CATALINA CHANNEL ~ The Training Game

Post NYC  there is some welcome recovery swimming, then back in the water for the Greater Kingdom Lake Swim held in July at Lake Memphremagog, Vermont, this year the 10 mile event is a World Open Water Swim Association Championship, 3 weeks after my swim around Manhattan I am rearing to go at the start line, I do love a good race!

 It turns out to be a stunning day, the Lake for the most part  treating us to relatively calm waters. I enjoy the great outdoors for 4 Hours and 33 minutes with a sprint to the finish for 4th place women overall.

 

 Out of the water and  next up my daughter Heidi racing her first 1 mile skin swim, no wet suit for her either, second place in her age group, watching her rip up the course, defintely the highlight of my day!

OCEANS OF FUN

Time to log some hours in the ocean and find some cooler water, the hot summer temperatures have driven the Lake Water Temperature sky high in Vermont, fortunately I am joining  family for one weeks vacation in Maine, via a weekend of sea swimming in Newport, Rhode Island

 Newport is a fun place to visit, I did much of my cold water swimming there a few years back and was lucky enough to befriend some fast, good natured sea swimmers, then they were all in wet suits, this trip they are all skin swimmers too, BIG FUN , then off to Maine I go.

 MAINE EVENT

 

 Funny how things can work out, I sent a message to my Memphre 25.2 Miler buddy Elaine Howley, ” Hey Elaine, I’m going to be in Maine next week, know anyone who might be game to catch a few swims?”, I  saw a photo of Elaine in the Nubble Light House  Swim just a few days ago,  worth asking I think, ” Kristen Read, she’s fast”, Elaine replies.

 I shoot Kirsten a message and before you know it I’m arriving in Maine and me and Kristen are talking on the phone about a 6am swim in the morning, ” Hey Kristen, psyched you are game to swim, where should be meet?”, ” Mothers Beach”, she replies,  turns out our house is right across the road from Mothers Beach, perfect!

   Kirsten and I meet at Mothers, ” I was worried about no wetsuit at 60 degrees, then I saw you, if you can do it, I can, look at you, your skinny”, she says, ” You’ll be good as gold”, I reply and with that we wander into the sea. There is thick fog, the water is calm, we wade out and dive under, then full steam ahead. Kirsten is tall with a long, strong relaxed stroke, we swim side by side, I am thrilled, what a great pace and excellent drive in the water she has. We swim the span of Mothers beach and down the next beach too, Kristen pulls up, I stop too, “we are way far out, you comfortable swimming through those rocks”, she point at mounds of jagged rocks poking through the surface of the water with the outgoing tide, the position of the rocks seems to change with each swell of the sea. “Yip I’m good, for around the point”, I reply, ” your tenacious aren’t you?”, I grin and with that  we swim off through the rocks. Once around the corner we have a straight shot across the bay, we pull up for a  boat, then hug the shore on the return leg of our out and back  swim, what fun great water  and company!

 

 ” I can’t swim tomorrow, my friend Susan may be game”, Kristen says as we say goodbye, ” Brilliant” . So that’s how we became Maine swim pals, Susan and I met the following day, much to my delight she was also brilliant to swim with, we lapped up and down the beach. Later in the week the three of us bombed around the Maine coastline.  Thanks to some great company and good variety of conditions  58km of  sea swimming over the  week, perfect training.

 

 

Maine was a blast, swim, nap, eat, swim , nap, dinner, perfect training, I say farewell to my new friends, ” see ya Pencil Fish”, I hear from a distance, I know I’ll swim with these Maine mermaids  in the future. It’s official I LOVE MAINE!

 

RHODE ISLAND ~MANSIONS OF FUN

August is here, time for one last Hooray sea swimming, crew member Cynthia Needham and me head back down to Newport, Rhode Island for some ocean paddling and sea swimming. A stormy Friday leaves us with some surf and sea swells to train with on Saturday morning. Here we are armed with kayak, feeds ready to paddle out through the surf, my pal Jacki drops as off at first beach, the plan is for us to swim to second beach for a ride back to hers….. 

 

 Next up is a comedy of errors as Cynthia and I do a comical impersonation of two land crabs trying to paddle a kayak through the breaking waves, translation = we SUCKED at this and tipped the kayak upside down atleast 3 times, littering all our supplies all over the beach, so much so a paddle boarder paddles in  and politely asks, ” could I help you get out past the breakers”, “YES PLEASE”, Cynthia and I reply, ” definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result”, I say to him with a sea smacked face smile, he laughs with us, and then manouvers the boat out for us, Cynthia bounces on it like a kangaroo and we are off, I roar with laughter underwater for a full 30 minutes as I swim thinking of what we must have looked like trying to launch! We swim along the cliffs and gaze up at the Mansions, outstanding 3 hours of Mansion views, sea swells and Jelly Fish.  

 

Next is Sunday, time to meet the  Expedition swimmers from Rhode Island, the swim 7 miles along the coastline from  Breton Point to Second Beach, stunning conditions, views of fish below and only menacing thing these pockets of hatching crabs that pinch your skin, one  snacks on the back of my neck at the base of my cap line as I’m swimming, menacing to say the least and a little creepy due to the fact I can hear the snapping of its wee crab claws as it pinches, too stubborn to stop  I swam on regardless, eventually it washes off, afterwards I found little chow marks on my tummy, darn crabs! Here we are at the end  of the point to point expedition…

 

What a fun way to wrap up my final 50K week, time to head back to Vermont, a lighter week coming up with 30km of swimming and then Open Water 5 mile race at Lake Willoughby to mark the end of my Catalina Training and start of my taper, the forecast looks great for race day which is Saturday,  kayaking for me is Beth Barnes, also knowen as” I kayak for you”, Beth has supported some amazing swimmers across Catalina and lucky me she is game to join me for a little Lake Willoughby pace and race, can’t wait.

Will it be a stellar day and will we be a lean mean kayak swim machine? I’ll keep you posted

 

 

 

Manhattan Island Marathon June 8, 2013

 I am pumped, the rain has let up overnight, as I arrive to the Pier, there is a ray of sunshine breaking through the reminant clouds of Tropical Storm Andrea, crew is ready,  gear is ready, I am ready, as my eyes scan the pier I catch glimpses of my fellow swimmers greasing up, all sorts of individual techniques are in use to apply the messy grease which helps reduce chaffing during a swim, I use straight lanolin, all around my suit straps, around my neck and upper back, now I am ready to go too.

 Cynthia and Jen load our boat ” Charlie Tuna” ,  Jeff, my husband waits with me  for the  call to load the swimmer zodiac boat which will motor me and the rest of my wave to the start location, nearly time to  jump. We wait and we wait, I am aware that we have  missed our scheduled start time, I notice some swimmers getting fidgety, I cuddle under Jeff’s arm, he is the calmest of individuals, he  helps me stay relaxed, ” remember have fun out there, enjoy it”, he says with a warm smile, I smile back. There is much activity on the dock, and then….. we get the call, ” Swimmers time to laod the boat”, I kiss Jeff goodbye and me and the rest of the swimmers walk single file down the ramp towards the boat, ” I feel like I am walking the plank on Captain Hook’s ship”, it feels exciting and magical, I am about to find out just how much!

