On September 17, 2025, I became the first to complete a 17-mile open-water swim around Lake Wawasee. Nine hours and 20 minutes of endurance, hypothermia, and pure grit — cheered on by over 300 people from docks and boats. This Lap the Lake journey is more than a swim — it’s the beginning of my book, Beyond the Buoy, a mile-by-mile story of pushing past limits and making history.

Johnson’s Bay stripped me down. Cold, shaking, slipping. My crew’s hot water and fire kept me alive.

. The south shore was a grind of silence, weeds, and whispers of doubt.

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.

Training log for August 26–27, featuring brand photoshoots, a track workout, trail running in the rain at Chain O’ Lakes, an 8k swim, surfing behind a new Malibu Wakesetter, mobility work, and podcasting. Discover the realness of daily endurance training, balancing running, swimming, recovery, and storytelling with vulnerability and inspiration.

From a 50-mile TT bike grind to a flawless trail run at Chain O’Lakes, today’s training was equal parts grit, recovery, and way too much arroz con pollo. Here’s how it all went down — plus the gear and lessons that are shaping Lap the Lake 2025.