Sunday, April 19, 2009
Post Malta update
I returned yesterday from the SwimTrek Long Distance Swim camp in Malta. Those that have followed my blog are probably wondering both what my mental state is as well as what my plans are for the future. The quick and short of it is I am feeling mentally motivated and still plan on making a run for it!!
During the 24 hours after the 6 hour attempt in Gozo was a very helpful for mental recovery. Of course, I started pretty depressed but tried to keep it under control to help the rest of the swimmers celebrate their accomplishments. The next morning we got in the water for a quick fun swim in the cove and finally got out of Xlendi cove to see the white cliffs just out of the cove. I had no trouble doing this and in fact felt a lot more comfortable getting in the cold water then I had in days. This says something about how nervousness and mental issues can throw you off. The comradeship of the fellow swimmers was great and seeing how what looks to be ordinary people doing extra ordinary things was real helpful. By the time I left Gozo to do a quick day of sightseeing on the main island of Malta, I was already starting developing plans on how to strengthen my weaknesses. Bottom line is I found every penny I spent on the trip valuable in teaching me where I was at and what I had to do to be prepared for the English Channel. It was a harsh slap in the face that one does not roll off the couch and hope to swim across the English Channel. It takes a lot of focus, determination and planning to be prepared for it.
Eliz and I talked quite a bit about our learnings and plans during the long slow trip back to the US. It was obvious that we were the least cold acclimated of the swimmers at the camp. All the other swimmers had their events this summer (versus ours next summer) and had at least another year of cold water acclimatisation then we had. We also found out that the Dover season is not that much longer then what we should be able to achieve in Colorado. They officially begin the first weekend in May and we should be able to get in the open water as early as mid May. This made us believe if we push ourselves to hit the open water as soon as possible, we should be able to achieve the same cold water acclimatisation this year as the weekend Dover swimmers did last year.
There are a couple of updates on the 6 hour qualifying swim status. Eliz's swim will count so she does not necessarily have to do another. However, she quickly come to the realization that she will need to do more to prepare for the Channel crossing so it was generally a moot point if it counted or not. We plan on doing more 6 hour swims in the next year where one of them will count as my qualifying swim. My goal is to work toward cold water acclimatisation this spring to fall and aim to do my official qualifying swim this fall in a fresh water lake in Colorado once the temperature in the lake drops far enough (mid-September). Worse case scenario might be a return to Malta next spring but with another year of cold water training under my belt.
During the 24 hours after the 6 hour attempt in Gozo was a very helpful for mental recovery. Of course, I started pretty depressed but tried to keep it under control to help the rest of the swimmers celebrate their accomplishments. The next morning we got in the water for a quick fun swim in the cove and finally got out of Xlendi cove to see the white cliffs just out of the cove. I had no trouble doing this and in fact felt a lot more comfortable getting in the cold water then I had in days. This says something about how nervousness and mental issues can throw you off. The comradeship of the fellow swimmers was great and seeing how what looks to be ordinary people doing extra ordinary things was real helpful. By the time I left Gozo to do a quick day of sightseeing on the main island of Malta, I was already starting developing plans on how to strengthen my weaknesses. Bottom line is I found every penny I spent on the trip valuable in teaching me where I was at and what I had to do to be prepared for the English Channel. It was a harsh slap in the face that one does not roll off the couch and hope to swim across the English Channel. It takes a lot of focus, determination and planning to be prepared for it.
Eliz and I talked quite a bit about our learnings and plans during the long slow trip back to the US. It was obvious that we were the least cold acclimated of the swimmers at the camp. All the other swimmers had their events this summer (versus ours next summer) and had at least another year of cold water acclimatisation then we had. We also found out that the Dover season is not that much longer then what we should be able to achieve in Colorado. They officially begin the first weekend in May and we should be able to get in the open water as early as mid May. This made us believe if we push ourselves to hit the open water as soon as possible, we should be able to achieve the same cold water acclimatisation this year as the weekend Dover swimmers did last year.
