The Big Swim

I visited this pier at the Fannin Landing boat launch several times over the last few weeks. Looking west, it's roughly 3.6 miles across. Some mornings the water is smooth as glass all the way to Madison Landing, and some days it's rough with wind and waves. I kept this photo as my desktop at work, a constant reminder of the coming challenge.

Months ago, Kate, Paul and I stopped while riding our bikes and discussed the possibility of doing a big open water swim here, maybe swim out a half mile and swim back. We have talked about a big reservoir swim since we started our annual Lake St. John swims 4 years ago. Our Flounder swimming partner, Mack talked about swimming across some day. Then in April, Kate forwarded an email message to me about a 5K swim in Pensacola, and suggested that maybe we weren't brave enough to accept that kind of challenge. I knew then she had thrown down the gauntlet. As I stewed about it for weeks, Kate phoned the Reservoir officials and learned we needed only to submit a plan describing our intentions, and if there was no fund raising or official advertising as an event, we could proceed.

I wrote a plan. Kate approved. I sent the plan to the Rez officials and sent a copy to several others who might be interested in swimming or kayaking. Our plan was simple: a small number of swimmers, each escorted by a canoe or kayak, would swim across at 6:30 AM on July 11, accompanied by a ski boat.

None of us had ever done the distance before. We swim lots of yards in the pool each week, and we do our Lake St. John distance of less than 2 miles.

The plan was evolving, with a few people curious and some willing to paddle with us. The most dangerous thing that could happen, (besides getting tired and drowning) was the possibility of a 60 mile per hour bass fishing boat streaking through our long line of swimmers without seeing anything until someone was killed. For this reason it was my feeling that more boats escorting us would mean more visibility and protection from being run over. Safety in numbers. Stay in a tight group and don't spread out.

Our Mississippi Heat Triathlon Team President, Amanda, offered to put the word out via our club website and newsgroup. I declined the help but promised to keep her posted. There are 200 club members, and we couldn't risk a large turnout for the limited boat support that was committed.

The fateful morning arrived and brought with it 8 to 10 mph wind from the southwest and 1 to 2 foot waves. 10 swimmers, 9 kayakers and 2 canoe crews were waiting and nervously preparing themselves. John brought his ski boat on a trailer, and Dan and Mark T came across from Twin Harbors in a ski boat. Roy from the Jackson Yacht Club brought a boat and big buoys they use for their regattas, making it easier to see a route across. I was very pleased with our support turnout. We had a spotter for every swimmer and three fast support boats. Should we still try swimming into the wind and waves?

I asked some of the kayakers and canoes to put in and see if it was too rough for them. I got a big "thumbs up". Someone said "Let's go!"

We went. KV and I were last in the water. She was originally only there to watch and get in a little open water practice. I promised to stay with her, and we swam about 45 minutes before asking her canoe escort, Harry and ML to call over a boat. She sent me off with a yell, "Go Billy!" I'll never forget the sound of her voice in the middle of miles of water.

I learned that our boat support fended off a couple of boats passing through, or just making sure they were slow and watchful. I can't say enough about our boat support and how much more secure a swimmer feels, miles from shore, with boats all around, imagining they are all watching out for you.

Pictured above are me and Susan, my kayak escort for two open water swims in a row. After years of working together and sharing a great friendship, I feel very safe with her paddling next to me, and that orange birthday kayak is easy to see.

KV was accompanied by Harry and ML, veteran crew of dozens of gnarly river trips. I suspect this was their first big lake crossing. ML and Harry are family, and swimming athletes from way back in the early Courthouse and Sunkist age. They came up for the swim from the Gulf Coast. Susan brought kayaker family, Patsy, Will and his friend from Cutoff, Louisiana just to help out. Canoe advantage: bigger cargo capacity. Kayak advantage: fast and nimble, and easier to handle in the wind without two paddlers.

Ruthie and Minor escorted Kate, who is, to my knowledge, the only woman to have accomplished a swim across the Rez. Now, there may have been a few over the years, but I'm not so sure about it. Kate as a swimmer is nothing short of amazing in terms of guts and tenacity.  She's also pretty damn fast.

After a little less than two hours, Tripp is escorted into the boat launch by Will.  The wind had died and the water was smooth and pleasant for the finish on the west side of the lake.
Here's all the finishers coming out of the water, tired but happy!

Tripp Davis

Michael Lindsey

                                                         Mack McLeod

Toby Burchfield

Scott Joyner

Kate Eidt

                                 

Paul Colman

Keith Davis

                                              and finally me.

My legs had cramped so much I could hardly stand, (and it was slippery), but Mack was there to lend an older Flounder a hand. 

