Open Water Swimming with Sea Creatures

It's been a welcome transition to go from four pool swims per week to two pool swims and two open water swims per week.  I love swimming in the open water. The unpredictability of the ocean day to day -- and even hour to hour -- is part of the lure to me!  The tide table makes it easy to figure out which direction to swim (north or south); the unpredictability lies in wind direction, the swell flow, debris and sea critters! 

I've learned that these variables make a BIG difference when you're swimming for a duration versus a distance. In the ocean, it's impossible to tell where you might end up in a certain period of time. The swiftness of the current, the amount of chop in the waves and the number of creatures you battle can make your swim short or long. You may end up on the other end of the island or only a mile away!  I had been in the habit of dropping off a pair of running shoes at my swim destination to use to run back to my vehicle.  I don't drop off shoes anymore since I've no idea where my swim will end up!  I love this aspect of open water swimming, too. 

About a month ago, my plan required an hour and a half swim.  John Pellizari (my coach) and I decided to take off at the Wynn Plaza public docks on Banks Channel at Wrightsville beach. The plan was to swim south to the Coast Guard station, around the tip of the island to the ocean side and then head north to Crystal pier and on to Johnny Mercer's pier.  Somewhere along the way, we knew we'd hit the hour and a half needed in swim time. The problem was, John had never swum past the Coast Guard Station.  I could see the trepidation on his face, but he bravely jumped in for a journey into a new kind of wild blue yonder.

We made great progress through Banks Channel, past the Coast Guard station around to the jetty. We only had to stop to get our bearing a couple of times in that first few miles. We noticed a couple of cabbage head jellyfish go swimming by, but weren't alarmed because they don't sting!

We got out at the jetty, walked around it and headed out once again into the water to swim toward Crystal Pier. I was looking forward to the ocean side of the island. It is usually clear enough to see the ripples in the sand on the ocean floor about ten feet down. On this day, we headed out past the breakers and past the surfers and found ourselves in a swarm of cabbage heads!

The water was crystal clear -- only we could see every detail of these jellies instead of focusing on the wild blue sea!  Each time we'd turn to breathe, we'd get slapped in the head by yet another cannonball jellyfish. We swam zig-zags, thinking we were we were on the verge of swimming out of the bloom.  We shouted expletives at the jellies. We laughed at ourselves and encouraged each other to just make it past the pier before retreating to the shore.  It was about a half-mile swim, and we literally saw thousands of jellyfish. 

When we finally returned to the beach at an hour and twenty five minutes, all we could do was shake our heads in amazement that we had actually stayed with it as long as we did.  John hasn't jumped in the open ocean with me since!  I keep with me the thoughts of swimming champion and one-time English Channel record-holder, Trudy Ederle, "the sea creatures are my friends.  I talk to them!" 

Difficult times call for immediate exercise rescue - and an outrageous pair of shoes!  I am completely sold on and live by the philosophy that exercise reduces stress.  Does it also hold true that the more you exercise, the more your body requires exercise in order to reduce the same amount of stress?

Our bodies become quickly adjusted to our fitness levels. If a 10-15 min walk worked to relieve your stress before, does this amount of exercise not work anymore if done daily for this purpose?  I agree that any amount of exercise is good for body and soul.  But, does it work this way: Just as lifting the same amount of weight daily won't make you stronger, neither will doing the same amount of exercise daily reduce the same amount of stress?  One needs to increase in small increments the weight or exercise intensity in order to reap a benefit.  What happens to those of us who have been exercising all our lives - does it require hours upon hours of exercise to reduce the same level of stress as walking 10-15 min used to?  This scenario makes me laugh to ponder!  How absurd to take it to extremes - or is it? 

Last month, Doug and I spent a whole week making a huge adjustment to our schedules.  We have three vehicles and two ended up at the dealership at the same time.  The amount of money needed to make the repairs is enormous and I was at the end of a pay period, so we decided to hold off on the maintenance.

Now, taxiing our children has become a way of life, but things needed to change immediately that week with a lack of vehicles. Plus, we had to coordinate work commutes, grocery visits, Doug's gym workouts and my training swims! 

