Thanks again for the kind words and thoughts.
Originally posted by FindingMyInnerFish
With all the money outlay, it's probably foolish to ask, but would there be other long races coming up soon where you could put your training to use? Maybe not as long as 28.5 miles, but something that's a good size challenge and not too far for you to travel.....
Unfortunately, this year has a dearth of longer races on the back end of the season in this part of the world. I was thinking of doing the Boston Light Swim again, but other commitments are getting in the way. Looks like I'm "stuck" with some of the shorter (1 mile - 5k) type races, most of which I've done before. Still, if that's the worst thing that happens to me this year, I'll be doing fine.
On a light note, re MIMS: My brother's 2 sons (7 &10) had made up a bunch of signs for my MIMS crew (my brother & my wife) to hold up during the race. They mailed them to me since I didn't get to see them. They have drawings of sharks nibbling on my toes, me swimming through brown water ("Eric, why is the water brown?" "He, he, he - you don't want to know.") etc. Really made me smile.
Mary,
Sorry your swim got rained out., but you really don't want to be out there if there is lightning.
Hope your Sept 10 swim has better weather. I'll be swimming a 2.5km the same date.
Just a thought we have all I am sure been in some real dirty water places, Atlantic city race went right by the sewage disposal plant they said they shut it down the day of the race but I still saw brown lumps. When we were swimming in Hamilton Bay they said it was so pulluted you could walk across it (it was) but the water was warm. The beach canal was pulluted but we swam there it was warm. Thank god we are still alive after all the chances we took.
You were right don't take chances. Lots of races without those dangers Leonord.
I skipped a 5KM today... woke up at 5, heard hard rain, thunder, imagined lightning, so I rolled over in my bed and went back to sleep.
It was a FIN National Championships, more for "real" athletes than for Masters, although we by the rules are allowed to participate. So, if I'd gone, I might have (probably would have) been a National Champ for my age group, but more just because there aren't that many 45 year-olds going out there and doing 5KM swims next to guys who have just come back from Montreal...
So, I spent the (rainy and stormy) day mostly sleeping and reading, and burning 60 copies of CD's of the Strait swim to send off the the participants, and feeling sorry for myself, because I could have been out there pounding in the waves... :(
I was even mentioned in the paper on Friday as a participant. They're nice to middle-age female open-water swimmers here.
Oh well...
Got another 5KM coming up on September 10th... gotta make that one! Last of the season...
Thanks for listening... I'm feeling sorry for myself and a bit of a wimp...
Mary
Thanks guys, you make me feel better about my decision.
They did hold the race, but a (male) friend of mine pulled out at 1KM, so I might have done the same, who knows?
Anyway, it wasn't a pleasant day to be swimming in the sea, to say the least.
Ciao!
Mary :cool:
Originally posted by Leonard Jansen
Also, I mentioned your posts to Deb and she said to say thanks, but also to "Tell your Internet 'girlfriends' that I sometimes catch you drinking straight out of the orange juice carton and you snore when you're very tired. Maybe that will take some of the lustre off."
That's funny, my wife is convinced I have an Internet girlfriend because she occasionally catches me posting here.
By the way, you did the right thing. I've had to make similar sacrifices because of my kids--you just have to set new goals.
Originally posted by gull80
That's funny, my wife is convinced I have an Internet girlfriend because she occasionally catches me posting here.
Tell her you are posting mainly to guys. That should make her wonder a bit.
I keep telling my wife that the LAST thing I'd want is another woman in my life - since I can't handle the one I've got, what on earth would I do with another one? No one can absorb that kind of punishment and survive.
Thanks for the support (also, thanks to George) on the MIMS decision. I haven't heard if anyone who did swim got sick, but I hope not. I've also wondered about the chemical "stew" that may have washed off the streets as well. Lots of hydrocardon compounds, among other things, that might not express themselves until some future date. Having said that, however, I have already been considering next year - some people just don't learn.
