In the Beginning - My First Stroke

Every great journey begins with a simple 'First Stroke', well here is mine with my dad. I have no idea where this picture was taken, how old I was and now I am just a mere 29 days from the next biggest journey in my life to cross the English Channel. 

Maybe this first shared experience, that only a mom or dad can offer, began for me this Journey "One Stroke At A Time" and so impressed me that 49 years later I can honestly say being in water (swimming, scuba diving, or just floating) is one of the single most wonderful things I get to do in life aside from my wife and family.

Thanks Mom, Dad and Katie (the other family fish) 

for starting me on this Journey

An American Open Water Swimmer in Germany

The 'American in Paris' theme resonates as I recently traveled to Germany for work meetings and to meet with new colleagues.  Along with that came my first international search to discover places to swim.

This aquatic adventure expands further the dynamics of my journey to swim the English Channel and the many challenges that come with this commitment.

Apprehension of doing not only work in a new environment, not knowing where I was going most of the time, speaking barely any of the native language while still being comfortable with their cultural fundamentals coupled with pressure of meeting colleagues for the first, exchanging experiences, seeking collaboration and cooperation with a focus on developing new global business made finding a pool to let my mental exhaustion drift away One Stroke At A Time. In my professional life I solve clients challenges in sustainability, energy and environmental management systems. Akin to those old advertisements from the German company, BASF, my focused services do not 'make the product itself per say, but improve the quality and environmental management processes that make the product better'.

What does this have to do with swimming the English Channel you might be asking, plenty.

Like life, school or sport - seeking approval from your colleagues, wanting to be accepted as part of the team, a peer or expert in this case, wanting to offer something that will further the effort, win, get a new client. Doing this within the context of not knowing the language as well as English adds to the adventure and uncertainty. Thus being able to listen carefully, relax, be patient and allowing the activity to develop in front you while you keep the end goal in focus, never letting it out of your sight. Swimming long distances, especially in cold water, is like this. Your senses distract you at times from the goal, many hours of dull, mundane stokes, discomfort, pain at times all contribute.

These challenges are the same as any new cultural or educational experience. Being resilient to the challenge to understand that one miss-step is just that, a single event but to keep going. Both my excitement of returning to Europe for business and swimming here added much to the experience.

While I was 'on my toes’ professionally from sun up to well past sunset, I still had to find time to swim. So I was up at 5-5:30 a.m. well before anyone at the hotel. Packing my swim gear, work clothes just like home the night before. A new challenge faced me, with blurry morning eyes. WHERE IS MY COFFEE? Eating what Americans would consider odd foods for breakfast that seem more like lunch (meats and cheese) is a way of life. Great fresh organic foods and fruits come as well. What I found most challenging was trying to find small healthy snacks, my beloved bananas to take to the office. Since I each many smaller meals throughout the day, eating larger meals less often is very hard, I simple run out of energy.

All of these details were eventually figured out, I swam each day and was able to be relaxed and get the real work done.

I only wish it was summer and I could be outside in a wonderful alpine lake like those near Mondsee area outside Salzburg, Austria! Crystal clear cold and what scenery with a mere 8k across, perfect workout!.

Alas, its winter and the lakes are not open yet so the pool was what I had. A recently made friendship with a wonderfully kind German Expat and talented swimmer named Silke Jansson, who works for Siemens in South Barrington, Illinois (just south of my hometown) led me to a pool very near the global offices of my company just north of Frankfurt in Bad Vilbel. I had previously done Google searches for pools and discovered that in Germany this gets you spa and water park facilities. After Silke helped, I then discovered the best phrase to use is 'sport pools' and then I got somewhere. I also learned that in Germany they don't call pull buoys' and fins by these names or it could have been I was being incomprehensible. They are called, utensils? So I have now dragged my 'utensils' 10,000 miles round trip just to swim.

I ended the week as expected with reduced mileage only getting in 25,000 yards but the experience of swimming in a new land, finding a pool, getting to and from, finding the lockers all with little German language skills lacking on my part was fun. I didn't end up in the women's changing room. They have the same challenges we do, warder aerobics classes interfering with lap swimming, some share lanes and some swim in circles. They have water exercise classes for seniors and these pools are very warm.  I felt just like this past summers US 10k Open Water Nationals with water waters temperatures in the 80's, ouch.

Friends in far places!

Along the way I took side trip to Salzburg, Austria to see an old friend and business co-worker Armin Stein and his family. Jennifer, my wife, was able to come along for the short weekend preceding my business and we had a wonderful time, dinners with our wonderful host and sightseeing in Salzburg which probably could be one of our top spots in the world. We organized some new business possibilities so the trip was productive.

Jennifer and I enjoy Salzburg and the hours of walking. This below picture is taken looking down from the 'sound of music' theater (Felsenreitschule – formerly the summer riding school for the Lipizzaner) where the Trapp family sang in the movie. Today it is still used for opera and music festivals such as the world famous Salzburg Mozart festival. One they are building a retractable roof over it. For those Americans that readily don't know, Austrians are indifferent to the commercialized 'sound of music' tourist business and being a proud and private culture don't really care much for Americans Hollywood impressions this has left, except of course for the tourist revenue coming from visitors.

