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Sitka Swim Article Courtesy of the Sitka Daily Sentinel

853 views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  BethR 
#1 ·
Here is the article, well if I do this right...<br><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">obviously I didn't so we'll have to wait for sheldon so I suppose I'll tell you a little about the swim instead.</span></span><br><br><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">The swim was conceived of a year ago after the Pennock Island swim. It seems (at the time) a good idea to go swim something else in Alaska. I was assured it was feasible and a plan was made for several of us to go off to icy strait. In the end several things fell through and the destination (and other swimmers) were shelved and sitka chosen as an historic location (first city in Alaska, site of the first Russians etc). The average water temps for August seems good and there were several reasonable routes one might select to swim. This change was made fairly late and it seemed clear the swim would be longer than the one in icy strait. I had already been training to do back to back swims but had to tweak my mileage up a bit.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I soon found myself near the overtraining edge. No matter the season was running on, I had the 6 mile Santa Barbara swim then the 5 mile tour of buoys and quickly a plane to catch to Ketchikan. Meanwhile, the buoy temps for the Sitka waters remained worrisomely low. The locals reported sunny hot days across SE Alaska but the water was cold. When I arrived the rains had started to fall but the water was warming some. I had 3 hectic days of acclimation swims in Ketchikan (swimming morning and evening) soon followed by the local 1km which was overcast but warm water (57 degrees). The next day was the Pennock swim and here we leave you for the moment…</span></span><br><a href="http://assets.kickrunners.com.s3.amazonaws.com/f/f4/f4dab3b1_vbattach666.jpg"><img alt="LL" src="http://cdn.kickrunners.com/f/f4/525x525px-LL-f4dab3b1_vbattach666.jpg" style="width:525px;height:343px;"></a>
 
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#3 ·
I see a red x <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/sad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Sad">
 
#5 ·
Here you go...<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/triandstopme/Sitka/ArticlePT2.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><img alt="" src="http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/triandstopme/Sitka/ArticlePT1-1.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><br><img alt="" src="http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/triandstopme/Sitka/Article2-1.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
Claudia, just let me know if you want me to put up a link to an album with the FB shots of the swim.
 
#7 ·
I love how you're naked and the kayaker is in "winter gear."<br><br>
Mr. Tithers has a great question-WHY do you do this? I guess it's the same question people ask me "Why do you do the Ironman?"<br><br>
As you know I'm a big fan! Hats off...clothes off...rather to you!
 
#8 ·
that's truly astounding. congrats to you.
 
#9 ·
Claudia.....<br><br>
GREAT JOB!!!!<br><br>
AND, a big public THANK YOU to the Sentinal for allowing you to post the article.<br><br>
The jellyfish freak me out.........I'm awed that you swam through them.<br>
I really did think that they liked warm water, though.
 
#11 ·
We beleive the stinging ones are a lovely creature known as the artic lions mane jellyfish... just when you thought you were safe. THey only appear occasionally though so we should be safe next year.<br><br>
So why do I do it. Well there was beucase I couldn't run anymore and so turned to swimmign and foudn the cold water helped so then I liked having cold water goals that gave me more than "so I don't have pain" as a reason to get out every day. It got to be mroe than that though. To see if I coudl go there, to show others you coudl do it and not die (in the case of Sitka). To see new creatures and people and places. So now its as bad a habit as the tri habit. I have always loved maps and staring at things on them and wondering what they will be like, Marine charts are even mroe intriguing and to see if you can go where you saw on the chart is exciting. I'm pretty sure there's some extra endorphins from swimming in cold water.<br><br>
I'm putting up some photos on picasa when I get done, I can get you all to tell me how to put a link to there! I'm slow, I need a new comptuer and I'm recovering harder than I might have expected. It did not help to run aroudn seeing everythign as soon as I got done and then jetting home to a heat wave!
 
#12 ·
I also wanted to add the Sitka Sentinel is really cool an older true newspaper. We went up for the interview and then got to go down and see the paper being pressed. All the staff goes down to stuff the paper after its printed. Everyone there was really nice!
 
#13 ·
Once again, a big <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/notworthy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="notworthy"> to you Claudia. Your swimming feats are always amazing for me to read, especially as someone who struggles so much in the wet stuff.<br><br>
I actually thought of you today - I was running by Aquatic Park (where a lot of the triathletes and OW swimmers get in their laps) in San Francisco this morning and there were signs warning about some renegade sea lions who were nipping at folks in the cove
 
#14 ·
Claudia...your reasoning reminds me of...ME! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/banana.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="banana">
 
#18 ·
"didn't remember to quit"<br><br>
I love that. I too have said I was going to quit, but then I forgot.<br>
I cannot believe you've found nutters to swim along.<br>
This reminds me of a show I watched once where some amazing woman was swimming for 24 hours or some such. She just kept setting records because she could.<br>
That's you! That's our swimmerbee! Out there inspiring others to tears with amazing feats of what the body can do when the mind is willing.<br><br>
on a side note: isn't the hudson toxic?
 
#19 ·
Wow, great article! (except I stopped reading at page 2 when I couldn't squint hard enough to see it).<br><br>
I've done some fishing up there (commercial fishing, that is) and the jellyfish are nasty! Can't imagine swimming through those buggers.
 
#20 ·
What an awesome article! Fantastic Claudia! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/notworthy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="notworthy">
 
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