He was a little worried about the time as it said that you "must" be able to do a 40 minute mile with a hard cutoff of 1:15 and he's being swimming slower but we figured he will be ok.
These guys were actually supposed to do this swim a few years ago but I guess they hit red tape. Apparently, this only happened because of the Governor or some official in NJ.
There are 2 big stories or themes here for your amusement: 1) The battle of the titans and 2) the big worry. Enjoy.
We got to the place, checked in and hit the restrooms. Indoor plumbing - yay...
Mandatory meeting time. Funny guy was talking. His name was Dave Horning and he's blessed with a booming voice that will never need a megaphone. Apparently, he's got a very interesting athletic resume with some achievments. He won the first Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) and (I think) in 1982, he swam across the Hudson River to Staten Island to the start of the NYC Marathon which he finished in 2+ hours. Nowadays he's not in the same shape as his glory days except for his voice.
Anyway, told some jokes, explained the day and that's it. We checked our stuff and boarded the boat. Initially they said no spectators on the boat but then again they were going to cap the swim at 500. Only 80 people registered and only 72 showed up to swim so we had room.
Initially I had some email exchange with them regarding whether Jammers are considered wetsuits. They didn't know what was a jammer so there was some confusion but eventually said that jammers will not be considered a wetsuit, that they will fix their (garbage) FAQ page and that due to low turnout, wetsuits and non-wetsuits will be scored together which sucks. I might have been tempted to use a wetsuit as the water was 72, I don't know, but since he wasn't gonna wear one, I figured I would stick with the no wetsuit thing. There were people there who did wear one tho.
Unlike NYCSWIM, these guys had no buoys in the water whatsoever. The only buoy was at the finish, on the sand. So, as far as the course goes the things to look for were:
The race start was supposed to start outside the protective security circle around the statue. This is important to mention because I think there's also a restriction about Ellis Island but more on that later.
Anyway, the boat gets to the statue or rather the protective circle and we are told that we are going to wait for the slack tide. We were supposed to start with a slack tide which eventually would turn into the tide pushing us in. Unfortunatly tide charts don't always agree with mother nature and so we had to wait. Cool...I have no problem waiting. Who wants to fight against the current anyway?
I must give them BIG credit for something. Security. We had plenty. I never have plans of drowning but it is a concern and we had a lot of on water and in water support. There were at least 2 NYPD Harbor Patrol boats, NYPD Scuba on a zodiac, 2 or 3 more support boats and 12 Jones Beach lifeguards on surfboards. Later when I googled the swim, a lot of hits came up about security exceptions by the Coast Guard and NYPD Harbor about us. So, I guess the patrol boats weren't so much for us as opposed to us causing mischief on the statue but they obviously line up all their ducks in a row and still there were a lot of people there just in case. I felt good about that.
Eventually, they threw the lifeguards out and asked us to line up and to eventually jump in. I was first to go and I didn't do a cannonball or anything. Head dive just like in the water. Water was a little chilly initially but almost immediatly I felt good. Jeremy got in and his teeth were chattering for a while. We waited for everyone to get in and a minute later we were off.
While we were waiting, I was talking to a lifeguard who told us to hang on and save our energy. Jeremy did as well but he was cold. When it was almost time to go, I went to the front while he stayed in the back. Adele also always starts in the back because she doesn't want to deal with the fray. She prefers for the melee to finish with and then to go.
Off we went and I felt good. Did my thing. My last Little Red Lighthouse Swim, I opted to go deep into the river for the most push. It didn't help me at all. This time, I saw everyone go deep and I decided not to.
At one point, I realized there was a lifeguard to my left while I was swimming so when I switched to Breast stroke for better sighting, I said hello to him and thanked him for being here. He was very suprised.
Anyway, remember those protective circles I mentioned before and how I bet there's one surrounding Ellis Island? Well, if there is one there, I violated it. Big time. Others did too. I gotta believe besides not the safest thing that we could have gotten in trouble. NYC Triathlon and maybe NYCSWIM would probably have disqualified us. Oh well.
I passed Ellis Island and was on my way to the Wharf only it seemed like I was never getting there. I don't think we swam in a slack tide at all. I think we had a fight on our hands and I was getting worried about Jeremy.
I did have a major epiphany tho right there and then. "Swimming is a lonely sport" by that I mean it is truly for people who need or like to be alone. Let me explain better: When you run, you can socialize with people and work with them. During a race, if you're hurting then walk and talk to someone. When you bike, again you can socialize and work together with someone again assuming they are willing to keep your pace. You simply cannot do that in swimming. Kinda obvious I know but it only truly occured to me right there and then. Fortunatly, I never have a problem talking and so I talked to myself but again I was worried about Jeremy.
On and on we go.
I was determined to try to stay with her as much as possible. For as long as it takes to stay with her. I dropped back a little (2 body lengths) so as not to alarm her. When I got to close, I would do breast stroke which was fine because I like to sight with breast stroke. We eventually got to the wharf, thank God, and continueed on. At one point, we saw a ferry and I could easily have touched it. I was about a foot away. No way that is safe. Adele told me she thought she would have to go under the wharf but I'm not sure if she meant Ellis Island or this one. No matter. I was suprised I was sticking with her and it hurt but I was trying. Remember we still had a long way to go and this wasn't short. I didn't care about the clock at all anymore ; just had to stay with her.
