500 Training Miles in the Bucket, A word on safety, Qualifying Update

Logged the 508th training mile today.

Open Water Safety.  After trekking 45 minutes down to Lake Michigan hoping to get a swim in at Tower Beach we arrived Marcia and her husband were there (Mark) and we or actually I should say, I, decided it was too rough. The wind was 20 knots from the North, Northeast and the whitecaps were on every wave 3-4 feet. Usually waves aren't a big deal and we can swim just out past the breakers but today the breakers were well out several hundred yards and although the water was 61f this was not a good combination without a safety boat. We turned around and drove back to Lake Zurich and got in a 2.4 mile training lap in 64f water which was a fast one at 54 minutes so a good day. Sun was out and that always helps.

Qualifying Swim Update: We continue to plan out or 6 plus hour swim and have most of the safety crews, boats lined up. We will be confirming the date based on water temperature as as of this morning its was 64f so just waiting.

Qualifying for the English Channel - So how does one go about this?

"If you set your goals ridiculously high and fail, you will failed above everyone else's success"...

Catching Up on the Past Few Weeks:


Its been a couple weeks since I posted anything and until this past week the mileage has been about half of the normal but I am back in full swing now logging 25k yards per week and will soon be scaling up to 30 plus. Boston was a great swim but taking a bit of break was well deserved.

Met with my coach, Marcia Cleveland and co-heart training buddy Doug McConnell this week to layout the next years training plan. Looks like once we complete the 6 plus hour cold water qualifying swim in the next few weeks (60f or below water temp is required?) we'll be back to normal training until April when we will do the Tampa Bay marathon swim (24 miles, ocean but warm water - purpose to check distance and ocean affects on body, mind and foods to eat, etc. without the cold so training can be adjusted). Will plan to be back in cold Lake Michigan early April as much as possible and then do another 8-10 hour swim late spring/early summer. August 2011 is the Channel so everything will build to this. I can't believe I have already put over a year into this! I remember when I started I could barely finish 2000 yards without being tired, go figure. I couldn't handle cold water, waking up at 5 am, eating really funky foods, etc. I have everyone to thank for tolerating me and this dream, the crazy schedule, time away, standing in the cold watching me swim or just sending wonderful email notes. Thank you very much.


English Channel Qualifying Swim:


Echoing my thoughts on how I got to this point, I now look forward to the next several weeks with a bit of trepidation knowing that lurking out there is the biggest test yet of my mental preparations but also physical. 6 hours minimum in water 60f or colder. I have previously written about other cold training swims and races but wrapping my head around swimming for 6 plus hours AND 60f is really tough. Today I was in Lake Michigan for an hour in 54f - 56f water, grey skies and air temps. hovering around 65f. It was bone chilling, burned like I can't even describe getting in but was able to calm down and focus on swimming as the time went on. Will do this again Sunday and as much as possible in the next days leading up to the fateful phone call from the coach...tomorrow is the day...

The basic plan is to start at 4am (yes, your reading correctly 4am, pitch black darkness and cold). Swimming the EC starts 24/7 so swimming in pitch black cold wavy water is part of the gig. Well I am about to be baptised in a big, big way.

At these water temperatures, hypothermia is a very real safety concern. We take great care to monitor each other. Also strangely enough what you eat as your fuel is critical. Your body is effectively consuming food to produce energy for two things, the swimming strokes themselves and the to generate heat! So this will be a very important part of our qualifying swim planning.

We are also having to plan for kayaks and safety people to be with us the entire time. They will have the authority to stop the entire swim if they fell we are in danger. They typically test you during a feeding stop by asking simple questions. Not being able to speak clearly and answer the specific question asked is a hallmark early sign of hypothermia. We can increase food intake quickly or stroke rates to compensate this but its a slippery slope once it begins. all of this is the purpose of doing this now, to test where I am, what needs more work. there is plenty of time to make mid course corrections.

From a mental standpoint, the deprivation of staring into blue green water for what seems to be an eternity is something I am not sure how to imagine? How do train for this? I think the best I can do is to layout a plan of swimming "x" times back and forth from the peer to the beach or something that can give me a mental goal that can be attached to the physical demands on my body. I suspect the emotional aspect of this "test" will become very evident and at some point I will simply have to buckle down and say to myself this it, its now or never, if you give up now what will you do next summer in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!

So as plans progress I will keep everyone abreast of plans. I hope to have some video and pictures of this and if I can find someone with great IT skills will maybe even try to to a live GPS plot so those of you interested can watch live or I guess while your drinking coffee.

The Daily News of Open Water Swimming: Old School vs. New School Of Open Water Swimming

The Daily News of Open Water Swimming: Old School vs. New School Of Open Water Swimming: "Most recently, there have been several wetsuit-clad marathon swims of note from the Bering Strait to northern California. In the Old Sc..."

