Open Water Swimming

I always have really good intentions of writing and then life happens and before I know it, I'm out of time.  Each day goes by so fast!

As most of you probably know, I am currently training for my first Sprint Triathlon.  I have been really diligent at sticking to my training and getting all of my workouts in.  If races were only about heart and determination, I might have a shot at winning something someday.  However, they are about so much more and despite loads of training, I'm still incredibly slow and will likely finish last, but I'm ok with that.

To this point, I've been doing all of my swimming in the pool, since it is Minnesota and all and we just had snow a few weeks ago.  However, my race is only one week away, so I decided I better get a couple of open water swims in before the big day.  A 77 degree Friday with mostly sunny skies seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

I grew up swimming in lakes, so I wasn't too worried.  When I was in high school I went to a camp that required us to swim around the perimeter of the swimming area if we wanted to be able to swim past a certain point, so I figured this would be no big deal.  I really just wanted wanted to get used to swimming in a wet suit, which was new for me.  I wasn't super comfortable about going out on my first swim alone, so I found a beach that had a playground near by and the whole family came with.  

I don't think I've ever been so glad that I like to plan and prepare for new things, because it was terrifying.  Hanging out at the beach and swimming around every once in a while is one thing, but actually swimming at full speed with goggles and a wet suit is a whole other thing.  When you can see weeds and other things moving beneath you as you move along, things get real, really quick.  I was on the verge of a full blown panic attack pretty quickly, but I just stopped, took a few deep breaths and reminded myself why I am doing this and then tried again.  

Which, let me tell you why I am doing this in case you don't know.

Pretty much any ridiculous endurance activity I do is purely to help raise awareness and money to provide clean water for children in Africa.  After running my 3rd marathon in 3 years last year, my knees decided they were done with marathon running for the time being.  I have chondromalacia and my cartilage was very angry after three full training seasons.  So I spent most of the winter resting and rehabbing and am slowly building up mileage as my knees tolerate.  However, I still wanted to be part of Team World Vision and do what I could to help give kids a chance at a longer, healthier, life.  So I decided to give sprint triathlons a try.

Back to my swimming experience....after calming myself down, I fell into a pretty decent groove of swimming around the buoys for the swimming area.  Then I lost my nose clip and panic ensued.  I never used a nose clip until I started swimming on a regular basis.  My nose doesn't react well to the chlorine and I was getting multiple sinus infections, so I had to resort to a nose clip to keep as much water as possible out.  Now I apparently don't know what to do without it!  I kept getting water up my nose, and had all kinds of fears about getting some kind of random disease running through my head.  I was right back where I started and had to take a few moments to calm myself down and avoid a panic attack.  

If I wasn't doing this for a purpose larger than myself, I would have quit tonight.  I don't think I've ever been as terrified as I was out there in that water.  But I stopped for a minute and thought about a verse one of my friends who is training for an Ironman shared the other day

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9  

I thought about all of my friends who consistently do courageous things to bring clean water to kids in Africa and I kept on swimming.  Every time I thought about stopping because it got to scary, I just repeated that over and over and ended up doing about 1,400 yards.  

I can't imagine what might have happened on race day if I hadn't had the chance to get out there and practice tonight.  I'm still completely terrified of race day because there will be all kinds of other people out there at the same time with arms and legs everywhere I look.  I'm just praying I don't have a massive panic attack in the middle of it all.  

So on the morning of June 3rd, I'll be somewhere in the middle of Long Lake in New Brighton reminding myself that a little bit of fear will hopefully translate into a whole lot of life for kiddos like the these three from Mozambique that our family sponsors.

There are real kids in Africa who have real, beautiful faces and voices.  They are just as important and just as worthy of a bright future as kiddos here.  They are just as talented and just as hard working, in fact, they probably work harder than my kids ever will.  

Can you turn my fears into a bright future for them by giving the gift of clean water?

https://www.teamworldvision.org/participant/tammy2017

A Marching We Will Go

Today I joined nearly 60,000 100,000 women in St. Paul, our state capital and the city I call home, in the Women's March.  I marched with my daughter, my nieces, my sister (in law...but it may as well be blood) and my friends.  Strong women who I am proud to know. 

This isn't the first time I've used my feet to stand up for things I believe in, but it is the first time I've ever been a part of a march or demonstration of any kind.  I'm not typically one to take a firm stance on things.  I don't like to draw lines.  I like to build bridges.  I'm almost always able to find common ground or understand opposing view points.  I like to spend my time and energy on doing things that will make a difference, rather than just spewing hurtful and hateful words.

But today, today I needed to be a part of a bigger statement. 

Today I needed my daughter to know that women are a force to be reckoned with.  Especially when they join hearts, hands and minds.  I believe that this generation of women will change the world. 

Today I needed my daughter to know that you can take a stand for something you believe in without being hateful.  You can show up with a great big heart and have tears rolling down your eyes as you watch thousands of beautiful people unite over something incredibly important. 

Today I needed my daughter to know that she is not alone.  She is one of 60,000 100,000 in our city alone, who know a woman's worth.

Today I needed my daughter to know that when she says "no", it needs to be respected.  I pray that she will be confident enough to walk away from any man that doesn't respect her "no".  I needed her to know that the first time should be the only time it needs to be said and that any response that is met with the words "but" and "love", is devoid of the very thing it proclaims.

Today I needed my daughter to know that she is beautiful.  That no matter what her body may look like, it is precious, perfect and powerful.  I needed her to see that beautiful women come in all shapes, sizes and colors, even if she doesn't see that represented on the television or movie screen.

Today I needed my daughter to know that even though her mom is pro-life in every sense of the word, it is ok to respectfully disagree with others and still march beside them.  I needed her to know that even though I don't agree with something, I'm willing to admit that I don't have all the answers or solutions. 

Today I needed my daughter to know that being a woman should never stop her from trying or doing anything.  There is no career that she is incapable of entering without hard work because she was born with two x chromosomes. 

Today I needed my daughter to know that her body was created to do miraculous things, and she should be proud of that. 

My daughter is only 8, so she does not understand the magnitude of these things quite yet.  We haven't had the difficult conversations yet.  But when we do, I'll be able to remind her that she was a part of a historical day, where women declared that equality is more than a fancy catch phrase. 

If I'm honest, today, I needed to be reminded of these things.  As I raise an intelligent, compassionate and creative daughter, I need to model these things for her so that she will never forget her worth. 

I needed to be reminded that I can enter spaces that make me uncomfortable.  I can walk alongside people who are vastly different than me.  I can share a meal with those the world has deemed unlovable.  I can do all of these things because Jesus showed me how.  Mercy, compassion and understanding is hard to come by when you build invisible walls and focus on your differences.  But build a bridge, extend a hand, break bread together, and see how your heart swells as your love for someone unlike you grows and you begin to see that you really aren't that different after all.