Taking Five With Ashley Twichell

Courtesy of Eney Jones

About Ashley Twichell:

Twichell swam for Duke University.  She was an automatic NCAA qualifier in the 1650- yard freestyle as a freshman.  Additionally she broke four individual school records in her first season in the 200, 500, 1000, and 1650. In her time at Duke, Twichell would go on to represent Duke at NCAA’s all four years, finishing fifth in the 1650 her senior year. After  university, Twichell went has gone on to compete at World Championships and Open Water Nationals. She’s also been a member of the US National Team.

Recently you won the 10k at Open Water Nationals. (by over a minute) Last year you were the reigning US Champion but not selected to attend the Olympics in Rio.  Did this help your motivation or crush your spirit?

Missing the Olympics in both 2012 and 2016 was disappointing, absolutely. I had a pretty lackluster 2013 OW Nationals, and while part of this can be attributed to a worsening shoulder injury, looking back, I also think a large part of that was due to the fact that I was still, subconsciously, not “over” the heartbreak of 2012. After missing again in 2015, I didn’t want to ignore or bury that disappointment deep inside of me; I knew that it if I did that, it would continue to resurface in a negative way. Instead, I needed to channel those emotions into fuel and motivation for future success, which I believe I have done pretty successfully.

What do you always put in your swim bag? (i.e. confidence, duct tape, candy)  

My swim bag for practice doesn’t include a whole lot since I keep my suits, towel and equipment all at the pool. I usually only carry my water bottle, a Red Ace beet juice to take before practice, a recovery shake (biPro) for afterward, shampoo, conditioner, hair brush and lotion. If I’m going to roll out at the pool before practice, I’ll bring my HyperIce Vyper and a Trigger Point ball.  My swim bag for a pool meet looks pretty similar, with the addition of a technical suit and a spare pair of goggles/cap. My swim bag for an open water race is definitely the largest. I’ll have everything mentioned above in it, as well as duct tape (always a different design for each race), Vaseline, safety scissors (to cut duct tape), all of my feeds, makeup remover wipes (to take off my numbering after the race), sunscreen and snacks.

How has being married and out of school affected your training and performance?

My life has definitely changed a lot from when I made my first international team, as a recent college graduate. I am now married and not in school anymore. I am very happy in my personal life, and I think that has helped my swimming a lot. My husband is incredibly supportive and being able to experience trips and races with him by my side just enhances the experience even more. Although I am not in school anymore, and the amount of travel I do makes it very difficult to have a job, I do still like to stay busy and keep my mind engaged. Thus, when I’m home, I like to help out where I can with my husband’s business.

What is the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about at the end of the day?

To be completely honest, the first thing that goes through my head most mornings when I wake up at 4:45 AM is “oh my gosh, is my alarm seriously already going off?”. However, once I am out of bed and moving, I am good to go. If I ever have trouble motivating myself to get out of bed, I just think about the goals I have for myself, and that usually does the trick. I always read before bed, with the intention of being able to fall asleep as soon as my eyes close, but this is usually not the case. So instead of laying there thinking about things I have to do the next day, or worrying about something or other, I try to just think about and focus on everything I am grateful for. This leaves me falling asleep extremely thankful and appreciative, which I have found is a very calming way to go to bed each night.

Any advice for up and coming Open Water Swimmers?

My advice for up and coming open water swimmers would be to try a few races before you decide whether it’s for you or not. My first ever open water race (2010 Open Water Nationals 10K) went pretty disastrously, and I almost threw in the towel right then and there.  However, I gave it another shot in the 5K two days later, and it ended up going a whole lot better. My very next race, 2011 Open Water Nationals 10K, was when I made my first international team. Open water is certainly a different beast than pool swimming, and it takes some getting used to. You learn more from every race and become more comfortable in every race. Seven years after my first open water experience, I am still learning new things and gaining more confidence.

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