Not the Triumph, but the Struggle

The following is a post I wrote for the 8 Bridges blog.

“You’re swimming how FAR, in what TEMPERATURE, WITHOUT a WETSUIT!?”

Explaining marathon swimming to people is really fun. I will admit that I thoroughly enjoy the ego boost when some of the triathletes that swim at my home pool look at me completely gobsmacked when I answer those questions. Positive reinforcement like that certainly makes the hours logged in solitary pool confinement feel worth it! But the idea I strive to get across to those hearing about our sport for the first time is that one of the many things that makes it so special is that as a community, we value the struggle over the triumph.

A quote attributed to Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, sums it up better than I ever could: “The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.” 

This quote is incredibly important to remember in a sport where a change in the wind or weather conditions can affect whether or not you reach the finish. You can swim every day, eat the healthiest food you can find, put in extra hours of dryland, and study your charts, but if lighting strikes or you face a strong headwind, you will have to face the unpleasant fact that you will not finish the event you have been training for. You may feel upset, angry, want to curl up into a ball and hide from the world. But the fact of the matter is, you jumped into that water that day, which is a major accomplishment in and of itself. And, more importantly, you likely struggled along the way. You probably spent months waking up before the sun, and had to resist the magnetic pull of your pillow and warm blanket. You probably had to say no to a lot of fun social events because you needed to get to bed. Your bath towels probably smell like chlorine. Your grocery bill (or at least waffle budget) probably skyrocketed! You have probably doubted your ability as a swimmer and athlete on more than one occasion. But you didn’t quit. You jumped off that boat, and began to swim, despite voices inside your head telling you not to. That is the true triumph!

My hope for my fellow swimmers as we swim downstream next week is that everyone achieves their goals, and we all get to swim under those bridges with beaming smiles. But if that 100% completion rate is not met, my hope is that after getting out the negative emotions of not finishing, we all feel the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes from having reached for greatness. Just by reaching for it, you are already there.

Hold Fast,

Laura

What's On The Menu?

Ta da! Here is my color coded, delicious, Coach Bonnie approved feed plan for both Stage 2 and Stage 6. I am feeling pretty good about the feeds. All of them taste great, and seem to work well with my body. The liquid feeds will be Carbo Pro mixed with a Nuun tablet. Nuun is awesome! It has light electrolytes and delicious flavoring. I prefer tropical (basically a pina colada) and the cola flavor. 

I did have an...interesting... conversation when I bought my tub of Carbo Pro. I called Jack Rabbit Sports to confirm that they had some on hand. The smug gentleman on the other end said, "You know that is not a protein shake, right?" Now, in the movie version of my life, I will respond to his smugness with, "Noooo s***, Sherlock! CARB is in the name!" But real life me just explained that indeed I did know that CARBO Pro was a CARBOHYDRATE supplement, and I am an endurance athlete. Anyway, I ended up getting the tub for $7 thanks to a huge store credit from volunteering at the Battle of Brooklyn 11 miler last year. That night got even better when a hungry Francis and I split some delicious fries at Five Guys next to Jack Rabbit. We are not the most impulsive couple, especially as far as dining out is concerned, so it was quite a treat to have an impromptu yummy snack. 

Hold Fast,

Laura

STAGE 2 FEED PLAN

What’s In The Bag?

Green Bottle- Carbo Pro Tropical

Orange Bottle- Carbo Pro Cola

White Bottle- Plain water

Blue Bottle- Peanut Butter M&M’s

Applesauce

Chia Vitality

Schedule

Feed 1 (0:30)- Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 2 (1:00)- Chia Vitality and Water

Feed 3 (1:30)- Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 4 (2:00)- Applesauce and Water

Feed 5 (2:30)- Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 6 (3:00)- Applesauce and Water

Feed 7 (3:30)- Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 8 (4:00)- Applesauce

Feed 9 (4:30)- Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 10 (5:00)-Peanut Butter M&M’s

Feed 11 (5:30)- Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 12 (6:00)-Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 13 (6:30)-Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 14 (7:00)-Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 15 (7:30)-Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 16 (8:00)-Carbo Pro Tropical

STAGE 6 FEED PLAN

What’s In The Bag?