 

 

 

 Jumping Ship ~ The Race Begins…

On the boat I go, we all sit down, there are a bunch of the Aussie swimmers, an Irish contingent, a few from the USA and me…..

 We begin to motor towards the start, I gaze at the skysrapers, ” OK that shiny one right there will be a good landmark at the finish”, I think, as we get closer to the start location I see a crowd gathering, directly across from the crowd  is Lady Liberty, holding her torch high in the sky, ” WOW, Impressive”, I take a long mental snapshot in my mind. My wandering thoughts are quiclky pulled back to the boat, ” Gezz Mate “, the Aussies’ are hooting and holloring, I start to giggle, ” I forgot what troublemakers you Aussies are”, I say with a grin, ” Awww gezz, wait til you see us with some beers in us after the swim MATE”, one shouts out, they all explode into laughter like a pack of miscievious monkeys, I laugh too,” those Aussies are great at keeping ones spirits soaring”, I think.

Wave 1 jumps, I start to strip of my jacket, Wave 2 jumps, the crowd cheers as the swimmers hit the water, I look up from the boat and see Jeff smiling down on me, I take of my hat, the countdown begins for wave 3, my wave,  this is it, after nearly 1000 miles of training, a brutally harsh spring of 45-55F swims in Vermont and a power of eating to fuel my swim it is time, 10, 9, 8 , 7, 6, the crowd starts to join in the countdown, 5,4,3, the Aussie are perched up on the side of the boat ready to plunge, 2, I am  poised on the side of the boat, 1….JUMP, the boys leap with an Aussie warhoop, I slide slowly in to the brown, turbulant water below and take a moment, I turn and look up at Jeff, wave and swim away after the boys, I feel relaxed and even better the 60 degree water feels great, ” This is the best”, I think and it is, with that I swim towards the Staten Island Ferry with a vengance.

 

Are You my Kayaker?

 I am off  pounding towards the East River and the historical Brooklyn Bridge, the first on my to do list, apart from swimming of course is to connect with my NYC Swim assigned kayaker, Daryl, I have looked at photos from past years and am on the look out for a yellow sit on top kayak, the brown foamy water swirls around me as I roll to breathe,  I search for my paddler, # 28, I stroke and stroke, still no # 28, then I spy a purple kayak, a women with a big brimmed hat sporting the number 28, I swim with all my might towards her, then she disappears, again no #28 in sight, then I notice a yellow sit on top by my side, # 28, there is Daryl, #28 my kayaker….my new best friend, I hug close to his boat, bam, I feel a smack on my left side, I roll to breathe to the left to check out what I hit, there is the purple kayak, #28, can you beleive it there are two kayaks escorting me towards the legendary Brooklyn Bridge, head down, onwards I go sporting a smile.

 

 We make our way under the Brooklyn Bridge, going through my head is all that I have learnt about what it took to build this amazing bridge and what it means to both to those who have crossed it over the last few hundred years, now here I am right underneath, I roll momentarily onto my back and live the moment…..then back to the task at hand, head down and swim hard. At one hour my feed cup appears in Daryl’s hand, I take it without  a word, he says nothing and I swim on, feeds come and go, the scenery changes from grim looking walls to brick buildings, I don’t know where I am, I have not seen my crew, nor ” Charlie Tuna”, the boat they are on, there is just one stroke after the other, I feel good, all is as it should be, I am swimming strong and being fed!

Rescue at sea by ” The Aussie Boat!”

 

 ” You gotta get in the boat, NOW they’re pulling everyone”, I turn to see two other swimmers beside me, ” Get in the boat”, in front of me are steps, I climb into the boat  looking for Cynthia and Jen my crew and some clothes, now that I’m not swimming my core temperarure is rapidly plummeting, two emergency blankets are tossed around me and a white hotel towel, ” do you have anything warm”, I ask, ” No, sorry wev’e got other swimmers coming on board”, I pull the thin blankets around me tight,” time to take an inventory”,I think, ” OK, this is not your support boat, your dry bag with your most cozy of clothes, hat and down sleeping bag are not on this boat, your crew is not here, time to make the best of what you have at your disposal”, I coach myself, I remember Ned Denison’s advice, get yourself  into the cabin of a nice boat, out of the wind, I scan past the Captain, it is definately a nice boat and there is a cabin, I am in luck, I shuffle down the steps into the cabin and  huddle into the corner of the bench, Ipull my knees up towards my chest and drop my head low in a tight little ball, my teeth catter, my body begins it’s post swim hypothermic shake, not unusual for me after exiting 60 degree water post swim, not ideal mid swim,I sit and wait it out. ” I wonder what’s going out there?”, I think, ” roll only with the here and now I command myself”, with that I relax and do my best at warming up.

 As luck would have it, Barbara, fellow Cork Distance Camp Swimmer  is on board this very boat as an observer, she fills me in with  information at hand,” some swimmers are in distress, the tide has turned, Race Director called over the radio to pull swmmers”.

Two  Aussie swimmers join me in the cabin, it is their support boat I am crashing, I feel gratefull to be sharing their ride, ” we are going to be dropped back in the water past Hellbrook to continue swimming”, they say,  ” Charlotte, you OK”, my fellow Aussie swimmer says, I have seen photos of me when I come out of the water, sheet white face and red sunken eyes, ” I’m good”, I reply. with that Aussie Andrew sits beside me, scoops me up and folds me into a big Aussie Bear hug, I feel the heat from him instantly and start to warm up, and many say Kiwis and Aussies don’t get along WRONG!  

 Next comes the ” Are you getting back in conversation” , the Aussies and I chat, ” What are YOU doing Charlotte, are you swimming?”, asks my Aussie swim pals, ” Too bloody right…. I’m swimming this thing to the end”, I reply, with my never give up intensity.

 ” Back in the water”, calls the Boat Captain, my folded up body climbs the cabin steps, ”  I have no support boat or kayak, want me to wait”, I ask the Captain,” your boat broke down, you get in with the boys”, he replys. I start to unfold my stiff body, my saving grace I have two feeds to guzzle down…… how you may ask? That sharp crew of mine had the forsight to send 2 feeds to me via the NYPD, boy I feel the love from my crew, down the hatch goes my feed, I toss off the paper thin emergency blankets, throw back my shoulders, stand tall and stride to the edge of the boat, ” Game on”, I think, before sliding back into the river with the Aussie swimmers,  I look back at the boat full of strangers who took this vagabond on board, ” Hey, thanks for having me over”, I shout with a smile, and with that swim away, what an adventure I am having, I  wonder what on earth could happen next!

Grin Swim!

