On a whim, my 14 year old daughter and I signed up for an open water 500m race. We had one day to prepare. We had been swimming weekly in April but not much since. She has never swum much in a lake and was freaked out about the fish and weeds. We got out twice the day before to calm out fears but it didn’t help much.

The lake was choppy and it was chilly water. But in the excitement and the mass start we forgot our fears and ran in and joined the throng.

She is a great swimmer and was confident in the length. She was ahead of me in no time. I was struggling to get in the swing of things and took a long time to get my stroke dialed in. She beat me by several minutes. Probably not the last time I will get beat by her, I’m afraid.

Her fears propelled her to finish with a great time. She conquered her fears and is ready to go even longer next year.
I had signed up to swim with her and talk her through it but I sure got my workout too. I was exhausted for the rest of the morning but she recovered quickly.

I love being able to just jump in and join in whatever cross training presents itself. Even if I am not fully prepared. And hopefully my kids are learning that it isn’t all about winning but doing your best. And trying something new even if you know you aren’t that great at it.