Recovery from an Almost fatal Cardia Arrhythmia - Manhattan Island Marathon Race from the Kayakers Perspective

The 28.5 kayaking trip around the Island of Manhattan will be both grueling and scenic and more importantly bringing awareness to Two important Causes (literally near and dear to my heart) - Cardiac Arrhythmia Prevention and Doug McConnell's ALS charity efforts.

Doug’s swim will be accompanied by an escort boat with two crew members (Susan and Cliff Wilson I believe) as well as the support of a kayak manned by his long-time training partner, Don Macdonald. 

Bob Lee and others will be biking around the Island as well all supporting the cause and friend in the quest for raising money and awareness.

Here is a short video clip of the perspective from the kayaker and support crew for Manhattan Island.

Don's Journey since the English Channel has taken a twisted path.

While starting my training for a second attempt the English Channel that was planned for this fall (2014) I had a sudden cardiac arrhythmia event, collapsed, received life saving help. I was found to have arrhythmia problems perhaps brought on by high intensity exercise, that had gone undetected perhaps for years despite years of grueling training and hours submerged in ice cold water and distances.

Well I survived and now find myself with an implanted ICD to prevent such future events. I was running, which I jokingly say was the problem, instead of swimming. "I think ICD stands for I Can't Die".

However my experience now takes me down a path relatively untraveled since only about 1% of such incidents leave survivor's. So onto the next chapter of my swimming journey just One Stroke At A Time and Advocate Health System, Cardiac Care Services.


I am hopeful to return to the pool in the near future. But until then kayaking for Doug and his cause is great. We been at his for five years and like open water swimming, you have to adapt. As Dori says...just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, or in my case kayaking, kayaking, and kayaking.




Doug's ALS Challenge:

After another long year of training, the A Long Swim Team is planning for the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, a 28.5-mile circumnavigation of the most prominent island that makes up New York City, in June 2014.  In the unique world of marathon swimming, successfully completing swims across the English Channel, The Catalina Channel and around Manhattan Island is considered the “Triple Crown.”  If he completes the third leg of that challenge, Doug will be in a select club of fewer than 100 swimmers with that honor.

Stressed kids eat even when they’re full - Lack of Resilience ?

For all you One Stroke at a Time readers, This insightful article touches on some points parents might consider for resilience building skills for yourself and your kids. 

It suggests one of the factors driving obese kids could be a lack of underlying social and emotional resilience, leading to an inability to properly cope with and manage day-to-day life stress's, eating not for fuel but for comfort. I suppose many of us parents could learn from this as well with the side benefit of heart healthy living. Enjoy the commentary...

PENN STATE / JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Children who overreact to stressful situations will eat even if they’re not hungry, raising their risk of becoming overweight or obese, a new study shows.

Children whose cortisol levels stayed high after being exposed to a stressor had the highest BMIs and consumed the greatest number of calories in the absence of hunger. (Credit:iStockphoto)

“Our results suggest that some children who are at risk of becoming obese can be identified by their biological response to a stressor,” says Lori Francis, associate professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State. “Ultimately, the goal is to help children manage stress in ways that promote health and reduce the risks associated with an over- or under-reactive stress response.”

For a new study published in the journal Appetite, Francis and her colleagues, Elizabeth Susman, professor of biobehavioral health, and Douglas Granger, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research at Johns Hopkins University, recruited 43 children ages 5- to 9-years-old and their parents.

Straight from the Source

Read the original study

DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.11.008

To examine the children’s reactions to a stressor, the team used the Trier Social Stress Test for Children, which consists of a five-minute anticipation period followed by a 10-minute stress period.

During the stress period, the children were asked to deliver a speech and perform a mathematics task. The team measured the children’s responses to these stressors by comparing the cortisol content of their saliva before and after the procedure.

The researchers also measured the extent to which the children ate after saying they were not hungry using a protocol known as the Free Access Procedure. The team provided the children with lunch, asked them to indicate their hunger level and then gave them free access to generous portions of 10 snack foods, along with a variety of toys and activities. The children were told they could play or eat while the researchers were out of the room.

