The smile says it all.

Every year on my birthday, I give myself an athletic challenge. This year it was to swim 60 laps, one for each year I’ve been alive.

This year, I announced my challenge on Facebook adding a little pressure but also opening myself up to fantastic support from friends I’ve met along the way. I was going to do the swim on my birthday, but we were under a heat advisory and at 106 degrees before 10 a.m. So I delayed and attempted it today, Saturday, the final day of my birthday week.

I got an early start. As with all big things worth doing, it’s best to break them down.

After 5 laps: I thought just 12 more sets of 5. At 10 laps: 6 more sets. 20 laps: in a groove.

At 30, the halfway point: I started grinning. One more set of 30.

Laps 40 and 50: It’s kind of like an out-and-back run, the return leg feels like I’ve done the work and everything else is gravy. Dig in, keep going.

And during laps 51-60: I started thinking about the literal meaning of those laps. Each lap was a quick up-and-back to review my life during the past few years. Cutting through the water, I was leaving those years behind.

And during my final lap, lap 60: I thought about what’s to come, what I can make of my 60h year.

During that final lap, I set a couple of goals. Some people would call that setting my intentions. I call it preparing for my 61st birthday challenge.