Going the extra mile

Swim what? The mile?!

BY JENNIFER MOELLER

I was a freshman on my college swim team, and my coach had determined that I was a distance swimmer. My high-school swimming background hadn't been very intense—the longest distance race was only 500 yards. So when I found out I would eventually be swimming the mile, a 1,650-yard freestyle event, I was stunned. In fact, I dreaded the strain of swimming the mile. I just couldn't understand how anyone could race for that long. The DePauw Invitational in Indiana was the first time I swam the mile competitively for my college team. I was nervous and scared, and none of Coach's reassurances made me feel any better.

The mile race was held at the break between sessions. That meant that while I was swimming, the rest of the team would be getting ready to go to lunch. Since I was the only woman from my team swimming the mile that day, I started to feel very alone.

Although I had tried to pray about the situation, my prayers were halfhearted. Instead of turning completely to God for His help, I was still trying to find a human solution to this problem. I thought if I could just concentrate on holding a pace or working the flip turns, maybe I'd forget that I was scared.

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