The team found that, on average, the children consumed 250 kilocalories of the snack foods during the Free Access Procedure, with some consuming small amounts (20 kilocalories) and others consuming large amounts (700 kilocalories).

“We found that older kids, ages 8 to 11, who exhibited greater cortisol release over the course of the procedure had significantly higher body-mass indices [BMI] and consumed significantly more calories in the absence of hunger than kids whose cortisol levels rose only slightly in response to the stressor,” Francis says.

“We also found that kids whose cortisol levels stayed high—in other words, they had low recovery—had the highest BMIs and consumed the greatest number of calories in the absence of hunger.”

The study suggests that children who have poor responses to stressors already are or are at risk of becoming overweight or obese. In her future work, she plans to examine whether children who live in chronically stressful environments are more susceptible to eating in the absence of hunger and, thus, becoming overweight or obese, Francis says.

“It is possible that such factors as living in poverty, in violent environments, or in homes where food is not always available may increase eating in the absence of hunger and, therefore, increase children’s risk of becoming obese.”

The Children, Youth and Families Consortium at Penn State and the National Institutes of Health provided funding for this research.

Source: Penn State

Swimming for Kids - Social and Emotional Education Link

July 4th Parade - A Lifetime of Friends, Family and fitness

Barrington Swim Club (BSC) and Masters Club (BAM) participate in annual Village parade walking to honor our country and also in support of our community.

220 Foundation and 'One Stroke at a Time' teamed up again handing our swim bracelets

Club participants, kids and families lining up for the parade

The personal price of My Journey to swim the English Channel

Recently, I was painfully reminded at a deep emotional level that only a parent can feel about the price one pays for taking this journey to swim the English Channel. 

Lets not kid each other, the time away in the water is time not spent with family, neighbors or friends. Even when your family and friends are kayaking alongside or taking the trip with you to some exotic place (Like Tampa, FL; Boston, MA or Dover UK), its still you, alone, swimming for hours in the water and them in the boat.

We Open Water Swimmers each have our own reasons and I carry with me the burden of mine everyday for taking this path. I will be the first to admit it has always been my dream to take this journey but so have many other things in my life and are equally important like my family, my daughter and friendships. We have hopes and aspirations not only for ourselves but for those around us, that maybe something positive can rub off on them by taking such journeys together? Sometimes its hard to tell if the value is learned? Sometimes the results aren't apparent for a long time. 

Using swimming, a singular team sport as a vehicle to teach self respect, kindness, courage, and humility I believe has strong value learned through setting long term goals, dedication and being resilient to deal with both the ups and downs of taking such a Journey.

Here are the ones taking this journey with me that I hope share in this learning opportunity?

220 Foundation Interview for English Channel - Community Service

Average Times for English Channel Crossings - Updated

Average Times For English Channel Swimmers

Open Water Source analyzed 1,612 individual solo crossings of the English Channel between 1875 and 2010 that are included in Julian Critchlow's database ofEnglish Channel swimmers. All solo, two-way and three-way crossings were included (with the 2nd and 3rd legs of the two-way and three-way crossing counting as solo legs). The average times found:

Average female time from England to France: 12:48 (429 total crossing)
Average male time from England to France: 13:24 (908 total crossings)

Average female time from France to England: 13:33 (94 total crossings)
Average male time from France to England: 14:19 (180 total crossings)

The average times on a country-by-country basis is found at Open Water Source. Some interesting comparisons include the following:

Average time of female swimmers from Australia: 11:01 (23 crossings)
Average time of female swimmers from Canada: 11:53 (29 crossings)
Average time of female swimmers from Czech Republic: 9:17 (6 crossings)
Average time of female swimmers from Mexico: 11:04 (11 crossings)
Average time of female swimmers from the Netherlands: 10:28 (14 crossings)
Average time of male swimmers from New Zealand: 10:41 (15 crossings)
Average time of male swimmers from Spain: 10:35 (8 crossings)
Average time of male swimmers from U.S.A.: 13:01 (218 crossings)
Average time of female swimmers from U.S.A.: 12:13 (106 crossings)

Swimming the English Channel - An example from Colin Hill

Here is good Youtube video link that captures the English Channel. This is Colin Hills effort.