Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Catalina Channel swim
Having swum the English Channel in 2007 and around Manhattan Island, New York earlier this year, the Catalina Channel was my last swim needed to complete the Triple Crown of Marathon Swimming. Thirty-six swimmers have successfully completed the Triple Crown including two Australians, James Pittar and Penny Palfrey.
As with all my previous swims Tony Johnston and Errol Goldberg were with me for expert support. Tony would paddle next to me on a rescue board and Errol on the support boat to manage my feeds. Also on board the boat was Tony's son Jesse, Kim Shockley, a life long family friend from LA and Marc Lewis from La Jolla, near San Diego.
Marc and I became training partners in Dover Harbour in 2007 in the lead up to our English Channel swims. We were both successful and from that experience have become great mates. We also share the same birthday of 4 September 1961.
Similar to the English Channel swim you are required to organise your swim with the appropriate governing body. The Catalina Channel Swimming Federation (CCSF) oversees all attempts to swim the Catalina Channel. They provide a list of pilots to choose from and organise two observers from the CCSF to ensure you abide by the rules.
My observers were Anne Cleveland from La Jolla and John York from Manhattan Beach LA. Their names may not be household names in Australia, but Anne has swum a double crossing of the English Channel and John has swum a double crossing of the Catalina Channel and both have been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale.
Rounding out the team was the boat captain John Pittman and his boat, the Outrider.
At 11.24pm on Monday evening (5 October) under a full moon and starlit sky, I set off from Doctor’s Cove on Catalina Island in an attempt to swim to the Los Angeles mainland, a distance of approximately 35km.
The water temperature was 21c with only a slight bump, which was predicted to flatten out within the first couple of hours. The weather combined with the sea conditions had provided me with near perfect conditions. With these conditions and an amazing support team my ambition of becoming only the third Australian to complete the Triple Crown of Marathon Swimming seemed very achievable.
The plan was to feed at one hour and then every forty minutes from then onwards. The feeds would alternate between GU followed by water and High-five mixed with water. The first hour seemed like the beginning of any other swim and the first feed went down quick and well in about thirty seconds.
Shortly after the first feed my stomach started to feel queasy. At about 1 hour 30 minutes I told Tony to delay my second feed until 2 hours. The pains were intensifying and at 2 hours I knew I had to drink otherwise I would start to dehydrate. I was unable to finish the complete drink of 500ml of High Five and within 5 minutes of swimming I vomited it back up. Even at this early stage of the swim I could feel the energy draining out of me.
Marc and both the observers initially believed I was suffering from sea sickness which is common on night swims but I knew that it wasn’t that. I have suffered sea sickness on previous swims and the symptoms were completely different.
Another sign that all was not well was the difficulty I was having urinating. Generally I urinate a lot because I take in 500ml of fluids every forty minutes. If I am drinking and urinating well it is a good sign that I are swimming well.
At the 2hr 40min feed I was unable to swallow any of my drink - I just regurgitated it back up. I was now unable to urinate even though my bladder felt full and ready to explode.
At around the three hours I stopped and vomited again - this time it was much more severe. There were differing points of view on whether I should continue to swim. Tony and Errol were quite distressed as they had never seen me at this level of discomfort.
The truth is I realised at this point that the chances of making it to Point Vincente on the mainland were slipping away from me. I was suffering from intense stomach cramps, had severely vomited, unable to urinate, was dehydrated. I wanted to get out of the water there and then but was too embarrassed to.
Marc became a focal point for me not only because he is a marathon swimmer but he is also a doctor (anaesthetist). He explained that I was not doing any long term damage to myself by continuing to swim, but it was just a matter of if I could swim through this difficult period and hopefully come out the other side.
At the 3hr 20min Errol and Marc decided to give me water only as it would not unsettle my stomach like the previous feeds of GU and High-five. They also made a decision to reduce my drink times to every twenty minutes and reduce the quantity in the hope that I may be able to digest it without throwing up. Lastly they would change my feeds from GU and High-five to Maxim which would hopefully sit better on my stomach.
