Evan requested a last-swim-of-the-year photo in my WSU Cougs swim cap he got me for Christmas, so my friend Martha snapped one this morning, when my final 2.04-miler (1:07) put me at 412.48 for 2016 with just two 1.2-mile swims during my three weeks in Rio. I might just go for 450-500 in 2017 and swim for some charitable cause. Initially my goal was 366 for the leap year so I would have averaged a mile a day, then I hit that with four weeks to spare so I went for 402 because that's the NBA-record number of 3-pointers Stephen Curry hit last season. I told him a couple weeks back and he said, "Wow, that's a lot, so good." Broke 402 before he tipped off in Cleveland on Christmas morning. ... Our pool community also lost a dear soul, Arnie Fong, to pancreatic cancer on Thanksgiving Day and since then I have taken his far left lane looking at the pool any time I can when it's available. With only four lanes, we often share and try not to hit each other. Typically we all only see each other in swimsuits and in the locker room, so about 10 of us attended his memorial service together Dec. 10 and it was both hard and special.
This sport has made me feel like an athlete again, brought some special, powerful women (some men, too) of all ages - Martha is 76 and my main swim mate as we keyholders who go all year round can't swim alone! - into my life who have been dear friends and helped me through a bout of depression this year during one of the busiest - and fun and rewarding - work years of my career. Not every year do you have Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, Olympics and baseball playoffs in one year. Not complaining, but ready to rest a bit now. Can't recall last day NOT in the pool, which is about 80 degrees but stripping down and then getting out when it's low- to mid-30s can be hard. :)
This was the last day in this seriously stretched-out suit, so the fun challenge is always finding the best deals on swimsuits since I went through about eight of them this year. Usually don't spend more than $30-$40 on them and it just takes some creativity to find the best prices and check the different Web sites.
My mom even swam with me twice during her current visit and got to meet Martha and two other friends Eve and Robyn. We had a nice lunch together at a winery on the old Navy base that looks right at San Francisco with a gorgeous view.
Happy New Year!
My friend Robyn from the pool job shadowed me at Warriors shootaround last week
and had a blast, then we had lunch and a glass of wine at Rock Wall.
