Each time is a little bit different. There's a little rocky island about 150-200 metres offshore to which I often head. There's nothing much on it but a few shrubs, seagull bones and shit. There's a lot of wild purslane all over the place, which makes a nice lemony snack. I usually am still fasting at that point in the day so it always feels like a treat. I've even discovered two scraggly tomato plants, with some green tomatoes on them, which i can only figure grew from some seeds that wafted downstream in the breeze or from compost drifting ashore. It doesn't look like another soul has been on the island for years, which is kind of nice because it gives a person that sort of Robinson Crusoe, 'undiscovered country' feeling when you step ashore, even though it's in the midst of the city.
Other times I just swim around randomly. This past week, I swam out along some rocky bluffs that skirt the edge of the river and climbed up into some of the little overhangs and caverns that have been eroded by the river over the years. Pretty neat area. Even found some interesting patterns in the rocks that look like little fossilized worms or vegetation of some sort. All in all much more interesting that a chlorinated indoor pool.
I have to admit I get some weird looks from passers-by on the shoreline. There's a nice walking trail along the river so there's a lot of foot traffic during the lunch hour, especially on nice days. I've never seen another person in the water here, or anywhere close by. It strikes me as a bit strange. There's no beach or anything, but it's not like the water is hard to access. It's rocky, yes, but you only have to get in about 10 feet or so and it drops off very deep and the water is clear and free from weeds. I can't figure out what the reason is. A lot of people I tell seem a bit shocked at first, i think because they think it must be dirty. Admittedly, there have been a few cases where the city has allowed raw sewage to dump into the river during heavy storm overflows, but it doesn't seem to discourage people from the beaches in the summer. And while I certainly would rather there was no untreated sewage going into the river ever, it's a big, deep river and I'm sure it's pretty diluted by the time it gets to me. Besides, I fully agree with George Carlin's very Nietzschean bit about how swimming in raw sewage strengthens the immune system. Same reason I get about 10-20% of my calories from food that's fallen on the ground (actually no, wait, that's because I have young kids). Of course Carlin is dead....but so far I'm not. Part of me really wants to rebel against this whole notion that we can somehow wall ourselves off from pollution by avoiding the 'dirty' places. If ecology teaches anything it's that there's no hope in that...everything is connected to everything else and the fences we try to put up just serve to make us feel better. We need to take better care of the whole place, not just try to avoid the nasty stuff. We're all downstream so to speak.
We're well into October now and I'm hoping I can at least make it into November. I met a very cool Swedish guy when we were vacationing in Cuba last winter, and he was telling me about how he was on track to swim in the ocean every month of the year. Now I think he was from the southern part of Sweden but that's still pretty bad-ass. The river here freezes over by December/January so I think November is probably the best I can hope for, but you never know.
Speaking of Swedes, you know else was a fan of open water swimming - a dude named Beowulf:
Unferth spoke:
"Are you that Beowulf
who struggled with Brecca
in the broad sea
in a swimming contest?
The one who, out of pride,
risked his life in the deep water
though both friends and enemies
told you it was too dangerous?
Are you the one who hugged
the sea, gliding through the boiling
waves of the winter's swell?
You and Brecca toiled
seven nights in the sea,
and he, with more strength,
overcame you."
Beowulf spoke:
"Well, my friend Unferth, you
have said a good many things
about Brecca and that trip,
drunk on beer as you are.
Truth to tell, I had more strength
but also more hardships in the waves.
He and I were both boys
and boasted out of our youth
that we two would risk
our lives in the sea.
And so we did.
With naked swords in hand,
to ward off whales,
we swam. Brecca could not
out-swim me, nor could I
out-distance him. And thus
we were, for five nights.
It was cold weather and
the waves surged, driving us
apart, and the North wind came
like a battle in the night.
Fierce were the waves
and the anger of the sea fish
stirred. My coat of mail,
adorned in gold
and locked hard by hand,
helped against those foes.
A hostile thing drew me
to the bottom in its grim grip,
but it was granted to me
to reach it with my sword's
point. The battle storm
destroyed that mighty
sea beast through my hand.
And on and on evil
things threatened me.
I served them with my sword
as it was right to do.
Those wicked things
had no joy of the feast,
did not sit at the sea's
bottom eating my bones." (translation by D.Breeden)
Now that's some really bad-ass shit. Dude swam for 5 days in a full suit of armour and a carrying a sword, and killed a bunch of sea monsters at the same time. The least I can do is go for a little dip on my lunch break and carry back some tomatoes and fossils!
Another swimming contest I like to think about is the one from the movie Gattaca. It's a great scene from an ever greater movie. Serves as a good bit of admonition for those times when a person feels like they're a slave to their genetic limitations or that somehow other people have it easier. Goes to show that it's most often the people that work the hardest and want it the baddest that succeed, not necessarily the ones with the most natural talent or advantages. A good reminder at all times, especially for those of us in the fitness realm. And swimming always makes me think of this scene, and the message therein - a good mnemonic kick in the ass!
Well, that got a little more philological and philosophical than intended....
All I'm really trying to say is that I'd encourage anyone who has access to a river to ignore the strange stares you might get and just use it. Swimming is killer exercise. I'm not even that great at it but it always leaves me feeling like I had a good workout, especially in open water with a decent current (this spot is downstream from some crazy rapids at Chaudierre Falls). I'm always starving afterwards, which to me is a good sign that I worked hard. Plus, I used to pay 5 bucks a shot to swim in the public pool, plus gas to get there. This is free for the taking.
So dive in.
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