 

 Back in the water, how great to be swimming again, I have no idea where I am, what I do know is that my two #28 kayakers are no where in sight and my crew is currently MIA, my only job right now is to stay relaxed and swim hard to warm myself back up, the good news is the water is feeling good. I start to swim under small bridges here and there, nothing looks familiar, after a while I notice something pulling up alongside me, YES a feed cup and on the other end of it is Daryl, # 28  WAHOO, boy am I happy to see him and to my left Carmen in the purple kayak, still where are my crew? And then I see some HUGE smiles from Cynthia and Jenn, they are giving me the hand signal for ” you’re doing great”, what a rush, I smile my biggest “grin while you swim” smile in the hopes they can see me, ” Who’s boat are they on?”, I find out later that they brokedown in the East River, and had to remain anchored off Roosevelt Island until help and a new boat arrived, it arrived alright, check out the COOL BOAT….with our observer, driver dude and Dean who became a welcome cheer leader!

Harlem Jellies

  What a trip, I am having a blast, my crew  has perservered and returned with a killer boat and boat captain, they resourcefully recruited the NYPD to deliver me feeds until Daryl and Carmen my paddlers made it back to my side, I am one lucky cat, the skies are clearing, there is some sun on my shoulders, I am one happy camper, is that the Harlem Boat house? YES, now I know where I am to boot! Here is me and Daryl at the Boot House…

 Head down I swim on, the sun peaks through giving me just a bit more vision under the surface of the murky Harlem waters, hey hold on a minute, there are lots of white objects down there, they start bouncing off my body as I swim, how strange to have Jellies all the way up here in the Harlem I think, Jen and Cynthia are enthusiastically jumping up and down on the boat, ohhh I must be swimming well I think and smile. Next up comes my feed, some slippery little peaches appears coutesty of Carmen in my feed cup, clumisly I tip my cup slightly sideways and some Harlem water spills in with the peaches, I look in dispair, they would feel so nice on my throat, ” Oh well, down the hatch”, I tip back the peaches and the brown Harlem water. the peaches are a lift, 30 minutes later the next feed arrives including, wait for it the biggest treat EVER….mint fresh mouth wash, ah pure bliss rinsing out my mouth which right now tastes like a toilet, um an unflushed one. 

 On I swim, something is caught on my goggles, it is long and flappy and caught on the top strap of my goggles, every time I roll to breathe it dangles across my face. Whatever it is I am not stopping to disentagle it from my goggles, I swim on.

 

 

 

Spuyten Duyvil

 I can picture it in my mind, the course map at the top of the Harlem River is Spuyten Duyvil, a small waterway that connects the Harlem to the mighty Hudson River, the Hudson will have a strong tidal push, once there it should be smooth fast sailing down to lower Manhattan, Lady Liberty and the finish buoy of the 2013 Manhattan island Marathon. I know from studying the map that there is a train  track near the entrance to the Hudson and a big C painted on the cliff, I am dreaming of a train whistle and that C, C for Charlotte, C for conquor, right now C means success. I swim on. Meanwhile Daryl is feeding me every 30 minutes, suddenly I feel that I knowen him for a lifetime, Daryl and Carmen are my new best friends even though we have never spoken a word! Suddenly I hear a train, then the giant C appears to my right, my spirits soar, the best is yet to come a WAHOO from Daryl, his excitment fuels mine, I dig head head even lower and pull hard, Hudson River and George Washington Bridge here we come!

George Washington Bridge

 In to the Hudson we go, Carmen, Daryl and me, I am excited for the tide assisted cruise down the river, to my dismay what I meet is wind against tide and a menacing chop, Daryl, Carmen and me bounce around as we make our way down towards the George Washington Bridge…

  I can see Carmen getting bounced around, both Kayaks disappear then they return, yellow kayak towing purple, I feel like the three of us are a line of ducklings, I  sense we are closing in on Battery Park our finish location, my stroke rate picks up, I feel a fire in my belly to drive home hard and I do, we start passing other swimmers, Daryl is getting animated, what’s that? There is my New Zealnd duck balanced on Daryl’s paddle, how he is balancing that duck I don’t know but I LOVE it and swim even harder, Daryl starts to cheer ” Come on Charlotte, Faster”, I swim as fast as I can, I am having fun. Here is Kiwi duck, which needed quite the bath post swim…

 

  Then something amazing happens, I catch a glimpse of the big shiny skyscrapper I noticed close to the start location before I jumped, I drive my head down, pull hard and kick it up even further, I am on the home stretch…

 

  Then I catch a glimpse of her, Lady Liberty, standing tall and proud amongst the NYC/ New Jersy skyline, the emotion builds in my gut, tears wellup inside my goggles, the iconic Statue of Liberty, so powerful, so meaningful to me, after covering close to 28 miles around Manhattan Island to reach this very point,  the intensity of the moment grabs me,    ” imagine what Lade Liberty must have meant to those immigrating to the United States all those years ago, leaving their homelands in search of a better life, seeing Lady Liberty welcoming them, a symbol of freedom and hope” I feel quite small and humble in comparison to those who caught glimpse of her before me, ” Whatever happens, whatever my time or my finish standings in this great race, it will be inconsecequential compared to this moment, success is right here, right now”, I think to myself as I pull towards the finish.

Half a mile to go, I can feel the energy of the gathered crowd, I can see my crew cheering, I give it my all to the end and then, the finish buoy is before me, I punch it with all my might, then turn to Aussie Andrew, my fellow swimmer who warmend me on the Aussie boat, he finifshed mere seconds before me, what a rush, we high five, check out the finish here…

https://www.youtube.com/v-WlFfi1pIXi4

 

  Jen and Cynthia are close at hand, I swim the boat and they call me over the side, we motor to the pier and reunite with my husband Jeff and Jen’s husband and son, John and Charlie.  I feel great, we walk back to the hotel sharing stories of the day, I hear of their boat breakdown and the condoms in Harlem River, you guessed it that was not a school of Jelly Fish I swam through and the thing hanging off my goggles while I was swimming….say no more, you do the math!

 

 

 

  Back at the Hotel I shower, put on fresh clothes and head to the post race prize giving, as I arrive there is my buddy Barbara, ” Your swim is not official, you and a bunch of others”, It takes me a few minutes to process, I think back to those thoughts in the Hudson River, the feeling of having the best day, the greatest of adventures, the feeling of elation seeing the Statue of Liberty and of course punching the finish buoy, a quiet calm flows through me, ” You know I had a great day swimming around one of the greatest cities in the world” And there we have it,  8 Hours, 9 minutes, an unofficial swim around Manhattan Island, what an adventure!

 Will I be back in 2014 for an official swim? You bet

 Closing Thought:     Fall down seven times, get up eight….

                                                                                     –

RACE MEETING DAY- Is that a Tropical Storm looming ?

 What a sleep, I awake feeling relaxed and well rested, stretching this way and that as I rise out of bed, I pull back the heavy hotel curtains anticipating  a stellar view of Lady Liberty, ” where is she”, I exclaim, “she is there I just can’t see her”, Lady Liberty is socked in under the pending arrival of Tropical Storm Andrea, ” Oh dear” , I think to myself, then reach for the phone to order some breakfast.

 Today is a big eating day for me, time to stock pile, for many the school of thought is pasta and lots of it, carbo load, carbo load, not me I am taking in protein and fat, good quality clean food. I place my order, before long room service arrives with my over sized breakfast, she looks around to see where the second person is, who is surely sharing this mound of food, ” um just me”, I say with a shy smile.