We finally passed it and angled left hugging the wall as much as we can. I knew we were close and I was excited for this to end. I did have a moment of confusion when it looks like there was a red sign straight ahead in the cove even tho I remembered we need to make a sharp left. Looked like some swimmers were going straight but I was following Adele. She made the sharp left and I saw FINALLY saw the true finish line where I thought it would be. I was shocked I was still with Adele and I wasn't sure when to make my move. I still gave her 2 body lengths but started closing the gap when I noticed she was speeding up. Actually, she had already started speeding up when she saw the finish line but now she was speeding even more. I knew that as soon as I would make my move, I would have no chance to slack off. I was hurting but I got this far and I wasn't going to back down now. I knew she wanted to beat me (again) but she was going to have to work for it. I would have no problem congratulating her on beating me as long as I gave it my best.
I sped up and came up on her. I knew exactly when she noticed me because she really hit the gas. We were swimming right next to each other. Our arms were almost rubbing against heach other and when they did, I gave her the lane. If this was anyone else, I would not have moved. I would have fought but ultimatly this is a friend who I care about and I didn't want to win by accidently punching her.
We we almost there and this was a dead-on sprint off. Again normally this would not be an issue but we had already swam almost 1.5 miles and a bunch of bonus miles distance so this was a lot for me.
There are 2 versions here as to what happened next and of course there is reality. I am not rubbing this in in any way or gloating, just documenting as I always do and I would have documented this the same way if I had lost to her.
My version: Enough. I broke away from her and led by a shoulder. My shoulder was clearly in front of hers. If there was a wall to be touched, I would have touched it first. As is, the finish wasn't a wall but a run up the beach and so when it was time, I stopped, stood up and ran up the beach with both calves cramping up.
Her version: She beat me in the swim but not in the race.
Reality: My strengths besides for being a sprinter with a strong kick of reserves at the finish even tho I raced the day before is the easy transition to running. I knew that and was going to use it. Still, no matter what, the race did not end in the water but rather at the beach. I know she thinks she beat me. She told me so. She told Elizabeth so. But it ain't so. I had her. My shoulder and my longer arm was in front of her but I did stop to stand up and at that point she went ahead. She didn't realize I stopped to stand. That's ok. Still, the reality is that I beat her by 4.55 seconds in this race.
I know it will never happen again and I'm ok with it. But this day was mine. She was mad and I hugged her and that's that. I will never gloat about it but I actually did it (once). Wow.
I did see about 5 lifeguards coming into the bay surrounding a bunch of swimmers and I figured they were ushering the last few. I'm looking... Wetsuit, wetsuit, woman, guy with a watch, beefy arms and that's it. No one else. What the hell?!? Where is this guy? I half-joked to Adele that maybe he actually beat us both which would be awesome but I had a feeling that's not the case. I think I asked the lifeguards but the point is someone told me there's more swimmers coming in.
So Adele and I walked more. And more. And more. I am worried. I see the NYPD Scuba team on the zodiac and I scream to them "Hey Scuba! Do you see a kid, no wetsuit, blue goggles, kinda lanky?". The guy started shaking his head no and was about to respond when a lifeguard screamed out, "He's right here!". Big breath comes out of me. Didn't even realize I was holding it on. He popped out to sight for a minute and I started screaming his name. I'm pretty sure the folks in NY heard me. He sure did. In fact every time he popped out to sight, he had the pleasure of me cheering him on. I told him that he's almost there and just continue. He did. There was a black guy who was drafting beautifully next to him, letting him do all the work. Smart. Jeremy continueed and when he was almost there I really started screaming his name. Meanwhile, I ran down the plank to the beach. I wasn't sure whether I was allowed to or not but I didn't care and they can just try to stop me. He popped out of the water and finished and I was right there hugging him. He was cold and I tool him to the bag to get him a towel. What a relief.
Poor kid never warmed up. For an hour and 30 minutes, he froze. With all the big swells and the current, he froze.
While he was swimming, the lifeguard who answered me told me a few things. First, he and a group of swimmers were stopped so a ferry could cross. Remember the ferry I could touch? I guess because we started late, things got screwey and well, they had right of way. I do remember that people were filling the ferry. I guess at that point it was full. Second, that a bunch of swimmers got picked up and dumped further on. He wasn't. They judged him to be doing fine and left him. Because of the wait and that others were picked up, he truly was at the back. Came in 4th from last but I don't care.
OOPS: I forgot something....When we got on board the ferry to the statue, he told me that "he's finally awake and he's never doing such an early wakeup race again". Funny.
Later I asked him about the swim. He told me that he definitly enjoyed the Rugged Maniac the day before but didn't enjoy the swim today. Still, now that he's finished and showered at home, he's happy that he did it because he realizes it was a huge accomplishment. He also thought that the Brooklyn Bridge swim which he beat me was obviously a screw up and there's no way he beat me. Oi...He beat me on that one fair and square. Still, I'm happy that he did it and finished and realizes that it was a huge accomplishment because it is!