This NJ Assembly member finds work-life balance while training as an endurance athlete

Assemblywoman Lisa Swain has spent much of her time as a lawmaker working to promote legislation about women’s health and pedestrian safety, but when she's not in Trenton, she's gained a reputation for something else: her efforts as a world-class triathlete.

The assemblywoman finished in fifth place in her age group at this year's World Triathlon championships in Pontevedra, Spain, and has already secured her spot in next year's race.

Being at the top of her game doesn't come easily, though. She spends hours training — basically every day — including morning runs as the sun rises.

“I do something every day. So it's swimming, biking, running — that's the order of the triathlon,” Swain said. “I try to either get one of those in every single day, and then there are some days where I do both.”

As for the early start? That’s because by 8 a.m. Swain has to be ready to shift gears and focus on the needs of the residents in New Jersey's Legislative District 38 in Bergen County.

From tennis to running

Swain grew up in New York City playing tennis in a park near her home and didn’t start running until toward the end of her time in college, she told NorthJersey.com and The Record.

“I had a friend who took me to the track and he lied to me. He said it was eight laps around to make a mile, and after four laps, I just said, 'I'm done. I can't go any further.' And then he said, 'All right, you did a mile. I lied to you.' So that's how I got started with running,” she said.

Swain ran pretty consistently after that and said she ended up doing four marathons in the 1980s but was starting to feel the wear and tear of long-distance running and looked for something else. That’s when she moved on to triathlons.

“If you just run, as I used to do when I was just doing marathons, I was getting injured, and that's what led me to triathlons,” she said. “With triathlons, you're working different muscle groups all the time. So that's why there's less injury, and also if you do get injured, you still have another two sports to fall back on while you're healing.”

Swain would swim at Bronx Community College or at the park where she had once played tennis and then would bike and run in the area as well, but there were no triathlons in Manhattan, so she and her friends had to come to New Jersey to compete in places like Wyckoff and the Greenwood Lake area.

Decades later, she’s still hooked and regularly does both short-distance runs and triathlons. She trains throughout Bergen County and much prefers to be outside instead of indoors on a machine but acknowledged that “it's gotten really hard to ride around here safely.”

Swain doesn’t listen to music when training because she “started running before using headphones was an option” and they aren’t allowed during races, as a way to help the athletes remain aware of what’s going on around them.

Most of the assemblywoman’s experience comes from races in the tri-state area, but a few have taken her much farther: national and international competitions.

Representing the country

Swain’s opportunity to compete for Team USA was a few years in the making. As with most things, the pandemic played a role.

She had done the New Jersey State Triathlon in Mercer County Park, which is a qualifying race, meaning because of how well she finished there she was able to compete in the national triathlon. Swain did that one, too — in Cleveland — and earned her qualifying time for the world championship, which was set to be in Canada, but then the pandemic began.

The race was postponed and then canceled, which is why she wanted to do the event in Spain. Although her favorite place to train is Saddle River County Park, when it comes to races, Swain said, that world championship was her favorite.

“What set it apart was that I was representing the USA, so being on Team USA just brought it to a whole new level, and competing against people from other countries was a whole different experience,” she said.

Decked out in patriotic gear, 65-year-old Swain finished fifth in her age group and earned an automatic bid to next year’s championship as well. That race will also be in Spain, though in a different part.

The irony is that Swain was ready to hang up her running shoes after the world championships.

“I was going to just have the experience. I never thought of that as a career type of thing, and I've been doing triathlons for a very long time — since 1985,” she said. “That's why I just felt like I was, you know, done.”

Even though she was thinking about retiring, Swain prepared for the race like any other. She noted that the terrain was very different and that the biking portion was up and down mountains, adding that the national race in Cleveland was not as steep.

That’s not to say the Cleveland race didn’t present its own unique challenges, though. Lake Michigan was cold and very choppy, so much so that the swimming course was shortened because the lifeguards couldn't see people.

Though Swain trains every day, she said, seeing the paratriathlon athletes compete on the same course where she did was truly an inspiration. She said one of her biggest takeaways from the experience was being part of the great community of athletes.

“It's just wonderful to have that community, because then you have other people to learn from, to be inspired by, and then to follow and cheer for,” she said.

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'Pass the bills'

Finding a work-life balance is vital for everyone, but Swain hopes her focus and discipline can be seen as an example of how to be healthy and work out while still being able to do her job in Trenton.

The assemblywoman also works on legislation based on the needs she sees when out in the community.

One bill she championed, referred to as the Safe Passing Law, is aimed at making sure that there is 4 feet of clearance between a car and a pedestrian. She recognizes that the law is just the first step.

“My job as a legislator is to pass the bills, but I can’t enforce them, and the enforcement is the key, as is education,” she said. “I did work with the Department of Transportation at the beginning to educate motorists, but we need to do more, because people still don't know if you're passing on cyclists that you have to give them space.”

In addition to her focus on educating drivers, there is legislation she’s considering that would put stricter rules on helmet use for cyclists, because she thinks it “sends the wrong message” for kids to have to wear them but not adults.

Pedestrian safety was a focus for Swain even before she was elected to the Assembly. While serving in Fair Lawn, she helped get flashing stop signs, which drivers can see more easily.

Looking ahead

Swain will spend 2024 preparing for her next world championship as well as working in the Legislature for causes she cares about, such as women's reproductive choice menstrual equity. She sees the latter as an important topic because there is discrimination built in.

Swain noted that there was recent legislation passed to make menstrual products available in schools and that “taking further steps like that” would benefit the community.

“It's not like women can decide to have a period or not to have a period. It's part of biology,” Swain said. “So I think that those products should be provided. It shouldn't be an issue where some women can't afford it.”

The assemblywoman also said she has been pushing for these sorts of initiatives for five years and that finally “men and women are recognizing the importance of this issue.”

Educating people to help break down the stigma surrounding menstruation as well as finding ways to make expand access to products is something Swain is trying to do now, but she also has some bigger goals in mind heading into the next legislative session.

One is a constitutional amendment to protect a woman’s right to choose.

“I am looking at revisiting constitutional choice,” she said. “We had started this past session. It was just too soon. It takes a lot of work to pass a constitutional amendment.”

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Assembly member Lisa Swain competes as endurance athlete