 

 Paul and Kate proudly display their Flounder tattoos.

As the days have passed since the swim, I still think of what we did as an awesome accomplishment, made even more so by all the fear and anxiety I experienced during the days before the swim.  I worried about all possible things that could happen, not especially to me, but to those who might have trusted that we really knew what we were doing, when at least I knew we were taking a big chance.  I was never confident I could swim the distance, but I reached a point out there, just as one does running a marathon or in any other great endeavor, that I could not allow myself to quit.  If my body failed, if the arms would not take another stroke, then I would surrender.  But my 5 years with my wonderful swimming friends, the Flowood Flounders, gave me the strength to make it.

I am still so thankful to all those who supported us: Wifeunit Ruthie, ML, Harry, Susan, Will, Patsy, Richard, Roy, Kay Vee, Dan, Mark T, Minor, John, Bill and several others I never really got to meet.

I'll keep going back to that boat launch to look across and wonder how we ever did it.  My eyes will blink with pride as they do now.

(photos by Ruthie Mitchell and Shelley McLeod)

Annual Lake St. John Swim

We made the trip to Lake St. John on May 15th. The forecast was for afternoon rain, but I was a little worried about the low clouds as we drove west on I-20 toward Vicksburg. We got to the camp house and eventually everyone was in the water - 4 kayaks and a flat bottom fishing boat followed 4 swimmers – Kate, Paul, Mariel and myself. The weather was deteriorating with the line of thunderstorms approaching, so we chose not to swim our triangular path across the lake and back. Instead, we swam parallel to the shore and about 100 yards out, upwind and into some choppy water for ¾ mile, then lined ourselves up with the waves and headed back.

The waves swimming out were hitting us slightly from the left, so I found it difficult to breathe on the left without swallowing a lot of water. I resigned myself to breathing only on the right. I like the right better anyway. The water was cool and comfortable, but likely contributed to some cramping in my feet and calves. I dealt with all the minor cramps, but I got a pretty severe one that turned my left foot inward and hurt like hell. It was one that would have made me grab the edge of the pool or the lane rope, but lacking those, I had to call my trusty kayak escort Susan to paddle over and let me hang on for a minute.

We swam 1.6 miles in about 55 minutes, a 34 minute mile pace. Considering the rough water, that wasn’t too bad. I found it pretty tiring and felt some pain in my left forearm, something new to me. Maybe it was caused by breathing on the right all the time and using the left arm to raise my head a little more.

I was the last swimmer out of the water, of course, and just as we got all the kayaks out and situated the storm rolled in. We would have been very uncomfortable in the middle of the lake in that storm. We ate a nice lunch of muffalettas, chips, pimento cheese and chicken salad, got clean and dry and headed back home. The rain kept Kate and me from getting in a bike ride around the lake.

Overall, the swim wasn’t too bad, and we all agreed that a 3 mile+ reservoir swim might be harder than we had thought. That swim will include some rest stops, though. Our tentative date for the “Reservoir Swim & Kayak Challenge” is July 11.

Training Begins Now

It's a new bike, Jamis Xenith T - carbon composite, very aero. I really like it. I bought it about a month ago from Gary at ProBike because, mainly, it would have been a crime to ride my other 20 year old bike in a 70.3 race. Yep, I'm committed now. Already registered for Rev3 Cedar Point in September. That's in Sandusky, Ohio at the famous amusement park island. Kay Vee delivered my 20 week training plan the other day, and it begins tomorrow. I can't say enough about Kay Vee and all the help she's been to me. Now she and I will drag our spouses to another race, but this one should be fun for everyone! Serious roller coasters live in the Cedar Point Park.

I really don't fear the 70.3 distance so much, but the training through the Mississippi summer heat and humidity gives me some doubt. Can this old body acclimate itself? I've never been very good in the heat, turn red as a beet. But 6 years ago I would have never believed I'd be doing a lot of the races that are routine now. This year I'll run my 5th Heatwave Triathlon. This should be an interesting summer.


Here's two group photos of the Flounders. Everyone wasn't available at once, so I made two, in commemoration of our coach's departure. Whitney is married to a soldier, Army man, and they are now setting up a new household in Georgia. We will miss her terribly. She changed our group from three committed swimmers to a team of good swimmers, greatly improved over the last year. This group's age ranges from 56 (me), to early 20s. Paul, Kate, and Mack are excellent swimmers. Matt, Melanie, Cedric and I may not be stars in the pool, but in a typical tri group we are above average. Christeen is another story, a collegiate swimmer in the ACC and a world age group triathlon qualifier for Budapest later this year. With an enthusiastic coach to replace Whitney, we could have a credible, competitive Masters Swim Team to challenge the long dominance of the Catfish Masters from the Courthouse.