Our stress was mounting. My boys pitched in by having their friends over (instead of leaving the house themselves). I combated the stress levels by changing my swims: my workouts were more determined, longer and intense.  A huge plus for my attitude.

Doug and I also dealt with our stress by going downtown on a date.  While there, we walked into a funky store where they sell a wild-looking shoe style called Lita.  These shoes look as though you will instantly walk outside to cat-calls and inappropriate offers coupled with a fistful of money.  Doug dared me to try them on.  I didn't care - I had been living with so much stress that I could be talked into anything.  

The surprise is, I loved them!  I really did! The truth is they cost more money than any outfit I've ever purchased (even if you add jewelry, makeup and a haircut!). But, I was willing to save up to buy a pair.  

Do yourself a favor today if you are feeling an enormous amount of stress:  exercise a little longer and harder, have friends over (or your kid's friends : ) and do something you normally would never do - I can laugh stress directly in the face now and feel so much better!  All thanks to my wonderful family and a fun pair of shoes!!

The Prone Perspective

I have been swimming so much that I realized something: between my swim training and sleeping combined, I am prone for as long as a full-time job per week plus overtime!  Plus, I've realized that swimming is not a quiet sport.

As tranquil and relaxing as it may look from the pool deck or beach front, swimming is actually a very noisy activity.  I scope the water and notice the glassy, inviting surface of the water before realizing that with the first stroke and pull through the water, my exhaling breath releases lots of noisy bubbles.  Not what you would expect when watching a graceful, peaceful swimmer.  

My expectations sometimes are to stroke long, even strokes, making no splash when my hand enters the water, keeping my head down and pulling with my hand directly under my elbow.  Keeping good form is usually a swimmer's goal since it requires less energy at a faster speed.  With the first length in a pool, I usually notice how loud my underwater exhales are.  You must exhale forcefully enough to get all air out of your lungs while your face is in the water in order to inhale deeply when turning the head to the side.  There is no other way to swim - you must breathe!  If you exhale slowly and quietly, the arms end up stroking four or five times between breaths, an interval much too long for most swimmers to hold when swimming miles.  If exhaling is done correctly - quietly - then it slows the swimming speed remarkably.  I don't have time to allow myself to swim at a slower speed! My ultimate goal is to train at the same pace I need to sustain during the 10 miles.  

Of course, there are quiet moments. After a long day teaching PE outside in the heat and high humidity we've had, I have been looking forward to lying prone swimming the stress of the day away.  After my swimming workout, homework, chores and dinner is done, the feeling of accomplishment and renewal are wonderful and I end up looking forward to lying prone many hours!  The noise of the day is then replaced with quiet solitude, both requiring the same body position, but oh how different the feeling.  Here is a song I've singing while swimming called "The Water" by Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling- love the title and love the song, too.  Hope you enjoy it!

Falling In

This week, I thought I'd share how I fell for swimming, how I fell for God and how I fell for Zoe Ministries.

I fell in love with swimming by nearly falling into a swimming pool when I was two years old! I grew up in a small town in New York and at my sister's  first swim lesson, I decided to jump in, too! The lifeguard had to fish me out and sit me on the side of the pool! The very next week, at her lesson I jumped right back in! The lifeguard fished me out again, but this time, he let me join the class.

I spent my childhood as the only girl at the local Boys Club – practicing technique, swimming endless laps and competing -- and sometimes even beating -- the boys at the club!

Fast-forward 25 years and I am still swimming! I am part of a triathlon club and at least twice a week, we get together at the pool or at the beach to practice technique, swim endless laps and compete. Sometimes I still beat the boys. 

I fell for God when I was ten years old. That same sister who I followed into the pool practically raised me when my parents divorced. She was there for me and took care of me as my parents worked multiple jobs, shuffled five children to school and activities. When I was ten, that same sister died in a car accident. The divorce and the loss of my best friend and sister left me hopeless for a while. But, I had a foundation in Christ and I learned to trust him in my hopeless moments. 

