BAND OF ANGELS

I have about 8.5k left before my epic swim is finished, meaning I have done more than two-thirds in decent time. I should wind up the event in good time on Saturday, the day of the actual river swim.
Today I had a fabulous result because I was fuelled by anger and even grief a few times. I discourage the latter, because tears inside the goggles are not good.
These emotions and their effects will be in the new blog sometime next week.
Meanwhile, after I got home today, I sent messages to three corporate entities with which I have dealings, and have asked for some pledges there.
I never would have considered this (just dumb, I guess), but another member of the team got a large donation from a credit union, and I thought it was worth a try.
I have posters up at the Globe, but no one from there has responded. Posters are up at the Iroquois Ridge and Falgarwood pools, but no pledges have arrived yet despite some tabs being torn off for pledge-site info. There are two posters and tabs up at the Metro grocery store on Upper Middle Road, and several have been taped to those giant mail boxes in the pool area.
The lack of response from some of these has made me very downheartened.
And yet there is good news, as usual, from my female friends (and spouses) who campaigned for me to get the operation that has saved my life. It cost $16,500 for laprascopic band surgery on my stomach in March, 2009, and these women raised the funds with a rapid and mighty campaign. So far, I have lost 124 pounds.
They and their spouses are my church sponsors to date for the swim.
These women are always there for me, through thick and thin, with unconditional acceptance and no judgment. That is rare in my life and so I appreciate it for what it truly is -- a lifesaver and a Godsend.
Thanks to all who have donated so far, and please keep getting the word out.
I am going to leave this page up until the end of the month to catch those who have been on holiday.
And you all can help in this quest by passing along the link to this page so we can push well past my personal target of $3,000 and the team's aim of raising at least $20,000.
Bless you all.
by Debbie Shallhorn King on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 @ 3:50 PM. Please pledge by clicking on my personal page.

If anyone doubts the existence of a Higher Power, I have proof that one exists, and that this HP has a John Cleeseian sense of humour, with me playing the part of Basil Fawlty.
I had intended to swim twice a day on Mondays and Wednesdays, doing the 6-8 a.m. lengths swims that White Oaks offers on those days.
So, despite getting to bed at 2:30 a.m. (it seems that being postmenopausal means God doesn't think women need to sleep much), I dutifully set my alarm for 5:30 a.m. When it made its dreadful noise -- much too soon -- I was still able to get up, don my bathing suit and a T-shirt, and head in the sultry dampness of the early morning to the White Oaks pool.
Lights were on, though no other cars were in the parking lot. "Great," I thought, "I may have the pool to myself for a while."
So, grabbing my swim bag from the trunk and attaching it to my walker, I lurched up the uneven pavement to the door, on which many signs were taped.
It took me several seconds to notice a small one on the right side that read, "White Oaks pool closed Monday, July 19 to Friday, July 23 because of hydro problems."
Curses, Red Baron!!! I read the notice twice, hoping the second time it would say something different.
But no, I had it right the first time, so home I slithered to be greeted by the dogs, who thought it was great that I was up and back so early. And wouldn't it be nice to get Dad up, too, and then snarf some kibble, drink some water, go to the back yard to catch the latest smells and perfom other functions, and then come back inside to the AC and sleep like logs in the living room? Oooh, dog heaven!
However, I decided to go back to bed and catch, or try to catch, a few more hours of sleep.
Purdy, our 11.5-year-old golden, was quite happy to return to lying on the vent to absorb the AC when it clicked on.
Zeke, 2.5 years old and an exuberant black Lab/greyhound mix, was not amused by my choice, nor was he willing to let Dad sleep any more. However, after eating breakfast, he finally gave in, though not before requiring several minutes of patting and stroking on the bed before he would settle and allow us some more sleep.
I finally drifted off but had weird dreams, and I didn't feel rested much when I got up for my regular swim.
By this time, the stirring of people on our court had Zeke growling as he wagged his tail vigorously against the bay window and kept his eyes peeled for any signs of invasion. This got Andy up earlier than I, but he'd gone to bed at a reasonably sensible time.
Too many hours of working late in the sports and news departments at the Globe mean I become more awake as the evening wears on. I'm ready for bed about 8 p.m., but if I do head up, I'm awake just after midnight and that's that -- no more sleep, just lying there restlessly and thinking and worrying about everything in the world.
I sometimes wonder about God's sense of humour, but I guess creating situations to produce maniacal moments of giggling are needed when dealing with humans 24/7. I know I wouldn't want the job.
Bless you all, and thank you for helping to make pink ribbons obsolete by donating to the swim for the cure.

