Sep 25, 2012

Support my friend, Doug McConnell's Catalina Swim

Please consider supporting Doug's swim! I'll be crewing this time and here is Doug's detail.

After another year of training and standing on the threshhold of another world-class swimming challenge, the butterflies in my stomach make me philosophical, nervous, hopeful and grateful.  We have done what we can, and we have controlled what can be controlled.  Such a big part of a challenge like this, though, is being prepared to confront things that are unknown and uncontrollable, and to deal with them physically and mentally.  For example, I know that this swim is 21 miles and will require about 30,000 strokes.  I know that there will be times that it will be frightening, particularly at night.  I know that, if September 27th is a day that the Channel will let someone across, I can swim that far.  I can be that guy. 

Most of all, I know that, as the teammate in the Speedo, the A Long Swim team is the best team in the world to be on.  Beyond that, sometimes I feel like I don’t know too much at all. 

As Nelson Mandela said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.” 

Fear.  Inadequacy.  Powerful beyond measure.  Darkness to light.  Now is the time to get our heads on straight, dig deep and swim far.

See you on the beach.  After all, this is California, dude. 




Following Along on the Internet

If you have an interest in following along with the Catalina swim, we will have the same technology we had last year during the English Channel swim, whereby a GPS marker will be sent every ten minutes.  There aren’t too many things that can make open water swimming into a spectator sport, but this GPS technology helps.  As my sister, Ellen, has said, “Waiting for the next little marker to come up is even more exciting than waiting for the next Chilean miner to come out of the ground!” 

To follow it on your computer, click in to the following link and keep your fingers crossed that we set it up correctly:


Donations

Fundraising has been very gratifying this year.  A Long Swim is again supporting the Les Turner ALS Foundation, and the donations have been nothing short of humbling.  There is a very prominent donation button on www.ALongSwim.com, or checks can be mailed to the good folks at:

A Long Swim
c/o Les Turner ALS Foundation

No comments:

Post a Comment