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
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.
