Family is one of those strange words that is incredibly specific, yet oddly broad at the same time. In a very specific, archaic sense, a family is created when two people create and raise a child. But the existence of a family has endured because the idea of "family" is so necessary to a happy survival...and ironically, in that endurance, the family structure has been dismantled and restructured, for the better by my point of view.
I am lucky enough to have a loving, supportive family in all sense of the traditional word. But I am extra lucky to also have family where we are connected not by blood, but by salty sea water that flows through our veins.
Being a part of a family is all about sacrifice. Swimmers understand sacrifice. That is why we are pretty awesome family members, in our traditional families and also to our special swim family members.
I was in the hospital for a week with asthma...this was not new, but new since joining the ranks of marathon swimming. Along with JC I had the support of my swim family. A doctor that walked right in the room and assumed my teammate Mo was my mom. Just a few weeks ago another teammate came for a final wedding dress fitting and had the same assumption made. No, no relation...just some amazing people that share a mutual respect and understanding of a very addicting, somewhat crazy, little hobby. It's called marathon swimming.
Just like any family, marathon swimmers have little tiffs, some members like each other more than others, and there may be "sibling rivalry" between others. But deep down, maybe salt water is almost as thick as blood, and our mutual understanding for each other births quite a lovely support team.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
We never, ever, ever give up.
There is definitely a common character trait amongst all marathon swimmers. We simply do not quit. It does not matter if the conditions are perfect. Actually, we quite like it if we are presented with cold, inhospitable, or simple impossible conditions. It helps us achieve the sacred mark of The One Who Did Not Give Up.
I love the Winston Churchill's quote: "Never, ever, ever give up." I wore it proudly on the back of my tie-dyed-for-conference-championships t-shirt during my senior year of college, the year that I spent weeks in the hospital and spent the weeks of winter break recovering from surgery instead of training with my team.
Our endurance attitude lets us achieve mind-boggling feats. Like Phillipe Croizon, a quadruple amputee who swam the English Channel in thirteen and a half hours, or Antonio Abertondo, who swam the Channel both ways. In 1961. Before Carbo Pro or gels or even soft and comfy swim suits and goggles.
The swimmer's psyche does not change when they get out of the water. We are still that diehard person in every aspect of life. Chances are, if you have met or are a marathon swimmer, you can attest that we are the most stubborn, determined, and slightly insane people you ever met.
So when JC and I met, we BOTH brought our marathon swimmer souls to the table. Really. Life can get pretty ridiculous. Especially when you consider that many of our friends are marathon swimmers as well. We just do not know when to stop!
That is how I find myself in situations like yesterday afternoon. Surfing in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf actually can bring forth some pretty decent surf, but the waves, although small, are best suited for tiny, light shortboards. Shredding and doing tricks.
Of course, not knowing how to call it quits, I will paddle out my longboard and give it a try! The wipeouts are not as bad in the gulf...as long as you don't wipeout into the sand...so it is easier to try new stuff. And to not quit.
The winter training that I missed during college was actually at the beach of my current home where I swim and surf. Most of the people that I swam with in college are done with their swimming career. But I am still swimming, plugging away when everyone else has left.
When I swim along the gulf coast, I think about how I had to pause life nearly a decade ago. But that does not mean I stopped. Just that the conditions were a little bit rough and it was time for a breather. Time to stop for an unplanned feed.
But that is okay. Us marathon swimmers like it tough. The more impossible the situation, not just in swimming, but in anything, the more we just have to do it.
I love the Winston Churchill's quote: "Never, ever, ever give up." I wore it proudly on the back of my tie-dyed-for-conference-championships t-shirt during my senior year of college, the year that I spent weeks in the hospital and spent the weeks of winter break recovering from surgery instead of training with my team.
Our endurance attitude lets us achieve mind-boggling feats. Like Phillipe Croizon, a quadruple amputee who swam the English Channel in thirteen and a half hours, or Antonio Abertondo, who swam the Channel both ways. In 1961. Before Carbo Pro or gels or even soft and comfy swim suits and goggles.
The swimmer's psyche does not change when they get out of the water. We are still that diehard person in every aspect of life. Chances are, if you have met or are a marathon swimmer, you can attest that we are the most stubborn, determined, and slightly insane people you ever met.
So when JC and I met, we BOTH brought our marathon swimmer souls to the table. Really. Life can get pretty ridiculous. Especially when you consider that many of our friends are marathon swimmers as well. We just do not know when to stop!