There are a couple of updates on the 6 hour qualifying swim status. Eliz's swim will count so she does not necessarily have to do another. However, she quickly come to the realization that she will need to do more to prepare for the Channel crossing so it was generally a moot point if it counted or not. We plan on doing more 6 hour swims in the next year where one of them will count as my qualifying swim. My goal is to work toward cold water acclimatisation this spring to fall and aim to do my official qualifying swim this fall in a fresh water lake in Colorado once the temperature in the lake drops far enough (mid-September). Worse case scenario might be a return to Malta next spring but with another year of cold water training under my belt.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Malta Day 5
April 15, 2009
We meet for breakfast at 7:15 with the bus departing at 8am. The hope is that we start swimming before 9am. The boat takes us just out of the Harbor to start the swim. The plan is to swim to the next cove west of the harbor then start circling in the cove if the cove is Jelly free. We over achieve and hit the water at 8:50am in the best weather we have had all week (very light winds, sunny and warm) The water feels cold but not as cold as when I jumped in yesterday afternoon. I hope this is a good sign. Eliz warned me that she was going to back the pace down to make it to 6 hours. I had more concerns about warmth so I took off at a solid pace. We needed to stay close to each of other since we were sharing a boat so I would periodically do a flip turn and swim back to her. By the end of the first hour, I lost feeling in my feet (which I had not had up till now) and I started shivering. I had my feed and the warmth felt great. For the next 5 minutes, I felt human again and then the shivering started again. I hung in there for another hour fighting the demons and unfortunately focusing on the fact I had 5 more hours to go. At the 2 hour mark, I got out, defeated and depressed. I had a solid shiver fit but not as bad as the previous days. Obviously, I got psyched out. The damage had been done, no qualify swim for me today. I helped with the feeds for a while. At the 4 hour 30 minute feed, I got back in to pace Eliz. Her pace was much slower then earlier in the swim. I realized if I keep that pace up, I would get very cold pretty quickly. I thought about it and realized that being able to swim the rest of the hour in a half was not as important as keeping Eliz company. I hung in there with her for an hour fighting the cold off before I got out knowing she could make it the last half hour. All the rest of the swimmers including Eliz made it to the 6 hour mark and there was much celebrating.
Quick analysis of what happened. Obviously I got psyched out and did not have the mental strength to hold in there for longer (until I was more medically hypothermic). I find this interesting since I tend to have reasonably strong mental strength. Talking with Eliz, she also had the shivers at about the 1.5 hour mark and yet she held in there to the end (tough woman). Could my mental strength have an "Achilles Heel" with the cold or is there another reason? Second, the last two days my cold tolerance was not building but quite opposite, it was weakening. One of the guides hinted he had a theory on this but I have not had a chance to talk with him about it. I am fighting demons wondering if my DNA will allow me to gain the cold tolerance. There seems to be a lot of examples around of people that seem to be the wrong genetics for cold but are able to develop it. One of our guides is an ex 1:20 half marathoner, 2:50 marathoner then took up Channel swimming. It took him 5-6 years of attempts to be successful but he was. Am I the classic American (in the Brits viewpoint) that is not patient enough? Do I want to put aside a large portion of my life (athletics and family) for that long a period for this goal? Obviously, a lot of demons are in my head and I have some serious belly button staring time in front of me.
On a side depressing note (for Eliz), in a discussion after the swim today, it came up that the qualifying swim might need to be within 12 months of your channel attempt. If this is the case, her heroics will be for naught and she also will have to make another attempt at 6 hours. We did discuss this and she pointed out that that if our training and cold water adaptation does not make the 6 hours easier, her motivation to do it again (and consequently the Channel) is pretty low. She also has some belly button staring to do.
