Are you going to be there?

It was gorgeous here today….but unfortunately I spent nearly the entire day inside.  Ughh!  I started off the day coaching my masters swim group for an hour.  Then I went into work for about 4 hours (got a lot done-but took more home with me to work on). 

I then made it to the pool at 2:15 and had exactly 2.5 hours to get my 9000 yard workout done.  I wasn’t sure I was going to make it, but I did…and boy are my shoulders SORE!  Dixie and I then went to a BBQ for a few hours and pretended to be social…but the whole time I was thinking how nice ice packs on my shoulders and a giant bowl of ice cream would be.

I now have a favor to ask you all…

Okay, so one of my personal flaws is, and I think may always have been, difficulty in asking for help when I need it.  Maybe that comes from being the second youngest of 5 siblings-I don’t want help, I want to do it myself.  Every time I see a small child wanting to tie their shoe on their own, while a parent impatiently fights the urge to do it for them….I think of my own stubbornness and desire to be independent.

But….much like it takes a whole village to raise a child…it takes an entire crew to get a swimmer across a 55 mile lake.  So this is me, asking for help.  So if I have ever helped you, if I have ever motivated you, I’m cashing in on a favor right now.   I have coached upwards of 200 swimmers since I began coaching.  I have driven hours to attend first races of athletes.  I have stood around from the gun going off to last athletes finishing.  Anyone who has ever competed at any level knows what a great difference it makes having a support team watching you race. 

So how about you….wanna be on my support crew?

Right now I would say my crew is about ½ staffed.  I do not need anything real technical here in terms of specialized knowledge.  I need people on my crew who

·         can be positive for the entire length of their shift (6 hour shifts),

·         can keep track of my nutrition(it will all be planned out ahead of time…you just have to throw out the food at the right time)

·         can drive a boat

·         can motivate me

·         can make me laugh when I want to cry

·         can hop in the water and swim with me if I need it (and those folks, unlike me could wear fins)

·         can work a GPS.

The lodging for the crew is completely taken care of for the time periods when you are not on the boat.  The only thing you’d need to do is get yourself to Lake Chelan, which is about 2 hours North of Ellensburg….approximately 8 hours from Kalispell/Missoula.

I know giving up two days is a commitment, especially in the middle of the week…but for those who can help me out with this, I would be forever grateful.

So….who wants to come to Chelan?

~Emily