That is how I find myself in situations like yesterday afternoon. Surfing in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf actually can bring forth some pretty decent surf, but the waves, although small, are best suited for tiny, light shortboards. Shredding and doing tricks. Of course, not knowing how to call it quits, I will paddle out my longboard and give it a try! The wipeouts are not as bad in the gulf...as long as you don't wipeout into the sand...so it is easier to try new stuff. And to not quit.
The winter training that I missed during college was actually at the beach of my current home where I swim and surf. Most of the people that I swam with in college are done with their swimming career. But I am still swimming, plugging away when everyone else has left.
When I swim along the gulf coast, I think about how I had to pause life nearly a decade ago. But that does not mean I stopped. Just that the conditions were a little bit rough and it was time for a breather. Time to stop for an unplanned feed.
But that is okay. Us marathon swimmers like it tough. The more impossible the situation, not just in swimming, but in anything, the more we just have to do it.
Monday, April 27, 2015
The Team Sport of Marathon Swimming
Last year, I swam in the 17th Annual 24 Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim. I finished 2nd...one of only five people to finish out of a field of 16 due to very tough conditions.
This year, I had the honor of kayaking for the winner of the 18th TBMS! It was a very different swim this year. Nice winds made it a little wavy, but also gave the swimmers a push and every single one finished. JC kayaked a RECORD 18 hours and 9 minutes. His swimmer quite literally broke the record for the longest TBMS swim ever, coming in just after 1:00AM.
Watching my swimmer made me a little envious that I did not have similar conditions, but paddling beside a swimmer also gave me lots of time to think about the true team aspect of marathon swimming, and the differences and surprising similarities between kayaking and swimming a marathon swim.
As we passed race director Ron Collins roughly three quarters of the way into the race, he asked if paddling or swimming TBMS was easier. Well, paddling was quite a bit easier, of course! I was surprised also at how quickly the time went, compared to how time seems to stop as though you have enter some sort of alternative universe when you are swimming. There is so much to do when you are paddling. Feed the swimmer. Stay on the course. Watch the stroke rate. Take care of your own paddling and nutrition.
A marathon swimmer at heart, though, I would still be hard pressed to say kayaking was necessarily better though. And some things were scarily the same! I had the same songs that frequently get stuck in my head while singing, numbered the day off by counting the number of feeds, and had random thoughts pop into my head to occupy my time.
Saturday was simply a splendid day; I am extremely proud of my swimmer and I have an even deeper appreciation for everyone who has supported me for all of my marathon swims. Similarly to when I first started coaching swimming, you do not quite realize what goes into something into you get in there and do it yourself.
So looking back, I do not think I can fairly say that I swam Clearwater-St. Pete, Tampa Bay, Charleston, etc....but that all the crew members: JC, Junior, Ryan, Kendal, Catherine...for those swims completed those swims. Marathon swimming is truly a team sport, but that is great!
"Success is best when it's shared" -Howard Shultz
This year, I had the honor of kayaking for the winner of the 18th TBMS! It was a very different swim this year. Nice winds made it a little wavy, but also gave the swimmers a push and every single one finished. JC kayaked a RECORD 18 hours and 9 minutes. His swimmer quite literally broke the record for the longest TBMS swim ever, coming in just after 1:00AM.
Watching my swimmer made me a little envious that I did not have similar conditions, but paddling beside a swimmer also gave me lots of time to think about the true team aspect of marathon swimming, and the differences and surprising similarities between kayaking and swimming a marathon swim.
As we passed race director Ron Collins roughly three quarters of the way into the race, he asked if paddling or swimming TBMS was easier. Well, paddling was quite a bit easier, of course! I was surprised also at how quickly the time went, compared to how time seems to stop as though you have enter some sort of alternative universe when you are swimming. There is so much to do when you are paddling. Feed the swimmer. Stay on the course. Watch the stroke rate. Take care of your own paddling and nutrition.
A marathon swimmer at heart, though, I would still be hard pressed to say kayaking was necessarily better though. And some things were scarily the same! I had the same songs that frequently get stuck in my head while singing, numbered the day off by counting the number of feeds, and had random thoughts pop into my head to occupy my time.
Saturday was simply a splendid day; I am extremely proud of my swimmer and I have an even deeper appreciation for everyone who has supported me for all of my marathon swims. Similarly to when I first started coaching swimming, you do not quite realize what goes into something into you get in there and do it yourself.