We meet for breakfast at 7:15 with the bus departing at 8am. The hope is that we start swimming before 9am. The boat takes us just out of the Harbor to start the swim. The plan is to swim to the next cove west of the harbor then start circling in the cove if the cove is Jelly free. We over achieve and hit the water at 8:50am in the best weather we have had all week (very light winds, sunny and warm) The water feels cold but not as cold as when I jumped in yesterday afternoon. I hope this is a good sign. Eliz warned me that she was going to back the pace down to make it to 6 hours. I had more concerns about warmth so I took off at a solid pace. We needed to stay close to each of other since we were sharing a boat so I would periodically do a flip turn and swim back to her. By the end of the first hour, I lost feeling in my feet (which I had not had up till now) and I started shivering. I had my feed and the warmth felt great. For the next 5 minutes, I felt human again and then the shivering started again. I hung in there for another hour fighting the demons and unfortunately focusing on the fact I had 5 more hours to go. At the 2 hour mark, I got out, defeated and depressed. I had a solid shiver fit but not as bad as the previous days. Obviously, I got psyched out. The damage had been done, no qualify swim for me today. I helped with the feeds for a while. At the 4 hour 30 minute feed, I got back in to pace Eliz. Her pace was much slower then earlier in the swim. I realized if I keep that pace up, I would get very cold pretty quickly. I thought about it and realized that being able to swim the rest of the hour in a half was not as important as keeping Eliz company. I hung in there with her for an hour fighting the cold off before I got out knowing she could make it the last half hour. All the rest of the swimmers including Eliz made it to the 6 hour mark and there was much celebrating.
Quick analysis of what happened. Obviously I got psyched out and did not have the mental strength to hold in there for longer (until I was more medically hypothermic). I find this interesting since I tend to have reasonably strong mental strength. Talking with Eliz, she also had the shivers at about the 1.5 hour mark and yet she held in there to the end (tough woman). Could my mental strength have an "Achilles Heel" with the cold or is there another reason? Second, the last two days my cold tolerance was not building but quite opposite, it was weakening. One of the guides hinted he had a theory on this but I have not had a chance to talk with him about it. I am fighting demons wondering if my DNA will allow me to gain the cold tolerance. There seems to be a lot of examples around of people that seem to be the wrong genetics for cold but are able to develop it. One of our guides is an ex 1:20 half marathoner, 2:50 marathoner then took up Channel swimming. It took him 5-6 years of attempts to be successful but he was. Am I the classic American (in the Brits viewpoint) that is not patient enough? Do I want to put aside a large portion of my life (athletics and family) for that long a period for this goal? Obviously, a lot of demons are in my head and I have some serious belly button staring time in front of me.
On a side depressing note (for Eliz), in a discussion after the swim today, it came up that the qualifying swim might need to be within 12 months of your channel attempt. If this is the case, her heroics will be for naught and she also will have to make another attempt at 6 hours. We did discuss this and she pointed out that that if our training and cold water adaptation does not make the 6 hours easier, her motivation to do it again (and consequently the Channel) is pretty low. She also has some belly button staring to do.
Malta Day 4
April 14, 2009
The winds died down a bit last night. They were able to get the boats out of the Mgarra harbor. We ate a hardy breakfast and headed for the docks at 9am. Due to the fact that it was still considerably windy out, our swim options were limited. The guides started us about a mile from the south east corner of the island with the plan to round that corner and head north to a cove up the coast where would finish. The morning swim was a 3 hour swim. One swimmer put a thermometer in the water and measured 15C. It seems as if the cove we had been swimming in was a little warmer then the main Mediterranean sea. We hit the water at 10am. It was cold but beautiful since we could see the bottom as we swam. The wind was to our backs so the waves were not a significant issue. As we approach the corner, the guides realized that the sea was going to be to rough on that side to swim. We shifted the plan to cross over to Comino island that was south of us and swim in coves over there. The crossing was a little rougher but not bad. As we got close to the island, we ran into a batch of Jellies. Everybody got some significant stings but nothing dangerous. Eliz got one right in the face. It freaked her out enough that she started swimming breaststroke and slow freestyle looking for them. Hint to future cold water swimmers, this is bad news. The decreased energy output allowed her body temperature to drop. Once your body temperature drops, it is nearly impossible to warm it back up unless you get out of the water. She start shivering in the water. At the two hour mark, she got out moderately hypothermic. Another swimmer (coincidentally named Joe) pulled a muscle in his arm as he try to suddenly jerk away from the Jellies. The guides searched for a jelly free cove and had us do laps in the cove. The rest of us made the 3 hours. I got out and had one of my more serious shiver fits I can remember.
