The Bison of Howard Swimming: The Gulf Swim

At 6:35AM this morning, the sun was just beginning to ascend through the eastern landscape, carrying the beginning of a new year. Just hours earlier, Ft. Myers Beach was a gathering spot for thousands of locals and tourists looking to ring in the new year with festive utensils, plans and fireworks. Now it is a peaceful solace, clear and crisp, open for the taking.

January 1, 2012 - 6:35AM - Ft. Myers Beach, Florida

There were about 10 minutes that passed before anyone on the team arrived on the shore. One by one, the Bison emerged from their sleeping quarters just 150 yards away from the coastline. (For the previous two training trips, the team took a 15 minute ride from our hotel just to get to the shore.) We shuffled under and past the pier and charted our course for the morning activities.

First we headed west on a team jog for about 1.6 miles along the sandy shores. Some natives were hastily using their metal detectors and others were making good on their New Year's resolution to bike more. We absorb a couple of odd glances as well as a few friendly waves. We returned to our bags and belongings, having built a solid sweat courtesy of our 5K run.

Time for the best part...

If you've heard of our epic adventures with our experience with Gulf Swim, the January 1,2010 sacrifice and the January 1, 2011 death trap will both be remembered for generations to come. This morning we made our own memories with a majority crop of participants making this their first Gulf Swim. Like the others, there was hesitation or uneasiness. After all, if the water was so great for swimming, why is any else joining us on this escapade?

From left to right, Brewer, Kelvin, Ashley, Shai, Bri and Miriam comprise the second wave of entrants into the Gulf. Off in the distance, you can spot Ben, Trent and Emeka working their way to a distant buoy.

One of the more enjoyable moments for me is running swiftly into the chilly waters until I'm knocked to the surface and forced to begin swimming. I feel this may have caught a few members of the team by surprise, but they quickly followed suit, began their plunge, and headed west.

It took many Bison about 30 seconds (or more) to acclimate themselves to the temperature, texture and salty taste of the water. Every so often, I would revert to a sculling motion and listened to our team joyously shout, "this was such a great idea," or "I've never felt better," and the occasional "I can't believe I'm doing this." It's terrific knowing we are so positive.

Each Bison chose their own path through the Gulf. Some decided to navigate a short trip and beeline for the shore when they tolerance for salt water reached its peak. Others plowed forward with more ferocity, looking for inhabitants of the mighty seas. For me, this swim has gotten a little easier mentally and little more difficult physically. I want them to swim a good distance but, in the end, this amount to an average warm-up for most of our practices.

Regardless of distance traveled or threshold of pain desired, this much is certain: the Gulf Swim is not for everyone. There's a reason we had the entire Florida Gulf Coast to our very own. Further, there's a reason there aren't crowds of people commemorating the sun rising on January 1 of any year. This swim is another reminder about what makes our team so special. We are doing things most people don't imagine they can or are even willing to.

Hooray Lady Bison

The thoughts of sleeping in this morning may have rang true in many of our minds. The inconvenience of getting sand in your shoes (or running bare foot) doesn't sound like a fun proposition. Getting cold and salty (physically) as well as cold and salty (psychological) from swimming in 70-degree waters are not new techniques we seek to adopt. We swim in the Gulf of Mexico on January 1 because it represents the commitments and sacrifices we are willing to make when it's not the choice of others. It's a reminder that we don't need a first place medal, challenging practice or name in the papers to feel a sense of unity and purpose.

This challenge continues to be a sobering one for me. For one, this signifies the near-end of our journey to and our adventures within Ft. Myers. Similarly, this week is the one week we get to spend with each other without ouside distractions, appointments or obligations (yes, this is a good thing.)

When I returned to shore after spending a good chunk of time in the Gulf, I caught pieces of stories of sea monsters only wanting to attack Darell. While I am thrilled these monsters thought better than to mess with Mr. Hungerford, it more served as a reminder that obstacles are all-around us. We share these stories of triumph with the poeople we care most about and foster these great feelings by undertaking more adventures with those that bring out the best in us.

There are 46 days until our conference championship and this morning - free from difficult intervals, weight training, or test sets, may have more influence on our team's ultimate goals than any thing else we train for. There will still be difficult portions of the season that remain and we'll need to make decisions that will ultimately shape the outcome of our season and legacy as a team. But the Gulf Swim continue to exemplify facets of our team that are commendable, even if it's just for a small window in our year.