Boston Light Swim Redux - "The Granddaddy of American Marathon Swims"

Here is a recap for those preparing for Boston. ask for Charlie as your Captain. see you in 2012!


This past Saturday my team - dubbed "Get busy living or get busy dying" (wife Jennifer, daughter Rachel, Captain Charlie Cahill and myself) successfully completed the 8 mile cold ocean marathon race in Boston Harbor - from the Light House back to shore through the beautiful National Park Island Group. 

The Boston Light Swim has been a tradition since 1907, the oldest open-water marathon swim in the United States of America. Participants begin the race in the water at Boston Light on Little Brewster and continue past George's Island and Rainsford Island, under the Long Island Bridge, around Thompson's Island, finishing 8 miles later at the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston. Here is the link - http://www.bostonlightswim.org/history.html . 


This race is considered an important step for those seeking to cross the English Channel and get a benchmark, its cold (we started in 55 - 59f water depending on where you jumped), its the ocean (aren't there monsters!), its wavy, tides push you around and very, very long.


Here is the press release: Fast Swimmers and Favorable Conditions Equal Speedy 103rd Boston Light Swim

AUGUST 15, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SOUTH BOSTON, MA—In near-perfect conditions yesterday, 25 solo swimmers and 4 relay teams entered the 59-degree water off Little Brewster Island and began swimming the 8-miles to South Boston as part of the annual Boston Light Swim. The swim begins in the shadow of America’s first lighthouse and wends its way across the inner harbor past Georges, Rainsford, Long, Spectacle, and Thompson Islands to finish on the beach at L-Street in Southie. The event is the longest running open water swim in the country and has been dubbed “The Granddaddy of American Open Water Swims.” The technically difficult cold-water endurance feat is a proving ground for many swimmers with designs on someday swimming the English Channel. This year, two English Channel veterans, Dori Miller, 39, of Bondi Beach Australia, and Lance Ogren, 39, of New York, NY, finished second and third among the solo swimmers. Ogren was the solo men’s winner with a time of 2:42: 57, while Miller was the second solo swimmer and second female swimmer, finishing a mere 30 seconds behind Elizabeth Mancuso, 24, of Brookline, MA, who won the swim in a time of 2:42:15. A third Channel aspirant, Dave Barra, 45, of High Falls, NY, finished the swim in 3:00:31. He is headed to Dover, England next week for his solo English Channel crossing. Robert Fernald, 43, of North Hampton NH, and David Lee, 35, of Newburyport, MA, finished second and third on the men’s side while Sheryl Bierden, 37, of Westwood, MA, rounded out the women’s top three. All four relays finished the course. The first-place relay comprised of Seb Neumayer, 27, a two-time winner of the solo race, Santiago Lima, 34, and John Kelleher 26, finished second overall, just four seconds behind Mancuso, with a time of 2:42:19. All three swimmers are from Cambridge, MA. “Having so many swimmers coming in all at once to a near-photo finish was remarkable and an unusual conclusion to this year’s race,” said Greg O’Connor, Boston Light Swim Race Director. “In long swims like this, the swimmers usually spread out a lot more, but we had a really exciting finish with three solo swimmers all in the hunt for the win.” O’Connor says the spring tide which tends to produce faster currents and higher tides may have contributed to the overall speed of this year’s event. A high caliber of entrants was also noted. “We had some really amazing swimmers out there,” he says.

Solo Swimmer Results with age and time: 1. Elizabeth Mancuso, 24, 2:42:15 2. Dori Miller, 39, 2:42:45 3. Lance Ogren, 39, 2:42:57 4. Robert Fernald, 43, 2:52:35 5. Davis Lee, 35, 2:58:23 6. Humphrey Bohan, 35, 2:58:43 7. Dave Barra, 45, 3:00:31 8. Don Macdonald, 48, 3:01:08 9. Douglas McConnell, 52, 3:08:49 10. Sheryl Bierden, 37, 3:15:57 11. Eileen Burke, 47, 3:24:23 12. Kyle Murray, 51, 3:30:22 13. Kim Garbarino, 52, 3:39:26 14. Mike Hodel, 33, 3:39:58 15. Courtney Paulk, 40, 3:44:38 16. Ralph Macintyre, 59, 3:47:56 17. Alan Morrison, 48, 3:48:40 18. Rachel Golub, 33, 3:50:00 19. Dave Evangelista, 47, 4:14:45 20. John Daprato, 57, 4:23:44 DNF: Suzanne Sataline, Kenn Lowy, Dave Osmond, William Dailey, Darlene Awalt Relays: 1. Seb Neumayer, Santiago Lima, John Kelleher, 2:42:19 2. Doug McKell, James Walker, Bobby Dawe, 3:36:26 3. Mike Ribeiro, Rebecca Osborn, 3:45:57 4. Amy Wu, Silverio Bracaglia, 4:03:31

Here are some other pictures and commentary - 

Imagine going to a place you have never visited, meeting someone you are putting your life (and that of your family) in the hands of you have only talked to on the phone, motoring out for 45 minutes at full throttle in a tiny 21 foot Boston Whaler (in the ocean) and watching the City get really small... knowing you will soon be swimming back? Here is what 8 miles looks like from a swimmers perspective! 


