About a year after I started training I was prompted by some friends to jump into Thetis Lake and do a bit of open water swimming for MS. And each year I up the challenge by adding distance to my swim. I started with 1.5 kilometers, then 3k, 5k, and last year I swam both the 5k and 20 minutes later the 1.5k events.
This year I have run out of lake.
Swimming is my lifeline. It is what helps me stay strong, healthy and able to live with my disease. Having a new challenge each year is part of how I keep myself motivated. And having challenges that push me physically are a great to remind myself the importance of not limiting oneself.
With no way of increasing my challenge at the annual HtO Thetis Lake Swim for MS I will turn to the ocean. This year, to raise awareness and funds for my disease, I will swim both the Bay Challenge and the HtO Thetis Lake Swim for MS. The Bay Challenge a 9 t0 10 kilometer swim in the frigid waters of the Burrard Inlet from West Vancouver to Kits Beach. The day following the event I swim another 3k at the HtO Thetis Lake Swim for MS.
I’ve never completed a 10k swim, and the ocean is a new play ground for me. I hope the swim will take between 3 ½ and 4 hours. I expect the ocean to present me with a number of challenges along the way. To keep me moving, for both the 10k and 3k swims I will remind myself that I am helping myself and others with Multiple Sclerosis.
Here are a few ways you can help me help others with MS
- Cheer me on
- Swim it with me
- Pledge my swim.
Fifty percent of the funds we raise will be used for a fitness program for people with Multiple Sclerosis and the other 50% will be used for research to help us find a cure.
Thanks for your support!