She sets the table up by the window and leaves me and to feast, what a treat I very rarely indulge in room service.  I munch through my steak, eggs, fruit and toast while  looking  at the headline of today’s  paper, ” Tropical Storm Andrea expected to lash New York City tonight, predicted sea surges”, ” Oh Dear”, I think!

 

 Next up I check the water temperature on the NYCSwim website, it has been hovering around 62F for the last 2 days, the page opens on my screen, 59F, ” Oh goodness, lucky for me it has been such a cold spring in Vermont”, I think and with that I change and get ready for Kate Graves who is arriving at 10am to work her magic with a Tai Massage.The massage is terrific, ” Thanks Kate, I feel relaxed, strong and ready to swim.

   Race meeting time, swimmers and atleast one crew member are required to attend, Jen Kimmick accompanies me, the rain is teaming, as we arrive I feel my energy level rising, there are swimmers everywhere, some are fellow swimmers from past events, some from distance week in Ireland, some from 25k Nationals in 2011 and some that I have just heard about but never seen in person, I am excited.

We collect our race caps and head into the lecture room, the room is full of bustling chatter, a welcoming medley of accents all around me, Aussie, Irish, English, American and my little Vermont Kiwi accent. The meeting begins

” All of the important stuff has been covered in the online webinar meetings “,says Morty the race director, he is right I attended both the course presentation and crew meeting, they were both excellent, with clear instructions and pointers on where to go on the course and where not to go, my take home, ” point and swim”, it is clear that my kayaker will be chief navigator, my directional fate will be in his hands.

 ” A couple of last minute things”, says Morty……..

1. This is the first year the qualifying swim water temperature has been WARMER than the swim, the water tomorrow  is anticpated to be 60F.

2. New York City sewer systems back up if there is more than an inch to an inch and a half of rain in one hour

3. There are not enough boats, some swimmers have agreed to share

The meeting continues with questions of the course and other bits and bobs, the meeting concludes  and you guessed it… ” Time  to feed me again” ! Next up an early dinner of an oversized serving of both steak and cake…… I am embarrassed to tell you that I couldn’t quite finish the Chocolate cake, gave it the good old Kiwi try! Back to the hotel to pack up.

 

  Cynthia, Jenn and I head to my room for the final packing, Jenn and Cythina snap into high gear, bustling around organizing the gear into boat bag, shore bag, feeds, eventually I pull on the big oversized hotel robe sprawl on the bed and watch.

 The packing is soon complete and we all turn in for the night, the alarm is set for 4am. Sleep takes a long time to come, I hear the rain pounding the windows, my mind dashes this way and that thinking about check in time, race start time, what will my boat be like, will the storm clear…..then finally sleep, my last sleep before  the  2013 Manhattan Island Marathon swim, I am pysched to be here, bring it on NYC!

What will NYC toss our way event day? I’ll keep you posted

Closing Thought:  There is no easy way

 

It all started last Fall with these words…….

 ” Hey Paula, want to join me for an Ice Swim this  Spring?

 

  ” Yes”, Paula replied.

 We waited for winter to pass, it was long and harsh, the local lakes froze over……

 

 

We took cold showers, swam indoors and trained for speed, in preparation,  to swim 1 mile in 41 degrees or less I was going to have to swim FAST!

 

 

 Is it Spring yet?

April rolls around,  it’s time for outdoor swimming, but is there any ice free Open Water swimming to be found?

  April in Vermont  can bring, rain, sleet, snow, sunshine or a combination of all, now for the drum roll, what did April bring this year…… cold snarly weather and frozen lakes, time to get creative in finding some water, turns out my favourite local open water swim location The Green River reservoir is still frozen solid, so time for plan B…..

 Plan B: The Pond

  Plan B is a swim in my friend Margaret’s pond, Margaret takes the thermometer home to report on the current water temperature, ” 46F”, she announces the next day, ” good enough to get started” I say and we plan a swim at Margaret’s pond.

The swim day arrives and before I know it, we arrive at Margaret’s pond, the air is cool and the water looks dark and ominous, I study the pond closely,  it is a lovely pond, quite sheltered from the wind, it is narrow and has some pretty rocks on the side to sit on if one were simply spectating, the length looks about 175 meters round trip, I notice that one end is deeper than the other, Margaret shows me and Paula where they normally get in, I declare my goal of 15 minutes and head to the edge of the pond, Paula is ready to get in too. I edge my feet  in, my toes grip firmly on the bottom, ” It can be a bit slick underfoot”,  Margaret warns me, as she is saying the words my feet begin to slide forwards, I change my stance and the sliding stops, ” Well Margaret, I am a piddle about person when it comes to getting in the water, no  dive and dash for me, I like to walk in waist deep, pause for a bit, and then dive under”, as I am saying the words I start to slide uncontrollably forwards, deeper and deeper I go,” Nooooooooo”, I holler, as I am accelerating forwards like  a kid on a  slip’ n slide, ” clearly time to swim”, I think to myself with a smirk as I plummet under the surface, the cold hits my face  like a ton of bricks, it feels like my skin is on fire, my jaw clenches shut, even my teeth ache, ” temporary discomfort”,I think to myself, with that I bury my head low in the water and focus on thundering up and down the pond, I want 10 laps today, and that’s how the swim goes, Paula and I swimming up and down the pond, one, two, three, four, I count the laps in my head, five, five, hold on did I already do the 5th one? Before I know it 10 laps are up and it is time to get out, I swim to the side and haul myself up the slippery bank, a quick change and I am bundled in warm clothes, hat, and a hot tea in my hands, what bliss.

 

 So that’s how the preparation swims go, we build up to 25 minutes in the pond, the coldest water we hit is 39 degrees fahrenheit in lake Champlain,  each time we emerge from the icy waters our skin looks the color of lobsters in a pot.

 

The week before our big day we head to Lake Champlain to measure a potential course, Tricia from Little River Survey Company joins us with her specialised GPS equipment, it measures to 1cm accuracy, Paula and I hold the Trimble.

We meet Captain Don Couture and go over the course and safety plan, both Paula and I plan to have a kayak guiding us, along with Captain Couture’s boat ” Priority 1 ” as our support boat, on board will be Tricia Kules measuring the course, Sue Ellen Booher, medic and Gerry Kittle first mate and land surveyor, what a crew…

 

 Our big day arrives, Friday April 26th, as is often the case things don’t go to plan, the water is not the right temperature in Mallets Bay where we have planned to swim, Captain Don comes to the rescue searching  Lake Champlain for suitable water, he finds it at the Burlington Waterfront, Lake Champlain, Vermont, we meet by the coast guard station and load into Priority 1, the time has come, my first ever International Ice Swimming Association Swim, the plan to swim a continuous mile swim with no assistance, on the boat is Captain Couture, Gerry, Tricia, Sue, our medic, our observers, Margaret Haskins, our kayakers, Paula and me, we tow the kayaks to our start location near North Beach, our kayakers load into their boats, it is time to strip off my warm cozy clothing…

 Goal Declared, 1 mile at 41 degrees fahrenheit or less…

 The water is an average of 40.8, we have our required conditions, we have to get swimming withing 10 minutes of the temperature  measurement, no time to piddle about now, I strip of my clothing, a small shudder as the last layer comes off, I pull on my cap, ear plugs in, the chatter from the crew is now just a mumble, Cynthia is already in the kayak, her relaxed upbeat smile beaming from the boat, Paula splashes in the water, she is off swimming already, I edge my way to the swimmers platform, I have been eating all day to ensure a full warm belly and keeping well hydrated, that helps me better tolerate the cold, I definitely don’t want to be swimming with a full bladder though, that will take a lot of energy and heat to swim with, so I dangle my feet in the 40.8 degree water from the edge of Priority 1’s swimmer platform and pee, sorry Don!

