A Year In Review-2023 🤷🏼‍♂️

Yet again I sit at another coffee shop (Thump Northwest Crossing) trying to reflect and encapsulate the year of 2023 in print and pictures and to think about the year ahead-2024. It may seem weird to have the cover photo of signage from our local grocery store however it seemed particularly apt. I normally struggle a bit with this blogpost but as they say “the struggle has been real” in 2023.

As I gather my thoughts I will first put into context the year in water with some stats:

• 446.5 miles swum
• 785,859 yards
• 718,590 meters
• 187 swim sessions
• 241 hours
• 2 new pools (Bozeman Swim Center & Korcula, Croatia, Banje Beach Pool)
• 1 podium finish-Hellespont Swim, Canakkale, Turkey
• 1 bigger open water swim-Lake Tahoe Vikingsholm
• One unexpected 100 x 100 meters on 12/30/2023

Ironically, the distance swum was the equivalent of swimming from Bend, Oregon to The Lodge at Obexer’s, Homewood, California. The starting point for my Vikingsholm-Lake Tahoe swim in July. I was 111% to my years swimming mileage goal. I may have set the goal too low but, that’s ok my fragile ego needs to exceed at something!

In March, I celebrated my 60th turn around the sun! It was quite a day; 6100 meters in the pool, a 10k run in a snow storm-oof (I hadn’t run 10k in years!) followed by a evening to remember with a surprise snowcat ride to Elk Lake Lodge for dinner in a blizzard. A full accounting of this memorable day can be relived at blogpost 60-Growing Bolder.

Starting in late March/early April it was time to kick in the training for the long swim of the year, the Lake Tahoe Open Water Swimming Association’s Vikingsholm swim. A 10.6 mile swim across the width of Lake Tahoe. Training started at the Juniper Park pool with a fabulous community of swimmers; my go-to training partner and motivator, Emily, the Saturday morning crowd led by Jamie, COMA masters, Robert, Stacey, Andrew, Andria, the list goes on and on…I honestly don’t think there is a day where I don’t know at least some one person at the pool. It makes training in general so much more enjoyable.

The highlight of training for Tahoe was a June training trip to Seattle to swim from the 520 Bridge to the I-90 bridge-10k. I swam with our friend Jane from Bend a former UW swimmer. Our support was Ryan and Courtney and her son, Kevin. It was fun to swim in Lake Washington with our kids and the memories of the surrounding UW area. Jane has since moved to Sequim. I miss her. (see blogpost-Bow Down to Washington!).

Vikingsholm was a tandem swim with my friend Jeff. Last year Jeff and I swam the Strait of Bonifacio (Corsica to Sardinia) with each other (see blogpost-Buon Mare) and we found out that we are paired well in the open water. Jeff is an uber-fast pool swimmer and I like to think that being in the open water at least gives me a somewhat of a competitive edge. We both trained hard for this swim as it was a long one under the watchful eye (Sylvia) of the Lake Tahoe Open Water Swimming Association. The added challenge was that Tahoe’s water is known for being notoriously beautiful blue water and…cold! I can’t tell you how many times in the weeks leading up to the swim that Jeff would text me with the current lake water temp.

Shannon and Shawn (Jeff’s wife) were our support team. They braved a very early morning wake up call, perhaps less than favorable lodging and conditions on the boat that went from placid and serene to choppy and windy. They were troopers.

While it took longer than we had anticipated in the water we completed the swim and were very happy to have become Vikings (see blogpost-Until Valhalla!).

A mere 5 weeks after Lake Tahoe we were off to Canakkale, Turkey in the Dardanelles Straits separating Europe and Asia. I was met there with Jeff to compete in the Hellespont Swim. The swim is considered by many to be the oldest swim in the world.

Together with our good German friend and fellow Strait of Bonifacio swimmer, Tanja we became the Hellespont Hero’s. We aren’t quite sure how she puts up with us both. In a field of 800+ competitors we all podium’ed in our respective age groups (see blogpost Hellespont Heroes).

Making the podium was made even sweeter as I had made the podium 10 years ago celebrating my 50th birthday at the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim in Istanbul (see blogpost-25th Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim). Can I go for a podium swimming hat trick somewhere in Turkey when I am 70 years old?

Post Hellespont swim for some rest and relaxation, the Hellespont Hero’s were off to Prvic Luka, Croatia for a Swim Trek vacation. It was there I met 10 other fun swimmers. They were swimmers from around the world that Jeff had met on past swim treks.

It was an absolutely idyllic week in the Dalmatian Islands, spent with like minded people that share a passion for water and swimming. I can’t wait for more swimming adventures with this fun crowd!

The Croatian adventure continued when I met Shannon and our good friends the Freeman’s in Split for a bike trip. Like a Swim Trek but for biking. We rode from Split to Dubrovnik over four days exploring the islands of Brac, Hvar and Korcula.

The scenery, the food, actives and the company was fabulous. I learned that swimming fitness is different than biking fitness. I also learned the Croatian world “pomalo” an important phrase in Dalmatia meaning, slow down, enjoy the moment and take it easy. Isn’t that the way we should live everyday? (see blogpost-Pomalo)

Today (12/30/23), with only one day left in the year I should have focused on a little pomalo and “taken it easy”. When offered a chance for one final swim extravaganza of the year I couldn’t help myself…I said yes to swimming 100 x 100 meters with the gang at Juniper. What a great way to end the year and my 60th birthday year long celebration. I may be pooped and sore but, I still got it!

Sooo…going back to the beginning, this year certainly has had its struggles. I guess most years have them. Yet, we are fortunate to have made some close friends in and out of the water and by living in the moment, focusing on the positive and what we can control we will get by with a little help from our friends!

PS-my favorite swim pic of the year! A short stop in Iceland returning home and a visit to the secret Landbrotulaug Hot Spring!