-LBJ
Sorry to hear about your health problems. Good luck with your recovery. I will pray for you and your family.
Too bad you did not get to finish your race. You are still my hero guru mentor! You know I could have done well not to hear that jelly fish horror story. Yikes. Now I am going to have nightmares tonight. Maybe you just told me that so I will swim even faster in my next race! Ick, ick, ick!
Get well fast and see you at a race soon!
Swimmy :)
Hi Allyson -
Yes, it was good to see you and meet Diana at the SFL. I am sure we will meet up again, maybe at one the Jersey races.
Concerning MIMS: Well... what can I say...
I made it to just north of the George Washington Bridge (18 or so miles into the race in about 5.5 hours, I think) and was absolutely roaring along before I had to DNF. In brief, and trying to not be too indelicate, the problem was that my urinary tract "shut down" on me and the gradual buildup of fluids got so bad that I started cramping and vomiting. It ended with me visting the ER of St. Vincent's hospital to have a a fire hose stuck into my bladder to relieve the pressure. In truth, I've known for the last month or so that I *may* have cancer "down there", but my urologist said that I could delay the biopsy until after the race, since it is a very slow-growing cancer. So... next Friday we will see what we will see regarding that issue. Either way, I hope we can find a way to make sure it doesn't happen again - it never had before, so who knew?
But, let's not dwell on that. The more interesting details of the race is that I went out a bit slow and was very relaxed. At about one hour, I ran into a huge, red jellyfish that stung so bad Deb said you could hear me scream a mile away. I lost all feeling in my nose, lips, and parts of my face and both arms and sides for a while and it HURT. But I regained my stroke and kept going. Starting at about 2 hours into the race, the trek through the whirlpool and the first part of the Harlem River was ENDLESS as the current was strongly against us. However, I was gaining on soloists and even some of the relay teams. Passed the beloved Yankee Stadium and Coogan's Bluff (where the Giants used to play) along the way. Once the current began to go with us, I really started to overhaul other swimmers. Right before (like 200 yards before) I reached the Hudson, they made us get out as a thuderstorm rolled through. Not sure, how long we were out of the water, but we finally got back in and I only made it another 1/2 hour or so. I felt so strong and knowing that I only had a current-assisted 10 miles to go made it really hard, but I was in trouble and Deb, who I trust absolutely, told me it was time to go get medical help. Still, as disappointed as I was, I was really happy at how well I was doing and knowing that I had trained and paced perfectly has kept me feeling pretty upbeat about the whole thing. I think that I would have been in the 8:30 range had I finished and maybe even a bit better, based on teams/soloists that I had passed and was gaining on. (Side note here that is not always the most popular opinion, but I must say that a huge part of how well it was going was my TI technique.) I had a really first rate kayaker and boat captain - both probably the best I've ever swum with. And my crew (Deb & Keith), as always, IS the best.
The ugly news was that the water quality was so-so at the start but deteriorated during the race due to some heavy rain squalls. I (and others, I've heard) picked up a bug and was SICK, SICK, SICK on Sunday and Monday. Hopefully, no one was on a airplane when it hit them or it would have been the worst ride of their lives.
Funny story: While I was in the ER, my brother, Keith, who was on my crew, called his wife to let her know what had happened. My two nephews (8 &11) were eager to know and when they heard I was in the hospital the 8 year-old yelled out "Did a shark get him?" Their mom said no and explained it to them. They two of them consulted in whispers for a moment and then the little one blurted out: "It's too bad a shark didn't get him." Carol was shocked and asked him why he would say that. The older one said (with his brother nodding rapidly) "Because it would be a lot cooler to tell our friends that uncle Leonard didn't finish after beating up a shark with his bare hands than because his w@@ner stopped working." When my brother came back into the ER & told me that I laughed so hard I almost fell out of the bed.
Well, the next challenge lies ahead and then there are more races to go to once that's out of the way. I hope to see you (& everyone else wading through this screed) there.
-LBJ