"Success is best when it's shared" -Howard Shultz
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Time for a new blog!
An awful lot in my life has changed since I started my last blog, realifemermaid. An awful lot has stayed the same.
I took a break from blogging and, shortly after, swam into the man of my dreams. It is the best, sweetest love story ever. We both were entered in the 2014 Tampa Bay Navy Seals Frogman Swim, swimming without wetsuits in the 56 degree water for the 5K race.
Two months later, JC had quit his job at Endless Pools in Delaware, and moved down to Florida.
Less than six months after that, he proposed to me after swimming around Manhattan in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS). Swim 28 miles, then propose to the woman of your dreams? No big deal for JC!
I decided a new blog must be started because this new blog is a love story. Not just between the two of us, but our completely insane love obsession with water. We may not be fantastic at all of the water sports we are obsessed with, but water, especially in its natural state (JC hates seeing me in the pool, although I still find it necessary for my training...he likens it to a mermaid in an aquarium...) has an incredibly strong hold on both of us.
And yes, insane. In addition to MIMS, JC has (just to name a FEW highlights)....
- Swum Catalina (22 miles as the crow flies, 64 degree rough water, over 15 hour swim)
- Swum Absecon Island (over 15 hours)
- Swum 15.1 Miles around Cape May, then organized an event of the same swim
-Kayaked for MIMS races for four years, for me during the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim when 2/3 of the field quit, and for me during many, many other swims.
-Raced surf skis.
-Attempted to learn how to surf! Even paddled out past the break!
-Swum an entire 1.1 miles in 39 degree water.
I needed someone who could match my own love with the water to keep up with me! Looking at that list, I think I found him, wouldn't you agree? I swam through college, though I was actually a sprinter and backstroker back in those days. I grew up at the beach or the pool and attempted to sorta learn how to surf when I was 16, but never made much significant headway until I moved to Florida. JC has been teaching me how to surfski and I am super excited for my first race coming up in a few weeks! I am also a FINIS Ambassador, and will periodically blog about FINIS.
I teach high school English and will try to use my amazing literary skills to keep the blog as reader-friendly as possible. JC took quite a few journalism classes in college and is an excellent writer, so I am sure he can be coaxed into writing as well!
That is the new blog in a nutshell. A love story about two water people and our adventures. Feel free to join along!
I took a break from blogging and, shortly after, swam into the man of my dreams. It is the best, sweetest love story ever. We both were entered in the 2014 Tampa Bay Navy Seals Frogman Swim, swimming without wetsuits in the 56 degree water for the 5K race.
Two months later, JC had quit his job at Endless Pools in Delaware, and moved down to Florida.
Less than six months after that, he proposed to me after swimming around Manhattan in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS). Swim 28 miles, then propose to the woman of your dreams? No big deal for JC!
I decided a new blog must be started because this new blog is a love story. Not just between the two of us, but our completely insane love obsession with water. We may not be fantastic at all of the water sports we are obsessed with, but water, especially in its natural state (JC hates seeing me in the pool, although I still find it necessary for my training...he likens it to a mermaid in an aquarium...) has an incredibly strong hold on both of us.
And yes, insane. In addition to MIMS, JC has (just to name a FEW highlights)....
- Swum Catalina (22 miles as the crow flies, 64 degree rough water, over 15 hour swim)
- Swum 15.1 Miles around Cape May, then organized an event of the same swim
-Kayaked for MIMS races for four years, for me during the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim when 2/3 of the field quit, and for me during many, many other swims.
-Raced surf skis.
-Attempted to learn how to surf! Even paddled out past the break!
-Swum an entire 1.1 miles in 39 degree water.
I needed someone who could match my own love with the water to keep up with me! Looking at that list, I think I found him, wouldn't you agree? I swam through college, though I was actually a sprinter and backstroker back in those days. I grew up at the beach or the pool and attempted to sorta learn how to surf when I was 16, but never made much significant headway until I moved to Florida. JC has been teaching me how to surfski and I am super excited for my first race coming up in a few weeks! I am also a FINIS Ambassador, and will periodically blog about FINIS.
I teach high school English and will try to use my amazing literary skills to keep the blog as reader-friendly as possible. JC took quite a few journalism classes in college and is an excellent writer, so I am sure he can be coaxed into writing as well!
That is the new blog in a nutshell. A love story about two water people and our adventures. Feel free to join along!
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