Mary Hayes just keeps swimming

Out in the middle of Lake Cane, Mary Hayes glides through the water.

It’s early morning Sunday, Aug. 30, and the 87-year-old is swimming a one-kilometer from one side of the lake — Lucky’s Lake Swim — to the far side and back. 

Although she has a buoy strapped around her waist — which serves as both a means of safety and as a visual spotter — it’s still a challenge.

“I think about halfway through you just wonder, ‘Why am I killing myself?’” Mary Hayes said with a laugh. “It’s hard — it’s very hard. You are out there in the middle of the lake, and you may take all day to do it, but you have to finish it, so you keep going.

“You don’t do much stopping,” she said. “Most of it is freestyle swim, and then if you need to rest a little bit, you do a little breaststroke to keep you going — you can do backstroke or anything you want to do.” 

Right now, Hayes is working to beat the clock in this timed race, and things are going well despite her even being aware of it. The race against her own record is on.
 

FAMILY TRADITION

Swimming is as much a handed-down family tradition as it is a means of staying in shape and having fun for Hayes.

Growing up in Florida, Hayes spent a lot of time swimming in both the ocean and in pools learning how to swim before going on to swim for four years in high school. Swimming had engulfed her entire life, and a big reason for that were her parents — avid proponents of swimming and water safety.

“Her dad was a founder of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and is a member — not as a swimmer but as an administrator/philanthropist — and same for her mother,” said Dan Hayes, Mary Hayes’ son. “They were big supporters of the hall of fame, and her father also organized the Florida State Key Club at Sanford High School, and along with the ‘Every Child a Swimmer’ program— supporting swimming and water safety.”

Dan Hayes also is a talented swimmer and was a water polo player, Mary Hayes said, and his daughter — Marlie Hayes — is a star swimmer and water polo player at Boone High School.

Often, Dan Hayes will swim alongside his mother whenever she takes on her lake swims. To date, she has completed three, with the last coming the year before last.

“The legacy of swimming is very strong still,” Mary Hayes said. 
 

LET HER EAT CAKE

Before she moved to HarborChase of Dr. Phillips in November 2018, Mary Hayes and her husband, James, spent more than 50 years living in Windermere. A big part of their lives included swimming in the Butler Chain of Lakes with their children.

In addition to swimming, Mary Hayes also had a passion for tennis, which she played consistently for years and  years. She was a longtime volunteer with the Windermere Parks and Recreation committee, where she set up a youth tennis program at Lake Cane — before the physical toll of the sport began to be a little too much on her. That’s when — about seven years ago — Mary Hayes decided to make swimming her main form of exercise.

“I think about halfway through you just wonder, ‘Why am I killing myself?’ It’s hard — it’s very hard. You are out there in the middle of the lake, and you may take all day to do it, but you have to finish it, so you keep going.”

— Mary Hayes

Originally, she started swimming at the YMCA. However, swimming outdoors in Florida during the summer months can be a challenge with the constant rain and storms, so Mary Hayes moved to LA Fitness’ indoor pool. There, as well as at HarborChase’s pool, she can complete her laps and go to the gym. 

“It’s sort of a discipline, because it’s hard for me to plan — I try to swim three times a week,” Mary Hayes said. “Well, with whatever functions and obligations and things that have to take place, it’s hard to work out the days you want to do it, but you really have to work at it. It would be easy for me to say, ‘To heck with it.’”

Despite how easy it would be to quit, Mary Hayes doesn’t — she just keeps swimming. And a big motivator is she wants to be able to enjoy that last slice of cake.

“When you’re in a retirement place and you have nice meals for you every day, everybody gains weight, so I’m fighting really hard to not gain,” Mary Hayes said. “I tell everybody I want to swim so I can have dessert.”
 

SURPRISE!

Back at Lake Cane, Mary Hayes is speeding back to Lucky’s Lake Swim in — unbeknownst to her — record time.

On land is an official timing her swim, and as soon as she steps out of the water, she is met by news she wasn’t necessarily expecting.

With a time of 40 minutes and 53 seconds, Mary Hayes had broken the Lucky’s Lake Swim record for ages 85 to 89 — a record she had previously held.

“I was just trying to finish,” Mary Hayes said with a laugh. “I was hoping I could do better … but I’ve been swimming regularly, so I was about as good of shape as I could be in.”

While another lake swim likely will come later, Mary Hayes continues taking laps around the pool and continues to push herself to be better, and right now, there are no signs that show she will be quitting anytime soon.

“I plan to keep doing this as long as I enjoy it,” Mary Hayes said. “It’s the best exercise I can do. I don’t have any plans to stop — if my health allows me to go.”