Blurred Lines.

Lines are complex things.  For the most part, they act as protective boundaries.  But I've discovered in life that sometimes they can become self-limiting.  These lines exist in our personal, professional, and athletic realms for a reason and need to be respected, but it saddens me when protectiveness trumps trust.

Sport has a funny way of blurring those lines.  I've both gained and lost amazing friendships from crossing those lines.  I've worked in companies where the Top Dogs had minimal interaction with ancillary staff.  To a certain degree, I understand that.  So I am extremely thankful for those professionals who do their job and save lives at work, yet are not afraid to ditch the white lab coat after hours and join me for a trail run.  Recently, I was so proud to witness my new running buddy triple the maximum distance he had ever done in a single run with me.  As we were sweating it out and navigating the terrain together, I was able to get to know not only an incredible doctor, but an incredible person.

If you're going to run, run around the whole lake.
Right?

I love how sport can obliterate job titles and age gaps.  In the water or on the road, status doesn't matter.  Everyone just is.  I recall one time in San Diego when I shared a lane with the CEO of Triathlete magazine.  I remember seeing him in an editorial meeting just a few days before, commanding authority while the rest of us scribbled down notes silently.  However, in the water, status didn't matter- we were just two swimmers trying to beat the pace clock.

This Saturday, I'm racing my very first 5K open water swim.  I'm excited to challenge my "redline/I'm-about-to-blow-up" line.  According to Coach, it only really exists in my head.  I must say, however, that "the line" seems very real when I watch Hulk effortlessly swim 2 full body lengths in front of me and I can't catch him to save my life.  I'm deciding now that I'm not going to be scared, I'm going to be curious...

This makes it seem so....easy.

I'll find out the Truth on Saturday.  It's time to get out of my head, get uncomfortable, and obliterate that fictitious line.

The start of our 10 mile time trial.
Clearly I like to cross lines. (This was an honest mistake, I promise.)

Now these are some lines I need to pay attention to for Saturday's swim. We do this loop twice.
Hopefully I can swim in a straight line!

In 15 short weeks, this is the open water I'll be navigating-
Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe.

Lines- sometimes it leaves me wondering how life and sport would be without them.  It seems fitting too, that with all this talk about blurred lines, this currently happens to be my favorite song right now and has been playing nonstop on the iPod...