for the 400im was Up in the Air, by 30 Seconds to Mars.

*1 of the 8 excruciating walls of the 200 butterfly.

If I love the 400im because it is tough, then I loooovvveeee the 200 butterfly. This race is the ultimate of the ultimate for me. I have no control over it, it is untamable. Some days I can do it, some days I cannot. I have no control over my time, I either swim and finish it and get whatever time I get, or I simply can't finish it. Thankfully, I have finished it every time I have swum it in competition. The same cannot be said for every time I have tried it in practice. I thought this race was going to hurt the worst, be the biggest baddest mother on the block. I spent hours worrying about it. When I swam it, it surprisingly was not bad. It left me feeling like I can swim it faster, I no longer have to cling to survival. It was hard, don't get me wrong, but after it I am feeling like I have more in the 200 fly, which is a good feeling, and a great way to end the brute squad. The theme song for the 200 fly was Bezerk by Eminem (the edited version please!!!).

*Can you see the water-angel I am making, cool right?

*The fly is a beautiful stroke, I made it look like agony during the 200 fly, though. ha ha

A big thank you to Paige Buehler, and Coach Matt for all their hard work in bringing the meet to Moscow. They are always gracious with their time and effort. Thanks to all the Chinooks.

*I had a great veggie pizza at the social, it was fun.

Overall I am happy with accomplishing my goal of joining my first brute squad. I also value the time I spent with my swim friends, many I neglected to get pictures of or adequately mention in this post. My times were not super fast, but it gives me motivation and goals to shoot for in the next brute squad. Thanks again to Patti and Ed for spending time with me. Having grandparents that passed away when I was young (who I miss and think about often) makes me appreciate the opportunity I have been given with my adopted grandparents.

*Patti was so impressed by my pumpkin patch she wanted a picture with it.

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

2013 NCSG Athlete of The Year

About a year ago I was in my parents' basement rummaging through some of my dad's packed-away memories. I found a box of trophies and in that box was a newspaper clipping from 1978. The newspaper clipping was about my dad, he won an award called "Missoula's Nice Young Man Award." I read with intrigue. It talked about my dad helping in the community and youth sports and basically personifying the award by being a "nice young man." My dad was 28 years old when he won the award, my age now. There's a lot we will never know about our parents, call it coincidence or call it like-father-like-son, I remember reading that article, being very proud of my dad and wishing that I one day could win an award for being a nice young man.

*My parents were gracious in coming to Texas with me.

In August I won Montana's BSSG athlete of the year, and it was a dream come true. When I was told I was entered into the national-level competition I sarcastically thought one thing, "Yeah right." When Karen, the director of the State Games, called me in October to say that I won the national competition I dropped the phone, scrambling to pick it up I muttered "Wait...what?"

*At the Alamo there was a wishing well. I couldn't help but wonder how many of these wishes came true. My wishes and dreams have certainly come true this year.

That phone call kicked off the start of a crazy month. I am incredibly grateful for all the amazing things that have come my way. The media publicity, being flown to Texas for the award, and having an opportunity to give my speech are things I will never forget. Whether this is the start of something larger, or simply my 15 minutes of fame ticking, I can say that I did my best to make the most of the opportunity I have been given.

*Preparing to give my speech. I carried a note up with me that said, "This is your moment, inspire others to achieve theirs."

I am very proud of what I have done, but I don't want to be boastful so I will keep this post short. At the end of the day it isn't about me, its about principles; commitment, dedication, and that iron will that inspires us to chase our dreams. I am lucky to be associated with an award that values those traits.

*Picture with gold medalist Dana Vollmer (right), female athlete of the year Jen Reiter, and youth athlete of the year Taileen Oja. It was like being a celebrity, we had to pose for the paparazzi.

I am very thankful for everyone who has supported me, and those who believe in me. Thank you to my family and friends for always being there for me. Thank you to Karen and her team in Montana who bring us the State Games, who also took amazing care of me and my parents when in Texas. Thanks to the National Congress of State Games, Derek Buerkle of KPAX Television, AJ Mazzolini of The Missoulian, both were extremely generous with their time in helping me get my message across using their mediums.

Please click the links to see their interviews
KPAX Television Interview
Missoulian Newspaper Article

I will close with two things; pictures from our trip, and a portion of my speech.

"...It's often times ironic that people are willing to dedicate themselves, completely and entirely, to the pursuit and achievement of their goals. Yet, those same people are reluctantly hesitant to claim that moment of success when they achieve their goal. They fail to seize that powerful moment to say, 'I did a good job, I am proud of who I am, and I am proud of what I have done.' The State Games isn't about awards, it isn't about medals, and it certainly isn't about me. It's about thousands of athletes across the nation having their opportunity to claim their moment..."