Green Bottle- Carbo Pro Tropical

Orange Bottle- Carbo Pro Cola

White Bottle- Plain water

Blue Bottle- Peanut Butter M&M’s

Applesauce

Chia Vitality

Schedule

Feed 1 (0:30)- Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 2 (1:00)- Chia Vitality and Water

Feed 3 (1:30)- Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 4 (2:00)- Applesauce and Water

Feed 5 (2:30)- Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 6 (3:00)- Applesauce and Water

Feed 7 (3:30)- Peanut Butter M&M’s

Feed 8 (4:00)- Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 9 (4:30)- Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 10 (5:00)- Carbo Pro Cola

Feed 11 (5:30)-  Carbo Pro Tropical

Feed 12 (6:00)- Applesauce

Feed 13 (6:30)- Carbo Pro Cola

Tell Me About Stage 2

On Monday June 8th, I will be swimming Stage 2 of 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim. This is likely going to be my toughest swim yet due to its intimidating distance (19.8 miles) and not quite as strong tidal assist. It is still assisted by the tide, but it is not as strong as some of the other stages. Another challenge: five days later, I will be jumping in the Hudson again for the 15 mile Stage 6. Faithful blog readers will remember that I swam Stage 6 last year, but was pulled just shy of the George Washington Bridge. It will have to be a pretty quick recovery!

I chose Stage 2 for the challenging distance and gorgeous rural scenery, but also because I will get to swim past the beautiful Culinary Institute of America. My sister studied there from 2010 to 2013, and graduated with her degree in baking and pastry studies. I have so many fond memories of visiting her there and, of course, devouring many delicious meals! But I also have a very fond swimming memory from there. Casey and her friends from the Baking and Pastry Honor Society volunteered at the 2013 2 Bridges Swim, where I swam the hilariously short 2.5K loop. That swim fell only a few short weeks after my paternal grandmother passed away suddenly. It was very therapeutic to be with most of my immediate family at an event with some semblance of normalcy. We spent the rest of the day at CIA and ate delicious take out from the Eveready Diner, since the resident assistant extraordinaire was on duty. It was also lovely using my sister's private RA bathroom to shower post swim. After Francis and I got back to the city, I remember curling up into bed while he watched Star Trek: Voyager, and feeling incredibly lucky to have an amazing swimming support system, and to be small part of such a great community of athletes. I still think of that day whenever I hear Jerry Goldsmith's beautiful theme to Voyager. I am hoping to channel that wonderful memory of family and good food when I am feeling tired or ready to quit Stage 2.

Savvy motivated volunteer right there!

Some course information courtesy of 8 Bridges. The two bridges are the Kingston Rhinecliff and the Mid-Hudson. It also goes by FDR's home and presidential library. Anyone who knows my family and its shared (well, mostly shared) love of all things historical will not be surprised that the FDR house was one of the first places we visited when Casey got into CIA.

Hoping for good weather, calm water, and a north wind!

Host Fast,

Laura

Just Keep Swimming...

It has been months since my last post. Not for lack of swimming, but for lack of a good attitude about swimming and life. Winter training is boring, lonely, and truly embodies the phrase "nothing to write home about." Now that I have survived what proved to me a much more difficult winter training season than I expected, I feel the need to reflect on it and how it got me to a milestone.

In December, I registered for stages 2 (June 8) and 6 (June 13) of 8 Bridges. Stage 6, as you will recall, is the stage I came very close to completing last year. Stage 2 is a brand new challenge for me. Longer in distance and tougher as far as tidal assist. What drew me to stage 2 is its beauty and that I will get to swim past the Culinary Institute of America where my sister went to school (and maybe have croissants thrown at me as I swim by). 

I started off the winter as gung-ho as ever, but got bored very quickly, was plagued by a never ending series of colds and mystery illnesses, and "real life outside of swimming" stressors that made the pool the last place I wanted to spend my time. In fact, my ideal day was one spent under a blanket with a book and "Once Upon A Time" on Netflix than one swimming: NOT a feeling I am used to. These were all difficult to shake. Initially, I put immense pressure on myself to "snap out of it," or "swimming will take your mind off things." I quickly learned that just had to let things run their course, while trying my absolute best to get to the pool and work hard once I was there. It was a true lesson in that time and healthy outlets of emotion heals all. Yes, swimming is very therapeutic for me, but I had to learn how to deal with things when a solid 3,000 yards just won't cut it. Fortunately, due to an amazing support system and some time, things turned around.

