Here we go again...

OK. The week of August 16th it looks like we're going again. Same crew of guys, though several people have signed on to join us - we may need another boat. Last year's swimmers were Mike Stevens, Mike Hutchinson, Greg McDuffee, Greg Erne, Derek Weaver and me. Derek was the one doing the butterfly last year after about 6 miles - very discouraging. But, he also landed an article in the Master's swimming magazine, "The Swimmer", so we forgive him.

We are apparently in various stages of preparation - some of us have not been swimming a lot - others have been going almost daily. The rules are the same - we start at Harsen's island and swim until we hit the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.

I may try to stay in the water the entire time this year - the last two years I have gotten out of the water every three miles or so and had a drink, etc. I'm never out for more than 5 minutes - but I am officially out of the water. Maybe this is the year I don't stop.

If you are interested - please email us. As I mentioned, we can probably use another boat, and if you are interested in swimming an endurance-oriented, though not exceptionally serious event, this is it.

I think we may have some PR help this year, thanks to Stephanie Green, who should be sending out press notices, etc. All we need is an event coordinator and we'll be official...

Any other help is gratefully accepted as well. And it reminds me, I'm going to go over my notes and see everyone who offered to take a role this year. And, of course, if anyone knows a good intern, we're always willing to train.

By the way, Rickie has been very healthy since January - knock on wood. We are hoping to keep the streak going through the entire year.

That's all for now.

December update...

Several pieces of good news here... First, I think we are getting started pretty soon planning next year's event. Greg Erne has offered to get into the fundraising process early this year, and be an even bigger help than he was last year. Next, we are going to be featured in the US Master's Swimming Magazine for January. This was arranged by Derek Weaver, one of our swimmers, and with the help of Laura Hamel, we were able to put together a small article explaining what we do and why. I have read Laura's draft and it is awesome. She is a great writer, as you'll see. Finally, I was named Distinguished Athlete of the Year at the DAC (Detroit Athletic Club). This is no big deal, but I do get a kick out of the fact that it took untilk I was 54 to get this kind of athletic honor. I was nominated largely on the strength of my being able to navigate Lake St Clair from Harson's Island to the Grosse Point Yacht Club twice (in two years) without drowning. I also managed to swim a shade over 500 miles in 2009 in the DAC pool to lead the Club's annual mileage contest. I didn't intentionally get into this to crank out the mileage, but now that I'm doing it I hate to stop. My goal for December is always big (for me) - this year I am trying to do 75 miles - which is 2.5 miles every day of the month (except Christmas, I guess). This may sound like a lot, but there are Masters swimmers doing 150 miles plus each month, and even my young friend Derek swims something like 10 miles a day as a part of the Wayne State swim team. Of course, I am 54 years old, and Derek is barely 25 or something. But there are are other older masters swimmers doing some pretty incredible mileage. And to be fair, I am not what I would consider a great swimmer. I can swim a long way, but I am not going to win any races. Some of these masters can swim more miles faster, and consistently.
But, as they say, I do what I can, and for me that means averaging about 45 miles/month. It is therapeutic, healthy and invigorating. And I need to say, at least twice in my life my lower back was so bad I was effectively disabled - I couldn't go for more than a week without it going out and incapacitating me. And I love to work hard - construction, etc. It was debilitating - I had to find a way out of it. My chiropractor suggested running in place in a pool, which I did at the Detroit Yacht Club (on Belle Isle) back in the mid nineties. It was extremely helpful, but I hated it - I couldn't wait to get better. But I didn't get better for a long time, and after a while it got so that I was very used to getting in the water, but I didn't like the running in place deal.
So, one day, I remember thinking I would try to lean forward a bit and propel myself for several laps. That was the start. I ended up quitting smoking and swimming more and more. A couple of years later, the first month that I swam 25 miles I thought I was on fire!! 44,000 yards!! I couldn't imagine doing more than that. And then I came to the DAC and met a couple of guys who kept pushing me and pushing me. At one point I couldn't see how Jim C. could do 1.5 miles 3 times a week - with a hip replacement!! And he beat me consistently. He also taught me how to flip turn over the next 5-6 years. But nobody motivated me more than George H. George refused to lose to me when we swam - EVER... I worked very hard for at least a year before I could beat him. I distinctly remember the first time I clearly beat him. We started at almost exactly the same time, and I was about 3 lengths behind him. I chased him the entire 35 laps - passing him in the last lap. It was exhilarating, and I was hooked. I owe a lot of my endurance and technique to Jim C., and certainly to George, but also to a handful of other members who help out with "clues" about what I could be doing better.
On another day, I swam my second fastest mile, and watched Mike B. pass me 4 times in the process!! I did a 26:22 and he smoked me. It is amazing to watch truly good, efficient swimmers. For those of you who are not great swimmers, the key is being as efficient as possible in the water. Never do anything that would hinder your process. It sounds so simple, but after 10+ years and a couple thousand miles, I learn something almost every time I'm out.
My training regime is pretty simple - I swim 2.5 miles in 70 to 75 minutes, period. I try not to stop and to keep up a good pace. I generally swim faster as I get into the workout. My last mile is most often my fastest.
There are any number of people who will tell you that this is definitely not the way to train, and I am certain they are correct. But for me, when I start doing 50's, 100's, etc., and alternating strokes and hitting faster times for shorter distances, I seem to pull muscles and have injuries more often. As it is, my arms and upper back are sore almost all the time. Occasionally I will go through a week or two when I'm not sore, but that hasn't happened in a while. Right now my right arm is numb from typing, etc. My genetic history seems to include a good deal of arthritis and bone issues, so I just keep going. Sometimes I take Motrin, but mostly I just keep going. If anyone has any good ideas out there, let me know. As therapy it is unparalleled (for me), but it would probably be even more fun it were less painful... Every time it gets tough, I think of Rickie, and I just keep going...

