The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim

Goal:  Finish!
Result: 3:35:14

First, the back story.

Not long after I moved to Washington, I read something online about the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim. I had just joined Team Z. Swimming 100 yards without stopping was a big deal for me, so swimming across the Bay seemed like an impossibility. But I clicked the FAQ's on the website anyway to see what it was all about. I ran across this section talking about the possible "dangers" one might confront during the swim:

"...cross currents, swells, chop, hypothermia if the water is cold, nettle stings if the water is warm, and collisions with the bridge supports or rocks surrounding the jetties, islands and causeways." 

It went on to say that one year only 15 percent of swimmers finished the swim due to a strong ebb current of about 2 knots.    

After reading that, I tucked the idea away in the "No Way Am I Cut Out For That" file. Still, I was intrigued by the crazy challenge of swimming across the Bay. Over the next 4 years I would revisit the idea every now and then, then file it back in its proper place.

But somewhere in the midst of training for Kilimanjaro and IMAZ last year, I had a conversation with swim coach Mark that prompted me to revisit my doubts about the Bay. He was about to do his 13th consecutive Bay Swim. When I mentioned my outlandish idea of attempting it, he said, "Sally, you can do that swim." And that was all it took for me to move the idea into the "Maybe Someday" file.

The Bay Swim lottery opened in October. With two dozen triathlons under my belt, Kili in the bag, and my Ironman attempt soon to follow, I decided to give the Bay a shot.

Fast Forward to June 10th. 

I'm riding the shuttle bus across the Bay Bridge on my way to Sandy Point State Park. I have absolutely no idea how this is going to turn out. Will I make it across? Will I miss the cutoffs? Swim out of bounds and get disqualified? Become exhausted and dehydrated? It was all a roll of the dice. But I had two things working in my favor:  my training and the weather. 

The weather was SICK! The water was close to flat calm and the wind wasn't even blowing. This was as good as it gets for the bay.

The training? Thousands of yards in the pool and 5 open water swims leading up to this day. I spent six months getting ready for this challenge...and now I was putting it all to the test. 

Surprise!

I got off the bus and headed for the registration tables. Little did I know that lurking somewhere behind a tree were two people, spying on me. As soon as the registration volunteer handed me my race packet, I heard a familiar voice.

No WAY! WHAT THE---?? I turned around and standing right there was Tracey---Kilimanjaro Tracey, as my media friends call her. She had flown all the way here from Hawaii to surprise me, green wig and all! There she was, standing next to Nicolas who also had said nothing about coming out to the Bay to cheer us on. I thought I was hallucinating. 

Tracey sporting a new green wig that Nicolas had fluffed for her.

Pre-Swim Jitters
I was fine until right before the briefing began. I started to get nervous....and for a few moments I even considered the possibility that I wasn't just nervous, I was scared.

What if my long zipper strap gets caught on something and strangles me? What if a pack of red caps swim over me and I drown? What if I catch some kind of weird, deadly disease from the bacteria lurking in the water? 

This is what working in the news biz will do to a person.

Let's Go!
Tracey helped me with my wetsuit and swim cap. I put a GU in my cap and another one in my wetsuit by my ankle. 

Swim Coach Mark, Dana,Val,Melanie, Scott, me. Let's Swim This Bay!

We had quite a few Zs swimming the Bay this year.  About 15 minutes before the start, we walked across the timing mat and over to the beach. Most of us positioned ourselves right in the middle of the pack. Fastie Mark went over by the bridge where the perfect people were. I couldn't believe I was about to swim this bay! This had been on my radar for years....and now I was standing there on the beach, ready to go. I glanced over at the spectators to find the green wig and cheer wand -- easy to spot. 

Gave Tracey and Nicolas a wave. The horn went off. I stepped into the Chesapeake Bay and started swimming! 

Mile 1 

And We're Off!

I managed to avoid a lot of contact during the Cuisinart Start by hanging back a little. Pretty soon I was swimming under the north span and into the swim "lane" between the two bridges. This would be my course for the next 3 or so hours. 

During the pre-race briefing, the race director had said to stay to the right during the first half of the swim, so I stayed to the left. I noticed that most of the swimmers ahead of me were doing the same thing. There didn't seem to be much of a current coming from either direction, but it gradually started to get a little rougher.

I saw a random orange buoy and hoped it was the one mile marker. Checked my watch:  39 minutes. Whew, so far so good. One down, 3.4 to go. 


Mile 2

Swimmers approaching at the 2 mile marker--the orange dot

 By now I'm swimming in the middle of the lane as I approach the channel. What if the race director was right about the current? After receiving so much conflicting advice on the Bay Swim, I wasn't sure who to believe. Having a buffer zone on either side of me seemed like the best tactic for getting across the channel.


The water got a little rougher as I entered the channel and it felt like I was slowing down. The doubts started to creep in:  What if I don't make this next cutoff? How pathetic would that be? I'm just not fast enough. I'm not strong enough. Why is that kayaker moving in closer -- is he about to pull me out of this race? 

