But A Fish Can’t Run…

Our Sunday morning bike ride takes us past East Beach.  “Free FRS,” girl with old school Ray Bans says.  “Oh me, me!” I slug my complimentary beverage and watch swimmers lotion up.

Girl with red bikini and tattoos smears herself in a thick waxy cream while jamming out to her IPod.  The ocean looks calm and the air feels pleasant, everyone going for a dip?  Try a 3 mile, no wetsuit aloud, ocean swim.  Normally, I am very susceptible to race fever.  When I witness athletes warming up or going at it, I convince myself, “Oh, I could do that.  Next year, yeah I’ll do that.  Me too please.  How much? Where do I sign?”  Fortunately, this time looking out at the Pacific triggers no race envy, just a nasty rash of goose bumps.  “Uh, Semana Nautica…..good on ya!”

“Mike!” I wave at my friend who is working the race.  Mike is one of those hard core guys that lets you slowly figure out just how steely he really is over multiple encounters.  The pieces are coming together and my hypothesis is do not mess with Mike in the water.  We talk about the race, how some swimmers will quit as close as a quarter of a mile from the finish, and how others will do it in an hour.

“It’s just 3 miles.”  Mike has been part of the 28 mile swim from Santa Cruz Island to Leadbetter beach.  In case you were wondering, they do allow wetsuits in that particular event because “a wetsuit provides a certain comfort when you’re swimming at night in the ocean.”  Night?? Inky black, salty seas full of creatures that bite and sting….yeah I can see how a wetsuit would be soothing.

Now, Semana Nautica meet the Big Apple.  This past Saturday, Rondi Davies placed third as she completed the 28.5 mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in a mere 7:38:04.  Rondi now plans to train for the Chicago Marathon and proove a fish CAN run.

~ by drea on July 8, 2008.