In swimming, everyone calls me grandma, because I'm the oldest there. Then with my friends, I'm the youngest and I'm the baby. It's definitely bizarre.

Like anyone, I stress and get hard on myself from time to time, but it's minute compared to the pressure I used to put on myself to perform and succeed. To my kids' credit, they've probably helped me the most here: I'm more worried about what they're doing than what I'm doing!

I know that I do deserve good things.

Breaking composure, confidence, and speed in the water makes you lose the race, not the goggles that fell off your head when you dove in.

Life is all about balance: sprinting hard and fast, breathing deep and slow. Working out with my coaches, playing with my kids. Eating whole foods for fuel, enjoying a glass of wine with friends.

My training centered on aerobic development, meaning I'd swim longer with less intensity during the majority of my practices. As I got older, I began more weight training, and my workouts went from long at a lower intensity to shorter and more intense.

If you want me to swim fast, you have to let me enjoy my life.