Looking forward to Summer 2015
The 1st of November has now come and gone. That was to be a big day for me. After an amazing summer of swimming and meeting some amazing people, sights were being set on what this amazing journey had in store for me in the future. Nowadays, there are plenty of them out there. Marathon swimming has come a long way in the last 6 years and the plethora of swims available to one in 2015 is mind boggling. The criteria for my 2015 swim was a toss up between lake swim vs ocean swim? Local vs international? One big swim or multiple medium distance swims? Believe me, if my father had his way I would be swimming the 321km of Kariba dam in Zimbabwe/Zambia. I would do it in a heart beat if it were not for the 20 foot plus Crocodiles that ply those waters. Although Hippos are known to be the baddest beasts in Sub Saharan Africa, this one still has a very weary appreciation of a 20 foot handbag with teeth on one end and a tail that will smack you around like any self respecting super villain. I will however be going to Kariba on Safari in a couple of weeks.
So, as Kariba was out of the question, and having had a pretty amazing trip to conquer Switzerland's largest lake earlier this year, I was becoming quite used to not swimming in Salt water. Also, amongst my dalliances this year, I had the privilege to spend some time with Roger Finch. He started harping onto me about SCAR swim in Arizona, and how amazing it was and that if I ever get a chance I HAVE TO DO IT. After this meeting, I went away to my friend "Mr Google" and did some research into this swim. This is what I came up with.
Just the name SCAR can make anyone feel just a bit apprehensive. Its origin however is far less hair-raising, although still enough to intimidate. Now knowing the Americans' love of the ACRONYM. SCAR is merely just that.
Day 1 S agurro lake 9 miles
Day 2 C anyon lake 9.5 miles
Day 3 A pache lake 17 miles
Day 4 R oosevelt lake 6 miles
So, somewhere between 41 and 43 miles of swimming.
Now in its third year and limited to a field of 30 swimmers per lake, this swim has already attracted some pretty heavy hitters in the world of Marathon swimming, including inductees into the International Marathon Swimming hall of Fame, several triple crown holders and, now, the likes of Me. I will now have my opportunity to conquer, what is fast becoming, one of the top global swims. Yesterday I put in my petition to be regarded as one of the 30 that will be selected this year. Today I got confirmation that I have been selected along with a pretty international field from London, New York, Scotland, Florida, Georgia,
Virginia, Nebraska, Texas, Australia, Connecticut, South Carolina,
Vermont, Arizona and California. I have yet to see the final list but I do know another Pom that will be going; Mark Sheridan, I look forward to training with you.
So why this swim out of so many?
All you really need to do is to take a look at the video from this years SCAR 2014
This was a good advert for it. Apart from that, I have been in touch with the Organiser, Kent Nicholas and he, as well as many past SCAR swimmers, have given me only great praise on this swim. This is not the only reason.
I was also looking for something within my budget. As far as 40 mile swims go, this is relatively good value. Any of the big ocean swims is going to set you back about £2500 - £3000 just to hire a boat. Sadly - for my kayaker, Audra, the cost is representative of what sort of boat she will be getting - I hope you up to kayaking 18 miles??? That is before all the flights and accommodation that you need. I am again extremely fortunate to have Colins It on board again to offer a bit of assistance with some of the costs and building a website with me. But there are always others that I will no doubt have to find. If anyone out there would be willing, or know someone who is willing to help me achieve my dreams of raising funds for charity by exerting myself then please feel free to email me on g.schlachter@btinternet.com.
It is also the fact that the swim will not be in cold water and mostly - weather permitting - under awesomely blue Sky, with hot days.
Any event that has a brewing company as one of its key sponsors is most likely going to be a great event - isn't it? I have also never been to Arizona so now is as good a time as any. Whilst in that part of the world I might as well make a holiday of it and make my way up to Lost wages (Las Vegas) to see what all the fuss is about.
As far as the challenge goes, it will be a first for me. Yes I can swim those distances and feel pretty comfortable doing them but, I do not do those sort of distances on a regular basis especially 4 swims of that size in 4 days. This swim adds a whole new challenge, which I only hope I can deal with. Not only is it going to be a big challenge from a mental perspective, I believe this swim is going to be pretty taxing from the physical point of view. Going all out on a big marathon swim knowing that at the end of it, it is done, you do not need anything left in the tank, is easy. Making sure you can get up the following day and do it all again adds a whole new perspective on things. I believe that this will be my biggest challenge on this trip.
I am sure that along the way, there will be a multitude of challenges, Logistics, the heat, saving up for this trip, marketing my Charity fund raising and many many more that will arise out of the woodwork. My biggest, immediate challenge, is how to get my mind into the training that I will need to do? Our Season has now closed, so the lakes are more difficult to get to now as most of them have closed. Anyway, they will not be of great use to me anyway as they are getting cold. I will be swimming in the desert - at a time of year when most people steer clear of it, due to the heat. Water temps will be well above what I would get in any lake in Mud Island so my love affair with chlorine and heated pools is going to have to flourish over the next couple of months. Hours and hours of following the black line!!
After all this effort, it will be great to get into the salt River Valley and swim along those canyons with canyon walls soaring many feet out of the waters of the lakes. The finale of this swim will be a night time swim. For a lot of swimmers, swimming at night is one of the most daunting challenges. However, I have heard that this is one of the most serene experiences. As there is not a hell of a lot of light pollution in Arizona, the milky way is in full visibility and floating on your back looking up at the stars has got to be up there with one of the most peaceful experiences on the planet. Hasn't it? Well I will now have the opportunity to find out for myself.
So I have a very busy 7 months ahead of me but the one thing that attracts me to this sport and keeps me coming back time and time again is not the swims,those are bloody hard work!! It is not the training, that is also a bit of a bore. IT IS THE PEOPLE THAT I MEET ALONG THIS JOURNEY. I have been extremely lucky to meet some amazingly inspirational people that I can now class as friends and, the more I keep doing this, the more truly awesome people I meet..
My saying for the start of this journey.
In everyone's life, at some time,
our inner
fire goes out.
It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another
human being.
We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle
the inner spirit.
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