My Five Year Plan

In this post, I hinted at my five year plan. Yes, I do have one. And yes, I intend on completing everything on it, hoping to have more of a success rate than other historical 5-year plans you might have heard of.

My plan will encompass a few big swims. My Inter-Island Swim of course. Despite it being "short" as the bird flies, I've had people tell me (none other than the president of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association!) that it will be difficult and take quite a while due to the currents. Lake Tahoe is another one, lengthwise. No reason to spend the money and make the trip, if you're not going to do it the long way! I'd also like to do the Salt Lake marathon, and the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence swim in Switzerland. Oh, and the English Channel.

The EC will be the finale of the 5-year plan. I intend on swimming it in 2017. I have an ulterior motive to the timing due to my cheapness...well, let's say thriftiness. In April 2017 I'll be 50, and if you successfully swim the EC on or after your 50th birthday, you're put into yet another special group (besides the ultra-cool "I've swum the EC" group): the Half-Century club. Well, if I'm going to spend $10K, I want to do it once.

Before that, and as part of my 5-year plan, I'd love to crew for someone doing the channel, or (and?) even better: do a relay with a group of swimmers, as I hinted (none too subtly) in this post.  I'd also like to crew for someone's Catalina Channel crossing. And do a relay around Manhattan.

Besides the big swims, I have some not big swims on my list. They're still big, mind you, but either not so iconic or simply shorter distances. I really want to do one of the stage swims (which are neither short nor, yet, iconic): the 8 bridges in NY (which has a better than average chance of becoming iconic before either of the following), or the 5 swim series [link pdf] over a weekend in Oregon, or the 5 swim lake series in Texas. Something about a weekend filled with a bunch of swims intrigues me. Again, maybe, because I'm thrifty. One round-trip plane ticket and multiple swims!

In addition to my "foreign" swims in the UK and Switzerland, I'd like to do some in the Americas. The family and I will begin Spanish when we all are back in the U.S., so I'd really like to plan a vacation around a swim or three (already got spousal approval for this plan). Costa Rica has a bunch of swims throughout the year, and we'd get to use our Spanish. The Switzerland marathon would be good because we still have relatives in Switzerland, so there's another vacation.

BTW, every one of these big swims that I plan myself I'll be swimming for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

All in all, now that I look at it, that's quite an ambitious schedule. Especially considering I'm starting a new job, so I won't have much vacation. I'll have to plan and time things perfectly. But still, if I'm 50% successful, that's better than Stalin.

Comments

[Katie]

Wow, a 5-year plan! I like the ambition.

Right now, my 2-year plan is Absolutely Do Not Do a Marathon Swim in 2013. (The Highland Lakes Challenge doesn't sound TOO horrible, though...) I guess that's the downside of unfettered access to beautiful pools, gorgeous lakes, masters teams, and plenty of time to train.

I know people get seasick crewing even if they "never get seasick". But I've been on boats where I was the only person not to throw up. (Boy, does that make a girl unpopular.)

[IronMike]

It may turn out to be all ambition and little actual accomplishment! Besides the money, there is the unwritten but totally mandatory part of the plan: don't get injured.

I do envy you your beautiful lakes. I do not, however, envy you the heat, even if it is a "dry heat."

[evan]

"Better than Stalin" -- aspirational words to live by.

[Shoreditchbakes.wordpress.com]

Because I really like your blog, I nominated you for the ‘One Lovely Blog Award’. You can see it here: http://shoreditchbakes.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/rain-stops-play-but-not-the-awards-2/

Good luck with your channel swim! Amazing.

Carolx

[IronMike]

Thanks Carol, and sorry I haven't written back earlier. Moving back to the states...plus, sorry, but your comment looked like spam!
Cheers,
Mike

[Lara]

Hi Mike - Came across your blog while looking for swimming opportunities in Moscow. We are headed back next week for our second tour. I wasn't really much of an athlete during our first posting there, but during the past four years in DC I've gotten into triathlon. Realizing that I won't be doing tris any time soon, I've decided to do more long-distance swimming. Would love to get some advice from you.

Lara

[IronMike]

I'm sorry Lara, been traveling and waiting for our computer and other stuff. Got our air shipment from Moscow finally so I can respond.

The pool on the compound is okay; you'll get really good at flip-turns! Viktor is the swimming teacher there, and he's got the inside track on open water swims in Moscow. I've heard tell that Moscow has a triathlon, but I'll be damned if I ever saw it advertised. 10Ks and marathon runs, yes, but tris, no.

As you can see from my blog, I did all my OW swims outside of Russia. Thankfully, the airfare wasn't too much that I could afford to do a few swims each year.

Also, if you want to swim in a Russian pool, I recommend the Olympic pool at the Prospekt Mira metro stop. Very clean water; only problem is it's 280 rubles for 45 minutes. And you've got all kinds of noodlers in every lane to swim around. If you go this route, go to the med unit and ask Dr. Sibirsky (the Russian doc) for a zapravka. It's a health form that the Russian pools will need to see. See my blog entries about all the different stamps you'll need!

Cheers,
Mike