The Will of Your Heart

They say the last few strokes towards the end of a race are made by the will of your heart. This past meet, the Bearcats SCM invitational, was the first time I swam in 6 events! So far, the most swimming I have ever done in competition. It was my first short-course meters event, and I was definitely pushing myself. I swam all 50's (Fly, Back, Breast, Free) and a leg of a 200 freestyle relay, and my favorite event the 100 IM. The order of the meet put the 100 IM as the last event of the night, and I was pretty much tired by the time the race started (50 Fly was right before the 100 IM!). 

As I dove into the water, I remember the butterfly stroke was not feeling as fresh or energized as the one I did in the 50 Fly. I was definitely tired and wondering how on earth I was going to get through the 100 IM. Then I saw one of my team mates, and closest friends, standing at the end of my lane and start cheering me on. Then another close friend of mine joined her. Despite my head bobbing in and out of the water, I could hear my team mates in the stands, and my two friends perched at the end of my lane, cheering for me, and that was plenty of inspiration to get me to focus, dig deep, and re-energize my strokes to complete the 100 IM. 

I swam the 100 IM, 3 seconds faster than the LIU meet, two weeks ago, where I placed 2nd! This time I was in first place, and I know the feat was made by the will of my heart. 

Almost a month ago, I snuck out to Herald Square some time around midnight to witness Diana Nyad swim for 48-hours. She was raising money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy and they built a 40-yard, heated, two lane pool right in front of Macy's at Herald Square. At the age of 64, Diana accomplished her dream in September of swimming from Cuba to Florida in 52 hours! That was her 5th attempt. (Check out my past blog story about Diana's historic swim here.) 

The 48 hour swim in a heated pool was nothing in comparison to her treacherous Cuba to Florida swim. I watched in amazement at her determination, and was just so excited to be surrounded by people who cheered her on, and kept shouting words of love and encouragement. Despite swimming 4,000 yards at practice and one-hour of dry land training earlier that day, I was energized by the inspiration surrounding me, and would have jumped in the pool myself and swam next to her, had I known that was a possibility! There was no doubt in my mind those last 8 hours she swam in the early hours of the morning were also made by the will of her heart,  inspired by the people around her and those counting on her to help make a difference in their struggles. Aside from completing the 48-hour swim, she did raise over $110K for the victims of Hurricane Sandy!

In the moment of watching her swim, and hearing the stories of the people who got to swim with her, and several survivors of Hurricane Sandy, who came to support Diana, I was definitely filled with inspiration. Sometime around Diana's 42 hour mark, around 1:30 AM, I started to think about my life this past year, and there I was in New York City, in front of Macy's where they built a 40 yard pool, with the Empire State Building in the back-drop; I couldn't help but feel the irony and symbolism of that moment and place. My swimming journey has been truly amazing, and I've experienced tremendous forgiveness, healing and personal growth. Sure, this has been one of the most challenging years in my life, personally and professionally, but I am a happier, honest and most complete version of myself. I couldn't help but smile, breathe and feel my heart full of genuine joy and gratitude, and God's grip on me. 

Supporting Diana Nyad in front of Macy's Herald Square.

Below is the video of the 50 Butterfly. It's no the 100 IM, but I'm quite proud of this one too (another 3 second drop from two weeks ago!).