After a hardy lunch, we headed back to where we started the day since it was jelly free and to drop off the injured Joe to see a physician It was a mere 90 minutes and we jumped back in for a 2 hour swim. The good news is the extra hour she had getting out early allowed Eliz to stabilize her core temperature and she jumped with renewed desire not to slow down and let her core temperature drop. The bad news is that the 90 minutes did not allow me to stabilize the core and I jumped in feeling immediately cold. We did an out and back course that took about 15 minutes. After one loop, I was colder then I finished my 3 hours. I hung in there for one hour but was getting very nervous about how cold I felt. At the one hour feeding mark, I requested to get out. One guide did a quick review of my condition and helped me out. I was still coherent so I was still not severely hypothermic but I had an even more intense shiver fit then from the morning. The rest of the swimmers finished the 2 hour swim fabulously. There was much celebrating on the boat with a little fear but a lot of optimism for tomorrows 6 hours swim.
Of course I am nervous about 6 hours tomorrow. I have a theory that I am using to pysc myself up. When I stopped after the 3 hours and got out, I allowed my core temperature to drop due to both stopping the energy expenditure and allowing my colder blood that had pooled in my extremities to release into my core. This dropped my core temperature down further then if I had keep swimming and I was not out of the water long enough to reverse this core temperature drop. Since I will not be stopping tomorrow, this will not happen. Second, I think I might have been able to finish the second hour but I would have come out much more severely hypothermic. This crossed my mind with the fear of tomorrows swim coming up and did not want to push my body that hard the day before the big swim. So the hope is that one additional day of acclimation, not stopping and pushing myself to the limit will gain me the 3 hours I need to finish the swim. Wish me luck.
The winds died down a bit last night. They were able to get the boats out of the Mgarra harbor. We ate a hardy breakfast and headed for the docks at 9am. Due to the fact that it was still considerably windy out, our swim options were limited. The guides started us about a mile from the south east corner of the island with the plan to round that corner and head north to a cove up the coast where would finish. The morning swim was a 3 hour swim. One swimmer put a thermometer in the water and measured 15C. It seems as if the cove we had been swimming in was a little warmer then the main Mediterranean sea. We hit the water at 10am. It was cold but beautiful since we could see the bottom as we swam. The wind was to our backs so the waves were not a significant issue. As we approach the corner, the guides realized that the sea was going to be to rough on that side to swim. We shifted the plan to cross over to Comino island that was south of us and swim in coves over there. The crossing was a little rougher but not bad. As we got close to the island, we ran into a batch of Jellies. Everybody got some significant stings but nothing dangerous. Eliz got one right in the face. It freaked her out enough that she started swimming breaststroke and slow freestyle looking for them. Hint to future cold water swimmers, this is bad news. The decreased energy output allowed her body temperature to drop. Once your body temperature drops, it is nearly impossible to warm it back up unless you get out of the water. She start shivering in the water. At the two hour mark, she got out moderately hypothermic. Another swimmer (coincidentally named Joe) pulled a muscle in his arm as he try to suddenly jerk away from the Jellies. The guides searched for a jelly free cove and had us do laps in the cove. The rest of us made the 3 hours. I got out and had one of my more serious shiver fits I can remember.
After a hardy lunch, we headed back to where we started the day since it was jelly free and to drop off the injured Joe to see a physician It was a mere 90 minutes and we jumped back in for a 2 hour swim. The good news is the extra hour she had getting out early allowed Eliz to stabilize her core temperature and she jumped with renewed desire not to slow down and let her core temperature drop. The bad news is that the 90 minutes did not allow me to stabilize the core and I jumped in feeling immediately cold. We did an out and back course that took about 15 minutes. After one loop, I was colder then I finished my 3 hours. I hung in there for one hour but was getting very nervous about how cold I felt. At the one hour feeding mark, I requested to get out. One guide did a quick review of my condition and helped me out. I was still coherent so I was still not severely hypothermic but I had an even more intense shiver fit then from the morning. The rest of the swimmers finished the 2 hour swim fabulously. There was much celebrating on the boat with a little fear but a lot of optimism for tomorrows 6 hours swim.