Yesterday, I got up at 3:20 AM (before my alarm!), slapped on some sunscreen, kissed Francis goodbye, and headed out to the beach with Coach Bonnie and her fiance, Gray. We met Lori, and at 5:30, I was swimming towards a beautiful sunrise. It was COLD. The water was 56 degrees (nothing I can't handle), but the air was 49 degrees and the northwest wind was relentless. Every now and then, the beach resembled the desert with beautiful swirling sands. I have done plenty of cold dips and swims, but this was different. I've never swam with such a cold wind and air temperature. The water was warmer than the air, but the wind on my back was not making it feel that way. I kept diving down to try to get in the warmer water, but I sadly do not have gills. Even with all that pain, there was still something religious and wonderful about swimming into that sunrise and being one of maybe five people on the beach and the only one in the water. I usually hate the loneliness, but I reveled in it yesterday. I finally felt like I was an open water swimmer again. 

My initial goal was to swim for 3 hours, but it was simply too cold, and I stayed in for two hours. While it was short of the initial goal, I was thrilled that I stayed in as long as I did. Also, I was overjoyed to hear that my stroke rate remained steady up until the very end, a feat that is glorious considering how uncomfortable I was! It was an amazing swim! Getting dressed was a comedy of errors, but thanks to my No Flash Towel I was covered. The most embarrassing moment was asking Bonnie to put my shoes and socks on for me, since I had the dexterity of a four month-old baby. Thanks, mom ;)

Without the struggles of the winter training season, I may have not had the mental toughness to put up with the nagging and biting cold that overtook my body yesterday. While I wish this winter could have been filled with more meets and solid workouts and fewer tissues and stress dreams, the bad prepared me in its own way.

My swims are just around the corner! I am ready, excited, nervous, and finally ready to write about them. More to comes.

Hold Fast,
Laura

2014 Lap Swim Awards Night

I am the first person to tell you that I welcome the end of summer every year. My favorite seasons are the fall and winter, and for the record, I was into pumpkin spice well before it became a fad! Anyway, this summer could not have ended on a better note!

Wednesday August 27th was the annual lap swim awards night. Swimming friend Jia Jung brought me as her plus one to last year's awards night, and it was how I discovered the amazing parks lap swimming program! It is a huge party complete with catering from Katz's Deli, a 4x200m relay race, awards, t-shirts for those who swam 25 miles or more, and is a great change to socialize with pool friends as the season comes to a close. 

The night started off with the 4x200m relay. Each session (Early Bird and Night Owl) from each pool selects 4 people to compete. I can't stand sprinting, but love relays and being a member of a team, so I was honored to swim! The Lasker Early Birds consisted of two South Africans (Richard and Ted), one Brit (Paula), and one American (me, in a Wonder Woman swimsuit). Our order was strategic: Ted (build the lead), me (hold and build the lead), Paula (hold and really build the lead), and Richard (get us to the wall as fast as humanly possible). We were in the 4th heat, so we had plenty of time to watch all the other teams swim. Eventually it was our turn! My stomach in knots at the prospect of a dreaded 50m sprint, I jumped into the pool and waited for Ted to touch the wall. I pushed off the wall like a spring, and breathed about 5 times for the next 50m (Francis said he's never seen me swim that fast). I thought I was going to DIE the last 10 meters! Slammed the wall with my hand, and Paula took off, increasing our lead. Then it was time for our anchor to bring us home! No one could come anywhere near the tall and speedy Richard, and we won our heat by several body lengths! We were so excited! After getting some dinner, they finally announced the relay winners. We came in a SECOND PLACE! Go Lasker Early Birds! It was so exciting walking up to that podium with such a great group of swimmers.

I should also note, that Lasker had two fabulous in water cheerleaders, Magdalena and Amy! We were on an outside lane, and they were walking along in the lane to our right. They contributed to our success big time, and were a great addition to the great people cheering from the pool deck!

The night concluded with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place distance awards. I came in second after a very dedicated swimmer named Valentina. Catherine, the mayor of Lasker came in third. 