 

 

 Into the water I slide, I lean into the frigid water and fire up the engines, my plan to ” Fang it”, as we say down under, I am going to give it my all and swim this bad boy as strong and fast as I can, and with that I snapped into race pace, WHOSH.

I scan my body, my thighs feel like someone is running a hot iron up and down them, my forearms feel like sharp blades each time they slice down deep in the water to pull, my feet feel heavy, I continue the scan, ” mind, how about you?”, I check in and notice how relaxed I feel, my body is on auto pilot, it is doing what I have trained it to do, race! My mind is aware of the cold and not alarmed by it ” Oh this again, I remember this, a little discomfort, we swim hard and strong, then get out of the water, warm up and have hot chocolate, bring it on!”

 So that is how it goes, Cynthia paddles beside me smiling, she brings out a few tricks along the way to make me laugh, a bright  orange octopus, a yellow duck, all the things you’d expect during a swim! Meanwhile I follow her every move, smile now and then and let my body ease into the performance zone, what fun!

 Well we swim and swim, we leave North Beach, pass the Ferries at the Burlington waterfront, past the coastguard, past the no swimming sign, ” boy we have come a long way, I wonder if we are close to a mile?”, I think to myself, I keep swimming, I know that I am not to stop until I am told too, I swim, and swim and swim, my body is still functioning, I notice my head starting to ride high in the water, I catch  myself and plunge my face down deep into the icy Lake water.

Cynthia starts looking behind her, I want to look up and see what’s going on in the worst possible way but I resist temptation and keep swimming, then I notice a humming in the water, it’s Priority 1, she is here is to pick me up, WAHOO! Cynthia signals me to the boat, I swim towards the steps and pause for a moment, WAAAAHHHHOOOO I yell, then reach for the steps, into the boat I go, my ice swim is over, time to get warmed up. Margaret and Gerry are  there to help me, my hands are useless so I stand there being dressed like a small child, I keep interrupting Margaret, ” No Questions” she states, not until we get you dressed. I stand tight lipped, holding back my question obediently, I try again ” Did…”, again I have to wait to ask my question. Finally it is time….

“Did I make it?” I ask through chattering teeth,” You bet you did”, Margaret gives me the biggest hug, I feel warm inside.

Check out Ice swim footage here….

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kpFUTAc8nU

How Far did I swim? 1.197 Miles

How Long did it take? 30 minutes and 38 seconds

What was the water Temperature? 40.8 degrees fahrenheit

What’s up Next?  Manhattan Island Marathon Swim

Will I have fun in NYC ? Here is a hint, full story coming soon…

 The Caroline Bay Swimmers

 Here we are pre swim, me and the Caroline Bay swimmers, I am the one in the middle in pink, these welcoming wetsuit clad swimmers are the new freshness of Caroline Bay, we meet a little before 9am Saturday morning for a group swim, Dale introduces himself and gives me the rundown of the swim plan, ” We all swim down the beach, aim for those big trees down there”, I squint to get a glimpse, ” we regroup there, we stick together and watch out for one another, from there we aim for the point, see the building?” I nod Yes, “we regroup and then we swim in, out there is where the dolphins are”, he finishes the briefing and we all stride towards the water, the Caroline Bay Swimmers  are chattering about their recent open water race in Lyttleton, it is exciting to hear swimmers pumped up about Open Water swimming.

We wade into the water and are off, immediatlely I am struck at how well these down under swimmers swim, we are off at a good clip, I settle in alongside a sleeveless suit and we thunder our way down to the far end of the bay, I LOVE IT, I sight here and there fixing my gaze on ” The Tree” and enjoy long strong strokes, the water is superb, finally we pull up,my sleeveless suit swimming pal and I realize we have way overshot the meeting place, we turn around and swim back to the group, if I could make dolphin sounds I would, this is FUN!

 Heads are counted, all are accounted for and we are off again, this time heading to the building on the point,  I swim alongside Dale, he swims at an impressive  clip and before we knew it we pull up at the next stop, one by one the other swimmers join us, I notice someone swim up from the opposite direction, he has just come from the beach, I hear a familar accent, ” hmmmm, could that be an Irishman?” I say to Dale, it is indeed, he is living in South Canterbury and immedialtey starts telling tales of swimming in Ireland, ” Where in Ireland?”, I ask, “Sandycove, do you know it, it’s in Cork?” he replies, I smile VERY widely, he goes on chattering a mile a minute of stories Sandycove Island, I can’t understand a bit of what he is saying,  smile, nod and then swim on.

  We all swim to shore, I dash away to get dressed, tucking behind the car to change, then return to the group with a hot tea, we visit and they start to wander off to a concrete building not far away, then return in a short timne all dressed, ” note to self, there are showers and changing rooms on the beach”, I say to myself sheppishly.

 We bid our farewells, time for me to make tracks, I am flying out to to the USA in just a few days, time to pack, hit the 50 meter outdoor pool for a pre flight swim and then settle back into winter in Vermont, and of course that brings us back to the International Ice Swim, on arrival to Vermont, Ice swims are soon to start, and  you are one step closer to hearing  the story of the 2013 Ice Swim in Lake Champlain, Vermont, 41 degrees or under now that is going to be something new for this New Zealand pengiun.

Closing Thought: 

 Do not let a single opportunity or chance  that life offers pass you by, get out there and live each day

Hamish- thanks to you… ( me and Hamish at Christchurch airport)

 

 

Caroline Bay, Timaru, New Zealand

 Time for another sea swim, my sister Sally is  joining me today, yesterday  walking down to the beach to start my swim we spotted a man and woman with a couple of buckets walking down to the beach just ahead of us, naturally inquisitive I ask, ” What are you up to with those buckets”, the couple glance at each other, there is was a long pause giving me the impression that each of them are reluctant to spill the beans,finally the woman answers, ” Mussels”, she says quietly, ” Where from?”, I ask, well the long and the short of it was that is that they were collecting Green lipped Mussels, I head out to swim while the woman shows Sally the best spot on the beach for the  harvest and let her know the local ground rules, ” only one bucket, with a maximum of 50 Mussels per person”.

