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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

We made it!!!


First, to all of you who supported us, sponsored us, captained our boats, swam with us - we thank you.  In today's crazy, self-centered world it is refreshing to see the commitment of folks getting together to support a cause. And it is even more exciting to be a part of that effort.

Our destination is barely visible directly behind the boat...
On our way to the yacht club, at 6:45am, the sky was gorgeous - the sun was a brilliant red and the reflections on the light clouds looked spectacular.  The old sailing quote came to mind, "red sky in morn, sailor's take warn, red sky at night, sailor's delight", but it didn't seem to hold true today - the weather was perfect. There was almost no wind, the temperatures were ideal and we never spotted on insect of any type. Conditions were ideal.

We left the dock at a few minutes after 8am with 2 boats, 15 swimmers and one inflatable Zodiak. We arrived at Gull Island at 8:25 and were in the water at 8:37. We started on the east side of Gull Island this time, which partly explains the fast time.  We caught the old channel current for a mile or so, then turned west to aim at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. The winds that we expected from our previous 6 swims never materialized.  It was nicely wind free...

With two boats this year it was easier - if you were tired, you had a couple of choices - though one boat typically stayed with the faster swimmers, and the other with the rest of us...

Typically, a swimmer will start out and do as much as he/she can, then get out and rest for a half an hour to an hour, depending on the swimmer.  Swim another couple of miles or so, and repeat. It would stay like this until the end.  The final mile or so is the hardest, even though it is so close to the finish.  A slight westerly wind had kicked up, we were tired, and you have the frustration of seeing the tower at the Yacht Club appear close, but then not get larger until the very end, when it seems to suddenly loom over you...  The faster swimmers finished at about 3pm off the pier at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. We met immediately afterwards at Brownie's on the River for our celebratory meal.  Great day - in total we swam just under 100 miles.

Our rookies this year were Casey Browning, who swam the entire course, Watty Bernard, who swam 95% of the course, the last 10% of it with leg cramps; and finally, Vince Brennan - who stepped up and not only swam, but also captained the second chase boat.

More later - pictures to follow. Look for us on Facebook...




By the way, if Paypal is not your thing - you are not alone...  Several people have asked for an address for donations.

Ric Geyer
105 Swanton Hill Ct.
Decatur, Georgia  30030

I moved down here 2 years ago, to follow Rickie, who moved down here with his mother.  Both Rickie and I miss Detroit (and Grosse Pointe) and get back a couple of times each year.  The news from the private sector in Detroit is fabulous - even if the political news is less than stellar...

All the best

Ric

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

6 more days - almost there...

OK. It's Tuesday evening.  We are now down to 6 days before we go...  It looks like we're up to two boats and 13+ swimmers?  These are both records - this thing continues to grow.  Every year, we get a couple of new folks, and mostly people just keep coming back. This really is a great day - one of those "pause and reflect" days.  A time to remember each successive year - what you were doing the year before, etc. A milestone of sorts for each of the swimmers. 

Here's our schedule. At 7am (or so) we arrive at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (GPYC), who have been our gracious hosts for 6 years in a row now.  Special thanks to Fred Mihalik, the pool facility manager and a renowned swim coach.  He has always been there to help us,m and we appreciate it.  We're generally in the boat by 7:30, and headed to Harsen's Island. The feeling of the boat at speed, smell of the water, the excitement of the swim and just having a chance to meet up with everyone again makes this one of my favorite parts of the whole day.

We're in the water by about 8am.  B
y about 8:30 we're between the South Channel lighthouses and heading for the open bay.  At this point you can begin to make out the tower at Nine Mile Road. This the tower that will look exactly the same size after swimming for 4 more hours - at times it is maddening...

And so it goes - for 8 hours... It isn't as hard as you might think - although when the waves are coming directly at you, it gets old pretty quickly. It is just a grind it out kind of day, but it is invigorating and a day I look forward to every year.  

