A Day In The Life – September 2006

Ian and I are back home after our latest adventure, the 9.5 mile Maui Channel Crossing swim race, which spans the waters between the islands of Lanai and Maui. There were 37 six person relay teams and 18 solo swimmers. Ian and I were solo swimmers.

To qualify for the race, you had to prove that you could do it in 5 hours. That was doable for me, as I had done the Bonaire 6.2 mile race in less than 3 hours, but I knew it would be close for me to get across under that time. Ian and I swam 7 miles very comfortably a week before the race, and on pace, so I was feeling better about getting in before 5 hours. Especially since conditions in Hawaii are generally very smooth this time of year.

Except this year. This year, the conditions were the worst in the 21 years of this race.

It is ironic that I was nervous I would be humiliated by coming in at maybe 5 hours 30 minutes, but that now I am very proud of myself for coming in at 8 hours 46
minutes! I was still the last swimmer in, but I figure that I got first in the stick-to-it department. And I had a wonderful time. The ocean is warm and clear and I didn’t see a single shark. Yahoo!

I am attaching some photos, courtesy of my accompanying boat captain. He was wonderful, by the way: a shout out to Scott Olival, who was upbeat and supportive the entire time. He threw me water and electrolytes and food during the swim, kept a watch out for sea creatures, and guided me in safely. Thank you, Scott!

Thanks also to my nutritionist, Cathy Sassin of Intrafitt who helped me figure out what was going to fuel me during the swim. Thanks to her expertise, I never
“bonked”. I’m slow but steady! And bottomless gratitude to Ian, who also swam (way ahead of me- he finished in 7 hours 11 minutes). He is amazingly supportive, and the most wonderful partner anyone could have.

Alexandra