Sandpoint Long Bridge Swim Last Saturday!

I wanted to write up a more extensive post on the Long Bridge Swim. This morning was the planned day to do this. But then the phone at home was answered at 9 or so this morning, while I was sipping coffee in my PJs, and off I went to go to work at the three alarm fire. And it was work, I will tell you what.

So, I will give you a very abbreviated account of the swim, as I feel pretty darn tired right now.

Here is the official route:

I think it is 1.7 miles long.

Here is the route I swam:

I don't know how long that was.

Sarah watched me and Susan, our friend, swim - plus chauffeured us all over N. Idaho. While she was watching the spectacle, she saw a kid approaching his friends. They shouted, "Dude, you're already done?" His reply - "I freaked out at the beginning," his voice cracked with emotion, "I don't know why, but I was so freaked out I had to get out of the water and call it quits." This kid looked like a triaathlete, Sarah said. His friends looked at him with curiosity, a "you've got to be shittin' me" glare. They weren't too sympathetic.

My friend, I hope you know that this was a very prevalent theme of conversation on the bus ride home to the parking lot. There were so many people talking about having the same feeling - not being able to breathe right, feeling like swimming was not natural and fighting for every stroke. Many felt the urge to quit, not because of physical reasons, but because the psychological weirdness was overwhelming.

That's how I felt too. It was weird. I was really creeped out for the first quarter mile. However, by about three quarters of a mile, I was having the time of my life. I was so into it that I wasn't watching where I was going and was way off course, repeatedly. I finally ran into a kayak. Literally. The helpful paddler apologized. She also said that the finish line is "back there." So I turned around and went back.

I want to do more open water swims. I had a very good time, after the whole freaking out thing subsided. I sure didn't expect that.