I am going to San Francisco this afternoon to apply
for a visa from the Russian Consulate. I feel like pinching myself
sometimes to see if this is really happening! How did I get
here? How did I get included into this strange little subset of
Open Water Swimming? I can't say if I enjoy Ice Swimming, (swimming in
water below 5c/41f) because much like child birth, you forget almost
immediately afterwards what it felt like. But I love the way it's opened up my world.
I really only started swimming about six years
ago when I joined the South End Rowing Club. I had been swimming on an
off for the fifteen years before that, but it was mostly for exercise and
mental wellbeing, and I wasn't very consistent. But once I joined the
SERC swimming became more of a lifestyle than a workout. Once I made that
mental adjustment, there was no going back. I made a group of new friends
and acquaintances who exposed me to possible swims all over the world not just
in Northern California. They proved to me that even middle of the pack
swimmers could dream big! That first year I tackled the Maui Channel as a
relay participant. I knew from that moment on that I was not a relay swimmer;
the time in the water was bliss, the time on the boat horrendous. For
most of the swim, I was wishing that I was doing it by myself. My relay
teammates were fabulous, but I hated waiting for my turn. I got sunburned and seasick. But what a
great introduction to marathon swimming it was. Next I took on The Strait
of Gibraltar. I travelled alone to Spain because I was so worried that I
wouldn't succeed and I didn't want my family there adding to the
pressure. The power I took from being alone in that vast expanse of
water, and getting across with the help of dolphins, has stayed with me to this
day. That magical experience led me to attempt the English Channel.
This time, with the help of some amazing new friends, I was again successful.
I came home from England happy and proud. But now I was bitten by the
bug, and every channel and every challenge was calling to me. I went to
Ireland and spent three weeks swimming; first with Ned Denison at his Cork Distance Week swim
camp, and then up the East Coast of Ireland all the way to Donaghadee to look across the North Channel. Here I
blinked and didn't make an attempt. I knew that I wasn't ready for this
Herculean challenge yet. But I was ready for Catalina, which I did a few
months after Ireland. Then I went to S.C.A.R. in Arizona. The fun
just keeps rolling on. SCAR led to MIMS (Manhattan Island Marathon Swim)
and the completion of the Triple Crown of swimming. I was over 50 years old for each of these
three swims, so I am also credited as a member of the “Half Century” Club.
I met some wonderful people along the way, and this
good fortune led to my being included in a very select group (three people from
each of 18 countries) who were invited to travel to Argentina for the
International Winter Swimming Festival/Argentina 2014. There we got to
travel around Argentina and swim in some beautiful locations. The most
dramatic was a swim in the Glacier Perito Moreno in Patagonia. It was
snowing lightly, there were ice bergs in the water and the water temperature
was 3c! I made some remarkable connections with people from around the
world.
This leads me to the point of this Blog. I am
travelling to Siberia in December to compete in the Tyumen Cup 2014, my first
International Winter Swimming Competition! I need to pinch myself again,
Siberia? Really? I am so excited! And this trip I hope will
afford me enough experience to be helpful in bringing Winter Swimming to the
US. In February 2015 there will be the first US Winter Swimming Competition
in Vermont. I'm going to have to find a money tree to keep up this
rigorous travel schedule, but until then, I will just keep swimming and see
where it leads me.