I was unable to digest the Maxim at 3hr 40min. At the four hour mark I managed to keep down my first feed since my initial feed three hours previous. Errol told me I was holding a stroke rate of 68 and Marc said I had progressed 1.8miles in the previous hour. That is approximately 3km and under normal circumstances I would swim 4km an hour.
At 4hr 20min I digested the feed, but before I could start swimming again I violently vomited again. In over four hours of swimming I had only managed to keep two feeds down.
Marc was urging me to continue for another twenty minutes and to then reassess. He had been using this method since about the three hour mark with great effect. I told Tony I wanted to get out - he would not advise me either way, he said it had to be my decision.
I had been feeling ill for three and a half hours and to me it was quite obvious I was not going to come through the other side. I breast-stroked to the back of the boat and touched the platform thus disqualifying myself. So I and I alone made the very conscious decision to abandon the swim. I could have kept swimming in the short term but common sense told me there was no way I would be able to swim for another five to six hours with the obstacles that had been placed in front of me.
I had covered 16km of a 35km swim in just less than four and a half hours. The ridiculous thing is I would swim 15km in a single training session.
Once on the boat I stood for about ten minutes coming to terms with the decision I had made. I then had a shower and Marc gave me an injection to settle my stomach. Marc and I had an in-depth debrief and he believes I most likely suffered food poisoning. As I write this I still have a burning sensation in my throat from the bile acid passing through.
At the time, I believed it was the right decision and a week later I still believe it was the right decision. There was an opportunity to have another attempt across the Catalina Channel on the Thursday evening some 72 hours after my first, but for a variety of reasons not the least being my physical and mental state I said no.
I thought I would be angry and upset but I wasn't. I was extremely disappointed because of all the hard work and sacrifices that Vanessa and I had made to get me to this point. Vanessa's love, encouragement and support are the only reason Manhattan and Catalina happened. The disruption to other aspects of our lives has been quite significant. Every time Lily was asked where daddy is, she would reply ‘swimming’ - she thinks that is all I do. Thank you V, I love you, Lily and Aidan just so so so much.
It is just under three years since I made the decision to attempt the English Channel. There is no doubt that it was a life changing decision and the people I have met along the way (and continue to meet) have by far been the biggest positive to my marathon swimming adventure. There are far too many people to mention by name but there are two that I must single out. To Tony, Errol and their families’ thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement. I think there is definitely a bit of man love going on.
Where to from here:
As with the English Channel and the Manhattan Island swim I never contemplated failing the Catalina Channel. Catalina was meant to be my last swim and I am not sure that my failure changes that fact.
People keep telling me that it is unfinished business but with the Catalina swimming season finished until next July at this stage I am not prepared to do the level of training required to make another attempt.
Since the birth of my second child Aidan Desmond the level of training required has become more difficult to achieve and less enjoyable. I think it is time to put some fun back into my training. I plan on reducing my kms per week from 60 to about 15, add in the odd Coogee to Cloey walk and maybe even start going to the gym.
Michael Renford
As with all my previous swims Tony Johnston and Errol Goldberg were with me for expert support. Tony would paddle next to me on a rescue board and Errol on the support boat to manage my feeds. Also on board the boat was Tony's son Jesse, Kim Shockley, a life long family friend from LA and Marc Lewis from La Jolla, near San Diego.
Marc and I became training partners in Dover Harbour in 2007 in the lead up to our English Channel swims. We were both successful and from that experience have become great mates. We also share the same birthday of 4 September 1961.
Similar to the English Channel swim you are required to organise your swim with the appropriate governing body. The Catalina Channel Swimming Federation (CCSF) oversees all attempts to swim the Catalina Channel. They provide a list of pilots to choose from and organise two observers from the CCSF to ensure you abide by the rules.
My observers were Anne Cleveland from La Jolla and John York from Manhattan Beach LA. Their names may not be household names in Australia, but Anne has swum a double crossing of the English Channel and John has swum a double crossing of the Catalina Channel and both have been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale.
Rounding out the team was the boat captain John Pittman and his boat, the Outrider.
At 11.24pm on Monday evening (5 October) under a full moon and starlit sky, I set off from Doctor’s Cove on Catalina Island in an attempt to swim to the Los Angeles mainland, a distance of approximately 35km.