We left Salzburg on Sunday returning to Munich where Jennifer was heading back home and I continued by bullet train to Frankfurt to find my new pool, hotel and next weeks work.

Qualified for English Channel, Conquering Ones Doubts

This one is for Mary Weybright! A friend who is battling for her life and demonstrating such courage and strength that by comparison makes my meager efforts herein nothing.

You go girl!

Bright eyed and bushy tailed this past Saturday I arrived at Seal Beach, CA for nothing more than a training swim or at least that is what I was telling most others. I now can admit my ego was a bit bruised when I retired from my attempt not more than a month ago stopping with cramps at 4:45 into the effort. With the encouragement of Doug, Marcia and others I delicately stepped forward in the weeks leading up to this effort working even harder in practice focusing on my mental game. I have now learned that in marathon swimming, the mental game is what separates the wheat from the chaff.  

So, here I am getting ready with Beth Barnes just before embarking on my swim. No doubt the IU swim tee-shirt was the basis for my success. The phoenix has risen, or at least for me a pigeon! What a corn ball, hey Katie! (FYI. for those of you that don't know, my sister was a stud muffin IU swimmer, twice to the Olympic trials, multiple Big Ten champ, etc, etc,) so we have fun with such things in our house! Need I say anything about Purwho, MICHu...

In usual fashion, talking about food and energy in feeds became central to the swimming effort before the jump. One of the theories I had from my first failed first attempt was that my substitution of warm tea (which seemed logical, warmth during a cold swim) was actually substituting energy out. Thus I simply ran out of glycogen and likely sodium and potassium leading to cramps. This time was to be different, no tea. So my usual mix of 100 mg (Maxim Carbo loader, 4 scoops), 1 pouch of Gatorade pro and a partial scoop of protein in 10 oz. of water would do the trick. I calculated that this provided me about 700 -900 calories per hour Yummy!.

While this rib sticking thick liquid actual tastes pretty good after 6 hour worth of feeds every 30 minutes, needless to say one gets hungry for solid food. We also mixed in one GU PAC every hour and some fresh water to rinse out the salt that was pickling my tongue. Like eating a meal after getting your teeth drilled by the dentist with Novocain.We also threw in a few Cliff bar pieces, this was so so. I really didn't want to introduce anything to new this time so rice pudding, oatmeal were left at the dock as were the bananas. Beth provided me with some maritime superstition about them, although I think it was from slipping on the peal and not eating meat. Too much grog!

I found my way to Seal Beach, CA in the capable and encouraging hands of Beth Barnes (www.Ikayak4u.com, she does a great job) via a long trail of relationships. Marica Cleveland (my coach) who had suggested I look for warmer places to re-qualify led me to Dick Sidner in Indianapolis where things were a bit warmer. Mother nature however threw me a curve ball and as most know things got cold quick here in the Midwest. Dick graciously led me to Jim Barber, Victorian Rian and Mallory Mead who themselves like Marcia are English Channel, Catalina Island and other huge swim success stories way beyond my skills. Thank you all for encouraging words and the link to Seal Beach.

The weather Saturday was 'Doverish' later said Anne Cleveland a friend of Beth's (who fits right in with those mentioned above) which I am glad she said later rather than earlier. At the start it was 54f air, grey, drizzle and a yucky wind whipped 15-20 knots coming on-shore. The salt water averaged anywhere from 59-61f for a pleasant day :) Beth made a great safety call after discussing with beach life guards the pounding surf issue and decided the swim would be around an island called Naples, which is a three mile loop just inside Alamitos Bay.

Here is a map link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=alamitos+bay,ca&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Alamitos+Bay&gl=us&ei=I8rqTL6iLNPMngfx5YiqDQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ8gEwAA


So off we went. Jumping in was the usual, a few heart pounding strokes. The water felt just fine. We were swimming by beautiful homes and huge yachts, which in retrospect I appreciate now they were at dock due to the weather otherwise I would have been dodging them all day. Below is a little backstroke warm up which as many of you that know for me is faster than my freestyle (Go figure!).

You notice the funny floating islands, well this is another tall seasonal story, yes they are for Christmas. I guess each year they float these islands with Xmas lights shaped as a tree all around the Island. They have a celebration turning them on (drinking more grog and watching 'The Grinch' - I'm embellishing a bit here). This was hilarious. Then the pelicans came in force swooping down, around us and the docks no doubt sizing me or maybe Beth up for a meal. Not sure if Beth made it without getting pooped on? But this wouldn't matter since several times during the swim the sky open up and poured rain so hard it looked like fog.

Around 41/2 hours I did feel a tightening of my triceps, as if I had little to no power but I was able to stroke comfortably but felt like like effort was much greater than before. I wonder if i was at the point of depleting my bodies carbos (glycogen) to fat. Perhaps someone that is 'in the know' can offer a better explanation. But I pushed through this time relaxed actually quite comfortably. I think the first failure taught me a lot about what this felt like and how to work through a tough patch. Good news this time I did not ever have a pang of pain like I did with the hamstring and glut cramps. 

