Just kidding

The thing about Rochester is-although the life here is pretty predictable, the weather is not. No sooner did I title my last blog entry "Springtime", that a cold front hit with snow flurries hit the east coast. I even tried to disguise my entry by making the title French, but the snow gods of Rochester decided that I needed an instant replay of winter.

But despite the weather, I am still in great spirits. When I see the snow on my car and as my car slips on the wet pavement, I think of the sun and how glorious it will be when it finally comes out.

Enough about the weather and more about fencing because after all, isn't fencing what this is all about?

Okay, a short but amusing fencing story by Iris Zimmermann.

Once upon a time Iris was 16 years old (not that long ago so no one should be stretching the imagination too much-oh wait, does ten years ago qualify as a short time?). I used to train so much and work so hard that one of my teammates, Ann, decided to get me a No Fear t-shirt. Don't you remember those popular t-shirts with sport related phrases and quotes?

The No Fear shirt I was given, was grey and on the back was the following:

"I'm YOUNGER, FASTER, STRONGER and I practice while you sleep."

I used to wear this shirt with pride because the woman who gave it to me was someone I truly admired. Ann has made three Olympic teams from Barcelona, to Atlanta, and finally Sydney. While she was training for these games she managed to find time to 1. graduate from Columbia and 2. graduate from the University of Rochester Medical School. Yeah, they should make a t-shirt for her too.

"I am an Olympian, Ivy League graduate, and doctor. Come talk to me when you pick your jaw off the floor."

Well, the t-shirt was awesome and I wore it all the time. It inspired me and scared some of my opponents. In fact, the team at the Rochester Fencing Club would on some occasions recite the t-shirt to me. Why? Because it was true. I would practice until the cows came home. I was younger, I was faster, and I was always stronger.

Fast forward three knee surgeries, a degree from Stanford, and two years of retirement and trying to make the Beijing Olympic team later....

The t-shirt went missing for several years while I was in California but a month ago I found it once again. What do you think? A wonderful omen, a reminder of the past, what?

At first I thought to myself, what do I do with the line "younger" since I'm one of the oldest on the USA team and at the RFC? Seriously? Can I walk around with this t-shirt? I mean, some of the kids at the fencing club don't even know what a No Fear t-shirt is let alone the fact that some of them were born in the same year I wore it.

Then I thought, I am still the same person that wore this thing ten years ago, and I am still a great fencer. So what if there needs to be asterisks by each claim on the back?

I'm
Younger*
Faster**
Sronger***
and I practice while you sleep****

*Although this no longer applies, 26 isn't that old!
**Three knee surgeries may have slowed me down a bit but it was actually a good thing for my fencing tactics.
***Now I have strength of mind as well as strength of body.
****Haven't you ever heard of, "practice smarter, not harder"? It's my new mantra.

The t-shirt is back and so am I, perhaps a more thoughtful and wiser version. I'm glad I found the thing because most of all it reminds me of the great times I had training with some very incredible people.