In for an inch, in for a 7 mile (Lido Key) [Swim Diesel]
Ask anyone. I'm stubborn. It's why I fail... and why I succeed.
The Global Swim Series runs from the beginning of May to the end of April. After watching someone else take the title in season 2 I decided to take another run at it for season 3. And I have run. This season has taken much determination, soul searching, swimming, and money. People have asked me if I think that doing all of this is really worth it. I truly believed that I could do it and made it a goal. What would I think of myself if I didn't give it my all and gave up part way? Hard work and hustle....that is the way.
Lido Key was a swim I kept in my pocket "just in case". I registered early hoping I wouldn't need it. But I did. From my part of Ontario it is more than 2200 km's to that part of Florida by car... and that was my method of transportation. The first night I stopped in SC to visit a dear friend who I saw for a total of 30 mins. It was a late night and early morning with more driving ahead. I had done some crazy driving this season (TN) but this took the cake. I had also never been to Florida so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Florida was hot. The day of the swim was.... cookin...
To a non swimmer 24.4 C water temperature sounds great. For a competitor swimming mid day in the sun (30 degrees no less) that temperature water is actually undesirable. It's much too warm to be comfortable. But - these were the cards we were dealt. Otherwise it was hard to complain. I didn't have to worry about the swim being cancelled or pulled or anything. All I had to do was finish.
I got to the venue nice and early, but I was by no means the first. There was already a crowd forming at the check in to get their kit and chip.
There were many familiar faces and still more that I didn't know. My introversion got the better of me and I kept to myself. Really I just wanted to get in and go. I had been building up to this swim mentally for some time.
Somewhat like Christmas morning when you were a kid and came downstairs to a mountain of presents that were not there the night before.... this is how I felt approaching this swim. It was my first true ocean swim. I had done salt water in Charleston but that was different. Coming over the stairs you saw the ocean and fellow water warriors preparing for battle, whether they were swimmers or kayakers.
At the appointed time we had our safety meeting. Thinking about things now I would have to say that in many ways this was one of the easiest swims from a safety standpoint. I am certain that I was never far from shallow water. Indeed, at some points I was hitting sand with my hands. My kayaker (who was awesome) was always ready but had to do very little other than throw me my drink. In fact, he had a rougher time than I did. In any event - it was well run and there were no concerns.
Then came the moment.
It was time to swim. The men went first, followed by the women, and then relay teams. This was the only part of the whole thing where I thought..... "Erm....". The swimmers were all in the water behind a buoy. The kayakers were well behind them. In theory everyone knew where everyone was. Once the airhorn went off though... well it was a different game altogether. I'm not sure what the best way is to find your swimmer or kayaker at a mass start like this. I just know that this was difficult. Once we had that sorted it was all about swimming.
Most of the swim was smooth. We kept a 15 min schedule for me to drink which has worked well in the past.
The challenging part came when we go to the place called "Big Sarasota Pass". If you look on a map it is a bit of a channel between Lido Key and Bay Isle. The wind had picked up and the waves were pretty much hitting you in the face. This wasn't actually so terrible if you had dealt with these kinds of things before. Going around the point to the right was even more adventure. But that still was doable. The final leg, or the home stretch however was hell.
We were swimming parallel to the shore with waves pushing us from the left. We then had to deal with undertow pulling us back. We were also dealing with the after effects of fighting through the pass and trying to correct for all these things pushing and pulling you in every which way. It was tough. I also was dealing with some sun stroke. I was to the point that I did not want to drink anything else and I was sick of salt water in my mouth. It was actually mentally very taxing. But...I'm stubborn. *** In case my coach is wondering why my arm is up like that - I'm feeling for waves ***
As usual I did butterfly into the finish. Muhammad Ali would often stand in his corner instead of sit... I'll fly to the finish. Why? Because I believe I could do more.
You'll notice that I kept my cap on. Miraculous I know. I was taking zero chances on this day. It did actually fall off (for real) and I had to stop mid swim and sort it all out. Anyways - I was happy to finish and cared little about my place or time. It was finished. As was my season. There is nothing further I can do and I gave it what I had.
After the swim there was a meal... which I wanted nothing to do with. Not because of the meal itself but my Wolverine gene hadn't kicked in yet. I wanted nothing in my body. I stuck around and watched the awards get given out. Said hi to a few people etc.
It wasn't long before everyone has left. The tents and tables were packed up, kayaks loaded, and swimmers returned to wherever they had came from. I had met a fellow from Toronto, some Brazilians, and event the great Diego Lopez, aka The Global Swimmer . I had no other plans and had nowhere to be. I decided to listen to a friend.
I was finished what I was doing at about 3 or 4 pm. My new plan was to photograph the sunset since I was in such a scenic place. I had lots of time to kill so I put on my running shoes and walked through many of the little shops around the corner. Stumbled would probably be a better word. I was feeling the effects of the sun. I did get an ice cream which seemed to help a little. Ultimately my stomach decided that the salt water had not got the best of it and that it was empty.
As is often the case I decided on Pizza. Yes - I ate the whole damn thing.
I can't complain. My skin is still paying for it now... but being there at the ocean was great.
It's times like these I learn to live again. Off on an adventure, at water, many things unknown, doing something that most people would consider lunacy... this is my happy place.
So now.... I wait. Currently I am on the top of the leader board. Something I have learned however is to not count the chickens until they are hatched.
Until I touch the wall.....