This was the perfect capstone to a very busy summer of swimming. The NYC swimming community is truly something special. It is full of supportive, energetic, and truly caring people that I feel honored to call my friends. Whether I am at a CIBBOWS or NYC Swim event, a Lasker picnic and pre-work swim session, I find myself feeling so thankful to be a small part of such a fantastic community. While it is lonely during the winter when I have my 5:45 AM workouts, this support system is there when I get out of the pool, and some may just even be there next to me at the crack of dawn this year. It is something I treasure most dearly, and love about New York. This city gets a bad wrap for being lonely, empty, and soulless. And while that may be true in some ways, its swimming community is full of amazing people who make the big city seem more like an idyllic Walnut Grove (minus Nellie Oleson, of course). 

I have one more race this summer, the Little Red Lighthouse 10K, and then it will be back to training for some marathon swims next summer. And also plenty of Lasker gatherings throughout the fall and winter months. 

Happy Pumpkin Spice Season! So far, I have had three pumpkin lattes, two servings of pumpkin soup, pumpkin salt water taffy, and pumpkin fudge. 

Hold Fast,
Laura

Warming up for the relay!

2nd place Lasker Early Birds! Paula, Ted, me, Richard

Richard and I Right after we won our heat! Picture courtesy Nan Melville.

2014 Lap Swim Awards Night. Picture courtesy Nan Melville.

The Lasker Early Bird distance winners! Andy (third man from the left) swam further than ANY of us! He is a tank! Picture courtesy Nan Melville.

Trophies!

My distance trophy

Me and Jia! She got first place at McCarren pool. Thanks to her, I found this amazing program!

Swim Footage

Kayaker extraordinaire Terry O'Malley sent Charles and I some amazing footage of our swims! This is amazing since it is a perspective that I never get to see! 

This is a long video of the end of the swim. It gets kind of foggy due to the temperature change from being in the open water to hitting land. 

Click here to view


Hold Fast,
Laura

The Sandy Hookers-Ederle Relay 2014

On August 10, 2014, I swam home for the first time.

For those not keeping score at home, I swam as the anchor of a 2-person relay from Battery Park to Sandy Hook, NJ. This was not a long expected swim. Swimming buddy Charles Bender reached out to me early in July and asked if I was interested. Of course, I could not turn this down! Two hours on, two hours off. Nothing neither of us could not handle.

And handle it we did! 

The day started at North Cove Marina. Picture perfect day for a swim. Of course, I was terrified that my swim was going to turn out like Stage 6, with waves slamming me for 6 hours. But there was good news! The picturesque supermoon was going to help us out! We could expect fast tides in our favor...as long as we made it to the Hook in time.

I had to start the relay, so I said goodbye to Charles and our crew pretty early in the day. We had a great crew for this! Terry O'Malley kayaking (lead kayaker for the day, may I add), and an experienced observer and boater.

A little while after the boat departed, the swimmers boarded a zodiac and headed down to the battery. My dad works in midtown on Sundays, and I had given him directions to where he could potentially see the swim. Neither of us thought the stars would align so that he could see us off. But surprise was on our side (Master and Commander reference). All of a sudden I heard someone yell, "Louie!' He has called me Louie since I was a baby, a derivative of "Laura Lou" and "Lulu Bell" which my mom and grandmother called me. Well, there he was standing at the battery right next to the race director, Morty. Pretty awesome! I got a little verklempt. A good omen for the day!

My first hurdle was to get us the heck out of New York Harbor. The harbor is a madhouse of boat traffic. Think about it: Statue of Liberty ferries, Governors Island ferries, Staten Island Ferry, Seastreak Ferry, Circle Line, Water Taxis...and these are just the ones off the top of my head! I kept telling myself to sprint. Hold fast, and get us to the open ocean! Morty counted us down, and I took off. I dove under and dolphin kicked to give myself some momentum. This worked really well, and I got away from the two other swimmers flanking my right and left. I found Terry very quickly, and we found our rhythm. Out of the corner of my eye, all I could see were these gigantic vessels. I knew I was safe, but I could not help but hope and pray that I did not become fish food at the hands of their mighty propellers. But let's not think about that!

Sprinting to Buttermilk Channel

We made our way around Governors Island through Buttermilk Channel. It does not taste like buttermilk. Bummer. My feeds were quick, as I wanted to build us up as much of a cushion as I possibly could. Can't waste time! While swimming a relay is easier in the sense that there is more than one swimmer, you are really giving it your all for the two hours you are swimming so that you don't disappoint. Charles jumped in, and  I finished the first leg about a mile or so from the Verrazano Bridge.

Then the trouble began...

