Marathon Swimmer... What, What?

I'm not really sure how interesting this will be to others, but it is where I am and what I am doing. Using this platform to explain may be the easiest way to clearly get my point across.  Honestly, I've tried to explain my new "journey" and it's led to confusion, loss of interest in conversing with me, and just general blank stares... not because people or rude or I am weird (these statements could go either way), but because it's not normal to swim 6.2 miles.  Or is it? In fact, at the pool yesterday (I was there for 2 hours), I had two shout-outs from the water aerobics instructor while conversely another lady called me "crazy."

6.2 miles or a 10K is something tons of runners run... but who really swims it... and where? The 10K and beyond is called a marathon swim.  Marathon swimmers are evidently a thing, and I got warmly welcomed to a group of them by sending in an application with a description on why I deserved to be in the group in the first place.  It's gone swimmingly (see what I did there) since being elected into the group but I was nervous for a bit.  Marathon swimmers take the sport very seriously, as they should, it's tough work and the hardest training I've ever done. One of my goals is to get Lake James on the map as a place that has been marathon swam.  But I have to assemble a crew.   Being a marathon swimmer has a host of rules and regulations you have to follow.  From what gear you can have to what you can wear and what constitutes a marathon distance. Among other things. What I know is that I can wear a normal swimsuit, a swim cap, and goggles.  I can have a kayaker, canoer, boater, or paddleboarder with me for support (one pilot, one or more observers, and probably support) and we travel the lake.   A pilot will guide me through the lake as my navigator.  The observer will document latitude and longitude, wind speed, temperature outside and in the lake, make observations, and make sure I do not break rules - etc.  They are required to take photos of me in the lake every hour of my swim.  Any other support can time my feedings, make sure we stay on relative track, and just enjoy the day.  I am not allowed to touch the boats.  I must "swim" or "float" the duration.

Confused? I thought you might be. So I will break it down again. I will swim the lake, people will help me, Lake James will be on the map. Bam! Or something like that.

In order to get ready for this, I've done a tremendous amount of training. I get up and hit the pool by 5:30 am lots of mornings, swim on my lunch break, and swim really long distance once a week.  Every time I swim I swim at least 2,000 yards which is approximately 1.2 miles or so (which I can easily do in less than 40 minutes); I swim the lake 2-3 miles, once a week, more if I can. I hit the pool more, since it is close and safe for me to go alone. My long swim started at 2,500 yards and crept up weekly; before this
journey I had never swam more than 2,500 yards in one stretch, now I consistently swim that far without stopping. Over the weekend I swam 6,200 yards (3.6 miles) and broke it down into 10x600 essentially with a short cool down. Yesterday I swam 3 miles, with 3000 yards of it being without stopping.  I've figured out how to breathe better in the water and it's weird but at times I feel my body completely melt and be at one with the stroke, the movement, and the water. It's almost like that feeling when you finish crying and your body just relaxes and the burden is gone; that's how it feels when I become one with the water, I kind of just "give".  It's catharsis; a healthy and wonderful feeling. Other days I snort water up my nose, get concerned about drowning, and cannot feel my arms. It's part of the process.

Then there's the part of the process where I've had time to think.  Because with swimming, there's lots of time to get stuck in your own head, and that can be good or bad.  In the pool there's hours of looking at one black line for all those yards and in the open water, it's all darkness (except when you breathe and see the light).  What I have processed is that I'm okay alone in doing this.  A good training partner got me to this point and I can continue onward.  I'm okay training alone.  Sure I have a kayaker to keep me safe in the open water, but while I'm swimming, I'm okay to be alone in my own head pushing forward.  I'm mentally tough, determined, and goal oriented and I love that about me.  I feared that transitioning from long distance running to long distance swimming, I would lose part of my identity, but I did not.  In essence, I gained a better part.  I'm not saying running is not similar because it is in some respects, but then it's a polar opposite too.  It is harder mentally to be a swimmer and I like that challenge.  I'm still running three days a week but enjoying the break from long distance runs. And that is okay too.  It's part of my journey.


A week ago, I excitedly accepted an offer to be a brand ambassador for New Wave Swim Buoy.  Maybe I'm an ego-swimmer, maybe I put too much time into social media to promote what I enjoy, but my goal is popularize exercise in general.  I'm not saying you need to run ultra marathons, climb 14ers, or swim the English Channel - although admittedly those all sound amazing! What I want to promote is people moving their bodies for longevity.  I also want to show the world what swimming is, what it can be, and what it has done for me.   I honestly never thought I'd be training for an open water marathon swim, but here I am, killing it!