BBQ Kick-Off Celebration

What A Celebration!  We held a celebratory kick-off for Swim for ZOE this past Saturday afternoon. It was unbelievably fun and lasted into the evening hours. Those coming through the door were both good friends, close friends or those I had never met before.  Doug entertained the kids with corn-hole and toss while I chatted with everyone about the swim and about Zoe Ministries.  The food was incredibly delicious and fabulous - Ben's chicken was superb right off the grill and the dishes that the YDubTriClub brought were a gift to the palate. In addition, we raised $760 for Swim for Zoe. Many thanks to all who turned out for our mission!

The most exciting thing to me about the party was talking about my swim mission, the ZOE Ministry and how it ties together.  It instilled a resolve in me when talking about how God created a love for swimming in me, and also the passion I have for the African AIDS orphans, to continue doing long swims, alone, at night when my family is home, on weekends when I could be out running or cycling or making pancakes for my boys.  I know this is God's calling for me in my life right now.  Talking about it made me feel really good!  I need prayer and much of it, if you don't mind.  I am struggling with balancing my family's needs and fitting in these swims.  I want to keep my family cheering and supportive of my efforts without them feeling sacrificed in my time and attention.  I want to do and be that which God has called me to be - Thank you all for so much love, encouragement and support of this effort!

Letting Off Steam

I'm still letting off "steam" from my swim last Wednesday night.  I got in the water at 6pm on the nose and went to town tackling the 6000yd workout - 500 yards at a time. Heavens! After the first 500 yards I was sweating to death and already overheating.  Who sweats in a pool?!

I swam 3000 straight, drank some water. Did 500 w/fins, drank more water. Another 1500 and I emptied my bottle.  At 7:25pm,  with my head throbbing, I still had another 1000 to go - 40 lengths. I didn't finish. After 5000 yards I pulled my heavy self out of the water.  

I thought maybe I was just ready to exercise since I skipped my normal difficult track workout that same morning but I couldn't really figure out what my problem was.  I went in first thing the next morning at 5:30am with the triathlon club and found out what the culprit:  the pool water was 88 degrees!!!  When we all jumped in,  it felt literally like a hot tub - of course it was a pool heater malfunction.  I will try this distance again this week.  

I'm off to rehydrate! I think I'm gonna need a bigger bottle.

Swim for Zoe - Swimsuit Edition

This week I received THREE new suits from SPEEDO! Opening the box with the swim suits was very exciting to me.  Out of all other sports that I have participated in, swimming is by far the most enjoyable to me.  I sent Speedo my sizes and top picks but when I opened the box, I realized they had sent me three suits that were even better than the ones I had asked for!

One has a black and blue pattern (hoping that's not meant symbolically that this training will bruise me up a bit) and the other is green, with a palm-like pattern.  

Have you ever been nagged to try something new to the point of doing it just to get the nagger to just quit nagging?  I was told years ago to try the new swim suits out that are made to last longer than regular swim suits.  So many people have made the case that this "endurance fabric" is supposed to work wonders in the chlorine and salt water. Unlike regular suits that end up sagging across the middle after only a couple months of wear, these suits are designed to last and last - retaining color and shape.  I resigned myself to continue wearing the regular fabric, and countered that the "drag from the sag" only made me a faster swimmer. The real issue was the cost of the endurance fabric.  I could not consider buying swim suits as much as twice as expensive when I was also spending money on great running shoes and bike gear.  

Well, Speedo has closed the case on the swim suit issue for me by sponsoring three swimsuits, two of which are made with endurance fabric and my life will never be the same! They are just perfect!  I was so anxious to try them out that I immediately went to the pool.  I hung them up after swims and they dry within an hour; the best part is, they are comfortable, too!  I'll have to keep you posted on just how long they last, but I'm confident they will perform as well as everyone has suggested. 

Now, the jury is still out on the third suit. It is the newly released LZR Race Elite Recordbreaker.  For starters, I can’t quite get into it! I know it's supposed to be skin-tight, but I couldn't even get it over my knees! I asked for advice from the Tri Club on Thursday in the pool and our coach mentioned that it often took THREE people to get the suit on! I think I might have to call Speedo for assistance. Until then, check out this official video fit guide:

Hoping you're all enjoying a taste of spring by now! 

Thank Yous!

Our goal is being met! I'm so excited to announce that we've raised $1080 so far for the ICW10!

Many thanks to Iain Fergusson and Highland Roofing Company!  They are our latest and biggest corporate sponsors.  I know Iain and his wife Becca,  and their children Sam, Lucy and Zoie through our YDubTriClub and I appreciate their help in the Swim for ZOE!    

I also want to publicly thank the Bouton family, Mike and Celeste for their large contribution to this swim.  They are great family friends whose friendship I greatly appreciate!  Thank you for all of your generous donations which allow me to focus energy and love on our AIDS orphaned children during these long daily swims.