Note: This (slightly revised) blog post is dedicated to my daughter’s father in law, Alan Carle, who was my spotter for this race. Alan was one of my best friends and one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. Alan passed away unexpectedly last September. Alan taught me through his actions to enjoy the present moment, that everything you need to be happy is inside you, to be a great friend, to never judge anyone, and also that challenges make you stronger.
My 2.4 Mile Swim Challenge
A few years ago I swam in the annual Peaks to Portland race. It’s a challenging 2.4 mile ocean swim from Peaks Island to East End Beach in Portland, Maine. It was my fifth time swimming this race, which is a fundraising event that raises money for the aquatics programs for the Greater Portland YMCA organization.
This particular race was one of the most challenging I can remember for several reasons. In today’s blog I’ll explain some of the challenges, and techniques I used to break through these challenges as they happened. I’ll even throw in a few life lessons, as I believe challenges are gifts live gives you to grow. I hope you’re able to use my suggestions to help break through whatever challenges you are facing in your life.
Your Plans Don’t Always Go Exactly As You Plan Them
The beginning of the race started out with the first wave of swimmers. There were four waves that year to accommodate 344 swimmers. The first wave had 100 swimmers starting from the water. We had to swim approximately 500 yards to meet our kayakers, who would then navigate us the rest of the race. For some reason, the group I was near swam a little more left than I had planned with my kayaker, thus it was challenging to find him. And it was impossible for him to find me, as all of the swimmers looked the same in dark wetsuits and blue caps. I had to slow down for a minute and find my kayaker, while I watched my competitors swim ahead. Instead of getting upset, I chose to have belief that my kayaker would catch up to me and then lead me on the most direct course, making up time. This is exactly what happened.
Lesson: Even though your plans may seem like they are falling apart, this is part of life’s journey. Keep taking positive action and you will find your way.
Life will Throw Challenges At You
The second reason this race was challenging was because of the weather conditions. For most of the race, we swam through 2 foot choppy seas and rain storms. For open water swimming, this can be very disorienting and lead to loss of rhythm. It throws off your stroke technique and breathing pattern. I chose to have fun with it though. I knew that everyone was experiencing the same conditions and kept thinking back to my lifeguarding days and how fun it is to swim in the ocean. And I felt grateful that I had an experienced kayaker accompanying me on my race in these conditions.
Lesson: Everyone has challenges in life. Your mind and outlook will help you get through these challenges.
The Unexpected Will Happen
The last reason this race was challenging was that we swam at low tide. This created a challenging finish. The low tide caused us to have to exit through barnacle covered rocks onto a beach where we had to run approximately 50 yards to the finish line. 50 yards may not seem like much, but after a 2.4 mile swim it sure was to me! I cut my feet on the rocks and then started running. Someone passed me on the run, I got distracted, and fell on my face hard. I got sand in my mouth, sand all over and knew I hurt my arm… but got right up and ran to the finish. I had blood on my arm, blood on my feet, my wetsuit had sand all over it, and it was pushed up my scraped, blood covered arms. I was sore, embarrassed, and frustrated I fell. But when I looked up at my time, and saw my finishing place, I realized this was one of my best finishes for the Peaks to Portland race in my career.
Lesson: You will fall down, sometimes at the worst possible time. Get back up. You’ll be stronger for it.
There were many times during this race I wanted to stop, slow down, and take it easy. My arms hurt, the conditions were bad, I had pain in my legs and back, and my mind played tricks on me throughout the race (think sea creatures attacking). Instead I pushed through, worked hard, and finished with a solid race. It definitely helped to look up at my spotter who was cheering me on the entire way, right next to me in his kayak.
The next time you experience challenges, hopefully my experience provided some tips to help you break through yours.