Plans for the summer include a Flounders-led effort to swim across the Reservoir, a distance of more than 5K. We may call it the Rez Swim/Kayak Challenge. Let us know if you're interested.

Race Report - DSU Triathlon

These happy folks, the oft mentioned Flowood Fighting Flounders, pose with trophies from a fun sprint distance triathlon at Delta State University.

Disclaimer: This race is a fund raiser for the DSU swim and cross country teams, is not USAT sanctioned, there are no judges or officials, no chip timing, a small field, lots of beginners, students and a few geezers. My kind of race. 500 yard pool swim, 2 per lane with lap counters, 18 mile bike through flat delta fields, and a 5k flat out and back run. Just showing up sometimes gets you a trophy.

There are always some surprise benefits of getting older. In my four times to do this race I've finished in my age group 2006 3rd, 2007 2nd, 2008 5th, and suddenly as a 55 year old, I win the Top Grand Masters Male. The results aren't published yet, but I suspect I soundly thrashed a 65 and 72 year old to claim my title.

The 500 yard swim leg is held in the nationally acclaimed DSU Aquatics Center. Two swimmers share a lane. There are 18 lanes and as many waves as necessary are started as swimmers exit the pool. DSU swim team members count the laps and hold cards underwater to signal your final lap. Kate, Paul and I, being devoted Masters swimmers with a real coach, were able to use our flip turn skills and other training to fly through this leg easily. Two swimmers who may finish with the same time in an open water venue will finish as much as 30 seconds apart in a pool swim if one uses flip turns and the other just turns and pushes off.

I rode a good bike leg, again not using my speedometer, only the cadence counter. The course, of course, was flat as it gets, and I settled in a gear where I could maintain 85 pedal strokes per minute. I was overtaken by a rider who I judged would not be able to maintain his slow power strokes, so I stayed within 100 yards of him for 14-15 miles. He would slow in the turns much more than I, so I decided when we got within 2 miles of the finish I would pass him and try to sprint the rest of the way in. My strategy worked and he complimented me on my riding right after the race.

I began the run leg with a positive attitude. The weather was somewhat cooler than normal and there was no sun and a gentle breeze. I've been running 15-20 miles a week lately, and just did a 9 mile run the weekend before, so I was glad my legs felt up to the flat 5k. I only walked at the water stops while I drank and finished with energy to spare.

This race was especially satisfying for several reasons, one being that our swim coach, a DSU swim team alum, was there to cheer us on. She was in her old stomping grounds with friends and enjoyed seeing her team members win trophies. We should have asked the race director to recognize her and give her some of the credit for our success. She is the best coach around, or if not the best, the cutest.

Credit Wifeunit for the great photos. These are only three of the 58 she took on race day. She and Kate and I rode to Cleveland, Ms on Friday afternoon and stayed at a cheap, crummy motel for the night. I was so happy to have the two of them together as company, and to hear them share the stories I've heard from each of them. We had a great evening with a few drinks in the room before dinner and enjoyed our evening meal at the Warehouse restaurant in Cleveland. The food and service was very good, and unusual characters were in the huge warehouse-size dining area to drive our conversation.

After the race and awards, we showered and met at the Sharpe Street shopping area. We had no firm plan for lunch, so we bought gourmet pimento cheese, spinach and artichoke dip, egg salad and tasty rolls from one of the shops. These we took to a gazebo in the park and had a fine picnic. Wifeunit did the driving home through rain showers while Kate and I dozed off for short naps. Life is good!

Flounders Open Water Swim

Our glorious Flowood Fighting Flounders Masters Swim Team has once again challenged the waters of Lake St. John and emerged victorious. May 17th we rode to KE's family's house on Lake St. John and swam across and back. We're not sure of the distance, probably a little over a half mile across. We don't go straight across since the best building to sight on is up the lake a little from where we start. When you're in the water looking for a landmark a half mile away, bigger and brighter is better. It's an odd feeling being so far from shore just swimming and not seeming to get any closer to the other side, but persistence pays off and it's over in about 20 minutes. Then we explain to the somewhat shocked onlookers on the other side that we're just swimming across and "thanks for letting us rest at your pier", and we're off again for the return leg. Another 20 minute swim and it's over. After a cool lunch and fun conversation with the family, we're headed for home.

Swimming in New Orleans

Less than two weeks after returning from our Tennessee trip, we were back on the road, heading south to New Orleans. The occasion was the Southern Masters Short Course Meters Championships at Tulane University. This is the same event that has been held at Delta State in past years, but the new SMS board polled the membership and found most were in favor of changing to a rotation between Delta State and New Orleans.