We Made It Again!!!!

First, I need to say that this is one man’s version of the events. I just wanted to put some thoughts down to herald our effort. And I want to thank our team - they are great friends, great swimmers, and a heck of a lot of fun to be around. And I am happy to say that I made it the entire length – again… At 54, hey, I’ll take it.




7:30am – The Boat…

Mike Hutchinson, Derek Weaver, Greg McDuffee and Greg Erne and I met Mike Stevens on his boat at the dock at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. We were joined by Richard Mishler, one of my partners at 4731 Consulting who came by to wish us luck. As fate would have it, we had an extra spot on the boat, so Richard joined us on the trip. We got all our gear on board and left the harbor at 8:00am headed for Harsen’s Island. The sky is overcast, the waves are pretty quiet and obviously there isn’t much wind at all. The weather report had called thunderstorms all morning… Seriously, weather forecasters must not get out much – they weren’t even close… The trip is 25 minutes, and we arrived without incident. The only hard part is watching the shoreline completely disappear in the distance. It makes you feel pretty insignificant – and brings into mind the idea that Lake St Clair really should be considered one of the Great Lakes. It also makes you question your judgment about swimming all the way back…



Mike Stevens recommends that we start at the southern tip of Harsen’s Island, and swim to the South Channel Lighthouses. Then from there, we’ll head southwest directly towards the Nine Mile Tower, located off Jefferson about a mile or so north of the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. The idea was that this year we would swim across the lake currents near the top of the lake and then use the shore currents to help us slide down the shoreline, staying no more than a mile or so offshore.



8:48am

Four of us get in the water: Greg Erne, Mike Hutchinson, Derek Weaver and me. We toast Rickie and our own bravado, say goodbye and start swimming. The sun is threatening to come out for good, the clouds are receding, and the water feels great. It was probably 73 degrees at the start, and ranged from 69 to about 76 on our trip. The water is smooth, there are few if any waves, and we’re swimming with the current. About 40 minutes later we’ve reached the second of the South Channel lighthouses and take a photo break for a couple of minutes. Personally, these little breaks are tough for me, because it is far easier (for me) to swim than to tread water, especially with a steady pace.



As we get ready to go we look back and see how far away the Harsen’s Island shore appears. It would not change for the next 2 hours or so… One of the frustrations to overcome in a long swim like this is the notion that you can swim for an hour or two, and your landmarks sometimes appear not to have changed at all. This is especially true of the shoreline itself, or of large landmarks like the 9 mile Tower that would later appear almost never to get closer during the middle 3-4 hours of the swim.



