Something old, something new and a big, big blue

Many of you may know that I grew up swimming. Never great, but good enough to swim through division 3 college swimming and have a great time all along. 25 years, 3 kids and a career later, I have intermittently fallen back in swimming to stay in shape (mental & physical).. sometimes going more than a year without a lap in the pool. I alternate by mood and joint behavior (they’re not like they used to be!) between running, swimming, paddle boarding and yoga. For my mental wellbeing, I try to do one of these activities at least 3-4 times a week. 

view from our room at the Grotto Bay Resort

The real problem is motivation. When it’s time to exercise, I have a million and one things to suddenly do.. and another million excuses.. I’m like an excuse factory… “is that a storm coming?” “This house is tooo dirty” “I should start dinner” “I’m too tired” “it’s too dark” “it’s too hot”  “I’m on call” ” I’m on call tomorrow” the list goes on and on. Over the past few years, I have begun registering for “events” – a 5k run here, a mile or 5 K swim there. The strategy seems to work. I have found some degree of consistency can be achieved by the fear of pain and suffering from a race poorly trained for. The benefits? A happier, healthier, more mentally and physically fit me! Plus the accomplishment of whatever event I participated in! Add to that the reward of a weekend getaway? I’m in!

Several months ago, I came across Round the Sound – Bermuda. Organized by Aquamoon Adventures,  it was listed as one of the top 10 best organized and most fun open water swims. I’ve never been to Bermuda, nor had my husband and the swim looked to be a combination of fun plus challenging. So I decided to do something new! I had a choice of signing up for 800m, 2k, 4K, 7.25k or 10k. I honestly wanted to sign up for the 7.25, but knowing my training schedule and concern with an unfamiliar course, country and water conditions, I went for the 4. 

The daunting notion of drowning at sea kept me training consistently.. logging over 10,000yd per week for 3 months. After arriving in Bermuda and checking things out, I decided to change my registration to the 7.25k.

white caps picking up at the start of the 7.25km swim

Here are the top 10 things I learned on my trip:

1. Swimmers are friendly, helpful people

2. I’m afraid of sharks

3. Bermuda is beautiful

4. Dark & stormy is a drink worth drinking

5. I have cellulite and it’s not going anywhere and I’m still happy

6. I can swim 7.25km in the ocean

7. You CAN pack snacks in a bikini

8. Don’t watch a movie about sharks if you are going to EVER swim in the ocean

9. Vaseline and or bandaid friction rub is a great invention – apply liberally and include up your nose (my nose thanks you , ladies)

10. If a woman screams in the ocean like a school girl and nobody hears her… it didn’t really happen (either time)
A little about the race. I met an amazing group of people from all over. The course was stunningly beautiful and for the most part kept me distracted from the prospect of large, teethy fish.. except when I ran into a fish and later a leaf … it was a biggish (Trump says Bigly.. so biggish is fair game) leaf and yellow….so you can imagine my fear when it attacked me. 

Parts of the course were through very deep, pretty darn rough water… it turns out that one can be motivated by the beauty of ones surroundings; the fact that one winter training in 1991 with Emory University you swam 9k while freezing your ass off and therefore had proof that this was possible to accomplish (I chose to ignore that this happened 25 years ago.. and perhaps my level of physical ability had changed); and, perhaps most significantly, that you can see no one anywhere nearby who could help you as the police were occupied helping the kayaks which were getting tossed like tictacs into Donald Trumps mouth, thus you better move it before a shark eats you. 

before and after the Round the Sound

After a very challenging 3.3k where I kept hydrated by swallowing mouthfuls of salt water with each attempted breath (salt keeps away foot cramps) the course turned to water that was smooth and beautiful. Cliffs lined with mansions, small opalescent fish crisscrossing through my path, jets of icy cold water shooting intermittently from the volcanic rock presumably from underground caves and grottos made the kilometers pass easily. 

It took me 2hours and 20 mins. I finished happy and tired but not exhausted or sore….greeted at the finish by a friendly crowd of swimmers and spectators, as well as a bar to refuel athletes with Dark & Stormies to dilute out all the ingested salt water! 

Finished!

Great view, great trip, great event

Get fit, get inspired, be happy

❤️

PS.. kudos to my hubby who never questions my sanity… whether it be to Jamaica to operate on a baby or Bermuda in between 2 storms to swim, he’s there with me?