Again I sit here in early January in a cold Bend, Oregon trying to put my arms around what 2024 had to offer, lessons learned and thoughts of new adventure in the new year. While not all went as planned, it rarely does, it was darn good year.
Let’s start with some stats about time in and around the water:
- 407 miles swum
- 717,139 yards
- 655,750 yards
- 180 swim sessions
- 217 hours
- 8 new pools in 5 countries (USA, Singapore, Thailand, France, Colombia)
- 8 countries visited (Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Switzerland, France, Colombia)
- 3 new bodies of open water (South China Sea, Adaman Sea, Lac Leman)
- 1 open water swim competition-Alligator Light Swim, Islamorada, Florida
- Crewing for my friend Jeff as he swam around Manhattan (20 Bridges)
I swam 407 miles this year versus 446 miles last year. My goal was to swim 425 miles so I was 96% to goal. It’s not a 100% but I will take it! The distance swum is equivalent from swimming from our house to the Juniper Park Pool 69 times.
If I could put the year into 3 categories it would be; new places, people and adventure, continuous learning and being flexible.
As noted above we had a fabulous year of travel near and far. There were trips internationally and to visit family in Lake Oswego and Nashville and to visit the kids in Bellingham, East Hampton/Bozeman and Seattle. And trips to visit friends in Southern California, Boston and Maine.
We started the year traveling together with a grand trip to Southeast Asia. We started in Singapore visiting our long time and dear friends the Seifert’s and continued on to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Mike and Anne were such great hosts and travel partners as they met us along the road in Thailand and Vietnam.
Omg-there were so many things new cultures, bustling cities, temples, monks and ancient ruins. On the “water” front there were some amazing hotel pools and first time swims in the South China Sea, Adaman Sea and the iconic Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.
The trip is best summed up with the word “smiles” on our faces and the people we interacted with on daily basis-see blogpost link- (Smiles).
In the middle of the year there was some solo travel for me to Switzerland and France for a little swim adventure/camp. I met my fellow Hellespont Heros (Tanja & Jeff) in Evian, France for a swim camp with my old Wayland Masters swim coach and distance swimmer extraordinaire Jen Dutton.
The camp was awesome where I made some new, delightful and interesting friends. Coach Jen yet again provided most needed swim technique instruction. It’s probably good for me to get a “refresher” every couple years. The end game was suppose to be a 15k swim across Lac Leman from Lausanne,🇨🇭 to Evian, 🇫🇷 a border buster, if you will. With some potential bad weather the “big swim” was scrubbed. There is some Unfinished business… (see blogpost link) with Lac Leman. More on that later in lessons learned.
A lifetime of continuous learning is key for longevity, mental acuity and personal growth. We continued our Spanish language journey in 2024 with trying to read BBC Mundo on a regular basis, watching Spanish tv shows and movies on Netflix and attending Central Oregon Community College’s Summer Spanish Immersion program. We ratcheted up the language learning curve in the fall by spending a month in Medellin, Colombia. We stayed in an apartment in the hills of Poblado overlooking the vast city.
The Spanish school we went to, the people we met, immersing ourselves in Medellin and the culture was awesome. Yes, this is a swimming blog and I didn’t swim that much (only 2 times) however I swam in two pools one in Medellin and the other in beautiful quaint town of Jardin at the edge of the coffee country. Colombia and its people are ¡Que Chimba! (see blogpost link)
I have also continued my ceramic learning journey. I think I have made some great strides this past year however I have a long ways to go. Luckily I have chosen two learning journeys that will last my lifetime!
And lastly, I was reminded this year of the importance of trying to remain nimble and flexible. Things don’t always turn out as planned and that’s ok. We learned that with some travel experiences and delays. In the end, they worked out ok and we had fun and different stories to remember. My big swim of 2024 was suppose to be a 15k swim across Lac Leman (referenced above) that was scuttled however things worked out just fine with a side trip to Chamonix and the Montreux Jazz Festival. In fact, I found a replacement swim in the Florida Keys. Save Alligator Light was an epic 8 mile swim with waves, jellyfish and competition (see blogpost link Alligators 🐊). That swim wouldn’t have happened if Lac Leman hadn’t been canceled.
And of course you can’t forget the total unexpectedness of the bubble not coming off the Juniper Park Pool (see blogpost link-Juniper Park Pool: The Bubble Dilemma). Grrr…in some strange way I think there was bonding with the “regulars” at the pool about the bubble not coming off and being able to get that outdoor summer swimming savage tan.
Yes sometimes things don’t go as planned in life however: if we are flexible, learn continuously (about a lot of things) and endeavor to go, meet and do new things its tends to work out.
While I only wrote 5 blogs this year, way off from years past I think it important to share that there were a couple of firsts with the blog. There was one blog that totally written by AI. It was kinda wild what was written with just a few prompts (see blogpost link-Juniper Park Pool: The Bubble Dilemma). And second, there was a blog totally written in Spanish. It’s the longest thing I have ever written in Spanish. Guau! While not perfect my Spanish teacher was impressed (see blogpost link-¡Que Chimba!).
While I don’t know where the new year will take us I do know that I am going to endeavor to meet new people, to do and see new things, learn continually and be flexible to whatever comes my way as it almost always leads to new adventure.
Goggle Reflections 