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Jason is getting a cramp in his
left leg! He's
stopping and rubbing it out. Fortunately, the sea has dropped to a
Force
2 1/2 and is relatively calm. My turn is coming up in about 15 minutes.
Tim has gone below to sleep, bundled up in heavy clothes, including ear
warmers!
I had been told by Dr. James
Counsilman, the head
swimming coach at Indiana University (until recently he was the oldest
person to swim the channel), that I should start my training in England
with two 15 minute workouts the first day. When Jason and I went down
to
the water that first time, I measured the water temperature at 61
degrees
inside Dover Harbor.
When I finally worked up enough
courage to wade
out and start swimming, I thought I was going to die. A hot flash
passed
all over me, then a shortness of breath, and finally, dizziness. I felt
as if I couldn't move my arms and legs and I was afraid to put my head
underwater. (In a marathon swimming a third of your body heat loss is
through
your head.) Once I was able to get moving, I felt a little better and
actually
trained for 30 minutes that first day.
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1:30 p.m. Fourth swimmer: Harry
Sr.
I've just relieved Jason and am
treading
water, watching to make sure he can get up the ladder by himself (this
is part of the rules). Ray Brickell is now helping him on board. The
boat
is starting to move. I can just barely see the shore of England now.
Here
in the water, I can hear Capt. Reggie changing the rpms of the boat's
engines.
He has done a great job of regulating the boat's speed with that of
each
individual swimmer. He keeps us amidship at all times.
During the four weeks that I trained
in Dover
Harbor, I was able to average three hours a day. But, the adaptation to
the cold never got any easier. I was cold and shaking all the time that
I swam, and for hours afterward. The other international swimmers we
met
in training sessions did not seem to have the problems that Jason and I
had adapting to the chill of the channel. Some U.S. swimmers from
Minnesota
said the Dover water was actually warmer than the lake where they had
been
training. They subsequently failed in their channel attempts.
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2:30 p.m. Fifth swimmer: Harry Jr.
I'm on board now, watching Harry
swim backstroke.
I did my first turn without any complications, although I got a little
nauseous from the motor exhaust. My stroke rate was about 54 per
minute,
which is good for me. I wore my watch and kept looking at it while I
was
swimming. I won't do that the next time, it seems to make time pass too
slowly. Harry Jr., relieved me on time. We're almost in mid-channel
now,
still swimming straight across. We can see France clearly now and
England
is dropping far behind. On either side of us are other boats
accompanying
their swimmers. A slight cloud cover has come up. Captain Reggie has
just
taken the water temperature out here. It is 59 degrees.
When the final plans were made for our
adventure,
it was determined that Harry Jr., would meet us in England, since he
had
to be in Holland on business near the end of August. Hurricane Charlie
hit England and left him stranded on the European side of the channel
for
a few days before he could join us. He was one of my main concerns when
considering the completion of the relay, because no substitutes or
changes
in order are allowed. In 1979, he was in a near-fatal car accident,
sustaining
a head injury, which still bothers him in cold water. He is a former
All-American
water polo player and his ability to swim the distance was never a
doubt,
but I was worried about him in 60 degree water.
-
Harry is hollering up to us that
he is having
an asthma attack and is having trouble breathing-probably the shock of
the cold water. He has slowed down considerably and is swimming
breastroke
now. He's nearing the end of his turn. Tim, Krista and Jason are moving
around, still trying to warm up. Once you get chilled out here, it's
tough
to recover. Caroll ("Mum," as Reggie and Ray call her) is still in her
sweatsuit and head scarf. She doesn't look too happy about her
forthcoming
hour's swim. (Page 6)
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