The Thinking Mode

I've been doing some thinking. Yeah, I know.

But this thinking started because I've been doing some feeling. 

In the words of BB King, "The thrill is gone."

I'm talking about marathon swimming, or more specifically the Chicot Challenge. 

That is a bit of an overstatement to say the thrill is gone, but in the past the thrill has been, well, more thrilling. I do this swim for several reasons. One is I like the challenge of a long endurance event, one long enough that I have to train and plan and suffer for a long time just to pull it off. I do it also for diabetes, to raise awareness of the disease and funds for the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. I have hitched my wagon to this group because they do a great work here in Mississippi, and I've lived long enough to see how devastating this condition is. I view diabetes as a threat to America, one that needs to be fought.

Another reason is I still like to show out for my wife. After the last one she hugged me and said, "I am proud of you." That caused my heart to nearly burst. I also liked showing out for my daughter on the last Challenge. Our son, Forrest, has been part of several of my swims. He has experienced three Swim the Sucks, two Chicot Challenges, and numerous training swims in various bodies of water. This was Andrea's first. She told me later that she went to her job the next week and and told her her co-workers, "My dad is superman." That made me cry. 

My own health is part of my motivation. The Challenge makes me train hard, train for months, eat better, and think about everything I do. I am more healthy and more fit for doing this every year than I would be without it. The Challenge is part of my attempt at preventing myself from becoming diabetic. And finally, there is the adventure aspect. Getting into a large body of water and swimming for hours on end brings an inner glow that I cannot begin to describe; it is just impossible to put into words. Now, however, I have swum so many miles in that lovely lake that it feels no more exotic that climbing into my own bathtub. That last reason, the adventure aspect, has diminished in Lake Chicot. So in some ways, the thrill is gone. 

I want a new challenge. 

I need one.

By the grace of God, I hope to swim next year, and I hope to raise funds for the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. But I may or may not do Chicot Challenge V. At the present everything is on the table. Up for thought and decision are the distance, the name, the crew, the T-shirt design, and the place. Especially the place.

I have been spending a lot of time on Google Maps, looking at water and dreaming. I've looked at Enid Lake and Sardis Lake. I intend to make a day trip to both of these and do some recognizance. I need to take either a small boat or the kayak and go look and measure some possible routes. Both of these lakes are long and somewhat narrow which bodes well for wind. Enid, however, I fear may not really be big enough to get the king of distance I want without doing laps. Sardis, I think may be a very nice venue.

The water that has most been on my computer screen and in my mind, however, is the Tennessee-Tombigbe Waterway. There is room enough to swim for years there and never swim the same place twice. Having learned all I could from the internet, I decided it was time for a day trip, so Penny and I loaded up and drove over last week. I saw the water with my eyes, found a landing, stopped at an information center and picked up maps and brochures.

The advantages of the Tenn-Tom are many. It is a long, narrow channel, averaging a hundred yards in width and sometimes more. This of course is good for the wind issue. Also good for the wind issue is the fact that the water level lies lower than the surrounding land than does the water level at Lake Chicot. The channel runs north and south which is also good for the wind aspect. Additionally, there are dozens of landings. Although we only looked a two, one of the brochures I picked up lists all the major spots: landings, campgrounds, dams, locks, etc. Not only is there a listing but mileage numbers are listed for each location. That answered one of my major questions: was there enough distance between dams to do a twenty plus mile swim? The answer is heck yeah. From that brochure alone I can calculate swim after swim after swim. And they are all in new water. Just thinking about swimming there puts the butterflies in my stomach. The thrill is back.

On the negative side, going to the Tenn-Tom would be a logistical nightmare. Getting people and a pontoon and kayaks there, in and out of the water in a timely fashion would be a huge undertaking. It's doable and the challenge of that is a two-edged sword. It is one of the disadvantages as well as one of its advantages. Advantage you say? Yes. Pulling it off is part of the appeal.

Staying at Chicot still has some appeal. We know how to do a swim there. Several of the crew members live in the area. I sleep the night before less than fifty yards from where I wade into the lake and start swimming. We rent a pontoon boat at the start. The lake is not heavily trafficked, is clean, is pretty, is long leaving room for even farther swims. One of the strongest reasons for staying there is I have spent several years building that name, the Chicot Challenge. Not long ago I was in a place of business in Greenwood when two employees asked me, "When is the next Chicot Challenge?" They know the name and expect another swim.

Recently, I responded to an old Greenwood friend who commented on Facebook that if I ever wanted to do a swim in the Reservoir (Ross Barnett), he has a pontoon boat for support. Cha-ching! In the past, I once I took a day trip there and did some scouting and then put to bed the idea of a swimming the Rez. But I called Larry and we chatted some, and he suggested I come down one day and we ride around and measure some things. That is exactly what I need to do. There are several advantages to holding the swim in the Reservior. We will have the support of a pontoon and a pilot who knows the water well. Also we would be close to the DFM members like Bethany Theilman and her son Evan who have driven from the Jackson area to be at the finish of the last two Challenges. That would simplify her day, assuming she would want to be there at the conclusion of the next one. Furthermore, Larry assures me he can secure an interview with WLBT TV which should be a boost to fundraising. And maybe, the Clarion Ledger would do a piece since the swim would be in their area. 

So I have a lot to think about. For the past four years, and this one makes five, I have concluded my open water season with Swim the Suck in the Tennessee River near Chattanooga. That is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen and the Suck, as it is called, has become a destination swim for open water enthusiasts from around the world. Really. I am registered for this year and I will compete once again. But I have toyed with the idea of not doing that one anymore. One reason for that thought is the expense. There is a large entrance fee, a long drive, and a motel bill to go along with it not to mention the meals. Financially, it hits hard. In the past, it has been a father/son outing, a competition with Randy Beets, and a super open water experience where I have met legends in the sport. But beating Randy Beets has also lost some of its thrill, Forrest now is involved in so many things that he is not as excited about the Suck as he once was, and my wife has never been able to make the trip. I feel a little guilty for such a pleasant trip in her absence. 

Besides the expense, however, if I dropped the Suck, I could do a second fundraising swim each year, maybe a swim in the Rez. I could keep Chicot in the early summer and go to the Rez in the fall, after Labor Day when football and hunting seasons start, the water cools, and the traffic on Ross Barnett begins to thin a little. Then maybe Forrest and I could go and do some swims in the Tenn-Tom just for fun. We can haul the kayak over there and do out and backs. Or Penny could drop us at one landing, spend her day shopping in Columbus, and pick us up at the next landing. 

There is a lot to think about but the later option is where my heart and mind are presently. Bethany, I would appreciate some input from you and Irena. If I swim in the Rez, I need a name for the event. Also, any other ideas y'all have about where and when and how, I will be glad to entertain. Right now I am in the thinking mode.