Take it away, Jyl!
So this past weekend I had the crazy idea to swim 1500
meters across Boston Harbor. I thought in my brain this Shark Fest Swim, the first year
in Boston, would be a good idea and practice for my ultimate work out goal of
swimming from Alcatraz to San Francisco in 2013.
I arrived Friday morning to a cold and dreary Boston. After
checking the forecast, I saw the water temp was about 62 degrees, not the 68-70
degrees they mentioned on the website at the time of sign up. I had a
sleeveless wetsuit, an awful thing (no one likes trying on or wearing one of
these things) and really wished I went for and practiced with the full sleeve
one… Never did it cross my mind that the water would be this cold! Mistake
number #1 of the weekend!
Saturday morning came and was dreary and drizzly and cold
again. Wishing I had gloves and a winter hat as I walked from the hotel to the start
was one thing! Man, if the air was this cold, imagine the water!
Mom and I hung out at the finish line, where water taxis
were taking us over to the start. I noticed these people hanging around looked
like serious swimmers/athletes. Mom mentioned that no silly normal or person
thinking they were in shape would jump into the harbor! She was right!
I finally boarded a small water taxi to the start line with
about 20 other swimmers. Most were quiet and checking out the scene, and there
were 2 college kids on my boat going in Speedos for the swim. Man, I thought they
were crazy, but they were the only ones doing it I would soon realize. Sure
they were about the 10% of the crowd, but there were people, including a very
cute Olympian open water swimmer, Alex Meyer (who won the race, finishing in half the
time I did it, and no wet suit).
Anyway, I had about an hour and a half to hang out and stare
at the dark, cold water from the start line. I chatted with people from all
over the country, some experienced and a lot this being their first open water
swim race, like me. Most of the Bostonians weren’t scared of the water temp,
that’s when I realized I was a Southern girl now… My 80 degree HFFA pool temp
will never seem cold again!
We got our rules and regs, and 300 people were set to jump
off the pier in 4 waves. I decided to go in mid pack, and ended up in wave 3. I watched the other waves go off and began to realize I was
crazy. Why was I doing this? I saw some people struggle at the start for sure,
but did not see anyone go to the wonderful kayakers or paddle boarders…
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| Jyl, post swim with her nephew, Daniel. Damn Jyl, that looks cold... |
I walked toward the start of my wave, and was nervous. Some
people were sticking their feet in the water and testing it and I pondered it,
and thank God, I didn’t do it. The whistle went off and I was on the far side
of the pack and one of the last to go. I didn’t want to get in the crowd and
when I jumped in feet first, it was a feeling of shear panic. I have NEVER felt
this before. Some choice words went through my brain and then my brain said
MOVE. My face, neck, arms turned to quick ice cubes and the first couple of
strokes I did not put my face in the water. I was frozen. I tried not to panic
and breathe and finally after about a minute I realized I needed to keep going
and move forward. I honestly thought if there were kayakers that first minute,
I would have stopped. It was awfully cold! I did an obstacle at the tough
mudder where you dunk in a dumpster of ice and quickly climb out. This was
worse and I had to go 1500 meters to the other side!
I got in my groove and stayed on the outside of the pack and
took one stroke at a time. I can say for about 10 minutes I didn’t freeze, but
then about half way through the race, I got cold again. Thank God for the wet
suit! It was a saving grace. I also wore two swim caps, and I guess any extra
layer helped some!
I know I touched things in that harbor, and not sure what
they were? Fish, the bottom, dead bodies, garbage. Or other racers I didn’t
see, but I did have a couple freak outs of 'what is touching my fingers?'
Spotting was hard, because of fog and the darkness, but
aiming for the city was the only way I went. Also following the other yellow
caps the whole way!
Finally I saw the white tent near the marina (and lots of
huge Boston harbor boats) and I tried to swim faster, not sure if I did or not,
but I wanted out. The taste of salt water was another thing I couldn’t practice
for, and wasn’t prepared for. I finally saw the back up of finishers near the
white tent with the timing pad, and also at that time, I could hear people
cheering from the side of the harbor. I KNEW warmth was in reach. I touched the timing board and then had to swim about 50
meters to the ladders to get out of the harbor. At that time I heard my mom and
family calling my name, and I smiled. Thank God I was done!
I got out as quick as I could and got that wetsuit off (with
some great burns around my neck from where it rubbed) and got in a blanket and
had a beer. I finished and NEVER have to do that again! My brother checked my time and it was just over 30 minutes.
Again the Olympian did it in 16 minutes, and my goal was just not to come in
last or have a boat pick me up, which neither happened.
Would I do that again? NO- I swam Boston and I’m happy I did
it. Am I going to do Alcatraz? I haven’t decided. I can say the 55 degree water
can’t be any worse than the water of Boston, but the current and shark factor
and jumping off a boat, still make me not click the 'Register NOW' button… But I do
need a new challenge for 2013, and I can’t think of anything else that would be
more challenging and more fun!
Hey Jyl.....remind me to update the Reasons Why Swimming Sucks!
I am so, SO proud of you!
I get asked a lot why I keep going, keep swimming, keep running..... How can I not when I have completely awesome friends, like Jyl and Graham, that continue to surround me with inspiration and motivation? I am one lucky girl.
1 comment:
Jyl...you are truly an inspiration to us all and I couldn't be more proud of you for setting your goals and sticking to them. I didn't get to see you finish this amazing task, but I was there at the finish of your marathon and I'm so glad I was!!! Keep going and I'll be there so see you off in San Fran if you decide to do Alcatraz!
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