Not 100 Miles, but pretty close...
This past weekend, Julian swam with 13 other soloists across Burrard Inlet from Sandy Cove in West Vancouver to Kits Beach in Vancouver, a distance of 9km. It was a perfect day for the crossing, sunny and very little wind. In the pictures above, clockwise from upper left: Julian, the swimmer; Stewart, the Skipper; Erin, the Spotter; and their boat.
He did it in 2:40 minutes, which includes 18 minutes spent waiting to cross the shipping lane while a container ship plowed through. The first 2 soloists were able to pass in front of the freight
er, as well as a number of the relay teams, which was reflected in their much faster
finishing times. There are no adjustments made for these kinds of "events" -- they are simply the hazards of open water swimming. Julian was happy with his result, but feels he could have gone harder. Having never done this crossing, he was using this year as a baseline for subsequent years...now he knows he can go faster without any mechancial problems, no bonking, or no getting too cold. In the pictures above, clockwise from upper left: looking out from Sandy Cove across the harbour; enroute, with the Lions Gate Bridge in the background; enroute, swimming through English Bay with Stanley Park in the background; the approach to the finish line.
what's this about?
Marybeth and Julian
5 comments:
Sounds cold, Julian. Why did the swimmer cross the inlet (chicken cross the road)?
BTW What is 'bonking'?
Peter
Congratulations Julian! Way to go! It looks a bit choppy. I'm wondering if Erin took some of the pics.
Mom
Awesome Julian! Did you have to tread water while waiting for the freighter or were you allowed to hang on to the support boat? I'd think it would add a lot to the fatigue level having to wait for the ship to pass? Doesn't sound very fair actually. Can you rehydrate from the support boat en route? Do you have "sea-legs" when you get out of the water at the end of the swim?
Way to go!
Roma
Thanks for the comments. The race was very fun, and attracts a strong field of distance swimmers. You guys have some interesting questions.
Gosh Peter, sometimes I wonder why aquatic creatures left the ocean in the first place! I guess I went swimming just to see how dirty the water is. It was cleaner than I thought. (As for "bonking" - it's when your muscles/liver run out of glycogen. It makes me think of a hybrid switching from gas to electric, while towing a semi up a hill.)
Well Roma, the whole shipping thing was a big botch. The race is coordinated with the Harbour Master, and we were assured of no traffic. But there we are, racing to the shipping lane, and a bright mosaic of containers is bearing down on us. So, we wait. Treading water is ok for 20mins, but we were allowed to hang on our boats. We used GPS to hold position during the break, and then charge on!
During the swim my support team alerted me every 15 minutes, and threw me a bottle of warm sports drink (sounds gross to me too). They reeled the bottle back with a string.
As Marybeth wrote, I felt like I took this swim a bit too easy. No "sea legs" (or much else) to recover from. Practice the next day felt fine - a sure sign I didn't push hard enough. But good feedback for my next 10k.
My next race is this weekend, a 3k at Kits Beach. After that I'm signed up for the Waikiki Rough Water Swim in early Sept. Good swimming, but better surfing!
Interesting posting Julian! I can't even imagine doing what you did. That's a long swim. Are you still planning the one in Sept? Have fun this coming week in Tofino.
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