I am getting to an age where I am getting older faster than I am getting
faster - which means I am getting slower. But with age comes patience. If I
can’t swim faster, maybe I can swim further. The question is … how much further
can I swim? In hopes of satisfying my curiosity, I have become my own
experiment. What distance can I swim with grace and dignity? Grace and dignity
are the key words here.
I swim the 1650 or 1500 whenever I get the opportunity. This past year,
after swimming masters for 10 years, I made Top Ten in the 1500. Yes, I know,
it was short course meters, but still my plan is working. I’m outliving the old
guys. I used to swim the 2-Mile Open Water at Edgewater State Park but now I
organize it so I can’t swim it anymore.
Many people talk about the Chesapeake Bay Swim as though it is a rite of
passage for long distance swimmers. This is a 4-mile swim across the Chesapeake
Bay starting at Annapolis, MD. On a certain Saturday in January the CBSer’s
take entries on-line starting at 8:30am. They take the first 600 entries. In my
infinite wisdom, I decided to go to Orange for a workout before going on line.
I got on-line at 9:30. They had their 600 entries by then and weren’t taking
any more. They took 600 entries in 45 minutes! Wow! And mine was not one of
them.
I searched the Internet for another swim and found the Potomac River Swim.
This swim is 7 ½ miles from Virginia to Maryland across the Potomac River where
the river joins the Chesapeake Bay. This seemed like a worthy goal so I sent in
my application and estimated I would make the swim in 4 to 4 ½ hours. Then I
set about learning what I needed to know to make this swim.
I learned that people who don’t swim don’t get it. I learned that swimmers
who measure their swims in seconds – not hours – don’t get it. And I learned if
a person did not get it, there is nothing I could say to help him get it. A
fellow I work with expressed the thought that bridges were built so people
would not have to do this sort of thing.
People expressed their concerns about
the water temperature, sharks, sunburn, water quality and ending up in
Delaware. I was offered advice on what to drink, what to eat, what sun block to
use, what swim cap to wear and how many swim caps to wear, what goggles to wear
and where to put the Vaseline – in the armpits and on the chest. I decided I
needed to swim 15,000 to 20,000 yards per week for several months leading up to
the event. I figured if it weren’t enough, I’d find out the hard way. My team
of advisors had me prepared for all issues except one.
Being worried about getting lost in a fog bank, I brought a small magnetic
compass for my kayaker. He thought I was from Mars. Not only did he have a
large compass rigged on his kayak, but he also had GPS. He had a high-tech
kayak. I’m a low-tech guy and now I know. My kayaker’s name was Mark. He’s a
good guy.
At 6AM on Saturday June 4th, the day after my 61st birthday, by the way, a
wide beamed boat transported 21 swimmers, 24 kayaks and 24 kayakers and
assorted dignitaries 7.5 miles from Point Lookout State Park, Maryland to the
Virginia side of the Potomac River. We swam back. Water temperature was 65
degrees. One swimmer was unable to finish due to hypothermia. Yours truly has
ample natural insulation. This is an event that rewards fat! We swam in an
East-North-East direction. The river was mostly flat with only occasional chop.
The sky was overcast so sunburn was not an issue. I asked Mark to stop us every
30 minutes for water and every hour for gel paks. Progress was to be measured
in 30 minutes increments.
After picture taking, it was time to swim. As in any long distance event,
the swimmers spread out pretty quickly. By the first water stop, Mark and I
were alone. We could see other swimmers, but we weren’t in groups anymore. It
had been suggested I entertain myself by counting strokes or singing a song.
Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall twice backwards might have worked.
Mostly I was just in the moment. It was just the water, Mark and me. There was
nothing to do but swim. When my right shoulder would start to hurt, I would
bi-lateral breathe for a while. This would cause me to wonder away from the
kayak. Mark would wave me back.
After several hours, my upper back started to hurt. Ever so gradually and
until the end of the swim, my back, neck and shoulders went from discomfort to
pain to serious pain. This was the thing my advisors forgot to mention. At the
end, being a comedian, I wanted to say, “Is this Delaware because if it is I’m
going to be VERY unhappy.” Instead, what came out was, “I’ve never hurt this
bad in my life.” I’ve been advised by one who knows to bring ibuprofen next
time. Take it before, during, and after the swim. It’s legal, she says.
The finish was a 500-yard push along a break wall from the Coast Guard
Station to the beach. The organizers had sort of forgotten to mention the ebb
tide that flows along the break wall.
Swimming these 500 yards was more than
just in the moment. It was more like being locked in place and time. It could
see the bottom and it wasn’t moving. I could see the beach and it wasn’t
getting any closer. What I could not see was the humor in the moment. Grace and
dignity took a back seat to frustration and back pain. I finally finished with
a time of 4 hours and 30 minutes. Coming out of the water, I was met by Cheryl,
the Meet Director. She yelled at me - What do you need? Water? Food? Can you
stand up? Lemme take your picture. Here’s a towel! – To which I responded with
the aforementioned – I’ve never hurt this bad in my life. After all that
planning and organizing, this was Cheryl’s reward. Cheryl must have the
patience of Job.
After 30 minutes, with real food in my stomach, grace and dignity returned
and the back pain went away. I attribute the back pain to lactic acid buildup
unrelieved by flip turns or long winded coaches and enhanced by having to raise my head forward from
time to time. Next time, I’ll remember to bring the ibuprofen – legal or not. The
grilled chicken was the best I’ve ever tasted. I can’t imagine why.
So, mission accomplished. I was the oldest swimmer and I was 15th out of the
20 swimmers who finished the distance. Cheryl allowed that my time was very
respectable for a person my age. I’ll take that as a compliment. I learned that
15,000 to 20,000 yards per week for several months would prepare me to swim 7 ½
miles in 4 ½ hours. For challenge challenged swimmers, I recommend the Potomac
River Swim. It’s well run. It’s a blast. I’m glad I did it. The experiment was
successfully concluded. But the question still remains…how far can I swim?