 Well I am beside myself with excitement beacause I remember swimming as a kid in these waters, pulling mussels off  boat mourings, splitting them open with a pocket knife, adding a splash of vineagar and swallowing them whole, so today I am thrilled to relive this childhood memory, what could go wrong right! 

 

The day is a pearler, clear skies and the tide has started to go out exposing thousands of mussels on the rocks, Sally armed with a bucket starts to pry them off, I collect a few handfuls, the bucket is starting to full. Sally remains on the beach collecting and I head out to swim laps of Caroline Bay, there is a keen wind today which is blowing in the opposite direction of the northerly flow of the water creating a menacing chop, when conditions get a bit challenging I always like to look on the positive side, ” Choppy conditions and wind, I’ll have to earn it today, how lucky am I to have training conditions to make me stronger”.

 I swim my laps up and down the beach, with my new found knowledge on the history of the Bay I imagine what the early settlers might have thought in the 1860s as they gazed from their ship at their first glimpse of Caroline Bay and seen me swimming back and forth across the bay in just a two piece bathing suit, some strange looking glasses strapped to my head and a strange bright hat tightly fitted on my head!

One lap to go, this time I imagine the water littered with the wreckage of  faltered vessel, the furniture and bedding from the cabins bobbing in the water and 11,000 frozen ship carcasses washed up on shore, when the first settlers sailed to New Zealand they were told to furnish their cabins with things that they could later use to furnish their bunks at their first accommodations, sheets, blankets, soap, there was nothing here in new Zealand, even chairs were a luxury in those early days.

 Finally my swim is complete, Sally and I are thrilled with ourselves, we find a nice sheltered spot on the beach to have lunch and hatch a plan to cook up the mussels for our family dinner this very evening.

 

We head home, it is quite a celebration,brother and sisters all together to honor Dad with a pre birthday dinner, Sally arrives early and we begin to cook up the mussells……

 

 The water in the pot begins to boil, finally it is ready, we pour in the mussels, they boil and bubble and……..smell awful, yes it sends a sewer like smell through the whole house, ” I am sure it is just the salt water”, I reassure my family, ” Really it is fine, I used to eat these as a kid all the time you know, remember Hamish we used to harvest them together with Richard Bird?”, ” Ah NO, Charlotte that wasn’t me”, he replies slowly. “Never mind these will be great”, I say.

Finally Sally and I determine they have popped open and are ready to serve, we put them on the table, everyone politely declines a plate except me and Sally, I wrestle one onto my fork and draw it up to my mouth, the smell as it gets closer to my mouth and nose is nauseating, I open my mouth, pop it in, ” ICK”, the mussel spits out and my fork goes down, I slowly look up, ” these don’t taste good”, I say as I fix my gaze on Sally, she looks at me, down the hatch goes her mussel, ” no, not good”, she calmly replies after swallowing her mussel, meanwhile I am ready to disinfect my mouth, ” Yip, things are different in Caroline Bay these days,these are not as I remember!”

 We finish a lovely meal together, excluding the mussels of course, I am ready to turn, a new day tomorrow, I am hopeful there are no ill effects from my Wild Green Lipped Mussell harvesting experience, oh the photo above is me and my sister Robbin, yes we dressed up for dinner, the little guy to our right is not the help, that’s Dad, he cooks a mean serving of scallops!

Closing thought: Yes there is always a take home,today I have two for you:

1. When the mind is full of memories it misses the freshness of the present moment– Matthieu Ricard

     Time to discover Caroline Bay in 2013, tomorrow I meet the Caroline Bay open water swimmers, I am looking forward to new fresh experiences in these New Zealand waters!

2. Next time I collect mussels it will be from the fish shop…New Zealand seafood ROCKS!

 

 

 

 

Caroline Bay, Timaru, New Zealand

 What fun to be back in the waters I grew up in, I stroke down to the far end of the bay that used to scare me as a kid, I pull up and my feet touch down on a soft sandy bottom, looking up I see a cliff face, there are rugged rocks at very the bottom of the cliff and then  golden warm sand, there is the remnant of some wood from something built in the bay long ago, it is half exposed and looks like perhaps an old dock or jetty, for now it is the perfect turnaround marker, with that I turn and swim back parallel to the Bay, I notice I have to pull a lot harder on the way back, a sure sign that the water is moving in a northerly flow up the coast, I am currently swimming south.

 I am safe and secure in Caroline Bay, not was the case back in the 1860’s when the first ships began using Caroline Bay to transport goods such as frozen mutton, beer, timber and coal, to name a few to and from the growing settlement of Timaru, there was no Harbor and the ships would anchor in Caroline Bay, the cargo was then loaded into landing boats which were hauled up to the beach by a man-powered cable, in later years by a steam engine. Here was the issue, many Captains refused to observe regulations and would anchor too close to shore in order to load and unload their cargo’s faster, there were not the long range weather forecasts of today, this lack of warning of bad weather coming and raging seas led to 29 wrecks in 20 years in this very Bay, the northerly flow of the water combined with raging weather would smash ships into the very cliff face I was below.

 The strange thing is I never knew this as a kid growing up.I continue to swim laps of the bay down and back to my wood turn around marker, after 4 laps, my watch tells me it is time for Dad to pick me up, I walk out of the water on the soft, golden sand, scoop up my back pack and there is Dad, perfect timing. Oh and the wild life at Caroline Bay, Blue Penguins, adorable, they are white on the front and look like they are wearing a men’s long formal dinner jacket made of denim.

 

A Hometown History Lesson…..

 I stroll up to the car ” Hi Dad, how was your meeting?” I smile as I ask Dad the question, it is so great to see him, and just days before his 80th Birthday celebrations, we are treated to a rare one on one chat, I love a bit of a “chin wag” with dad. ” Dad, do you know what the cliffs at the end of the beach are called?”, I ask, ” They are the Benvenue Cliffs of course, named after ” The Benvenue” a ship wrecked at the base of the cliffs, 1882 it was, do you want to drive down and take a look?” he replies with a wide grin, Dad loves history and I am discovering I love it too, “Yes, let’s go” , I reply jumping into the car.

 Before we know it we are driving by the new Aquatic Center en-route to the Benvenue Cliffs,” I used to swim here as a kid, all the time, remember?”, I gaze at the pool as we drive by, ” Yes, I remember” says Dad,”we used to buy you a seasons pass, your hair was always wet”, I smiled, it was, I remember going to Piano lessons and making my teacher cross when my pigtails would drip on the piano keys and my wet bathing suit would leave a big wet patch on the piano stool soaking  the attire of her next student, when I went to ballet the ballet teacher would get cross when I would drip water from my hair as we galloped around the room to warm up at the start of our ballet lesson ( well I galloped, the other girls seemed to be pointing their toes)

  We pull up at the top of the Cliffs, there is an informative information board about the Benvenue, of course Dad has the full story…

 

 

 

” At midnight a curiously heavy sea rose, the roaring of the crashing waves could be heard miles away, the day, strangely was bright and eerily full of sunshine, not stormy at all, there were 5 vessels lying at anchor, The Benvenue began drifting to the beach at midday with a cargo full of coal, her crew took refuge on another vessel “The City of Perth”, which also began drifting, volunteers launched surf boats to rescue the crew, the boats themselves got in trouble, boats had to go to rescue the rescuers, all the time a horrified town’s folk stood above on the cliffs watching the horror of drowning men at sea, all and all 8 men drowned, afterwards ships were anchored 1.5 miles off shore, The City of Perth was re-floated and renamed, decking from the Benvenue was taken to build a house, after other wrecks hundreds of people would drive to Caroline Bay to collect cargo washed up from the beach, after one wreck 11,000 frozen sides of mutton ( sheep) were scooped up by the townsfolk”

 So, Dad, here is my question, ” the cliff doesn’t look quite as high and the rocks not as rugged as in the photos on the information board, and I am surprised there are not more remanemts of the wrecks here in the Bay, where is all the wreckage?” I ask puzzled.

