A Friendly Swim (Competition)

Hello and welcome to a swimming Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is October 24th.

Whoa, I almost wrote September 24th. The realization it was actually the latter half of October made my heart squeeze and my breath catch in my throat. We are almost to November. The idea of having another month before 2026 closes out sounds pretty nice, actually. I know it's not good to be too wistful about time passed, but I think a little Saturday morning musing is okay once in a while.

This past week was gorgeous weather-wise. I enjoyed several walks outdoors in the sun without needing to bundle up. The sunny, fall warmth was a nice afterglow following a trip to the tropics. I apparently acclimated pretty quickly to Puerto Rico's heat and humidity, because when we landed in Minneapolis Monday afternoon, I was like Anna from the film Frozen, saying, "Cold, cold, cold."

This weekend's adventure includes a swim rumble. Our at-home oldest is on the Wannaskaland swim team and their team captain organized a "Swimmers vs Friends & Family" competition. I've been strength training for a while now and, while it's meant to be a friendly competition, I'm not gonna lie - I want to win.

I grew up lake swimming. In my early Wannaska years, I did plenty of laps in the local pool triathlon training. I often joke that I'm just competitive enough to care. I felt that competitiveness this morning when I jumped out of bed and into my swimsuit (the "real" swimming one that's sleek, not the socializing swimsuit with all the frills) before I even made my morning coffee.

The husband is far less enthusiastic, but he'll go for our daughter. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much permission do you give Dad to stay home?" I asked her. "A five?" she answered.

"I'd be willing to do the butterfly," I told her, knowing this has been her main event of focus this year. I'm not strong in this stroke, but I'm willing to do it if it makes her feel successful. 

"What I really want to see you do is the breaststroke," she said. Oof. I'm like a stranded frog in the water when I attempt breaststroke. Can I cheat? I wondered.

Freestyle is my best stroke (formerly known as front crawl) and this is where I feel like I really want to win. But then I remember, this is for our daughter, not me. More than winning, this is a time to be together as a family, joining other swim families in a morning of friendly fun.

Wish me luck.