Obviously a happy camper near the end. Those GU Pac's and Maxim mix did the trick as I worked through 5 hours, then 51/2. I was really comfortable now and easily could swim on. My daughter, Rachel will no doubt like the fact I borrowed her IU swim cap just for this occasion. 

For those of you again 'in the know' of open water swimming, I consider myself an anomaly. I have a slower stroke rate than most, averaging 47 per minute all the time, ever time. During my swim I actually took it out for a stroll at 45 per minute the first hour or so I recall Beth saying and then picked up a bit as the day went on to 47-50. Judging this against what I hope someday are my peers, they tear up the water with rates as fast as 55-70 and they do this for hours! Of course I think their nuts and just plug along (the tortoise)  plop, plop, plop... One thing for sure my stroke is very efficient, I have a long reach and long extension out the back. Marcia has been helping me train to lower my head down (like above in the picture) to relieve the C 5,6 and 7 joint pain and increase distance per stroke. I now in a pool rarely take more than 5-6 full cycles in 25 yards. Having Beth kayaking on my right side made the day a piece of cake on my neck. I did breath to the right ever so often more for relief than anything. 

So in the end, as my training partner Doug said, 'you hear-by have punched the ticket'. Must be a saying from silly sport that uses a ball or something??

While failing at my initial attempt was no fun, I do look back now and know I am much stronger, mentally tougher for it. Getting in an additional long cold training swim is worth its weight in gold having now done this twice. I look forward to endless laps in a pool (30,000 yards per week and up) for several months. I hope to steal away to somewhere warm and do a long swim this winter. Next up is perhaps some training in Tampa Bay, FL with an eye on a 24 mile race across Tampa Bay, FL in April. While the water will be relatively warm, by English Channel standards, this is no joke swim and will be another serious test. I will be ready, I am ready. Thanks to my wife Jennifer, daughter Rachel, Doug, Marcia, the Indy folks, Barrington masters and Club folks and Dave Barra for keeping me up and on track through this great experience.

I will finish as I began with a some thoughts about Mary Weybright from Indianapolis, IN a long time family friend. 

Anything I have offered above, is shallow and a meager description of a selfish endeavor compared to Mary's fight. Mary you inspire me to give back, to do better and to offer more. I think of you often during my swims. Many times you give me the strength to push on.

You see, Mary is lying in a hospital bed, now for many months, clinging to life day to day, fighting the battle of her life. Her husband Nick, the kids and family nearby. Mary is fully aware of her challenge and the multitude of health issues that confuse the very best medical experts. I cannot comprehend this strength. She is one of life's true selfless teachers, a beacon of hope for never giving up despite the most dire times! Lying in her bed starring death in the face every day, she takes time to write little notes to friends and family to see visitors and give kind looks and a warm handshakes. During this Thanksgiving season, perhaps Mary can teach us all to deal with life's little setbacks differently. To work through bad days, to graciously compromise work challenges, to shrug your shoulder at being bullied at school or to simply give back in some way to others less fortunate.

I am not very good writer. Perhaps learning from Mary's strength and adding what I simplistically describe as a 'One Stroke at Time' approach to my life's journey, Mary has taught me (us) to deal with life's challenges.

Perhaps this Thanksgiving, you might offer the same support to those around you as Mary has offered? Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

10,000 for Fun

Decided that an early winter endurance test of my training might be fun and something different to see how both physical as well as the mental training (i.e. spending long periods of time going back and forth in a pool) are shaping up. Decided to try the 100 x 100 yards (10,000 yards or 5.6 miles) race at the Latoff Chicago YMCA on December 27th. I figure it should take me a little over three hours at a relaxed pace of 1:30 per. This should be simple for the first 50-60 but later as the mind begins to tire I suspect it will become a little harder, but thats the point, work on the mental toughness since 400 laps.

Training otherwise keeps plugging along at 20k yards this past week.  Adding weights has gotten my shoulders sore but working through it. Last night at practice we did a whole workout in sweat shirts. I brought along my trusty old heavy duty Indiana sweatshirt (what the hell was I thinking??). Needless to say I felt like a drowning rat but managed to keep going through 4000 yards (2+ miles). for awhile I thought i was back in Goshen swimming a "Rathke" practice with Steve Conder in lane 1?

Friday lake swim

Looking forward to my usual Friday lake swim. plan a few miles hopefully its cold and choppy :).

I have a 2.4 mile swim planned in two weeks in Madison, WI called "MOWS" with US Masters so this should be fun. Since I am a loner when it comes to open water swimming, I have never done a mass tri-athlete type start, suppose I should bring my boxing gloves or I am sure my old water polo skills of grabbing swim suits should come in handy??

Thanks to Steve Conder, from Goshen, IN and an old swimming buddy for being the first supporter. Lets find a way to do an open water swim?