 “Under the sand”, he replies as if it is the most elementary of answers, indeed the answer was staring me straight in the face, ” it’s all under the sand, how can that be?”, I exclaim. Well Charlotte,  this did not used to be a sandy beach like it is today, after the Timaru Harobor was built, shingle carried on ocean currents hit the man made breakwater, the pulverised shingle carried northwards to the other side of the breakwater as sand and settled in Caroline Bay covering the rugged rocks and eventually creating a long sandy beach, it continues to reclaim land well over 100 acres has been added to the beach, I have a book at home on the settlement of the area if you want to read it?”, Dad asks,, ” Yes I do, and that explains to me why the beach looks so much bigger and unfamiliar, it is essentially a new beach since I was a kid!”

 We start the drive back to Dad’s house  from Timaru, I look at Dad, what a lot of knowledge in that brain of his, I spend the drive home imaging him as a kid on Caroline Bay, making discoveries and watching it change over his lifetime just like I have.

 

 

What’s up tomorrow?Another Open Water swim, a trip to the new Aquatic Center & a search for New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Training 2012/13

Well to hear the ” Ice Swim” story we have to wind back the clock to 2012…….

” Hey Paula, want to join me for an “Ice Swim”  this spring?

 We have just finished our long standing Saturday morning swim at The Swimming Hole in Stowe, Vermont, I am  tucked up indoors for the winter months and have my head down in preparation for the Manhattan Island Marathon June 8 2013, a solid 40,000 meters each week, with a long winter ahead there have been a number of fun short term goals to keep me on my toes, postal events are a great way to keep sharp over the winter months and there is nothing like a race to elicit a good effort swim, here are the results:

  USMS Natioanl 6k Pool Swim , 1 Hour, 26 minutes, 44 seconds, 2nd Place

 USMS National  3k Pool Swim, 41 Minutes, 14 seconds, 2nd Place

 Here was a favourite, “The  Brute Squad”, this one was fun, it was a National event that goes like this……

200 Butterfly

400 Individual Medley ( 100 Fly, 100 Back, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Freestyle)

1650 Freestyle

Your final time is the cumulative time to swim all 3 events PLUS any rest time between events, well you guessed it, to me it made sense to swim the sucker straight, final time 29 minutes, 54 seconds, fast enough to give me a First Place, but not quite fast enough to break the National Record for my age group, always good to have something to strive for and fun is important too, now and then we catch a slide ride….

 

Back to the Ice Swim 

So here we are, after a cozy 3.5 hour pool training session, outside the lakes are iced over, there is over 2 feet of snow on the ground and the temperature is -10F,  ” Hey Paula, I reckon I can swim a mile in 41F water, want to join me for an “Ice Swim” this spring?”

 In the comfort of the 82F water we are currently basking in, it is a no brainer ” YES”

With the goal declared we go about getting our  short term  training plan into place, cold showers and speed work in the pool, with my long lanky frame I know that my best weapon to achieve the pending  ice swim is speed, at 17 % Body Fat I am going to need to swim FAST and keep up a good quantitiy of food intake.

We complete a mile pool race  in February , a good way to check in on the speed progress, my time 20 minutes, 24 seconds, I am pleased.

Open Water Down Under

 

  March is soon upon us and I am fortunate to be en route to New Zealand for a quick 6 day trip in celebration of my Dad’s 80th Birthday ( sorry Dad, cat’s out of the bag now everyone knows your age!) Well how lucky am I that my Dad lives close to Caroline Bay a wonderful beach in Timaru, New Zealand, and even better a new Aquatics Center has opened right by the beach, it gets even better there is a group of Open Water Swimmers that meet at Caroline Bay every Wednesday and Saturday, you guessed it my cap, ear plugs, suit and goggles are in my carry on luggage!

After 24 Hours of travel I arrive in New Zealand, it is good to be home, such a stunning country it always takes my breath away. The day I fly in is picture perfect, I can see the rugged coastline and sandy beaches from the plane. I arrive at 10:00am, resist the urge to nap and stay up until 10:00pm, then it is off to bed to rest up for a day of family visiting AND an open water swim, I am SO excited after 5 months of indoor swimming I am eager to stretch  it out in the ocean,this is the very bay I grew up swimming in, 40 years later I am back to my home waters.

 

 I awake early and excited to swim, I pull on my 2 piece suit, the sun is bright, the air is crisp and not  a breath of wind, this is the sort of day you dream of….the perfect swim day. I ride in to Timaru with Dad, he is off to a meeting, the plan he will drop me to swim at Caroline Bay  and pick me up in 2 hours. We chatter away during the 30 minute ride, everything looks just as I remember it, little has changed and at the same time much has changed, time has not stood still over the last 40 years, as I get out of the car with my back pack, my towel, my polarized goggles and ear plugs I realize much has changed indeed, the bay looks totally different, suddenly I realize I know nothing about this Bay in 2013, the tide, the water temperature, the marine life, things have changed over the last 40 years, I am about to learn about the ever changing Caroline Bay and take a trip down memory lane…

Me as a wee nipper…

 

 

Still loving the water, lakes, ocean or river, getting ready to swim….

 

 

 Can you tell me about Caroline Bay?

 The water looks familiar, the beach does not, ” I don’t remember this much sand, weird”, I think as I wave Dad goodbye, I tie back my hair, pull on my cap, ear plugs in, I grab my goggles and scan the beach, ” I really know nothing about the water flow, looks calm and welcoming, but looks can be deceiving, I need the inside scoop before I venture out”, I think as I stride towards the waters edge.

 The waves are gently tickling the sand as they break on the shore, the water is sparkling, the seagulls are soaring above, I catch sight of an arm circle a few hundred meters of shore, I squint to get a closer look, could that be a swimmer? Hold on is that a sea kayak?”

