Diana Nyad Offers Inspirational Words

I attended the American Heart Association "Go Red for Women" luncheon today in downtown Cleveland. The keynote speaker was world-class long distance swimmer and journalist, Diana Nyad. She revealed to the audience that she would be turning 60 soon. I can only hope I look that good at 60. She looks incredibly fit. She had many stories of her training growing up, how a heart condition at 16 derailed her quest for competing in the Olympics in 1968 and how she turned that disappointment into a career in long-distance swimming (in 1979 she swam 102.5 miles from the Bahamas to Florida). Although we cannot all be world-class athletes like her, Diana's message was to do the very best you can each day and you will be satisfied with yourself. A simple message but her presentation was very effective. A good message to employ in long distance races. As long as I feel like I have given 100% in a race, I am happy with my performance regardless of what position I end up in.