FINALLY, somewhere around 4:00 or so we are nearing the shore. When you are beginning to get close, it is tantalizing - it looks as if you could sprint the rest of the way, until you realize there is still a mile and half to go... But toward 5pm, we see the following site from the water - the Tower at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.

And then its off to Brownie's on the River for drinks and dinner, and a place to sit down and relax. 


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

19 more days...

OK. Now we're getting down to the wire.  Good news today - "Brownie's on the River" has agreed to come on board as a sponsor (thanks to the help of our own Dave Draper).  Brownie's has been our after swim meal spot for several years - they have always been friendly and supportive and now it's official.  Please check them out - they are an institution on Lake St Clair just north of Nine Mile Rd. It is also a great place to party on the weekends.  Just a great spot - with excellent food. 

Also new this year is Premier Nutrition. They offer food and beverage products that are great-tasting, have compelling functional benefits and appeal to a broad range of people pursuing healthy lifestyles, including old guys swimming across lakes.  We will be carrying their products on board and using them during the swim.
 offer food and beverage products that are great-tasting, have compelling functional benefits and appeal to a broad range of people pursuing healthy lifestyles. - See more at: http://www.premiernutrition.com/#sthash.PoAo97XQ.dpuf
We offer food and beverage products that are great-tasting, have compelling functional benefits and appeal to a broad range of people pursuing healthy lifestyles. - See more at: http://www.premiernutrition.com/#sthash.PoAo97XQ.dpuf


Just wanted to put another picture in here about why I do this.  Rickie is my guy - and my hero.  He is starting to get into swimming himself - and recently did back to back lengths of the pool in 25 seconds.  I was extremely impressed.  He is going with us again this year on the boat - and he can't wait.  The picture shows the Detroit Athletic Club pool - one of the finest clubs in the country.  Before moving to Atlanta, I swam probably 2000 miles in that pool.  It was my therapy when we learned about Rickie's cf.  In the beginning you just don't know what the disease is like or what it will mean.  So I swam - a lot. Great exercise, great therapy, and if you're lucky enough to be at the DAC, great pool...

I'll report soon on the other swimmers - assuming they want to be reported on.  More later. 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

It's getting close - just over three weeks left... For some reason this one feels more difficult than the rest.  Maybe because I'm another year older. Maybe because my shoulders are toast after swimming, maybe 2000 miles in the last 6 years.  But, I am looking forward to another great crossing.  Saw an article where a guy was fined $500 for swimming across the Detroit River.  The fine was levied because he crossed a shipping channel, which seems odd, because sailboats can cross shipping channels without penalty, and they aren't terribly fast either.

I'd like to welcome my friends from Atlanta as well as our old friends from Detroit.  If you're from Atlanta, you will soon be able to donate to the CF Center for Excellence (Emory University).  They are building the preeminent CF center in the country (you fans of U of M's Mott's Children's Hospital can question that assertion) and have been excellent to Rickie.  I have just agreed to sit on the Community Board of the CF Center. In addition, in partnership with the Center, and with the CF Foundation down here, we are hosting a "Hack for CF", which is a hackathon focused on cf.  "Hackforcf.com" will be up shortly for more information.

If you have any questions, on the swim or on the "Hack for cf" please feel free to email me at "ric @ 4731solutions . com.

All the best, Ric

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Getting back, maybe...  Just did two miles last night for the first time in probably 3 months.  Got sucked into pacing someone at 45 second laps for a while - that hurt, especially with the shoulder,. But it feels like I can stroke around it.  Starting to get psyched about doing this yet one more time.  Have been picking up new swimmers for several weeks - we may be around a dozen folks now.  Probably need another boat or a couple of Seadoos if anyone is interested...  Still love the story about the guy swimming east to west across the entire lake (20+ miles) through the shipping channels around August 6th? Wish him luck.  And hope he gets medical attention after the race. Seriously, there's something wrong with all of us to want to go 14 miles into the wind, but to go 20+ miles across the lake dragging a boat with 2,000 pounds of bricks?  Wow.  There's really something wrong with that guy.  I mean, you can't ever piss a guy like that off.  Because if you do - I don't think he'd ever get over it...  In fact, I may just stop right here, and wish him luck, crazy or not.

