1000 miles?

The year is winding down, and I have 23 days to squeeze in another 70 miles to reach my 2010 goal of 1000 miles. I can’t honestly think of a valid reason for setting this goal, but since I have been tracking my swims and watching the miles add up, it seemed like I should have a nice round number to target. Of course now that we are into the dreaded holiday pool closure season, I will have to pay close attention to every single available hour of masters and open rec.

Last sunday, Martin Turecky organized a 9 hour block of SCY pool time in Ravena, NY for the purpose of doing a 10 mile swim. Nine of us signed up, and all completed the 17,600 yds. I did a few extra and rounded off at 20,000…. a good way to start the week, it gave me a good jump toward what I hope will be a 70,000 yd week. As it stands now: 24.20 miles (=42,600 yards, =38,953 meters).

With the temperature now in the single digits, the idea of outdoor swimming is faint, but 2011 planning has begun.

Fellow channel swimmer, CIBBOWS board member, friend and pilot, Dan Boyle took Willie Miller and me for a low altitude recon flight over the Hudson River last thursday, from the Rip Van Winkle Bridge (Catskill to Hudson) down to the Verrazano Bridge. This 120 mile route will hopefully be the course for a seven day staged swim sometime this summer. We are in the early planning stages, but this swim has been on my mind for a few years, and a few other friends are also working on the tide modeling with me. It is going to be a huge undertaking….. I’ll keep updates coming as we make progress.

Thats all I’ve got for now……….