From the start 'til now

Summer 2011 I was lucky enough to find an ocean swim buddy, Gene, we swam fairly consistently at least once a week in Corona Del Mar.  I found a crazy love and passion for the ocean during summer of 2011.  Being in the ocean gives me a feeling not replicated with many things in every day life.  I become so energized. 


I would wade the water on a clear day during a swim break and look over to Catalina and think to myself "Wow it would be so awesome to swim the Catalina Channel".  However, I kept the idea to myself until I met Lynn while ending one of my swims with Gene late that summer. 


Lynn and I were talking in the restroom and she told me she was getting ready to swim the Anacapa Channel and had already swam Catalina.  I was in such awe of her and seriously for me I was in the presence of famous person!  She inspired me then and still inspires me.  My brief conversation with Lynn made me feel like I can really do this and I want to swim the Catalina Channel before I turn 40 as my goal.  (I also figure I will then reward myself with a trip to Italy for my 40th birthday...swimming 20.2 miles and turning 40 seems worthy of a trip to Italy, right!?)  I started to swim with this great group "The Oak Streakers!"  It is this amazing group of swimmers that all started with Lynn.  A group who shares the love of open water swimming and a bond with each other through swimming.


Skipping a little ahead of my accomplishments since I decided to make my idea (that is deemed as crazy to most) a reality.  I lost my wetsuit for all swimming in late September 2011.  I decided I would see if I can make it to the end of October. I felt I would be ecstatic to not wear a wetsuit through October.  Much to my surprise I was still swimming without a wetsuit and it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's before I knew it!  I can remember a swim when Lynn, Mike, and myself were already out past the wave break at Oak Street and Mike commented "I remember when you said you would just see how long you could go without a wetsuit and look at you now"  (I was seriously beaming with pride when he said that)  Definitely there are moments in my mind of "what in the world am I doing" in some swims when my wave of commitment hits my chest and I think "OMG, Brrrrr".  Once you get moving I swear it isn't bad though.  My body heats up so much that it is feels quite refreshing to be in cooler water (as of now at least).  Crazy as it sounds 60 degrees has become to feel tropical for me.  :-) 


When I started to swim with Gene and even The Oak Streakers I had a fear of kelp beds.  It was on my second swim with The Streakers I had to overcome the fear.  There are some patchy beds of kelp in the areas of Laguna we swim.  Sometimes it is worse than other days.  It all seems to depend on the tides.  In the summer I am expecting for most of it to die out as the water warms up though.  It will be nice, but I think I might miss it a little.  The kelp adds a level of fun depending on how thick it is.  Sometimes it feels as though you can stand up and walk on it and other times you can barrel straight through it.  Anyway, back to my second swim...I am much slower than the other swimmers in the group (without my fins).  On the second time out I swam right into a bed of kelp.  The crazy interesting thing to me about kelp is I feel like I can be swimming in a clean kelp free ocean and then boom out of no where I am swallowed up in kelp.  I felt like that anyway when I was still terrified of it.  It was my second swim when I felt stuck and I was feeling really anxious and uncomfortable and alone then I heard one of the other swimmers voices call out to me, Howard, right as I had decided I would just make a straight swim to the shoreline and call it a day.  His voice was like an angel that morning to me.  His voice guided me out of the kelp.  I don't know if he realized just how nervous I was when he called out to me.  It was from his voice that I knew I just needed to take a deep breathe and keep swimming.  I conquered my fear of kelp that morning! 

There are many other mental challenges for me to continue to overcome.  I think it is very safe to say that preparing for a channel swim takes definitely physical preparation, but as much as physical there are so many mental aspects of it.  Swimming without a wetsuit (check), kelp beds (check), cool water (check, however, I do hope I will get the average water temps at the times of my swims of 65-68 degrees), swimming in the dark (not really a check quite yet...swimming at dawn check, but not pitch dark midnight), eating food with it being thrown out to you from a boat like you are a seal begging for food at Sea World...no check yet.  There are so many other little and big things to prepare for in doing a big swim.  It is all exciting for me though.  Overcoming every hurdle one stroke at a time is exhilarating! 

Since September 2011, I have come as close as I have in my life to "swimming with" dolphins.  They come so close to us at times and other times close enough you can hear their beautiful chatter while swimming.  It is incredible how loud their voices travel.  I have had baby seals swim right under my feet as I am wading water.  I have seen a small 3-4 foot shark about 5-6 feet from me.  (Yes that scared me and I swam for my life, until to realize in retrospect the shark was more scared of me than I was of it...maybe?) Sting rays and tons of schools of fish and starfish.  It is all so awesome to come so close to. 

A friend of mine on FB once posted a picture of the beach on a day she spent with her kids over the summer and her caption to the post read something along the lines of --- I think God created the beach to say here you go have this giant playground.  I think of that post nearly every time I step on the sand and every time I barrel my way through the wave breaks I think --- yeah what a fun playground.  :-)  She is completely right. 

I have swam in the ocean to date at times as cold as 51 degrees and at times with waves up to about 12 feet (maybe more).  At times when the ocean is so beautiful and peaceful with a stillness about her and at times when it is so choppy and rough it feels as though you are just swimming in place from currents.  The cool thing is every time I am in the ocean it is never the same adventure and it is never boring! 

I am set to swim The Anacapa Channel (12.4 miles) August 25th.  I look forward to be able to call myself a Marathon Channel Swimmer the afternoon of the 25th.  I will use this blog as a diary of my adventures while training so I can share it with family and friends who are interested and also keep it for myself to look back at from time to time and remember how I felt at certain points.  The high points and low points...cheers to more high than low points! 

As of today, April 17th, I am wetsuit free, free of any fear of kelp, and perfectly capable of swimming up to 4 miles in the ocean.  My next longer training swim will be April 21st and I anticipate swimming 2.5 to 3 hours in the water.  It should take me up to mileage of up to 6!!

More to follow...