FAST MASTERS: WHO'S IN THAT LANE? -- EPISODE 7: KATIE PECKHAM

FAST Masters: Who’s In That Lane? – Episode 7: Katie Peckham

*Name: Katie Peckham

*Born in San Diego, CA

*Education: BA English, Biola University & MA Spiritual Formation & Soul Care, Talbot Seminary

*Swimming: No formal swim training/competing, just started swimming on my own in high school when I had to quit track due to a broken foot.

*Family: Husband, Daniel, married 22 years. Daughter, Naomi, age 14. Son, Jacob, age 11.

*Interests: Triathlon, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, psychology, poetry.

*Accomplishments: People tend to be more interested in my more unusual stories – like when I completed an Ironman triathlon, or when my husband and I caught and dissected a small shark, or when I trekked for two weeks through the Indonesian jungle meeting villages of people who'd never seen a white woman before.

But honestly the accomplishments that cost me the most have been birthing and raising my two children (childbirth is way harder than anything else I've done, Ironman included) and working in therapy (on my own and with my husband) to break the cycle of divorce that runs in my family. I'm proud of those things. And I've had several poems published, I'm proud of that too.

*FAST Masters: I've swum with FAST since moving to Fullerton in 2016. I joined because I wanted to improve my form and it's fun to swim with others. My other sports (running & cycling), I do alone. I am definitely best at Freestyle. My worst stroke is either Butterfly or Breaststroke, take your pick.

*An interesting thing about me is that I am on the watch list for New Zealand's border security because I accidentally left an apple in my luggage when entering the country in 2015. Apparently, NZ customs is very strict about produce because they are so isolated as an island nation, and it is more important that they keep themselves agriculturally pure than it is for other nations.

*The best thing in my life is... Wow. That's a tough one. I mean, I like my family. And international travel. And dark chocolate is pretty great?

*Sometimes it's hard for me to get up for Masters if one of my kids has had trouble sleeping the night before. I also only come twice a week because I run and bike on the other days.

*One of my hopes for the future is that I will finally win some swim event when I'm 85, if only because I outlasted everyone else.