Last week, we did part of a trial run-through of the 10.3 mile route. According to the GPS, the entire course is 10.3 miles from the tip of Freeman Park at Carolina Beach to Dockside Restaurant at Wrightsville Beach. Alicia Uhl, Jenny Mical and I set off at 5:45am on a beautiful, slightly breezy Wednesday morning -- determined to do most of the route in order to test the currents. I decided swimming at a slower pace would be beneficial since I'd never swum ten miles before. I wanted to keep myself comfortable in order to hold off physical fatigue as long as possible.
What I couldn't fend off was the mental fatigue. From the start, the time seemed to crawl by. It felt like a slack tide - right at the turn of the tide - and it felt as though I wasn't making much headway. In fact, after 30 minutes, I had only swum one mile! Normally, my mile swim is much faster - even in a pool with no current or salt water to help me float! It was discouraging me, these beginning miles not getting me anywhere! Maybe we mistimed the tide and I'm headed against the current, I thought. At our next rest stop, I took a deep breath to regroup. In order to keep the drag from my suit to a minimum, I tied up my bikini top tighter and took off again.
As I was tying it, I flinched. The Speedo Recordbreaker LZR swimsuit that I normally wear to protect me from the stinging jellies has recently irritated a small spot under my scapula (posterior shoulder area). The skin in that area has been rubbed raw with all my swimming. This day's bikini top, when tied tighter, began to rub immediately! A half an hour later when I stopped to rehydrate and refuel with Hammer gels for calories, I felt a burn under my arms. I realized my triceps were rubbing against bare skin on my rib cage, creating a sore spot there. A little while later, I realized that my swim top was creating chafing on my collar bones on both sides! All four spots were pink with the skin rubbed off, swollen and burning from the salt water.
With five miles to go, another problem arose. Storm clouds started to pass above us. We started to hear distant thunder, and then all at once: a downpour. I began imagining what my dad always did in a rainstorm. He would gather up his fishing gear as quickly as possible and head out to the water, knowing the fish bite best in a downpour. I began to grow insecure in the water, wondering if the fish beneath were noticing their breakfast thrashing on the surface. Oh, my upwelling panic threatened to stop this swim if the storm didn't!! The rain came and went throughout the swim, along with sunshine, too! At one hydration break I was shivering from the rain. Yet, at the next break I would be overheating from the intense sunshine! But throughout the last few miles, pain from the rub outweighed many other thoughts and feelings.
I learned a lot in the five hours and 20 minutes it took to swim most of the route. For starters, the ICW10 is different every single time it's swum! Whether we swim a short or long distance trial swim, the current will always be slightly different than every other time. And yet, I love the challenge of open water swimming in the ocean or intra-coastal for this reason - you never know whatcha gonna get!
We also learned that no matter what, the circumstances are going to be a challenge at one end or the other. My swim event coordinator, Ben Bowie, noted the current flow from the inlets and my effort level at each one. He has told me that I either need to start the swim against the current for about two miles, or end it against the current for about one mile. As they say: Ay, there's the rub! Difficult decision!
I realized swimming ten miles in the ICW is definitely not an easy task. It requires focus, timing, concentration, motivation and desire. When I hoisted myself out of the water that day, I was not a happy woman. But, I felt a great sense of relief. I know now that it is possible and it can be done. I know what challenges await me and I know that I can make it physically and mentally!
Now if I could just get rid of the chafing!!!!
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