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 @ 3:28 PM. To pledge, please click on my personal page.

Sundays are quiet, it seems, for lengths time at the pool. It was very nice for a change.
My knees felt stiff today after earlier switching to the breast stroke almost full-time, but icing them and taking a couple of ibuprofen after the swim seems to be keeping them going.
Today, I did another 2.3k in 1:58, leaving 13k to go. I could do at least four more lengths if my knees were slightly better, but they have worsened and I'm babying them through this event.
When the 2010 Swim for the Cure is over, I'll be going back to the crawl, and working on my technique. I'm going to check into private lessons, too, to see where I need to fix things before they become muscle memory that I have to erase.
Mondays and Wednesdays, I'll be doing double swimming for the summer and during September at White Oaks, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. When the Ridge opens again at the end of September after its annual cleaning, I'll be able to do 3.5 hours a day Tuesday through Friday, so I'll probably keep just the Monday early swim in my schedule to keep up the extra exercise for weight loss and muscle strength.
There isn't any two-hour lengths time on the weekends until the next summer, so I'll have those two days off. I can always do my ace fitness adviser's weights and band exercises on those days, should I be inspired.
I thought you might be interested in my total time and distance to date. I have completed 12.8k in 10.75 hours.
That's almost exactly the time it took me to do the shorter version of the swim in 2003, when I had no knee problems. Since then, I have not been able to enter the event because of my severe physical limitations, but I thought that this year I could get back in the water and try it a different way, after dropping 124 pounds (with 80 or 90 left to do) since March '09.
Thank you again to my pledgers, and please get the message out to your family and friends.
We CAN make this disease obsolete. If we combine our resources, it will happen that much sooner.
For this fundraising event, we have limited time to open our hearts and our wallets.
We don't want to let down our families, our friends or anyone else who gets this disease.
Who knows: The money you pledge today might save your own life tomorrow.
Thank you for your donation.

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Sun, Jul 18, 2010 @ 2:34 PM. To pledge, please visit my personal page.

I discovered that I had miscalculated my distance yesterday so, after fixing it, I actually had 17.6k left to go.
Today, in 1:58, I did mainly the breaststroke and got in 2.3k more, leaving me with 15.3k to swim.
The pool was not as full as during the week, but there were some big splashers today. Once time, coming up to breathe, I got a huge wave, in pool terms, right in the open mouth and up my nose.
I instinctively swallowed the water and went under for my next kick and pull, coughing for a couple of strokes before I could get much air in my lungs.
I was intending to eat when I got home, and after icing my poor battered knees I took some ibuprofen to help with any muscle swelling there. However, 4 oz. of soft food must have been too much, or the pills were still above the band, because I started to slime after a burp. That's a definite sign to stop adding anything more.
So, soft food again tonight for both dinner and a snack to make sure everything's okay.
I think the problem is linked to the swimming because I take in huge gulps of air and can hear my stomach -- both upper and lower parts, I think -- making noises as if I had swallowed a chorus of bullfrogs. It also can sound like the plucking of elastic bands on a kid's homemade music box.
I often wonder if the swimmers in other lanes can hear all the burbles when I come up for air or when I'm gurgling away underwater.
I've told the women in the changeroom not to be alarmed if they hear strange noises coming from my direction, but I haven't had the opportunity to visit the men's changeroom and warn its occupants, too.
And, alas, there's no one there to offer me enough incentive to make a foray into male territory.
Well, as Scarlett would say, Tomorrow IS another day!!!
See you then, and keep trying to persuade others to make a pledge on behalf of the 2010 Swim for the Cure.
Thanks so much.

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Sat, Jul 17, 2010 @ 3:02 PM. To pledge, please click on my personal page.

A great day in the pool. I did the first 20 lengths (0.5k) using the crawl, but then realized I was still slower with the new stroke than with the breaststroke.
So, I amended my kick from a frog manoeuvre to a straight up and down kick, thus protecting the knees much more.
In 1:43, I did 2.1k, bringing the remaining distance to 17.6k. I have the full two hours tomorrow and Sunday, and then I think I'm going to double up my swimming, both for this event and for exercise, to twice a day on Mondays and Wednesdays.
I'm adding lengths swims on those days at White Oaks pool, where I'll swim from 6 to 8 a.m., and then go to the Ridge for the regular 11:45 to 1:30 p.m. slot.
I'd like to be less than 200 pounds by fall.
See you tomorrow. And ask everyone you know if they've pledged yet. Donations have really slowed, and I have high hopes of making my goal.
Thanks to those of you who have already become part of the team.