Another trend we are facing is a continual dropping of the average age of our participants, which is neither surprising nor comforting to us old guys...  We will now have probably 4 or 5 20 year old machines keeping pace for us.  Last year, Fares was doing 20 minute miles in the middle of the course.  I can barely sprint that fast.  But then, I am probably 30 years older than he is...

For me, the perfect day would be clear skies, 80 degree air and 70 degree water, a gentle NE wind, and a dozen massage therapists waiting at the finish line... Seriously, we will make arrangements for any massage therapists that want to come down to the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and help out around 4pm or so on the 19th...

Last year was the year of the flies, hopefully we will find a better theme as we proceed through this year's crossing.

All the best,
Ric

Thursday, June 6, 2013

I had almost forgotten...

Got back in the water today for the first time in 2 months.  Swam 1/2 mile - part of that was kicking.  Both my shoulders are  little sore, but it was so much fun to be able to do even a half mile.  Yes, I did race a guy - what is up with that?  I felt pretty good and didn't push it, but it is clear that I still have my speed (what little I had). Looks like we're going to go in August - we took a vote and August 19/20 seems to be the day...

More later...

Sunday, June 2, 2013

#6 is on the horizon...

#6 is shaping up to be the most interesting swim of all.  First, we have some eager new talent waiting to get into the water, which is good.  Next we have a few repaired swimmers who are ready to go.  And finally, my own shoulder, after several thousand miles, has apparently decided to tear (or something...). It is the old rotator cuff internal impingement, arthritic degeneration diagnoses.  I think I'm just a little tired.  If it wasn't for the pain, I'd be sure of it...  I am in rehab, and seem to swim OK, but haven't put on a lot of mileage in the last 2 months (OK, like nearly zero...). 

Besides feeling like a lump, I am also painfully aware of the lack of endorphins that kick in every time I'm in the pool chasing down swimmers on other lanes (or being chased).  There is something magical about what happens to you as you bear down and decide to catch someone in the pool. First, you mentally calculate how many laps it would take to catch them, then you calculate if your body will hold out for that many laps.  If the math works (although it is questionable because of the oxygen starvation that is already occurring) you crank it up and go. The problem is - what do you do when you've caught them.  Do you quit?  Hardly - that is unquestionably in poor taste. You need to put on a few extra laps to confirm the pace you were able to sustain.  Of course, you didn't calculate that in the beginning and as you continue, various parts of your body seem to begin shutting down.  And understand - there is a good chance that the people I'm racing aren't even aware we're actually racing, but whatever...  At my age, it's still a race...

So, because I am missing those endorphin rushes, I feel as if I am missing a major portion of my life...  I tried to take up running - only to remember why I quit in the first place.  My back can't take it...  Bicycling may help - did 21 miles last weekend.  Any other ideas are welcome...

Oh, and it appears we have someone else taking on Lake St Clair.  In early August, someone is planning to swim 22 miles dragging a rowboat filled with 2,000 lbs of bricks.  This from a guy who has swum each of the great lakes, and is expecting to take 30 hours to get across Lake St Clair.  Curious to see which direction he'll go, and how he expects to bisect the shipping channel.  Freighters cut through those waters at 20+ knots - I'd hate to be in the channel when one of them comes through.  At any rate, we wish him the best.  That is a heck of an accomplishment.  And way stupider than what we're doing...

We'll continue updating this site as we  approach our date - which is expected to be late July.  Anyone want to volunteer, or even join us in the swim?  Let us know - we can use a Seadoo or two.  I think we'll have 10 swimmers and 2 boats this year.  And nobody has to drag any rowboats with bricks - I swear...  And if Jenny, our English Channel, record setting swimmer shows up again, we'll all just try to keep as close to her as we can.  Which for most of us.will only occur in the boat on the way over to Harsen's Island...

All the best - hope to see you out on the water...