5 weeks to go!
Lynn West Hupp & I are ramping up the training. More about Lynn's training in a minute. I learned to swim post-cancer. The radiation, surgery, and so forth demolished my fitness levels. (I'd run 13 marathons and two ultra marathons before cancer.) One of my gym rat buddies suggested using swimming as a physical recovery tool. Learning to swim in your 50s is interesting - to say the least - especially when you've got the buoyancy of a rock. I took about three years to get any good at it. And then our swim group started swimming at Lucky's Lake - very occasionally, like once a year. Eventually my distance training and fitness level returned so I started looking for longer swim challenges. Voila! The Tampa Bay Frogman Swim (TBFS).
TBFS is fundraiser for the Navy Seal Foundation (NSF) - a cause I love to support. Why? The simple fact is that for the past 120 years and four generations my family has been supporting the military either in active service or in disability.
Back to the training. In August, I swam the Jacksonville Beach "Hammerhead Ocean Marathon", a 2.5 mile swim along Jax Beach. No personal kayaker, no wet suit, no buoys, rolling 2 to 4 foot swells out past the surf line, and pleasant temps. Oddly enough, I believe this was harder than TBFS. Then in November I swam "Lucky's Lake Night Ops Swim", an NSF fundraiser. And now, Tuesday & Thursday mornings I'm at Lucky's Lake to swim 3, 4 or 5 kilometers (1.8, 2.4, & 3.1 miles respectively). The next 4 weeks will be a steady increase in weekly distance and cold water acclimatization. Mind you, I'm in a full body wet suit, and depending on water temperature, with booties, gloves, and a neoprene swim helmet. The wet suit provides remarkable buoyancy! I don't sink.
Lynn doesn't have to train so diligently as she's been kayaking longer than I've been swimming. And she's kayaked just about ever navigable body of water in Florida. However, she does need to help me navigate - which makes sighting and navigation much easier for me. My first TBFS was done with one good eye, as my right eye was recovering from major surgery. This is problematic as swimmers keep their heads down and rotate their head to breath bilaterally, which means only one eye at a time is available for navigation. Additional surgeries have restored my vision in both eyes. Today it is the best in my life.
Lynn & I will swim Lake Maitland as a team two more times before TBFS. The training goal? Sort out the hand signals, fueling, fluids, and navigation options. For example, it is nice to swim in the shadow of the kayak as the kayak will have a smooth pocket of water on the leeward side - opposite of the windward side where the wind and waves hit.
In closing, please consider a donation to the NSF. The NSF has programs to support the SEAL family during life changing events such as active duty death & wounded, illness, injury support, dependent illness & death, veteran crisis assistance, warrior & family support, and warrior transition.
The NSF has been awarded its 7th consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. To put this accomplishment in perspective, only 4% of the charities they rate have received this level of excellence consistently. In addition to the 4-star rating, the NSF has also earned Charity Navigator’s coveted ‘Perfect 100’ score, placing it among 65 other exceptional nonprofits out of over 9000 charities rated.
https://tinyurl.com/TBFS2019
Lynn West Hupp & I are ramping up the training. More about Lynn's training in a minute. I learned to swim post-cancer. The radiation, surgery, and so forth demolished my fitness levels. (I'd run 13 marathons and two ultra marathons before cancer.) One of my gym rat buddies suggested using swimming as a physical recovery tool. Learning to swim in your 50s is interesting - to say the least - especially when you've got the buoyancy of a rock. I took about three years to get any good at it. And then our swim group started swimming at Lucky's Lake - very occasionally, like once a year. Eventually my distance training and fitness level returned so I started looking for longer swim challenges. Voila! The Tampa Bay Frogman Swim (TBFS).
TBFS is fundraiser for the Navy Seal Foundation (NSF) - a cause I love to support. Why? The simple fact is that for the past 120 years and four generations my family has been supporting the military either in active service or in disability.
Back to the training. In August, I swam the Jacksonville Beach "Hammerhead Ocean Marathon", a 2.5 mile swim along Jax Beach. No personal kayaker, no wet suit, no buoys, rolling 2 to 4 foot swells out past the surf line, and pleasant temps. Oddly enough, I believe this was harder than TBFS. Then in November I swam "Lucky's Lake Night Ops Swim", an NSF fundraiser. And now, Tuesday & Thursday mornings I'm at Lucky's Lake to swim 3, 4 or 5 kilometers (1.8, 2.4, & 3.1 miles respectively). The next 4 weeks will be a steady increase in weekly distance and cold water acclimatization. Mind you, I'm in a full body wet suit, and depending on water temperature, with booties, gloves, and a neoprene swim helmet. The wet suit provides remarkable buoyancy! I don't sink.
Lynn doesn't have to train so diligently as she's been kayaking longer than I've been swimming. And she's kayaked just about ever navigable body of water in Florida. However, she does need to help me navigate - which makes sighting and navigation much easier for me. My first TBFS was done with one good eye, as my right eye was recovering from major surgery. This is problematic as swimmers keep their heads down and rotate their head to breath bilaterally, which means only one eye at a time is available for navigation. Additional surgeries have restored my vision in both eyes. Today it is the best in my life.
Lynn & I will swim Lake Maitland as a team two more times before TBFS. The training goal? Sort out the hand signals, fueling, fluids, and navigation options. For example, it is nice to swim in the shadow of the kayak as the kayak will have a smooth pocket of water on the leeward side - opposite of the windward side where the wind and waves hit.
In closing, please consider a donation to the NSF. The NSF has programs to support the SEAL family during life changing events such as active duty death & wounded, illness, injury support, dependent illness & death, veteran crisis assistance, warrior & family support, and warrior transition.
The NSF has been awarded its 7th consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. To put this accomplishment in perspective, only 4% of the charities they rate have received this level of excellence consistently. In addition to the 4-star rating, the NSF has also earned Charity Navigator’s coveted ‘Perfect 100’ score, placing it among 65 other exceptional nonprofits out of over 9000 charities rated.
https://tinyurl.com/TBFS2019
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