We had originally planned to arrive in New Orleans early Friday afternoon since I entered the 1500 meter freestyle event scheduled for 7 pm. High priority issues at work kept me until 4 pm, so we didn't arrive at our hotel until after 8. We stayed at Le Richelieu, our honeymoon hotel. It's a small, very old building with few modern features on the edge of the French Quarter near the French Market and Esplanade. It's also very quiet and has a cozy atmosphere.

We met the rest of our group, my Flowood Fighting Flounders teammates, and enjoyed a late-night meal at Tony Moran's Restaurant. Kate and Paul, two of our four FFF team members had been at the swim meet for the 1500 meter event. Our fourth member, KB, was visiting family and would meet us at the pool on Saturday.

A good crowd of over 120 swimmers represented about 20 masters swim teams from as far as Dallas and Fort Myers. We were getting set to swim the mixed 200 relay when KB began to feel bad, complaining of numbness in his arm and weakness. KB had only been swimming with us a few times at practice. He is in his late 60's and seems quite fit, but back problems limited his participation. We quickly scratched from the relay event and Kate had KB take some aspirin she had in her gear. We returned to the hotel and later learned from KB's family that he had suffered a heart attack and underwent surgery at Tulane University Hospital that afternoon. The doctor credited Kate's aspirin with possibly saving his life and certainly lessening the damage.

Paul and Kate left New Orleans that afternoon but Wifeunit and I stayed another night since I was swimming two more events on Sunday. We ate again at Tony Moran's that evening since Irene's had what is their usual 90 minute wait for a table. We ate a nice breakfast Sunday morning at the hotel's tiny restaurant, I swam some more at the meet, and we headed home at 1 pm. A whirlwind weekend and great time with the FFF team.

Catching Up On the Fall

Two weeks after our trip to Wiggins, Wifeunit and I returned to the coast the first weekend of November for Oceans Springs' Peter Anderson Festival. We've been to the festival several times, and I've never seen a bigger crowd. That's a good thing for the Coast and the festival, but not so good if you don't like long lines for food and beer. In the past, the gang from the Coast has always met at the park after walking around the festival all day. We take camp chairs and visit, eat sweet potato fries, drink beer and enjoy the free entertainment at the gazebo. This year was so crowded, there was no place to sit, and the music was much louder than I remember.



We still had a great time, stayed in Gautier with ML, the Ninja Fairy and Lilly Saturday night, and stopped for a while at Jamie and Bethany's in Wiggins on our way home Sunday.

Later in November, I got out early on a cool bright Sunday morning and went in search of anything worthy of a photograph. I saw there were several Great Egrets roosting below the reservoir spillway, so I decided to try to creep up on them and maybe get a nice picture.



While creeping in the weeds, I spotted this little duck.

I sent this and another to an expert birder to see if he could identify it. He replied saying it was an Oldsquaw, or Long Tailed Duck, female. Turns out it's a rare or uncommon bird for Mississippi, and I was asked to submit my photos with some paperwork to the Big Birder of our state who keeps up with all the records.

On the first weekend of December we made another road trip to the Delta.

If you look closely, you can see my name on the big electronic board at Delta State's superfine swimming facility. Wifeunit and I and my 2 teammates from the Flowood Y Fighting Flounders went to beautiful Cleveland, Ms. again for the Southern Masters Short Course Meters Championship Swim Meet. It was my first official swim meet, and I finished just about where I thought in every event - dead last. That's ok though, since I may have won something in my age group. Everyone from age 18 to 80 competes in the same race. It was fun and gave us a chance to do some shopping at the famous pottery shops of the Delta, Peter's Pottery in Mound Bayou and McCarty's in Merigold. (I'll post another story about Wifeunit's long lost cousins of Mound Bayou when the photos are ready)

On our way back home we were able to spot several Northern Harriers, a bird sometimes called a Marsh Hawk. Harriers are apparently quite common in wide expanses like the Delta, but I had never seen one, or knew it if I had. I didn't get any pictures, but they're easily identified by their flying close to the ground over brush, listening for mice and birds to pounce on. They are more slender than most hawks, and have a white patch on their tail (coverts) that can be seen from a good distance. Below is a great pic from a Google search.

Photo: Mark VanderVen, Western Washington University (Link)

Thinking back, I know I'll always remember the trip for the nice, peaceful feeling I had driving home - the sun a fading red glow in the clear western sky, the Family Truckster all cozy and warm while the temps outside fell into the low 30s, cruise control set at 60 mph on Highway 16, listening to Garrison Kiellor's Prairie Home Companion, as I drove right past my exit to Hwy 43 and into the dark.