The Swimcation

     I have been receiving a lot of questions about the details of my Australia trip.  I figure I should explain them on here so everyone has the answers.  But first off, thank you to everyone who has provided such amazing support of my decision to go on this incredible adventure. Your love and support of me and this time in my life means the world to me.
    The plan is that I will be going to Australia Jan - March.  The first couple weeks I will be traveling Eastern Australia, then settling in to my apartment in Melbourne for 10 weeks to train. I will be staying as long as my visa allows, 89 days.  I will be swimming, weight lifting, continuing Pilates and also my favorite Gyrotonic work out.  I will miss U-jam and Orangetheory Fitness while I am away - but it will be a good time for me to focus on my swimming for a while.  I will be going with a training plan for the pool and have every intention to stick with it and work as hard as I can to gain as much strength and fitness in the pool as possible.
     I am also excited to have such great friends in the transplant community in Melbourne as well as spread out through Australia.  I will be visiting them all at some point or another and I am also being invited to participate in Organ Donation Awareness events.  It is going to be a great time to work on my fitness, my spirit, exploration of another country as well as deep within myself.  All while doing the stuff I love - promoting organ donation, working out, eating, and having fun!
     This idea of swimming in Australia actually came about quickly and came to fruition even quicker - call me impulsive but sometimes life places opportunities in front of you and it is your choice to choose to take advantage or look the other way. There are a million reasons why I should not go - but plenty of reasons why I should.  Instead of letting fear of the unknown and all the shoulda-coulda-wouldas I choose to jump in with both feet.
    There are a lot of magical moments in life but they don't just happen - you have to look for them, work for them and earn them. My goals of getting fitter, faster, and breaking records won't happen with me sitting on the couch.  I have to go out and work for it.  The final result may be magical but it is going to take a lot of blood, sweat and tears - but I am ready.  I am motivated and I can't wait to get to Australia for this amazing Swimcation adventure!

Almost 6 years Post Double Lung Transplant Update

Wow.  I am 5 years and 11 months post transplant. This is incredible.  The statistic says that only 50% live to 5 years.  I am going strong and just about to hit 6. I have had many ups and downs in this journey.  Most recently I attended the Transplant Games of America in Cleveland where I was not only the co-manager for Team Norcal, but also worked really hard and pushed myself to enter new sports and I even took up GOLF for the games.  I entered into Swimming (7 events), Golf, Bocce ball, and Volleyball.  I did really well in my swimming events, taking home 7 gold medals, and also gold in Golf for a total of 8 gold medals.  I was also very honored to accept the award of Female Athlete of the Year.  It was a tremendous honor to be recognized for my efforts, performance, and sportsmanship.  I have made an effort to push myself every year in my swimming.  I was not able to attend the most recent world transplant games in Argentina due to the fact I had to have a bariatric surgery.  But this year I am all healed, healthy and ready to train to compete!  The next World Transplant Games are going to be held in Malaga, Spain, 2017.  To start off my training season, I am working with a trainer, have been continuing my Pilates class,  going to Orange Theory Fitness, and still attend my U-Jam Fitness class.  I am also going to be starting up my Gyrotonic practice as well.  I am currently working out of water to get stronger and fitter before I get back in the pool.  I have goals this year to really work on my muscle strength to help take time off my swim races.  I don't want to cram all of the updated info into one blog post so please stay tuned as a big announcement is coming  soon...

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