I can assure you the mind rages with thoughts...what in the %$*#@% ... are you doing Donald? 


Then out of no where, the Race Director is on the radio 5 minutes to start... tick, tock, tick, tock...1 minute... tick, tock and then bang the gun goes off... In the end, I will share my personal perspective that it must be like knowing you are close to death. You accept what is in front of you. As the 1 minute warning was made I was relaxed and calm. BANG! NOW SWIM LIKE HELL!

Boats lining up for the start. The water is so cold you cannot warm up. This is something you must get used to and push through in the first 5-10 minutes. As you jump into the 55-59f water, your breath is sucked out of you and your skin feels like its on fire. For me (and this will sound a bit crazy, my training in Lake Michigan in 58-63f fresh water prepared me very well. Fresh water tends to "feel" colder due to the salinity differences (think of the opposite of adding salt to boil water?).

Just after the start, a few backstroke pulls. For perspective, the island on the right is only 1 mile and we'll swim just to the left around the corner past another island and on for several miles to the Long Island Bridge.

At this point as mentioned above, its cold, strokes are short and you feel like your jerky.

The incoming "flood" tide pushed use past this island in 20-30 minutes I guess so we were moving fast. Mentally the next thing you see is the island and your thinking, hey this isn't so bad...then reality set in and the second island came slower and so on. I was a little concerned that I was slowing down so at my 30, 60 and 90 minute feed stops I asked what my stroke rate per minute was and to my delight, I was holding steady at 45-47 cycles which is pretty consistent for my stroke. I tend to take long stretching strokes and have learned to keep my head facing straight down (thanks Marcia Cleveland for this advice!) to relieve neck pain.

Here is a picture of another swimmer heading for the bridge I mentioned. This is about 4 1/2 miles into the race. By this point the flood tide has almost stopped. We swam under the second peer just our of the picture on the left. We were in the ship channel for a bit (the coast guard had stopped traffic on our side) and you could feel the current. Here the trick I was told was to stay to the right side. There is another island just past the bridge and this current will eddy behind the island and really slow your progress. I got lucky again with advice from Marcia C. and we swept to the right. About a half mile past the island the flood tide stopped in what they call "slack tide". Now it was just like swimming in a pool, no currents. Now the harder part came to bear. The last three miles seemed to go for a long time. I zeroed in on Dave Barra in front of me and began the long slow track to reel him before the finish. He is a great distance swimming and today I just couldn't quite get there although at the very end I was less than 200 yards away. Later David would tell me his coach told him where I was and that he really had to push to stay out front. By this point, I knew the finish was less than a mile. I buried my head, it hurt, and just stroked away. Finally coming to shore I felt the sand bottom on my hand and I took a few frog jumps to stand up and begin trying to run. When you have been in very cold water your body shunts off blood flow to all but the necessary parts, thus trying to stand up is very hard.

Here I am stumbling up the shore with Jennifer, Rachel and Charlie in the background. frankly the running part is harder than the swimming part.

For those of you wondering, yes, that's a Speedo. Go ahead and laugh! But the rules of the English Channel Association will not allow you to use anything more, so I decided long ago why train or race in anything different? This way I am prepared "as is".








In the end, it was a great swim with great family and friends. Here my training partner and friend Doug McConnell a former Illinois Univ. standout swimmer and my daughter Rachel soaking up the warm sun rays and delight of the moment. I was blessed to have my family (and Doug's as well) and also my sister and her family with us on this trip. It makes a big difference knowing you have people supporting you.

Thanks to everyone and now the real training begins!

Ok, one of those proud parent moments - Swimming& Softball

My daughter Rachel's State Swim Meet award that also qualified her for US Zones.

Hanging with the team mates at the softball park

400 training miles, swimming from Chicago to Indianapolis and back

400 miles of swim training year to date, boy how the time has flown. A year ago, well a bit more since it was June 2009 when I committed to swim the English Channel, I would have never imagined crossing this mileage standard?

