The Day of Reckoning

(Thanks for the pictures and for performing the physicals Matt! These two characters, Dr. Laurence Fuortes and Dr. Marek Mikulski, are my bosses at work and kindly gave me the month of July off.

According to Matt, "As you can see ("physicaly fit" [bottom photo]), both Lar and Marek are very buff after extensive physical training and anxiously await your return to complete their part of the deal: you swim the English Channel, they swim the Coralville Reservoir. After an extensive mental health examination (see "mental exam" [top photo]) both Lar and Marek have been given the go ahead on their "Swimming the Reservoir" challenge. These two are so mentally tough; there is little doubt that they can conquer this great feat."

I accept and await this challenge with much anticipation. I also want you to know that I miss the spacious filing cabinet room dearly.)


Hello all. If the weather holds up, as it looks like it will, this will be the last time that I blog before pushing off towards Calais.

I spoke to our caption, Andy King (aka The SeaKing) this morning, and I was told the good news that a Canadian fellow, the number three man, went out early this morning. Unless you hear from me otherwise, I will start tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 6:30 AM (12:30 AM CST) off of Shakespeare Beach. My body and mind are both feeling fresh and apt for the journey.

Thomas and I picked up our last supplies this morning including 12 L of water/fruit juice, Mars Bars, bananas, rope to attach the water bottle to, Zinc cream to heat and mix with petroleum jelly for body grease, safety pins to attach light sticks to (as I will probably finish in the dark), and a large sketch pad for the crew to write jokes, riddles, words of encouragement, and probably profanities to keep me amused and/or motivated.

Thomas is also bringing his suit and goggles to pace with me when the times are tough. We also will probably be joined by Collie, the Aussie, who was the first person to successfully cross this season (only 2 out of the 9 attempts on Monday were good). It will be wonderful to have his expertise aboard. I still need to talk to my friend Iain to see if he can make it down to join us on a rather short notice - as I didn't originally anticipate us moving through the window so quickly.

The rest of today looks like a 30 minute swim, some stretching and yoga, running through last minute check lists, making a few telephone calls (which are costing an arm and a leg by using calling cards at pay phones), eating pasta, and trying to finish my latest book, The Four Minute Mile (a very motivating text about the competition between three milers to break the impossible barrier - and Roger Bannister is able to finally do it while simultaneously juggling his third year of medical school). I finally hope to do a fair bit of resting.

As of yesterday, after summing up the miles in my journal that I have swam since January 1 of this year, I concluded that I have splashed around for 621.5 miles. Based on this, as well as my average stroke rates, I feel confident as long as my body stays warm and my mind does not allow my body to give up.

I appreciate the words of encouragement and thoughts that you all have given me to reflect upon tomorrow. Your support is truly heartwarming, and my deepest hope is to not let any of you down.

With much love and care.