Of course I am nervous about 6 hours tomorrow. I have a theory that I am using to pysc myself up. When I stopped after the 3 hours and got out, I allowed my core temperature to drop due to both stopping the energy expenditure and allowing my colder blood that had pooled in my extremities to release into my core. This dropped my core temperature down further then if I had keep swimming and I was not out of the water long enough to reverse this core temperature drop. Since I will not be stopping tomorrow, this will not happen. Second, I think I might have been able to finish the second hour but I would have come out much more severely hypothermic. This crossed my mind with the fear of tomorrows swim coming up and did not want to push my body that hard the day before the big swim. So the hope is that one additional day of acclimation, not stopping and pushing myself to the limit will gain me the 3 hours I need to finish the swim. Wish me luck.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Malta Day 3
April 13, 2009
The bad news is the wind howled all night. The good news is I was so tired that I slept through it like a baby. Sure enough, the cove was not swimable when we got up this morning. We grabbed breakfast and headed to a hotel in Victoria that had a large outdoor pool. It was almost circular (closer to square) with a diameter close to 25m with an island in the middle. The painful part is the temperature of the pool was also 16C (60F). We got in for some video taping and individual coaching by one of the guides. In between our turns at this, we swam around the island and did stroke drills. We are not sure what all the reasons were but just about everyone was colder doing an hour in the pool then the 2 hours in the sea. Some of the reasons might be that fresh water does "feel" colder then salt water at the same temp and we stopped quite a bit for instruction in the pool and it was seriously overcast with a wind. We made it to an hour (barely) before we got out. Amazingly enough, most of us had numb feet which we did not get when we swam in the sea for 2 hours.
Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel to grab lunch. The plan this afternoon is to review the video taping and then have more discussion on training techniques. The waves in the cove look slightly less at 2pm today, a good sign that the storm is blowing out and tomorrow we will be back in the sea.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Day 2 Malta
Sunday, April 12, 2009
The morning came way to early with the jet lag. I dragged myself out of bed at 6:45am to shave (important to keep chafing down) and a quick snack. We meet at the beach at 7:30 for a quick swim (5-10 minute) to determine speeds to break us (14 swimmers) into 3 groups for when we have 3 support crafts following us. Eliz and I got placed in a stylish pink swim cap group together which will be fun since we train together and know each others pace. After that, we went in for a real for real breakfast. At 9am, we meet at the beach for the first real swim. The wind picked up overnight and the boats were unable to get out of the south side of the island. Swimtrek had one Zodiac that could be used to patrol the cove so we did laps in the cove. It was cloudy and windy out, windy enough that we could see white caps out of the cove but it was reasonably calm in the cove. We swam for one hour. The water was chilly but I had no signs of the cold effecting my swim. After a little break, we gather to talk a bit about the logistics of the channel until lunch. After a hearty lunch, we meet at the beach for a 2 hour swim. The good news is the sun is out. The bad news is the wind had continued to pick up so we had some serious white caps in the cove now. The decision was to only go half way toward the exit of the cove. After one loop, the Kodiak had some technical problems so they called us in to do smaller circles that were basically back and forth along the shore line with enough circle action to avoid running into each other. The wind continued to pick up throughout the afternoon. After one hour, we stopped for a Maxim nutrition break (30 seconds only). At this point the waves were challenging but only about as bad as I had fought at the La Jolla rough water. It was a workout but definitely was still swimable. Over the next hour it progressed to some serious wave action. At about 1:40, the guides said that it started to deteriorate at a much more rapid rate. I will admit that on the right hand turn into the wind, I was starting to hesitate a little before taking off to gain the mental strength to fight the waves. It was challenging and starting to get marginally swimable. At about 1:55, the guides called us and had us exit in an alternate location due to the waves being to dangerous to exit in the primary location. The wind continued to pick up the rest of the day. We meet at about 4:30 to discuss stroke mechanics on the 5th floor of the hotel. The cove facing window of the 5th floor window was getting soaked by the ocean spray of the waves coming in. After the meeting, we walked outside and found about 6" of water in the street going perpendicular to the shore for about 150-200 meters from the surf. The weather forecast for tomorrow was actually for more wind then today. The guides are working up alternate plans for the probably case that even the cove is not swimable.