The water temperature was 21c with only a slight bump, which was predicted to flatten out within the first couple of hours. The weather combined with the sea conditions had provided me with near perfect conditions. With these conditions and an amazing support team my ambition of becoming only the third Australian to complete the Triple Crown of Marathon Swimming seemed very achievable.
The plan was to feed at one hour and then every forty minutes from then onwards. The feeds would alternate between GU followed by water and High-five mixed with water. The first hour seemed like the beginning of any other swim and the first feed went down quick and well in about thirty seconds.
Shortly after the first feed my stomach started to feel queasy. At about 1 hour 30 minutes I told Tony to delay my second feed until 2 hours. The pains were intensifying and at 2 hours I knew I had to drink otherwise I would start to dehydrate. I was unable to finish the complete drink of 500ml of High Five and within 5 minutes of swimming I vomited it back up. Even at this early stage of the swim I could feel the energy draining out of me.
Marc and both the observers initially believed I was suffering from sea sickness which is common on night swims but I knew that it wasn’t that. I have suffered sea sickness on previous swims and the symptoms were completely different.
Another sign that all was not well was the difficulty I was having urinating. Generally I urinate a lot because I take in 500ml of fluids every forty minutes. If I am drinking and urinating well it is a good sign that I are swimming well.
At the 2hr 40min feed I was unable to swallow any of my drink - I just regurgitated it back up. I was now unable to urinate even though my bladder felt full and ready to explode.
At around the three hours I stopped and vomited again - this time it was much more severe. There were differing points of view on whether I should continue to swim. Tony and Errol were quite distressed as they had never seen me at this level of discomfort.
The truth is I realised at this point that the chances of making it to Point Vincente on the mainland were slipping away from me. I was suffering from intense stomach cramps, had severely vomited, unable to urinate, was dehydrated. I wanted to get out of the water there and then but was too embarrassed to.
Marc became a focal point for me not only because he is a marathon swimmer but he is also a doctor (anaesthetist). He explained that I was not doing any long term damage to myself by continuing to swim, but it was just a matter of if I could swim through this difficult period and hopefully come out the other side.
At the 3hr 20min Errol and Marc decided to give me water only as it would not unsettle my stomach like the previous feeds of GU and High-five. They also made a decision to reduce my drink times to every twenty minutes and reduce the quantity in the hope that I may be able to digest it without throwing up. Lastly they would change my feeds from GU and High-five to Maxim which would hopefully sit better on my stomach.
I was unable to digest the Maxim at 3hr 40min. At the four hour mark I managed to keep down my first feed since my initial feed three hours previous. Errol told me I was holding a stroke rate of 68 and Marc said I had progressed 1.8miles in the previous hour. That is approximately 3km and under normal circumstances I would swim 4km an hour.
At 4hr 20min I digested the feed, but before I could start swimming again I violently vomited again. In over four hours of swimming I had only managed to keep two feeds down.
Marc was urging me to continue for another twenty minutes and to then reassess. He had been using this method since about the three hour mark with great effect. I told Tony I wanted to get out - he would not advise me either way, he said it had to be my decision.
I had been feeling ill for three and a half hours and to me it was quite obvious I was not going to come through the other side. I breast-stroked to the back of the boat and touched the platform thus disqualifying myself. So I and I alone made the very conscious decision to abandon the swim. I could have kept swimming in the short term but common sense told me there was no way I would be able to swim for another five to six hours with the obstacles that had been placed in front of me.
I had covered 16km of a 35km swim in just less than four and a half hours. The ridiculous thing is I would swim 15km in a single training session.
Once on the boat I stood for about ten minutes coming to terms with the decision I had made. I then had a shower and Marc gave me an injection to settle my stomach. Marc and I had an in-depth debrief and he believes I most likely suffered food poisoning. As I write this I still have a burning sensation in my throat from the bile acid passing through.
At the time, I believed it was the right decision and a week later I still believe it was the right decision. There was an opportunity to have another attempt across the Catalina Channel on the Thursday evening some 72 hours after my first, but for a variety of reasons not the least being my physical and mental state I said no.