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Fri, Jul 16, 2010 @ 2:13 PM. To pledge, please click on my personal page.

Today, I took one of my "rain" days and used it as a rest day. This will not affect the timing of the end date.
I will be able to make up the distance on the weekends.
When the alarm went off today, my whole body, and my brain, said, "We need more sleep." The next thing I knew, it was after 12, and I vaguely heard Andy come in the door.
I didn't even open my eyes until it was after 3 p.m.
So, tomorrow I should be reconstituted by adding water.
Blessings to you all.

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Thu, Jul 15, 2010 @ 4:57 PM. To pledge, please click on my personal page.

It took some breaststroking and the crawl to get the 2k done today.
The pool was busy, but not quite as crowded as yesterday.
I'm going to call the pool manager and see if I can get in a tad earlier than the other swimmers to get a few lengths in so I'm not scrambling so much.
The worst problem today was all my own, though. I had an eyelash drop into my right eye less than halfway through, and I just had to leave it there.
The only way to get it out was with a finger, and with all the chlorine etc in the water, I didn't want to risk an eye problem.
It came out in the shower, but it sure was aggravating.
Thanks again to all my pledgers to date. We're more than a third of the way to the goal of personally raising $3,000, with 19.7k still to do. To badly mangle an old U.S. election quote, "Pledge early and pledge often!"
And bug everyone else to sign on for the cause. It will give them great joy to end this scourge, which affects both women and men.
I'll meet you back here tomorrow, God willing. In the meantime, for all you francophiles, have a Happy Bastille Day!

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Wed, Jul 14, 2010 @ 3:27 PM. To pledge, please click on my personal page.

I got in 2k, but it was a rush. They didn't open the doors till almost 11:50, which cuts another five minutes off, and they are letting the 1:30 kids who have lessons come out all over the pool deck at 1:20, which makes those of us in the pool feel pressed to cut our time even shorter.
It also was a mixture of bumper-to-bumper swimmers and people who swam so slowly you'd swear they were going backward.
A few people complained about the lane hogs (one woman takes up both return lanes with her arm span of about six feet) and about the slow swimmers, but the lifeguards are just kids and they won't do anything to encourage people to follow the rules or to move to the exercise area, where you can be as slow as you like.
I was clawed in the head and legs a few times by the hands of the long-limbed swimmer, but not enough to drown me, just enough to make me have to stop and tread water and wait for her to get out of reach. I ended up doing almost a third of the swim with a very slow breaststroke, because at least I could gain a few metres every 30 seconds rather than tread water.
I'm afraid the dreaded coming hot/humid spell will drive more people to the pool, which will simply make it worse.
As for distance, I have 21.7k yet to do, beginning again tomorrow morning to strike off another 2k.

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Tue, Jul 13, 2010 @ 3:12 PM. To donate, please click on my personal page.

The first day!!
I was a bit slow at first, and not very impressive in terms of breathing.
I can usually do four strokes of the crawl before needing to breathe again, but it took me about 30 minutes to gain the cardio strength to do it.
It was the first time in the pool in about a month -- loss of our only car (a beloved 10-year-old van), high-school formal and grad for our younger "child," trips to emergency for me and one for Andy, who fractured his ankle badly while visiting the tall ships in Toronto.
I'm doing the 25.8k version of the event, and got in 2.1k in just less than one hour and 42 minutes.
So, I have 23.7k to go. That lets me finish on the day of the event on the Severn.
I hope to be able to increase my speed each day, but it depends on the number of people in my lane and whether they are fast or not. Today was busy, but most swimmers went at a reasonable pace, so I didn't have to tread water while waiting for them to get far enough ahead that we didn't collide.
More tomorrow!

by Debbie Shallhorn King on Mon, Jul 12, 2010 @ 3:14 PM. To pledge, please click on my personal page.

You can click on the linked blue words to view my daily swim blog on my personal pledge page.
I started my swim today and did 2.1k. Please keep passing the message to anyone you can think of to help us smash past our goal. We're a third of the way there, and I know we can do it.
My MGUC supporters have been very generous with their donations, and they deserve so much gratitude that I will never be able to express it all, no matter how many words I use. And I can be wordy, as all of you know. But this is impossible even for me.
You are among God's heavenly host.
xo