Catalina (26 Miles Across the Sea)

Whenever I have mental downtime, showering or swimming or whatever, I always think about things I want to write about, the best words to describe them, so much detail.  And then I never do.  I am motivated to get the basic things down, collect photos, because I think it’s important, but going beyond the basics is difficult for me to do.  I find this happens at work too.  There is so much to do I just have to plow through, sometimes I get inspired to do something new or creative, but 70% is just powering through.  I am constantly doing twenty things at once, my To Do list running rampant on loop behind my eyes.  Work has been crazy busy and everything competes for the same mental real estate.

With work being so busy and me being frantic with worry about my upcoming swim, I haven’t done much else this past month.  Last week some friends invited me to a benefit screening of Big River Man.  This movie is the story of Martin Strel, a man well known to the marathon swimming community, but also someone who is also of general interest.  His courage, perseverance, and personality is epic – he has swim some of the world’s longest rivers in stages spanning several months at a time.  Can you imagine, swimming the China’s filthy Yangtze River, 3915 miles amidst dead bodies, livestock, and infectuous diseases?  But he did it…plus the Mississippi River, Danube River, and then the movie focuses on his swim down the mighty Amazon.  

A lot of purist marathon swimmers scoff at his efforts, since he does them in stages and often wears a wetsuit, uses swim fins, etc.  I am definitely a purist in terms of gear, but I really admire Martin’s spirit and achievements.  He imagines things that have never been done before, that other people think are crazy, and he makes them happen. He is also quite the character, and I enjoy that.  Too many people in the endurance sports community are healthy living, teetotaling bores who can only talk about their VO2 max,  splits, and nutrition plans.  No fun.  Martin is pretty much the opposite of that!

On the way to the screening, we randomly ran into my friend and Martin on the street!  Big hugs all around, they head to dinner, and then on to the movie.  The movie is ridiculous.  The filmmaker definitely has his fun, showing Martin in a humorous light and maybe focusing too much on his foibles, but once it gets into the swimming part, it is spot on.  I am seriously in tears by the end…the way the movie captures the feel of marathon swimming, the joys, the connections, even the inevitable but gradual descent into insanity towards the end of a long swim…it’s all there.  People talk about the physical pain of long swims, but I don’t think I’ve ever read or seen anything that captures the mental aspect quite like this film.  And frankly the selfishness and ego that it takes to even think we can do these sorts of swims…I relate to it.  Interestingly, one of the things mentioned as a driving force for Martin in his swims were the brutal beatings from his parents that he experienced as a child, which I had never heard anyone say before.  But it makes sense, after enduring that, swimming, even long swims, is pretty damn easy compared to having the shit kicked out of you by someone who is supposed to love you.

The movie, and Martin, as a person and a character, really touched me.  It’s not something I think I would ever even mention to him or anyone but S, but it was definitely a powerful and interesting portrait.  It was a beautiful night so we headed over to the Dove Parlour for a couple of drinks.  I was maudlin after one negroni, so the two that followed were probably not a good idea.  S and I talked and talked, then stopped in at the treehouse for a beer before heading home.  I got it into my head that I wanted to sleep on the floor, so we did that and woke up feeling as awesome as you’d imagine.  

The next two days I worked like a demon to finish things up workwise before our trip and my Catalina swim.  We flew into LAX on Saturday afternoon, then rented a car and drove to the marina in San Pedro.  Checked into our hotel, went to buy glowsticks, diaper cream, and other fun accessories.  Had dinner at the hotel then came back to our room only to find the a/c was not working.  The hotel was booked for like three weddings so they couldn’t move us that night, but gave us a fan and said we could switch the next day.  I was pissed because the main reason I got the room was to sleep through the next day, hopefully really late to bank zzzzz’s before we left at 9pm for a midnight start.  We ended up moving rooms the next morning, and it was fine, we woke up early but had breakfast, changed rooms, then I took a nice long nap while S did some last minute prep stuff.  We had an early dinner, then it was 8pm and we headed over to the Marina to meet the boat.   Got loaded on, briefed by the boat crew and my observers, chatted a bit, then went below deck to catch some rest for an hour or two before my start.  The berths were really comfortable and being rocked by the waves was so restful.

Then it was go time…I changed into my suit, slathered on sunscreen, and S loaded me up with zinc.  Tied on my glowsticks, and I was ready to jump just before midnight:

  

I jumped off the boat, then swam in to meet land for the start.  On the way I hit kelp beds and struggled to navigate around their thick ropey tendrils.  I came up on shore, pebbly beach, walked out, walked back in, and then the swim officially began.

It was so peaceful there.  In the dark, you can’t see much, a sliver of orange moon, the gentle glow of light sticks, and the trails of bioluminescence trailing from my hands as they churn away at the water.  It’s just me and the water.  The hours passed, fish jumping at my feet and legs, small but painful jellies stinging my face, hands, arms, and legs.  I fed every 30 minutes, 10 seconds to take in 8 ounces of warm ginger tea and carbohydrate mix.  I swam six hours or so until it starts getting light out.  I loved swimming in the dark but as the sky lightened, I was ready for the sun again.  

Beautiful California sunrise:

 
When it got lighter out, my kayakers (Adam and Monica) switched out while I fed and we were on our way again.  Around this same time I started to seeland which always messes with my head because I still had about halfway to go.

On the way some dolphin friends came to see me.  I couldn’t see much because I was in the water, but I could hear them really clearly which was really funny.  Much more fun than the lame "swimming with dolphins" thing we did a few years ago with captive dolphins near a cruise we took with my family:

 
 

Around this time land started getting closer, I could see more distinct things on the beach and in the hills.  During this time I saw the weirdest fish, they are called sunfish and look like just the head of a small shark, but with a weirdly human face.  So strange!

Just when I was getting annoyed because I just wanted to be done, I saw S come out in his swimsuit.  He did a stripper dance, then jumped in to swim in to the beach with me.  I was so excited because I knew it meant I would be done soon.  Adam came too, and Monica was on the boat taking photos with my observers, Tina and Evan.  

  

Around this time I saw a stingray…usually this close to shore the water gets pretty shallow but this cove had a steep drop right around the waterline.  

 

There was a pretty strong surge in/out as we were coming into land, so once I touched rock I grabbed on and held on while it tried to pull me back.  

Then I rode the next surge towards shore and stumbled on to land.  The horn sounded once I cleared the water line, signaling the finish of my swim.  

We walked back out and then swam back to the boat.

I think the place where we landed was a pretty nice resort, check it out:

 

I was super happy to take my cap off, and when I got on the boat S had surprised me with a Congratulations sign and three party crowns symbolizing the completion of my "Triple Crown" – English Channel, Around Manhattan, and now Catalina Channel.  How sweet is he?!

Check out my course – super straight line, especially compared to my English Channel swim, which was one big old S curve!

 

It took me like an hour in the tub to get the zinc off, and then we went out in search of dinner.  We didn’t end up finding anything, so we got room service, then went to sleep.  I didn’t get sunburned but I am still COVERED in jellyfish stings…it sucks but I’m kind of glad that at least it’s coverable by clothing.  We slept well, then got up, packed, drove back to LAX and flew home.  

We got home to NYC around 9pm and flew right by the memorial lights and the new lighting for the Freedom Tower.  I still don’t know what to make of it all.  We got back home around 10:30pm, went to sleep, then I had to leave on a work trip by 6am.  Bah.  Now I’m on the way home, but have to work tomorrow too.  I think I still want to go out tonight, and maybe tomorrow.  I also can’t wait to get back into normal shape – I think I (and S) need a better routine.