I thought I would be angry and upset but I wasn't. I was extremely disappointed because of all the hard work and sacrifices that Vanessa and I had made to get me to this point. Vanessa's love, encouragement and support are the only reason Manhattan and Catalina happened. The disruption to other aspects of our lives has been quite significant. Every time Lily was asked where daddy is, she would reply ‘swimming’ - she thinks that is all I do. Thank you V, I love you, Lily and Aidan just so so so much.
It is just under three years since I made the decision to attempt the English Channel. There is no doubt that it was a life changing decision and the people I have met along the way (and continue to meet) have by far been the biggest positive to my marathon swimming adventure. There are far too many people to mention by name but there are two that I must single out. To Tony, Errol and their families’ thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement. I think there is definitely a bit of man love going on.
Where to from here:
As with the English Channel and the Manhattan Island swim I never contemplated failing the Catalina Channel. Catalina was meant to be my last swim and I am not sure that my failure changes that fact.
People keep telling me that it is unfinished business but with the Catalina swimming season finished until next July at this stage I am not prepared to do the level of training required to make another attempt.
Since the birth of my second child Aidan Desmond the level of training required has become more difficult to achieve and less enjoyable. I think it is time to put some fun back into my training. I plan on reducing my kms per week from 60 to about 15, add in the odd Coogee to Cloey walk and maybe even start going to the gym.
Michael Renford
Catalina Island and LA
Aidan and I (or just I) made the decision to join Michael on his trip less than 48 beforehand. Lily stayed behind in Sydney for the week and had an extended sleepover at my mum's and spent a few days with her cousins at my brother's place. Aidan was an angel and slept the whole way to LA, although Michael and I didn't get much sleep since we weren't used to being at the back of the plane.
It was great to see Mickey again who had her whole house decorated with pumpkins and witches in preparation for Halloween.
Mickey with Michael and Aidan (who obviously does not like his photo taken as much as his sister!)
The Johnston family on the local transport
Cambell and Will
Training swim in Catalina Harbour
Errol and Aidan - tweedledee and tweedledum
Cambell and Aidan
It was great to see Mickey again who had her whole house decorated with pumpkins and witches in preparation for Halloween.
Mickey with Michael and Aidan (who obviously does not like his photo taken as much as his sister!)
The remainder of Team Renford arrived on the Saturday morning and then we all caught the ferry to Catalina Island. We spent two nights in Avalon on Catalina Island - it's touristy and it appears to be stuck in the 80's but still nice to have a walk around. Luckily we were able to buy Lily a black toy puppy dog - that was all she wanted and we had to get it to relieve some of our guilt of leaving her behind in Sydney. We needn't have worried since it wasn't until day six that she told my mum that she missed us and that she wanted to go home!
Catalina Island
Cambell and Will
Training swim in Catalina Harbour
Errol and Aidan - tweedledee and tweedledum
On the Monday, we all caught the ferry to Two Harbours where the boys departed as the swim would be starting at Doctor's Cove. The rest of us stayed on the ferry to San Pedro on the mainland.
I was surpised at how barron Two Harbours was, there was nothing there and we were one day late for Buckaneer's Day. There was only one accommodation lodge, Banning House, where the boys stayed and only one restaurant which unfortunately served a very ordinary wild mushroom risotto to both Michael and Tony....
The boys - Jesse, Errol, Michael and Tony
Following the swim we stayed at Hermosa Beach for a few days and went to Universal Studios with the Johnston family before heading home.
Hermosa Beach
Tony and Michael checking out the surf
Jesse on Manhattan Beach pier
Following the swim we stayed at Hermosa Beach for a few days and went to Universal Studios with the Johnston family before heading home.
Hermosa Beach
Tony and Michael checking out the surf
Jesse on Manhattan Beach pier
Aidan having a nap at Auckland airport (we were on standby from LA and by some miracle we were able to get on a flight via Auckland...took an extra six hours but got home in time to pick Lily up from school)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Chillin' at home
Aidan and his cousin Katie (he is eight weeks older...and she was five weeks early)
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