Last week brought me to my knees. An upper respiratory infection hit me like a full-body shutdown—coughs, migraines, body aches, and endless mucus that left me feeling defeated and terrified I was losing everything I’d built. Each day out of the water felt like confidence slipping away.

This Labor Day weekend was a rollercoaster — from fog-covered sunrise swims on glassy Lake Wawasee to the roar of cheers from strangers on their docks, to crashing hard just two days later with sickness that forced me to stop. Training isn’t always clean or easy, and this log captures the raw truth of what it looks like to chase big goals while balancing community, family, and recovery.