Is that a Powerbar in your Speedo or are you happy to see me?

I have started reading Swimming to Antartica, a collection of stories of long distance swimmer Lynne Cox.

Lynne is best known for swimming 1 mile in the iceberg filled seas of Antartica and that is what I knew her for. She was able to survive in water that would kill most people in just a few minutes. I was impressed by her cold tolerance, but I had no idea what a fast and accomplished swimmer she was!

Lynne Cox held the world record for both the English Channel and Catalina Channel crossings. While these swims were challenging, they were a bit too traditional, a little boring for Lynne. She soon set her sights on something more harrowing. Lynne swam across the Cook Strait in New Zealand and then battled torrential currents to swim across the Strait of Magellan. Next, she swam with 20 foot great whites and around raging whirlpools to circumvent the Cape of Good Hope. Perhaps most impressive was her swim across the 38 degree Bering Strait, taking to her from Alaska right into Cold War Russia!

Lynne completed dozens of such swims, too many to mention here. I thought I was adventurous for tackling the 60 degree waters of the English Channel. Nothing like this to put everything in perspective! Lynne Cox is 1 part Michael Phelps, 1 part Evil Knievel, and 1 part polar bear.

Now as for my more mundane swimming adventures:
Karen and I attempted a 17,000 yd swim on Friday, and I have to say that she rose to the challenge beautifully. Karen provided the workout:

4x1200 descend
4x1000 descend
4x800 descend
4x600 descend
4x400 descend
4x200 descend
200 cool down

I tried to hang in there - really, I did. But I got through the 800s and my arms just started to give out. I went a bit longer, but was going super slow and just felt like I was doing junk yardage at that point. I'm sorry to say that I abandoned Karen and got out after 12,000 yards. Karen continued to descend her swims and finished the entire workout by herself. Way to go!

As for the title of this post...Here at Channel Bound I like to write about a variety of swim related topics, because while my life is not as exciting as that of Lynn Cox, simply talking about swimming lap after lap is, well, boring. As I limped through 12,000 yds of this week's long swim, I ended up cutting some of the swims short in order to get extra rest. And as I hung on the wall waiting for Karen to power through the set, I noticed a curious sight.

A very skinny twenty-something man in a Speedo was walking around the pool deck in what I will delicately deem "an enhanced male state." This was not something I meant to stare at, but as with a car wreck I found my eyes flickering towards it against my will. The scene was peculiar for a couple of reasons. First, Homestead pool is competition temperature (read: chilly) and the young man remained in this state long enough to make me wonder if he should seek immediate medical attention. But even more puzzling was how unencumbered he was. With no concern for his appearance, he kept diving in, jumping out, running around the pool deck to talk to his friends (incurring numerous whistle blows from the lifeguards, which he was also unconcerned with), and jumping in again! He kept this up all while Karen innocently cranked out laps right in the next lane. Impressive feats of endurance all around!

Now, for obvious reasons I'm not posting a picture to illustrate this topic. However, Jason and I went to an art festival this weekend and bought our very first piece of real art! (Ok, so it's a print not the original, but it does come with its own certificate of authenticity). Since it looks very much like a picture of a swimmer, I'll post a photo of it here:

For more information about the artist, check out:
http://kelisegallery.com/pages/representational.html

Week 19:
Mon: swim 3500 yds
Tues: swim 4800, walk 5 mi
Wed: swim 4200
Thurs: swim 4500
Fri: swim 12,000
Sat: rest
Sun: swim ,000
Total: swim 35,000, walk 5 mi

Next week will be a much needed recovery week before a race in Charleston next weekend.