Today’s takeaway is that two miles is a lot of miles. Simple math would tell you that two miles is twice as far as one mile, but today that did not seem true.

Angie, Gabe, Kim, and I set off from the Albany Bulb at 7 this morning with the aim of swimming the two miles from the beach to the tip of Cesar Chavez park and back. In June when I was getting nervous about the 3K I’d signed up for in Canada, Colleen took me on this swim to show me that I was capable of swimming two miles. Now that we are a little over a week from our Alcatraz swim, it seemed like a good idea to prove to ourselves (once again in my case, for the first time for Angie, Kim, and Gabe) that a two-mile swim is in us. 

The swim out was difficult and long. Waves smacked at my face and pulled me in the wrong directions. I managed to keep from swallowing bucketfuls of water, but I had to concentrate on avoiding it. As I slogged through the water, I kept the point of Cesar Chavez park in my sights and it never seemed to get any closer. At one point I stopped to look at my watch, convinced I’d been swimming for at least a mile and maybe it was time to turn around. I was dismayed to discover I’d only gone 1,000 yards. I took a deep breath and pressed on. 

I must have checked my watch three or four more times. When will we get there? Time and distance elongated. Eventually, we made it and even though it was only halfway, it felt like a celebration. 

Returning, we set our sights on the home tree; the tree that marks the beach, our beacon.  After one pull of my arm, I could see it was going to be an entirely different swim back. With each stroke, a wave pushed me along so sometimes I felt like I was flying. This is fun! 

In the end, it took us 55 minutes to get to the point and 35 minutes to get back. It felt like a big accomplishment and, as I dragged myself out of the water, I felt pride, relief, and like I’m a little closer to being ready for Alcatraz.