We all have our limits to what we’re willing to do but that said we still need to keep challenging our bodies and our minds.
When I look back over the last decade or more I still can hardly believe that I did what I did 😂
I could barely swim in 2008. My sisters and I all learned to swim at the WW1 Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki, Honolulu. Back then it was a dark and murky scary outdoor pool. You couldn’t see what lurked in the bottom and you definitely couldn’t touch the bottom. Our instructor barked orders or at least that’s what I recant recall! We were asked to jump in! It was the sink or tread water method to survive 😧. I remember all the negative stories and rumors, particularly about the guy that dove off the high dive and split his chest open! Of course, totally fake news 🤣 but it scared the living daylights out of me. I think I was 10 years old at the time⁉️
At any rate, when I joined the Kauai Ohana YMCA shortly after they opened their doors to their wonderful, Olympic size swimming pool. I was encouraged by my young friend (that was my work buddy back when we were banquet waiters at the Westin & the Hyatt. Miss those days prior to the pandemic and before Hurricane Iniki! He moved on and was now the director of our YMCA.
I decided to really learn how to swim. I persuaded 2 of my best buddies to join me and a 3rd new friend I met at the Y, that has since become an amazing triathlete 👍🏽 Together, we started swimming 7 days a week at 5:30 am with a small Masters group that just formed with a wonderful coach.
We live in the tropics but Kauai can get chilly in the winter months. It was like diving into a bath of ice cubes at times, so the faster you swam the faster you warmed up! I never became the fastest swimmer but I learned helpful stroke techniques and developed a love of swimming for the rest of my life.
In 2009, we decided to register to swim our first open water event in Hanalei Bay on the beautiful North Shore of Kauai. I’d never been fond of swimming in the ocean, I actually never really swam in the ocean in my life 🤷🏼♀️ At that time, it was helpful to have friends to practice with who were seasoned swimmers and every weekend we got to together before the event to practice. Of course, I always swam in last, and once to my surprise 😳, followed by baby sharks 🦈 and that’s not a joke. There were actually locals yelling at me from the pier as I swam in‼️
So I don’t get long winded, I managed to swim the Annual Hanalei Open Water Swim in 2009, 2010, and years later in 2017 and all 3 events with my bestie, Terry. I’m proud that we did those swims and am still swimming today. Not sure I’ll ever do an open water swim again but I’ll never say never! Be brave, do the thing that’s uncomfortable but still feels great for you! 🤙🏽 and Have Fun!
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