Big events this year were the Boston Light Swim and the fourth annual birthday swim with my three fabulous daughters, Celia, Emily, and Melanie. On 22 July, the four of us did two lengths of Walden Pond and en route stopped at the far beach for handstands on the granite obelisk. It was a thoroughly enjoyable swim. As Uncle Mark would say, it can't get much better than swimming across Walden Pond with your three daughters on your birthday. My training for the Boston Light Swim was all at Walden Pond, so here's a rundown on the Pond season.
I got started training in the Pond late, 7 June, due to the cool spring
and being out of town. As in the past couple years, I was a regular
in the morning, logging over 200 miles through the season. Mike Hurley
joined me during the July and August swimming, and Mike Gates and I swam
together a few times. Mike Gates was hampered by a ear injury, but
he remains enthusiastic for May-to-October swimming. As of 14 Oct,
the water was 61-62o F. The final swim was with a guy
named Michael on 18 Oct. We happened to be there simultaneously---the
only two. The water was 56o F in the shallows near the
shore; the air was 40o F. The wind was brisk, say 10 mph,
making the windchill about 34o F. We only did 1 mile!
Here are the season statictics.
| Month | Distance (miles) | Comments |
| June | 21 | Starting 7 June |
| July | 74 | 3 miles/day starting 12 July |
| August | 60.5 | Includes taper for Boston Light and then 10 miles on 18 August |
| September | 42.5 | Few cool nights; good warm weather during the day |
| October | 23 | Final swim on 18 October. Water 56o F. Air 40o F. |
| Total | 221 | Seaonal best, mainly due to extending the season well into October. |
Compared to the 1999 season, my times were slower. The best single length of the Pond (~1/2 mile) was about 11:45 (1999: 10:52), best two lengths 24:36 (1999: 23:15), and best 4 lengths 49:11 (1999: 46:52). During the last two years I've been doing longer swims, but I've gotten slower. As has been the case for the last four years, I go slightly faster coming back to the starting beach at the east end of the Pond. The Pond depth was down again this year, about a foot below the high water level two years ago when the water lapped against the stone wall for most of the summer.
On a whim a couple weeks ago, I decided to extend my season beyond previous years to determine the feasibility of swimming in 60o F water, which is the water temperature required for a 10-hour qualifying swim before one can book a reservation for the English Channel swim. I wanted to convince myself, one way or the other, whether I could attempt the channel. The Channel Swimming site lists the channel temperature as varying between 14o C (57o F) in June and October and 17-18o C (62-64o F) in late August. Well, as of 14 Oct, the Walden Pond temperature is 61-62o F, and I stayed in for up to 56 minutes. On the final day, 18 Oct, the water was 56o F, and I was only in for 26 minutes. I doubt I could stand beyond a few hours at this temperature. However, on 14 Oct., I found Victor Maldonado, second place finisher just behind me in this year's Boston Light Swim, at the beach, and he told me some interesting things. He too found the water very cold. We both seem to have been making similar plans about future long-distance swims. He has been talking to ace swimmer Julie Burnett, who says (Victor's quote) "If you can do the Boston Light, you can do Manhattan." Julie has done the Boston Light a number of times and, Victor says, Manhattan twice. There is a counter example: Rex Painter completed the Boston Light in 2000 but failed to make the check point around Manhattan. Victor says that the current after the checkpoint is fantastic, accounting for 7 miles of the 29 miles around Manhattan, and there's no problem with cold. The English Channel is different: cold, long, and unpredictable. There are accounts at the Dover Solo and Channel Swimming sites. PH Mullen, who has the 19th fastest channel crossing, has an account of his preparation and his swim at the web site for his new book about swimmers training for the Olympics, Gold in the Water. I'm skeptical now of being able to make the English Channel because of the cold and the distance. I'm going to keep thinking about it. Over the next year, I'll keep swimming and may do some swims with Victor, who wants to do a long swim in Puerto Rico, his home, in January.
This year's outdoor season was another beauty: lots of Walden Pond swimming, a grueling Boston Light swim, and the fourth annual birthday swim with my three daughters.
(28 Oct 01, knight@ll.mit.edu)