I'm sure the first words out of the Dr.'s mouth when I was born weren't "It's a swimmer!", nevertheless that was life's ultimate plan for the years ahead. All growing up we spent summers in our grandma's pool and for a lot of us Gram would be our first coach. With my brother and sister along with cousins we would learn basic technique and the water became our second home. 'Reunions' were weekly if not daily. Swimming was my first love but sometimes life forces us to give up the things we love. At the age of 3 I was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure, more specifically Prune Belly; A kidney disease effecting 1 in 40,000. Attacking the immune system, reducing energy, and holding kidney function at 12-14% getting out of bed in the morning is nothing short of a miracle and everyday truely a blessing. When I was a Jr. in high school my swimming times began to slip and at first I didn't pay it much attention but I soon realized I was headed down a difficult road, a road that only went in one direction. Physically I didn't feel any different and for the next several weeks I wrestled with myself as I practiced. "Should I stay? Is it worth it anymore? What about the team?" Failure was knocking at my door and threatening what I loved. Without my hand on the knob the door opened and passion died. There was a moment standing waist deep in the water inbetween sets, everything slowed down and reality settled in my heart and sank to the bottom of the pool. Failure was not a choice but something I had to accept...or so I thought. For years after quiting the team I was bitter and angry, I didn't want to swim or even hear about swimming. I dont think my family understood where I was and quite frankly neither did I. Part of me died when I left and for those who have had a broken heart for whatever reason understand what I mean. Somewhere along the way my brother started to dabble in triathlons and other athletic events, soon my sister joined and before I knew it I had been sucked in as well. Emersed in a new journey, high school was in the past and another chapter in life was starting. Bitterness melted away and anger faded. "If you love something, set it free..." I don't recall who originally said this but for me this came true. I had a renewed love and a refined understanding and acceptance of the past. I moved on and gained a burning desire to rise above circumstance. Before I layed down and didn't fight, life will always find ways to knock us down but we only lose when we give up or give in. I'll push through the pain, I'll kick a little longer, I'll reach a little farther...I'll swim towards redemption

Friday, April 15, 2011

.45 Miles Of Perfection

Weather never ceases to amaze me.  With the storm that passed through last week dropping the water temp 10 degrees, I was certain that the nearly solid week of snow and heavy rain leading up to today's swim would be devastating for the temp.  I was thinking 40 would be lucky.  Fortunately the thermometer took a journey in the other direction and the water was a very pleasant 58, only 6 degrees colder than Josh and I's swim at Alcatraz.  Gordon and Josh's plan was to start at the boat ramp and trace the perimeter of the pond, a little more than 1 mile.  Not hitting the pool yet to get in shape I decided to just swim around the island and back, about a half mile.  The three of us took the slow walk down the ramp and into the water together.  When we were waist deep Gordon and Josh took off with no problem but as I had imagined it going for me I started to hyperventilate.  As crazy as it sounds when I just jump in I don't have a problem, but when I walk in I usually have this problem.  I took a few short strokes and tried to swim it out.  This wasn't working so I stopped and tread water while I took a few deep breathes to even out my breathing.  When I was back in control I resumed the path towards the island.  About halfway there my body was climatized and was feeling great.  There were a couple cold spots along the way as well as warm, approaching the north end there was a current pushing against me and all around the island my hand would hit the bottom every few strokes.  When I was on the west side of it I was having a hard time seeing out of goggles from getting fogged up so when I was about to come back into view on the south side I took a break to clear them so I knew where I was heading.  The home stretch went pretty fast and swam through a couple more cold spots.  When I reached the finish my dad and nephew were waiting on the ramp, standing up I was a little dizzy and stumbled a bit but felt great other than that.  As I was taking my first step onto the cement I caught a glance of my skin and noticed something wasn't quite right with how it looked.  It had the familiar bumps and could see that most of my skin was the normal color with no red patches.  I took both hands and ran them across my stomach each finger drawing a line in the slimy residue of the pond. Looking up at my dad I said, "What is that?"  I'm not sure what it really was and prefer to keep it that way.  I felt like some sort of swamp creature.  Today was my favorite cold water swim so far, I finished at .45 miles and with couple stops to catch my breath and fix my goggles it only took 15:30.  Not too fast but for not being in shape and in 58 degrees I was pretty happy with it.
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2 comments:

  1. JoshApril 15, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    Awesome! I'm glad you went for it today and were able to go around the island. I was feeling pretty good too, not because I was fast or anything, but because I accomplished what I set out to do and went a full lap.

    By the way...I kind of inflated the water temperature to encourage you to swim around the island...it was actually closer to 55 degrees :)

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  2. Jake GreenApril 16, 2011 at 4:56 PM

    Haha Well whatever the temp was it was perfect!

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