Today I swim 5000 meters relaxed in one and a half hours as if it's a walk in the park. I will need to remember these days soon though...next years goal and the training that comes with it is just beyond the horizon.

I feel confident, I continue to learn much about how my body adapts to the different stresses of training. After last weekends 10k nationals I was amazed at how much it took for me to feel normal. Clearly the heat, hot lake water affected my hydration more than I cared to realize. This is an excellent training threshold to have learned, just like the others yet to come.

Two weeks until the Boston Lighthouse 8 mile race in the harbor. Getting excited and feeling great. This will be a great learning swim. It's my first salt water swim for anything more than an hour and certainly allot more since I have been in training full tilt. The goal is to finish with a strong time, guessing 4 hours or so, feeling relaxed and comfortable with much more left in the "tank" so to speak.

Research on why we do what we do...aka...long distance swimming

Chris Arnot
guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 July 2010 20.01 BST
Article history

Karen Throsby doing some long-distance training in 2009. Photograph: Guardian
Few academics plan to immerse themselves in their subject matter quite as literally as Dr Karen Throsby, a sociologist from Warwick University. Next month, she plans to swim the Channel as part of a project sub-titled "Embodiment and identity in an extreme sporting culture".

Her research aims to explore what motivates people to engage in an extreme sports such as Channel swimming. She has funding from the Economic and Social Research Council for two and a half years, towards the end of which she hopes to write a book that will reach out beyond the purely academic market to tap into the post-Olympic debate on the motivation to take part in sport.

"Swimming is a big part of the Olympic action plan," she says. "But I want to look at the really positive things that people can get out of physical activity and move away from the current obsession with seeing it simply as a way of reducing bodyweight." In fact, as part of her preparation for ploughing across the 21 miles of chilly, turbulent tides that separate Dover from Calais, she has had to put on a stone in weight. "I simply ate more of what I normally eat and then maintained that weight," she says.

Throsby wants her research to question orthodox ideas about what counts as a sporting body in contemporary society. And the body she is using to explore those issues is her own. Her training regime has involved swimming around Jersey in 10 and a half hours, as well as ploughing up and down Coventry's Olympic-length swimming pool, just down the road from the university. Not surprisingly, perhaps, her shoulder and neck muscles have "bulked up", as she puts it, "in ways that are counter-normative for women but not for men".

Throsby, 42, has always been interested in gender issues and is fascinated by the reaction of friends whom she hasn't seen for a while when they remark about her evident upper-body strength. Does that bother her? "In some ways it does. It's not entirely comfortable to know that you're being looked at critically. On the other hand, this is part of an experiment purposefully to change one's body while remaining in control. Women usually make those changes in the context of the socially accepted ideal of what we should look like." And that is not all the result of celebrity culture and glossy mags. "Medically, we're all supposed to be slimming down. But I have a politicised view of body size and I find the link between thinness and health very troubling. The promotion of physical activity primarily as a way of losing weight is the route to shame, self-hatred and guilt."

These issues will be explored in an academic paper to be published roughly six months after her cross-Channel swim.

The success rate of the Dover-Calais swim is between 60 and 65%. Only slightly more than 1,000 people have completed the 21 miles since Captain Matthew Webb, smeared in porpoise oil, took the first epic plunge back in 1875. That is fewer people than those who have climbed Everest since it was first conquered in 1953.

Should Throsby join their ranks, it will add lustre to what she calls her "auto-ethnography". But the research project won't end there. "The second part will be a more conventional study of the community that surrounds an extreme sporting culture," she explains. "By looking at the obsessive end of sport we can learn about motivation, and that could be transferable to those who want a much more reasonable and moderate engagement with physical activity."

Aside from the Channel swimmers, there is an online community all over the world of long-distance swimmers training for stretches of water such as the Catalina Channel in California. This is comparable in length to the Channel, but not as tidal. "Our Channel still has an iconic status among marathon swimmers because of the challenges it poses," she says.

At the moment, Throsby is spending every weekend with the Kent-based community of groups who get together to train in Dover Harbour. "I shall be interviewing them at length, but it's already very clear that their motivations vary. Some are doing it for adventure, others because they enjoy a challenge. Then there are those who like to break records, raise funds for charity or simply improve their health and well-being."

Throsby will also be talking to the wider community, such as the trainers, swimmers' families and the boat pilots who offer guidance, support for swimmers in difficulty and sustenance every half hour or so: an energy drink, banana and – in her case – jelly babies. "Finally," she says, "there are the volunteers who come to the harbour every weekend to give us food, offer encouragement and look after our shoes while we're away."

The aquatic sociologist insists that swimming long distances is relaxing and "empties the mind". She knows that in her own case, however, she is going to have to fill that mind quickly. Once the swimming is over, the writing has to start in earnest.