Time to cue up my Mile 2 song and get through this channel! 

 
Mile 3

Looks far, doesn't it?!

This was probably my favorite part of the swim. We had some gentle rollers and I actually enjoyed the ride. I was pretty sure it was slowing me down, so I started to kick harder in hopes of plowing through it faster.

At this point I had picked up a kayak escort. I guess one of the advantages of being slow is you get the kayakers all to yourself....and I enjoyed the company. 

By the time I reached mile 3, I was pretty sure I was going to make it. Ah, what a nice feeling. 

Three down, 1.4 to go.





Mile 4

Photo Courtesy:  "Eye On Annapolis"

 Just when I started wondering if they were kidding about having a feeding boat out here, lo and behold, I spied one up ahead, parked smack dab in the middle of the lane! It was like a swim-up bar--- you just belly up to the side of the boat, grab onto one of the life preservers, and order your drink. Water and Gatorade were being served--and the Gatorade was actually cold! The cups were so small they reminded me of shot glasses.

I ordered up a water and a Gatorade and checked out the other patrons next to me. Everyone was in a good mood. That's the thing about back-of-the-packers:  if we're making forward progress, we're happy. We don't have the stress of worrying about actually competing, we just want to finish.

I passed on the Vanilla Wafers, pulled out the GU I had stashed in my wetsuit, downed some more water, made small talk with the other swimmers about how lucky we were, and shoved off. At least I can cross dehydration off my list of worries. 

My kayak escort said something about staying to the left. The current was coming in stronger now and would be pushing us to the right. I still had about 3/4 of a mile to go to the Mile 4 marker and I could tell I was slowing down in the current. Before I knew it, I was drifting closer and closer to the right span. If I drifted under the bridge, I would be disqualified. But my trusty kayak escort came to the rescue! He positioned himself between me and the bridge supports. To swim out of bounds I would have to swim  into his kayak first. 

This last mile dragged by. The current was more of an annoyance---nowhere near as strong as the Nanticoke River Swim. Chalk up extra points for me for doing Nanticoke!  

My ever-eager kayak friend kept offering me water, but I didn't want to stop, especially in that current. At one point I popped up and asked him where the turn off was. He said to just look for the big beach balls and the line of kayaks.

Finally I spotted them. OMG! I couldn't believe I was at Mile 4! Before rounding one of the beach balls I flipped over on my back for a second and looked behind me, up at the two giant spans. It's a view you only get from the water. Driving over the bridge won't cut it. Cruising by in a boat gives you the view, but not the feeling you get when you're actually in the water staring up at the giant structures that make up the two spans of the Bay Bridge. I couldn't believe I was doing this! Was I really going to make it? How was that possible? The Queen of the Slow Lane was about to finish the Bay Swim! I made a right, swam under the south span, and then took a left to follow the shore for the final stretch. 

Finish Line in sight! 
The water was warmer now and shallow enough to stand up. I paused and stood up for a second to say thanks to my kayak friend, then kept going. My arms were a little sore but I was surprised by how good I felt. I still had all kinds of energy! 


When I got close to the shore I could hear my fellow Zers cheering. It had to be over 90 degrees by now. They had to be exhausted. Some had finished their own swim across the Bay more than an hour ago. Priscilla had finished the One Mile Challenge hours ago.  And our intrepid surprise cheer crew had to be boiling hot in this heat--and that green wig--waiting for me to finish. But still they stayed and they waited. 

A volunteer was standing at the water's edge with an orange flag directing me into the finishers shoot. She was smiling and telling me I had made it. I was so happy, I hugged her! 


The best part of finishing the Bay Swim, other than getting out of the water and crossing the timing mat, was the ice cold Diet Coke Priscilla had waiting for me! After swimming for 3.5 hours with nothing more to drink than a few shot glasses worth of water and Gatorade, that Diet Coke totally hit the spot! 

As I was headed for the food table another swimmer gasped when she saw my Diet Coke! 
Her: "Where did you get that Diet Coke??!!"
Me:  "Oh...my friend gave it to me. Had it chilled and waiting at the finish line." 
(You know, I didn't want to gloat or anything, but some of us have friends who will do this kind of thing....other people aren't as lucky. Just sayin'.  ;p) 

That's the one flaw with the Bay Swim --only Pepsi products at the finish line. But they did have a nice spread of food for the finishers. The only thing I really wanted were the orange slices. OMG- so good!  

Finish Stats
Finish time: 3:35:14, about 10 minutes shy of the 3:45 cutoff. That's a 48:55/mile pace (pathetic, I know!). There were 16 women in my age division and I came in last. Overall, though, I was 7th to last. Whew!  At least I wasn't the last one out of the water. Wooohooo! Gotta celebrate the small victories.

Tracey gave us all these nifty 4.4 stickers