Michael Kenny
Masters Swimmer
Cambridge Mavericks
Marathon Open Water Swimmer
2015-16 Global Swim Series Champion
Contact Info :
F : https://www.facebook.com/swim.diesel
I : https://www.instagram.com/swim.diesel
T : https://twitter.com/SwimDiesel
E : m.j.kenny@swim-diesel.com
+ : google.com/+Swim-diesel
K : swimdiesel
B : SWMDSL
The Global Swim Series runs from the beginning of May to the end of April. After watching someone else take the title in season 2 I decided to take another run at it for season 3. And I have run. This season has taken much determination, soul searching, swimming, and money. People have asked me if I think that doing all of this is really worth it. I truly believed that I could do it and made it a goal. What would I think of myself if I didn't give it my all and gave up part way? Hard work and hustle....that is the way.
Lido Key was a swim I kept in my pocket "just in case". I registered early hoping I wouldn't need it. But I did. From my part of Ontario it is more than 2200 km's to that part of Florida by car... and that was my method of transportation. The first night I stopped in SC to visit a dear friend who I saw for a total of 30 mins. It was a late night and early morning with more driving ahead. I had done some crazy driving this season (TN) but this took the cake. I had also never been to Florida so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Florida was hot. The day of the swim was.... cookin...
To a non swimmer 24.4 C water temperature sounds great. For a competitor swimming mid day in the sun (30 degrees no less) that temperature water is actually undesirable. It's much too warm to be comfortable. But - these were the cards we were dealt. Otherwise it was hard to complain. I didn't have to worry about the swim being cancelled or pulled or anything. All I had to do was finish.
I got to the venue nice and early, but I was by no means the first. There was already a crowd forming at the check in to get their kit and chip.
There were many familiar faces and still more that I didn't know. My introversion got the better of me and I kept to myself. Really I just wanted to get in and go. I had been building up to this swim mentally for some time.
Somewhat like Christmas morning when you were a kid and came downstairs to a mountain of presents that were not there the night before.... this is how I felt approaching this swim. It was my first true ocean swim. I had done salt water in Charleston but that was different. Coming over the stairs you saw the ocean and fellow water warriors preparing for battle, whether they were swimmers or kayakers.
At the appointed time we had our safety meeting. Thinking about things now I would have to say that in many ways this was one of the easiest swims from a safety standpoint. I am certain that I was never far from shallow water. Indeed, at some points I was hitting sand with my hands. My kayaker (who was awesome) was always ready but had to do very little other than throw me my drink. In fact, he had a rougher time than I did. In any event - it was well run and there were no concerns.
Then came the moment.
It was time to swim. The men went first, followed by the women, and then relay teams. This was the only part of the whole thing where I thought..... "Erm....". The swimmers were all in the water behind a buoy. The kayakers were well behind them. In theory everyone knew where everyone was. Once the airhorn went off though... well it was a different game altogether. I'm not sure what the best way is to find your swimmer or kayaker at a mass start like this. I just know that this was difficult. Once we had that sorted it was all about swimming.
Most of the swim was smooth. We kept a 15 min schedule for me to drink which has worked well in the past.
The challenging part came when we go to the place called "Big Sarasota Pass". If you look on a map it is a bit of a channel between Lido Key and Bay Isle. The wind had picked up and the waves were pretty much hitting you in the face. This wasn't actually so terrible if you had dealt with these kinds of things before. Going around the point to the right was even more adventure. But that still was doable. The final leg, or the home stretch however was hell.
We were swimming parallel to the shore with waves pushing us from the left. We then had to deal with undertow pulling us back. We were also dealing with the after effects of fighting through the pass and trying to correct for all these things pushing and pulling you in every which way. It was tough. I also was dealing with some sun stroke. I was to the point that I did not want to drink anything else and I was sick of salt water in my mouth. It was actually mentally very taxing. But...I'm stubborn. *** In case my coach is wondering why my arm is up like that - I'm feeling for waves ***
As usual I did butterfly into the finish. Muhammad Ali would often stand in his corner instead of sit... I'll fly to the finish. Why? Because I believe I could do more.
You'll notice that I kept my cap on. Miraculous I know. I was taking zero chances on this day. It did actually fall off (for real) and I had to stop mid swim and sort it all out. Anyways - I was happy to finish and cared little about my place or time. It was finished. As was my season. There is nothing further I can do and I gave it what I had.
After the swim there was a meal... which I wanted nothing to do with. Not because of the meal itself but my Wolverine gene hadn't kicked in yet. I wanted nothing in my body. I stuck around and watched the awards get given out. Said hi to a few people etc.
It wasn't long before everyone has left. The tents and tables were packed up, kayaks loaded, and swimmers returned to wherever they had came from. I had met a fellow from Toronto, some Brazilians, and event the great Diego Lopez, aka The Global Swimmer . I had no other plans and had nowhere to be. I decided to listen to a friend.
I was finished what I was doing at about 3 or 4 pm. My new plan was to photograph the sunset since I was in such a scenic place. I had lots of time to kill so I put on my running shoes and walked through many of the little shops around the corner. Stumbled would probably be a better word. I was feeling the effects of the sun. I did get an ice cream which seemed to help a little. Ultimately my stomach decided that the salt water had not got the best of it and that it was empty.
As is often the case I decided on Pizza. Yes - I ate the whole damn thing.
I can't complain. My skin is still paying for it now... but being there at the ocean was great.
It's times like these I learn to live again. Off on an adventure, at water, many things unknown, doing something that most people would consider lunacy... this is my happy place.
So now.... I wait. Currently I am on the top of the leader board. Something I have learned however is to not count the chickens until they are hatched.
Until I touch the wall.....
Michael Kenny
Masters Swimmer
Cambridge Mavericks
Marathon Open Water Swimmer
2015-16 Global Swim Series Champion
Contact Info :
F : https://www.facebook.com/swim.diesel
I : https://www.instagram.com/swim.diesel
T : https://twitter.com/SwimDiesel
E : m.j.kenny@swim-diesel.com
+ : google.com/+Swim-diesel
K : swimdiesel
B : SWMDSL