Should You Take a Do-Over? Irish Holland Bounces Back, EP 219

Welcome to the award-winning champions mojo, hosted by two world record holding athletes and health coaches. Be inspired as you listen to conversations with champions and now your hosts, kelly Palace and Maria Parker.

We're here on deck at the Nova last chance meet in Richmond, virginia, with Irish Holland and Irish is in 43 year old. Who is in this meet? Irish, I think you're something for North Carolina Masters. Why did you come to this meet and tell us a little bit about nationals and how all this came together for you? Yeah, thank you so much, kelly for having me. I came to this meet.

I really had to find the last chance opportunity specifically to have a do over, if you will, for my 400. I am. I went to Irvine for short first usm's nationals last weekend. I started out the meet with a banger, won the 500, had a pretty good time attack with that and then, unfortunately, things just went a little downhill from there and I apologize if I'm a little winded. I actually just finished the 4-H I am and it did hurt. So that's good. You can't do a 4-H I am without it hurting.

So I think for me the issue is I had already decided I was defeated. The night before the 4-H I am, which was Sunday morning. So Saturday night I just started having really negative thoughts. I didn't think I could do a good time. I felt like I had a lot of things working against me. I don't tend to do well outside. I have I had a lot of different ailments going on and I do recognize as master source. We all have ailments, right, but in all fairness, like I said, we all have ailments. And the other girls, they were in the same conditions. We were all outside and it was very cold in the morning. But for me the issue was, like I mentioned, I had already decided I was defeated the night before. And why is that Like? Why do you think you went there? I don't know.

And I think, like I'm my own worst enemy. I've done this before. I just get something in my head and I wish I can pinpoint it. If I could, then I wouldn't do it to myself. But I just decided you know what? I can't do it. And I had the training behind me. I do a lot of crazy sets. I do post them on instagram. I get a lot of comments about them, but I it's such a mental game for me too, as we all know, there's the training we all put in. But if you're not there mentally, you're not going to hit your goals. And that's what happened to me and I decided my birthday was actually yesterday, so the friday after nationals, I was like you know what, that's not how my season is going to end. And so I knew about this last chance opportunity and thankfully, the meat director he was very flexible, very accommodating. He got me in and I was able to do a master's best time just now, just a few minutes ago, and it was all mental, all mental.

And so you went four seconds faster here, actually four plus seconds faster here than you went in or mine, and what do you think the difference was as far as your mental state? Yeah, mentally, I'm in a much better place today. I love the four hundred and I am. It has been my best event for decades, and late to my baby. I like to take ownership of this event and it's like a little sampling of everything. It's funny, even though I did win the 500 freak, but typically in nationals I can be in the final heat, the fast heat of every stroke, but I don't win. But I can win the 400. I am, I'm just that B plus swimmer in every stroke. I don't have a great strength, but I don't have any glaring weaknesses either. Is that 400 I am? Being that middle distance is just a really good race for me.

So, in going forward, if you have another meet where you have this negativeness creep in, what have you learned from this that you might take forward? Yeah, so the biggest thing I learned is I need to be more open, especially with my teammates. I have like my cone of trust and I've really really wonderful teammates here in North Carolina and I really need to lean on them more and tell them how I'm feeling and get the reassurance and the reminders hey, rise above you, put in the training, I can do it and I just need so much to remind me that I can do it. Beautiful, all right, thank you. I know you need to cool down and it's great that you did so great here and we really appreciate you spending the time with us. Kelly, thank you for having me, thanks so much, thank you.

Stay tuned for the takeaways.

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And now the takeaway.

All right, irish Holland. What a powerhouse. She's just so strong and loved her interview, great Lilla. What was your takeaway, maria?

She was really aware of her mental status and the bad event that she had and that she wanted to end the season on her own term. She wasn't going to just let it go with that one poor performance.

Yeah, and she figured it out and said I'm going to change it. And what I wanted to add to just good mental practice is we talked about in this interview was at that same last chance beat. So the whole season is done. A lot of swimmers show up to do a last chance, best time. And we talked about our interview with Val Van Horn-Pate where she jumped to the front of the line and swam the number one time in the nation in front of everyone else, and so I knew, prior to interviewing Irish, that she was trying to get the number one time or she was trying to do a better performance than at Nationals.

Yeah, and many of us will look at that outcome of did I get the number one time or did I not? It's very black and white and so when she swam the time, I looked over at her friend who was there with her supporting her Erica Braun. We love Erica. We have to say her name a lot. Anyway, I asked Erica, is that the number one time? And it wasn't. Irish swam a better race, a faster race than she did at Nationals. More on her terms, like you said, she didn't get the number one time and she was still thrilled. So I loved that part, your takeaway of that mental game that, yeah, okay, I did on my terms. That might not have been number one, but I think it was number two, but so, anyway, that was beautiful. And then the other part in tying into that but separate is when we are feeling in the funk, when we do have that negative voice come in, we need to talk to someone. If you don't have teammates there to meet with you, then call them or call your spouse.

The purpose of that is that they remind you of who you are. Yeah, so you just get away from it. They remind you of who you are, and that's so wonderful. I love that they remind me of what I can do.

Yeah, so another great one in the books. All right, love you Maria.

Love you, Kelly. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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