Hi Team!
When I started on this adventure, one of the first things I did was make a spreadsheet with my weekly and monthly swimming distance goals so that I could build up appropriately and be ready for the final swim. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a line item in there of “take 6 weeks off” 😂. So with a few new pieces of information, I’ve gone back to the drawing board, and here’s where I’m at.
First, my day-to-day training hasn’t changed much. I’m still doing Peloton, Spenga, TRX, and “swimming” with resistance bands. I still end up working out 4-5 hours a day, 6 days week, but wish it was heavier on the swimming side.
In terms of the originally planned longer training swims, I’ve had a few cancellations. The 24-hour May San Francisco Bay swim is at best postponed, and a 36-mile June swim in North Dakota (END-WET) is officially cancelled. I am of course disappointed, but they also aren’t showstoppers to this adventure. Not having water to swim in, now that’s a showstopper! But I have a lead on that front (more to come when I know more!), and it’s provided hope amidst the enormous uncertainty of this swim.
So when I do get trapped in the uncertainty, I also think about how far I’ve come in the past year. A positive result of not being able to do much of anything, athletic or otherwise, for a couple of years is that I have a personal barometer of what it takes to go from doing nothing to being athletic. It’s that barometer that made me think I could be nutty enough to try this swim in the first place, and it’s that barometer I’m going to continue to rely on. Right now, I can’t give up on this swim yet because I don’t know that I can’t do it yet. I’ve set new benchmarks and if I miss those, I’ll call it off and you’ll be the first to know. But in the meantime, I’m going to hold on as tight I can and hope you’ll do the same.
I am wishing all of you continued heath, stamina, and safety! Keep it up, team!