 It is, ” this is my lucky day”, I exclaim, ” people to play with, and even more importantly I can find out the ins’ and outs’ of the local conditions, excellent”. With that I dive under the next wave, the water feels wonderful, I take long deep pulls, it feels so great to stretch it out after the confines of the 25 meter pool, before long I am alongside ” The Swimmer”, I stop to tread water, ” Hi, my name is Charlotte, it is so nice to see another swimmer out here, this is my first time swimming here  in a very long time, can you give me any tips on the tide, any areas to watch out for?” I am so excited the words bubble out of my mouth rapidly like a coffee pot peculating. The other swimmer pauses, as I wait for her to answer I study her, she has a full wetsuit on including gloves, booties and a wetsuit hood with a strap firmly secured under her chin, she has a big warm smile, I am eager for her reply, I am already speculating what she might say,” Here is the scoop, the current pushes this way, the tide is heading out, down that end of the beach is warmer, there is a cold patch over there, out by the light house is where the dolphins play”, how exciting I can hardly wait, and then she speaks, “Hi, my name is rachhalr”, she replys, ” Rats, I can’t catch her name with these earplugs in”,  but I do catch the next sentence….” Oh this is my first Open Water Swim, I am new to it, that is my husband over there on the kayak, I don’t know anything about the bay except that there is a group of swimmers that meet here to swim, I think it is on Saturdays’….but you should wear a wetsuit, they all wear wetsuits, well nice to met you I am heading in to shore”.

 I thank her vey much and watch her turn to shore, I put my head down and swim towards the other end of the beach, staying close to the shore,” time to rediscover Caroline Bay”, I think, and with that I swim parallel to the shore towards the far end of the beach,  it used to scare me as a kid. the far end of the beach, it was near where the Freezing Works used to dump all the slaughter waste into the sea, rumor was it attracted the sharks, I always avoided that side of the Bay when I was a kid, but someone told me they stopped dumping the blood and guts into the sea a few years back, cleaned the Bay up they said, and presently that is what I choose to believe, I swim away happily, the sun shining, the water glistening and a croud of  seagulls circling overhead.

 Will I cover local marine life and will it be friend or foe?  I will keep you posted, until then here is a hint…….

 

 

 

 

The English Channel, after 2.5 years of training to prepare to do battle with the English Channel, it is done, for in time things and events pass by, the longer the wait the bigger the impact, the harder the work, the greater the satisfaction or the disappointment, this is one of those times,  I am standing on the beach looking out over Dover Harbor with the vast English Channel looming in the background, for years this has been a dream and now I am here, very present in the here and now, after months of training, years of sacrifice from not only me, but also self sacrifice from many others, here I stand thoughtfully looking out onto this body of water that has not only motivated me but also defined me for close to 3 years.

The only task at hand now is rest and repair, physically I am doing remarkably well, no aches and pains, my physical body remains as strong as an ox, if anything my body is slightly annoyed at the current lack of activity, my mind is still an open wound, thoughts of the swim itself still whirl around my head, what to make of this, did I fail to finish or did I succeed just be realizing my dream of swimming in the English Channel.

I ponder the thought, ” well  I geared to swim to France, however I aso trained to never give up and embrace all the Channel tossed at me”

I mull it over, not the sort of mull over that takes a few seconds, I am talking thoughtful, and I arrived at this…….

I had a wonderful day to swim, I swam my heart out, I loved the big freight tankers going by, they rocked the boat like a cork, I swam on, the sun went down, the air got cooler, I swam on, eventually I stopped following my crews instructions, I was swimming away from the boat, they tried to steer me to the boat, I kept drifting away, my swim was over, 9.5 Hours in the English Channel, not long enough for me to hit the French shores, but long enough for me to give the tire a good kick,  so time to weigh it all up failure or success?

I admit it, off the bat, my thought was failure, definitely a failure to cross the English Channel, I have a bit of a pity party in my mind and then regroup and move on, ” your dream was to swim in the English Channel and embrace all the adventures”, I think to myself, I think back to what I have experienced over the last 2 plus years, ” you swam in the Channel 17 miles, there is Channel Magic out there, you felt it”, I think some more, and that’s when I start to recover, if the Channel had been a sure thing it would not have held close to the same appeal, now is the time to embrace one of two possible outcomes…….You cross the ditch or you don’t, it is the edge of your seat stuff that drives you on with passion, nothing great is easy and the English Channel is one of these grest things.

So what now, will I get back in the Channel and swim…… YOU BET!

So, in I go, 2 days after my Channel Swim I take a swim with Paula Yankauskas, Colm and his son, we swim for about 40 minutes in Dover Harbor, it is fun, and feels like we were on school vacation, no agenda, just swimming, I am proud of Paula by my side confidently navigating the English Channel.

The next day, my daughter Heidi and I swim together, just her and me in the Channel, she had been waiting for so long for some time alone with me and now we have it, we hit the beach at 8:00am, it is quiet and there are no other swimmers, no one for her mother to get distracted talking too, just her and me, Heidi is happy, she pulls on her wetsuit, I gingerly strip off, as I edge my big toe into the water I say to Heidi, ” who would swim in this for 9.5 hours?” , Heidi and I both giggle and we edge a little deeper.

Heidi, see those red hats, we have to stay close to those, if we drift out the tide will pull us out towards sea, ” OK”, Heidi replies with a grill filled smile, we swim out, stroke for stroke towards the ferry end of the harbor, we pull up half way, ” it gets a little jostley down by the wall Heidi, it will feel like you are in a washing machine”, I shout out over the wind, the wind has picked up since we started and I notice that the waves have increased in size, they roll angrily towards us. ” OK”, says Heidi, she puts her head down and swims defiantly on, ” hmmmm reminds me of someone I think as I watch her attack each wave with a strong stroke and a dive down of the head.

We make it to the wall and turn for home, we swim half way back and Heidi pulls up, “I swallowed water”, Heidi splutters out the words, ” It has got rougher Heidi, our only option is to swim it out”, I shout over the wind, “OK”, Heidi replies, ” I can do it”, she adds, while  I tread water  and look at her and my whole English Channel Adventure flashes before me, all the highs and lows, and now this moment looking at my 12 year old daughter navigating waves, wind and swell in Dover Harbor,  I know now the only one word it is the word SUCCESS. ” Heidi, what sort of Mother brings her 12 year old daughter out here to swim in the waves, winds and tides of the English Channel?”, I shout to Heidi, ” My mother, and I LOVE it, most other mothers would be like, no Heidi, your’e too small, you’re too young to swim , you can’t swim in the Channel, but not you, you believe in me, and with that I know I can do it, I am so lucky you are my mother”, shouts Heidi, she gets the words out just before a big swell lifts her up like a feather. The swell passes, Heidi drops down to eye level again, I give her an underwater hug and say ” Let’s do it”, we swim on side by side and I feel grateful, thoughts of not reaching France are still camped out in my mind but they hold just a small amount of real estate , I now have thoughts of appreciation of being surrounded by amazing people, of learning so much about myself and seeing others grow around me, I am learning how to share and coach mental toughness, yes it can be learned!

– The ability to allow your mind and body to overcome obstacles

– Being able to make bad situations better when things don’t go your way

– The ability to push past negative thoughts to see the silver lining, it is always

there, be patient and search for it, it will be there.

So what is the silver lining?

The journey, the lessons learned, the growth, and dealing with disappointment, while finding value in ones experience is priceless. Is it easy? ” No, nothing great is easy”

What’s Next? More Swimming of course and prepartion for the next swimming adventure in 2013!