08-06-2017 Swimming with Simone

Throughout my triathlon journey, I have always been inspired by others racing beside me.  The mindset and the “why” are equally and often times more important than the hours of swim, bike and run training that it takes to toe the line at a race, and the life lessons learned along the path carry into everyday life.  

On Sunday, August 6, 2017, I had the opportunity to support Simone in achieving a finish at her first sprint triathlon.  Simone suffers from a very rare and severe form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis.  She has faced challenges throughout her life as a result and has adapted to each one.  

Simone set a goal for 2017 to complete her first sprint triathlon with her friends from her tri group from Colorado Springs.  The challenge for Simone with this race was the open water swim.  With Ankylosing Spondylitis she is no longer able to turn her head to breathe in the water, nor can she lift he head to sight.  Simone swims with a snorkel.  In the pool, this is not a problem with the line on the bottom, however open water is cloudy and there is no line.  

Simone reached out to the race director to request permission to take part in the Tri for the Cure at Cherry Creek Reservoir.  The permission involved her being able to swim with a snorkel as well as the need for someone to swim with her in the race.  Simone was granted permission to compete and was requested to provide her own swim buddy.  Simone went to the Women for Tri Facebook page - a sight and a community that greatly inspires her.  She posted her need for a swim buddy for the race and our connection was made when I responded to her post.  We scheduled a time to connect via phone.  Simone explained to me about Ankylosing Spondylitis and informed me that my duties would require guiding her through the swim via a rope tied to my ankle and tied to her wetsuit.  This would provide her with a guide in the water so she knew where to go.  A couple of cautions - if the rope gets taught I am swimming too fast or she has stopped.  Don’t pull as it will waterlog her snorkel!  And, keep her away from people as she is very fragile and cannot risk being kicked or punched in the water.  She said my duties for the day were strictly in the water, she would bike and run on her own.  

Simone and I met in person the Tuesday before the race to do a trial swim at her local pool.  We swam tethered together and discussed issues we had with the rope and got a system in place for Sunday.  We were quite efficient in the pool after a very short time!

Sunday morning, we met early at the park.  We took time to set up transition and visit with her tri club friends.  We pulled on our wetsuits and walked to wait for our start.  Simone and I both experienced race day jitters.  Simone’s those of an athlete and me as the role of mother duck - will I be able to keep her safe and perform on the swim so that she achieves the outcome she is after.  I focused my attention, as a coach, on her nerves and worked to calm her down.  I never mentioned mine.  

We watched the other swimmers start the race and waited for our wave to start.  We high fived the race coordinator and entered the water starting last.  We stood in the water once our wave started and waited for the other swimmers to swim away from shore.  We saw our path of clear water and set off.  My goal was to keep Simone to the left side of the swimmers as we were making right turns so congestion would be towards the right.  My mother duck instincts kicked in as we began to pass people and I found myself talking to race assistance and other swimmers to keep them out of our path.  We made it to the first buoy and had a decent rhythm established.  My plan seemed to be working so I kept on.  Alerting people as I made course plans and keeping Simone swimming.  We rounded the final turn and approached the finish.  We had to slow a bit due to other swimmers and we reached the shore.  I tapped on Simone to let her know we were finished.  We stood up in the water and she couldn’t believe we were already done.  We had achieved our goal time in the water and had passed many swimmers along the way.  As we made our way up into transition, I asked Simone to pause and look back at all of the swimmers still in the water and to remind her that she had passed all of them.  She was elated!  

Transition was smooth and Simone set off on her bike. I waited in transition for her.  She came off the bike finishing in a shorter time than her goal and set off on the run.  And she ran!  My thirteen year old was there watching and said that she was running fast!  We moved to the finish to wait for her to come in.  I had the opportunity to take pictures of Simone in the finish chute and it was awesome to see her pure joy!  She had crushed her goal time on her run too and was feeling great!!  

Simone told me in our initial conversation that my sole job was to help her through the swim.  She did not want to take any more of my time and I was welcome to leave as soon as we were out of the water.  I would not have missed the rest of her race for anything.  The look on her husband’s face was nothing but pride.  He was so proud of her.  The celebrations as each member of her tri group finished were priceless and it was a very special day for everyone.  Simone’s family and tri group welcomed myself and my daughter into their family and it was an honor to share in their celebration.  

Thank you to Simone for setting a goal, for pushing hard to make it possible (and it took work), and for reaching out to the community on blind faith for your swim buddy.  I will remember this day forever and look forward to supporting you in achieving your goals of longer tri distances!!

#OneDayOneStep and as I told Simone race morning #ControltheControllables