10:20am

Our first official break – we all get out to rest and to replace a couple of the swimmers with fresh bodies. I always feel best right after one of these breaks – the other swimmers speed me up a bit, and I feel a sense of their energy. I rest for 5 minutes, gulp down an energy packet (“GU”), drink some Gatorade and dive back in. Hitting the water is always a shock… And the temperature can change immediately. Frequently you’ll be lulled by some really warm water, and just as you’re getting comfortable you’ll hit a pocket of what feels like ice-cold water that nearly takes your breath. It’ll wake you up fast…



11:45 – second break. I can’t really explain what happens between breaks. My mind is thinking about everything and nothing at once. Most of the time I am trying to make sure I swim relatively straight to get maximum efficiency out of my effort. I am still feeling pretty good at this point. I am focused mostly on keeping the boat in sight (to my right) and making sure I don’t run into whoever is swimming next to me. We don’t look up much – there really is no reason. At water level, you can’t see anything but water anyway. I think about Rickie, about the guys I am swimming with, about my wife and family, about the economy, etc. Occasionally I look over and see Derek - he’s doing the butterfly, for crying out loud…



12:50 – Suddenly, Mike Stevens calls us into the boat. North of us, a pocket storm is passing through. It is small circle of dark clouds, which would probably be OK by themselves, but they are dropping lightning onto the lake. It is hard to tell which direction the clouds are moving, “severe weather” warnings have been issued and the National Weather Service is calling for potentially dangerous weather. We mark our coordinates and immediately head for shore. On the trip in we never did get wet or even any serious wind, but the Weather Service is right often enough to always listen to their advisories. We’ve been swimming 4 hours and have probably 6 miles left. It is hard to stop…



1:45 – We wait for a half hour at the GPYC, and suddenly the weather passes us or dissipates or disappears, and we get an all clear from the Weather Service. Mike Stevens declares we are going back out… Derek has just finished a huge hamburger and French fries from the GPYC concession and head back out. The rest of us went the fruit and liquids route. At his age (24?) the food doesn’t even affect him, and he is a pretty decent swimmer. The night before he had just returned from the US Masters Swimming Long Course Championships, where he placed 3rd in the 400 freestyle competition. At 2pm we’re back in the water.



3:00 – The times get a little more fluid here, but it’s always the same - fresh swimmers, quick break for nutrition, then back in the water.

We change swimmers roughly every hour. At each stop, we all get out. I always get back in, along with at least a couple of other guys. Some of them have put in serious mileage as well. We decide not to have more than three in the water at any one time – we get spread out too far and it is too hard to watch all of us. More GU, more Gatorade. I am getting pretty tired. And apparently I am turning to the left a lot. My left shoulder seems a little sore – I can’t quite find the stroke anymore that keeps it from hurting. But, the weather is decent, and I enjoy looking up and watching the sun and the clouds each time I take a breath. At one point the boat takes off – to go collect some trash on the water.



4:00pm - It is getting harder to get “clean air” – I keep taking in water because the waves are kicking up and shifting direction, but things are generally manageable. McDuffee frequently swims on my right side, and is as steady as a rock. When he is in the water, I mostly just keep an eye on him. He seems to watch the boat and somehow also stays with me, in spite of my frequent left turns. It’s the same thing with Hutch, who swims on my left, except for the fact that I find myself nearly running into him all the time.



5:30 – It has suddenly gotten very difficult to breathe. The waves are now coming out of the southwest directly into our path. Clearly the wind appears to have clocked 180 degrees in a very short time. I am aware of the different direction of the waves for only about 20 minutes until suddenly I hear the guys on the boat screaming at us to get out of the water. Greg McDuffee, Derek Weaver and I all swim hard to get to the boat, but have not completely gotten on board when the rain hits. It is pelting us, and the wind has suddenly and unexpectedly elevated to about 40 mph. But what is most interesting is the hail. I have been caught in a hailstorm before, but never while swimming in a lake. We all manage to make it on board just in time to hear Mike Stevens yell, “That’s all she wrote, boys. We’re done!!! At this point we’re about ½ a mile away from the mouth of the harbor. Mike is the self-appointed President of the Lake St Clair Swimming for Rickie Sanctioning Board. We all cheer and shake hands. It is really a great moment. Then we all come forward, and huddle together near the wheelhouse as we make our way to the harbor.



By the way, I must say that I feel partly responsible for the hail. At about a mile out, I realized I was having some difficulty. With the waves, I couldn’t get any power in my stroke, and I was working so hard to get air on each breath I was losing what energy I had left. So, I figured that I’d say a little prayer, get the winds to die down, or the waves to settle down a bit, and we’d be all set. But hail? Never even thought of that one…



I am the luckiest guy in the world. Rickie continues to be healthy and we have been blessed with great medical care at the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital. We have had great support for our little swim – including this group of seven guys on the boat who have offered their time and resources (and energy) to train for and swim in this effort two years in a row!! And we’ve already had several people offer to help us next year. We all made it, we have a great story to tell, and some really great people have supported us. Now – if you happen to know any others with cf who want someone to talk to – please send them to us. It’s always easier when you’ve got friends…