I fell for ZOE Ministries in 2006 when I went to Zimbabwe for a mission trip. Through Zoe, we visited AIDS orphans – children who had lost their parents to AIDS or had AIDS themselves. I am a P.E. teacher at Holly Tree Elementary and I did there what I do here: I taught the children to play. While they were waiting to be seen by doctors, I played parachute games, jumped rope, kicked the soccer ball and painted their faces. I tried to show them how to trust God even in their hopeless moments. In return, I was able to see Christ’s face in the faces of those kids! I was able to work with Pastor Greg first-hand and see his servant hood and sacrifice for the orphans. 

In the past few months, I’ve decided to combine EVERYTHING I love and do something BIG for God. This summer I am going to swim ten miles for ZOE ministries. I am going to swim in the Intracoastal Waterway from the Carolina Beach inlet to Wrighstsville Beach inlet in a little under SIX hours to raise money for the families. My goal is $18,000. That money will directly help feed 20 families for three years. 

Swim for Zoe Life Update

There's a crazy amount of life going on right now.  I love that life gets to be lived by those choosing to participate in its events.  In addition to swimming four days per week since March, I'm trying to fit in riding my bike, running (we'll call it jogging now since I haven't been doing much at all of this), and being there for my husband and sons!

After my grandma's death in February, I didn't know if I had the heart to go through with this mission of swimming the intracoastal.  Her loss left me with two contradicting emotions - great sadness along and the inability to focus paired against knowing my time here on earth is limited and the need to dive into everything life has to offer.  

Each day I faced, each swim workout that approached I had to ask which emotion to choose. I choose to live! I choose to dive in!   Having experienced several deaths now of close family members (my sister, my grandfather last year, and now my grandma this year) I have chosen not to take for granted the gift, such a precious thing, that life has been given to me.  Not only do I do these swims with as much enthusiasm and gusto as I can muster, I am keeping a close connection with my boys (this is the latest picture of my oldest son Nick with his date for the Hoggard High School prom a couple weeks ago), and striving to make my marriage the best it can be!  I am still pushing myself to be a great PE teacher and instructor to my students at Holly Tree Elementary.  I am still planting flowers, appreciating their fragrance and keeping the house organized and clean enough to live in.   What's important to me is relationships with my friends as well.  There's a lot of living to do - let's put forth the effort to live it to the fullest!

Nick & Natalie - Prom 2011

In the News

Last week, we were featured in the news!

Carolina in the Morning featured my suit, my swim and my logistics captain, Ben Bowie, on the morning news! Claire Hosmann and her camera crew arrived at the YWCA before most of the other swimmers in the Tri Club.

Here's part of what she wrote on the WECT website:

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - Leanne LaFave will be the first person to swim a 10-mile solo course from Carolina Beach to Wrightsville Beach.

LaFave is challenging herself physically to raise funds for ZOE Ministry, an organization dedicated to transforming the lives of African children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, war, disease, famine and other causes.

Tuesday morning WECT caught up with LaFave during her training session at the YWCA.

She says she created the ICW10 Swim for Zoe to combine her love for swimming with her passion for ZOE Ministry.

CLICK HERE to read the entire story. Plus, there's more to the story! Here I am with Ben:

Swim for Zoe Rotary Presentation

A few weeks ago, I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to local rotary club! On Thursday, April 21st, we were treated by a friendly group of rotarians to lunch and their meeting.   I am sold to the Rotary Club!  What a great group of business individuals who come together to help out their community.  

Speaking to the club came with a little nervousness, but not enough to mask my excitement story the Swim for Zoe event!  Once I started to speak about this mission of God's in my life, the nervousness dissipated and I was able to convey this calling in an understandable way. I really enjoyed this presentation, and I'm hoping they did as well.  Ben Bowie had lots of time to talk about the logisitcs of the channel swim, and had to manage the many questions that followed his talk.  It was an exciting and wonderful time for us to share our thoughts and this mission.  I am so grateful to Alicia and Greg Uhl for allowing us the time during their Rotary Club meeting to present this cause and hope there will be more to follow.  Lots to praise God for - He is and has been -- so good to me!