Our “Why She Swims” blog posts feature interviews with real-life swimmers, just like you.
A daily lap swimmer for the past 20 years, Pam is a true advocate of the sport. Her love of swimming is woven into every part of who she is, from avid traveler to professional educator to proud parent of four. Based in Connecticut and Rhode Island, Pam has swam all around the globe.
What inspired you to start swimming?
I grew up on Long Island, near the beach and around a community pool. I was never a competitive swimmer, but I always liked being in the water. For me, knowing how to swim well was the freedom to be able to do anything, like go on boats.
I got into lap swimming in my 20s. I worked in the city and swam at colleges and community pools with a friend. I really loved it. When I was pregnant with my first child, I was able to swim pretty much throughout that whole pregnancy. It was really good for my head and for my circulation.
I started swimming longer during the COVID pandemic because the pool was the only place that was open. You had to sign up ahead of time and you got your own lane for one hour, which is normally unheard of. Up until then my swims were usually a half hour.
What do you love about swimming?
It doesn’t have to be this competitive thing. For me, getting in the water is about the time. I’m pretty social and active and I do a lot of different cross training activities. Swimming is a good complement to any other type of exercise that I’ve ever done. It makes me feel good for the rest of the day.
Swimming is the closest thing to meditation that I’ve done. Mentally, it just brings me clarity. It’s the one thing that I do that really doesn’t involve me listening to anyone else or listening to myself. I get most of my best ideas in the pool.
I like the community of the swimmers, the like-mindedness we share. In general, we’re all there and we don’t care if our hair is looking bad. There is a consistency to people who show up at the pool. As an activity, it’s a little harder to do. You can’t just put on leggings and hit the ground running. You have to have another bag and some stuff.
I have seen and gotten to know so many different cities and towns through their pools. My husband is a swimmer, too. We try to hit all the bodies of water when we travel.
What do you find challenging about swimming?
I actually don’t swim all the strokes. I only swim freestyle only. I’m at the age where I only do what I want to do. I’m in my comfort zone with what I do, so I don’t really find swimming challenging.
I really like the varied weather throughout the year. I like the varied bodies of water we swim in wherever we travel all over the world. We will get in an ocean or a sea and I always feel like it was an achievement. For me it’s all personal best. I can share lanes with different people, but I don’t really worry about who’s going faster than me.
Where’s your favorite place to swim?
An outdoor Olympic sized swimming pool. I love to be in the sunlight. I’m not that good at swimming in the ocean. I don’t get the mental release like I do in a pool because I’m thinking or trying too hard. In a pool, swimming just comes naturally for me and that’s why it’s more meditative. I used to count laps, but now I just let my mind wander.
What is your favorite See Her Swim swimsuit?
I only swim freestyle, and it turned out that that’s my favorite See Her Swim style, The Freestyle. I love that suit. I have it in three colors; black, red and teal. I get compliments on it all the time.
The most challenging thing for me with swimming all these years was the traditional racerback suit. The fighting to put it on and the absolute battle to get off a wet swimsuit was really unenjoyable for me. Plus, I’m five feet tall and those suits were not a great fit or a flattering cut for me.
I love that The Freestyle is high cut in the front. I find that it always keeps everything where it’s supposed to be. I never worry. I can get up on a boat and dive in without feeling uncomfortable. I always bring goggles and a swimsuit wherever I go in case there’s a good place to swim, so I always have one of these suits with me. I just love them.