When I found out that the boat had a head (nautical term for toilet), I decided not to bring my No Flash towel (a handy poncho like device Coach Bonnie invented to make deck changes easier) to save some space. Well, the head was located in the hull of the boat. That is prime area for seasickness. I also rushed getting up onto the boat and getting situated. Your body also goes through a huge blood pressure change when you go from being in the water to land. Between the blood pressure change and changing in the hull, I was TOAST. I proudly did not throw up, but boy did I think I would. I only managed to eat a few grapes, water, and some Nuun. I spent most of the leg laying down and trying to do what George Gallagher told me to do: keep my eyes on the horizon. The support crew around the boat was great. No one made a big deal about it, which would have really gotten inside my head. I felt bad that I could not cheer on Charles more as he was in the water! He had a great leg and swam under the Verrazano like a champ. Miraculously, about 15 minutes before it was time to start my leg I felt better. That plunge back into the cool water felt like heaven!

The second leg started out great. We were getting super close, and I felt much better. But we were not out of the woods (kelp forest? I need an ocean version of woods) yet. I hit a major wall around Roamer Shoal light, about 2 miles from land. It was a long, long, long, long, 2 miles. The water gets "confused" around Sandy Hook, with it traveling in different directions (ebbing and flooding). If you have ever tried to get up onto a sand bar at the beach, it feels a lot like that. It was an excruciating couple of miles. I really wanted to walk up on that beach and finish the swim, but I thought Charles was going to have to come in. It was as big a mental challenge as the end of Stage 6. Thankfully, a second wind hit as I saw the beautiful sand and trees of the Hook. I knew exactly where I was. I could see the hill I grew up on. The water felt the same. Everything started to come into place. A hot shot boater created these huge waves that I saw approaching behind me. Years of bodysurfing came in handy, as I went into the streamline position and road them several feet. I realized this could actually happen!

Somewhere out there...

In the same instant that I saw some brown sand, I heard Terry yell "Stand up! Stand up!" I stood up and there I was! HOME! Sandy Hook! The place where I sang "Castle on a Cloud" in front of a huge audience when I was 7, went on Girl Scout picnics, dissected two sharks at marine biology camp, listened to a Hurricane Sandy prophecy 10 years in advance, learned to drive, visited my friend Sam when she was a park ranger, got wiped out by waves that crash right on the shore, watched for humpback whales migrating south when I was an angsty teenager just wanting to get out of high school. The list goes on. It felt somewhat primitive to step on that wild part of the beach. Like I was the first woman to ever have seen it. A new world, vastly different than the one I was just in.  It was also kind of like the scene in Gravity when Sandra Bullock finally reaches shore. Charles swam out to me and we both soaked in the excitement of completing the swim. We each took a shell from shore, and made our way back to the boat for the ride in.

Foggy due to temperature change, but I am standing on the tip of Sandy Hook!

My parents met us for dinner where we were presented with our Top Relay award! We came in with a time of 5 hours and 52 minutes! Sixth swimmers to hit the beach! I did roughly 12 of the 17.5 miles. It is always such an experience gathering with swimmers, kayakers, volunteers, and loved ones after an event like this. Everyone has great stories and there is such a buzz and energy in the air! You're in desperate need of a shower, and in my case, something to help drain the water from your sinuses, yet you can't help but be upbeat and want to stay forever. It is so surreal and goes by in a blur.

My night ended in as great a way as possible: pumpkin beer (the first of the season), Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and Francis. 

BIG thank you to Charles Bender for recruiting me to be a Sandy Hooker. Kevin, for being a great crew member and helping when I could barely move on the boat. Davien for being an amazing observer, and snapping the money shot of the day (also my cover photo for a forthcoming album of Bon Jovi/Springsteen cover songs).

Jersey Strong.

Thanks to Terry O'Malley for being such an awesome kayaker! Truly the best! Thanks to my family for the support and great messages. They also helped big time on the boat. Thank you Matt Gurry for the great tweets from a Sandy Hook ferry! And thank you to Francis, for everything from spending money to take an Uber car home from a BBQ on Saturday so he could be with me to keeping my family updated while I was swimming. Thank you to Lori and Coach Bonnie for continuing to be such an awesome support team. This is a highly individual sport that is impossible to do alone. 

I will post more pictures and some awesome video once I have them compiled. And once I get some more food in my system. Bareburger will take care of that :)

Hold Fast,
Laura