Saturday, May 3, 2008

May 1st - First Long Outdoor Swim - Infinity In a 50 Meter Pool



(photo Beat Walser)

Finally - my first long open air swim this year! On May 1st many outdoor pools opened. The air was still chilly in the morning, and since I had a 15 km swim on my schedule, which meant at least 5 hours in the water, I did not dare venture into the 19 ° Celsius pool in Heidelberg but chose the 24 ° C pool in Mannheim - what a wimp! And even worse: I started around noon, to catch more sun! Even a Channel aspirant has to be realistic - after spending hours in 27 or even 30 ° C water in indoor pools, a gradual changeover is needed. In 19 degree water I would not have lasted long, as I was able to confirm the next day in Heidelberg, where my left hand stopped functioning properly after only one hour in an almost empty pool. (I know that other Channel swimmers are swimming an hour in 10-11 °C water already, but I also know that I will have enough time to acclimatise still.)

The 15 km went great. Some people may wonder: 5 hours in the pool, just swimming back and forth - that must be so boring! But it's not. Even in this limited space, with my inner concentration and purpose, I feel freedom. There is inner joy, peace, and a real sense of accomplishment. If I had a choice between sitting in an office doing a routine job or swimming laps, I would prefer swimming! (not every day, of course)

The trick with long distances, also in running, is to cut them into pieces, mentally. So the first hour is a warm up (then a short feeding and pee break), the next hour is leading up to the halfway point (next break), the third hour is already past the halfway point (break), the 4th hour: almost there (with some mental dialogue going on, starting at the third hour: are 4 hours maybe not enough? but my "better" half insists: no, if you can do 4 you can easily do 5, and how would you feel if you stopped for no reason? And after all, since I am getting sponsored by some friends, I have to do my job well!)

More easily than bored I tend to get impatient at times at the thought of how far still to go. Then it helps to just focus more and not to think about distance. To feel grateful for the luxury of being here, in clean water, healthy, strong, in an almost empty pool, with the sun and an infinite sky above me, and no pressures whatsoever. Just stroke, stroke, stroke, feel the gliding through the water, enjoy the dancing patterns the sun is painting on the silver pool floor, just try to silence the mind, like in meditation. It IS a kind of meditation, with intense moments of a deep inner feeling of infinity and eternity - eternal moments. At the same time I am breaking down the hour (actually I am counting 3 km - 60 laps, which is a bit more than an hour towards the end) into sets of 30 laps, and enjoy counting from 1 to 30, always with a slight feeling of achievement when the next half hour is "marked off", and always looking forward to the next break and feeding. The counting actually helps focussing - like in Zen meditation, where a beginner can start with counting his or her breath.

At the same time there are always little things happening and changing around me - at times you have to come to terms with a swmmer obnoxiously backstroking into your lane, not understanding that a concentrated lap swimmer may not be paying attention all the time. Or you gratefully pick up speed and intensify your stroke when a good swimmer starts training in the next lane. Or you laugh out loud at the pair of ducks that seem to be perfectly comfortable swimming ahead of another swimmer at the edge of the pool, but who seems to feel bothered by them and splashes around to chase them away.

Visualisation and conscious positive thinking/feeling is another help. Often, after the first 1 or 2 "warm-up hours" which my mind needs to calm down, spontaneously pictures come up from inside - of other events, of the positive feelings during these events, and these experiences are melting with the present. So I can be swimming and diving back into the experience of the 12 hour walk in New York - the nice thing is, in my memory I forget the pain and keep the exhilaration, the flow, the beauty. And I love the feeling that different times and places merge together - not parallel universes (universa?) but a oneness-universe!

Or, a very important visualisation exercise, I picture myself in the Channel, the French coast already visible ahead of me. But I know that now the most difficult part will come where many swimmers have to give up when the currents start going against you. So with every stroke I imagine I am getting closer to the French coast, aware of the fact that it may still take three, four or even five hours. So what I am doing here is nothing, compared to the event itself, but with every lap I do here, the Channel will get so much easier.

I remember, in 1985, after 12 hours in the Channel, when the tide started getting against me and we knew I had another couple of hours ahead, I just thought: wow, now it really starts! I had done 12 hours in training, without difficulty, so only now I was entering new territory. This attitude really helped.

And - in a way, what is important and precious, is not just to reach the goal - that will take care of itself, as long as you give, give, give your effort, determination, discipline and enery - but the time in between, the way. I remember in 1985, when I finally reached the French coast, there was a feeling of "so this is it!" It was great to have done it, there was a deep sense of peace, but the best was the time leading up to it, the 4 months of intense training and inner and outer preparation and the joy of the swim itself - a swim where I felt like melting with infinity.


"The seeker-heart wants to get joy
not by binding,
but by becoming one with Infinity."

- Sri Chinmoy


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