A quick feedback on my condition on the 2 hour swim. I actually was feeling pretty comfortable cold wise during the swim. The challenging water was definitely giving me a solid workout but it did not seem more then I could handle. After the swim, the guides did say they had started watching me closer. My back skin color had start changing, my stroke rate was dropping and they noticed my hesitation on the turn. All these are signs that my core temperature was dropping. I have felt more hypothermic in the past so I was somewhat surprised. It will make the next rest of the week interesting if 2 hours is starting to cause problems. It might have been the conditions since I heard later that some of the other swimmers skin color was changing. I did get back to the room for a solid 30 minutes of uncontrollable shivering. I still find it interesting that this tends to start almost 10 minutes after I exit the water. Is it when the cold pooled blood in the extremities flow back into the core? Is there a way to slow this process up so that the cool blood can warm up before it gets dumped back into the core? All wonderful questions to be investigated.
Water in the streets
Look like fun to swim in?
Day 1 Malta
Saturday April 11, 2009
After a long 24 hours of travel (Fort Collins to Denver to Washington DC to Frankfort to Malta to Gozo with long layovers in Washington and Franfort), I am finally at the hotel for the swim camp. The swim camp is actually based out of Hotel San Andrea in the quaint town of Xlendi on the Island of Gozo in the nation of Malta (that is a mouthful). The drive (Eliz did it) from the airport to Xlendi was "interesting". With the British background, they drive on the left side of the roads. There were a lot of traffic circles to make this more challenging as well as very narrow roads since they were built in the 15th century, a few years before cars, especially large tour buses existed. The town of Xlendi is basically a set of buildings around a cove. At the base of the buildings are about a half dozen little restaurants. After doing a quick unpacking, Eliz, Jim and I walk down to the water front to grab a quick pizza. We notice a couple of Swimtrek swimmers (no one else was brave/stupid enough to get in the water) doing laps in the cove. I was not very hungry and had not had a chance to hit the water yet so I head back to the room to change quickly. The swimmers were out drying off when I got back but we talked for a while. They gave me heads up on an area that were full of Jellys to avoid. I jump in and the water feels cool but not painful. I hang in there for about 5-10 minutes to loosen up while wearing a watch to get the actual temperature. In the cove it was about 61-62F (16C). I was warned that the water was colder out of the cove. As I did my quick swim, I stopped to chat with Eliz who was sitting at a table by the water. She warned me not to get pysched out by the scuba divers that were wearing dry suits due to the cold water. I had quite a few tourists pointed and commenting on the crazy swimmer.
We gathered for dinner that evening with the Swimtrek guides and the rest of the swimmers. It was basically an intro dinner with the presentation for the logistics for the week.
Cove
Jim and Eliz by restaurants by the waterfront
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Malta Bound
Tomorrow morning, I will be on a plane bound for Malta to participate in the SwimTrek long distance swim camp. The pinnacle of the trip will be attempting the 6 hour qualifying swim in 59F water on Wednesday. I am confident in my endurance for the swim with the training Eliz and I have done but the surviving 6 hours in that cold of water has me more then a little nervous.
A quick update on my back injury from the previous blog, it ended up being a relative non-issue. It did end up being purely a muscular issue that was easily treated via physical therapy and massage. The root cause was determined to be imbalance in muscle development from all the front crawl swimming I was doing and no offsetting muscle development via stroke work, weights, etc. I am doing light muscle activation exercises for recovery to get me through the swim camp but afterwards I will need to add offsetting muscle development exercises to my weekly schedule. Suggestions that have been offered to me include using a rowing machine, more backstroke in my swimming workouts and weights. A word of warning to future Channel wannabes, have a balance exercise program in place.
While in Malta, I will try to post some updates as I have energy and time.
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