When I hear of impressive physical feats, I often wonder, "Could I do that?" Do I have the mental stamina to push my body to go further when it wants to quit? Climbing tall, snow-capped mountains; hiking the Grand Canyon, rim-to-rim; biking the entire West Coast; hiking the Appalachian Trail; running 100-mile ultra-marathons. There's something about taking on a big goal and pushing yourself to complete it. It felt pretty awesome to cross the finish line of my first marathon. When we started training, I didn't know whether I would be capable of finishing. But when it was done, I had the instant satisfaction of knowing, after all the hard work invested, that it was accomplished.
However, this week I heard of one physical conquest that did not make me ponder, "Could I do that?":
"Become the first woman to swim from Cuba to the Keys without the aid of a shark cage."
She did not make it (to the Keys, I mean...she didn't die). Every once in a while you hear about someone attempting something like this. I have absolutely no idea why anyone would have a desire to do this. Could I do this? - absolutely not! She estimated it would have taken her 56 hours. Of swimming. Without sleep. Or getting out of the water. For 56 hours. Having to stop to grease yourself up - to prevent sunburn and chaffing. Consuming only a liquid-goo substance to stay hydrated. Jellyfish stings. Just to say you did it? No thanks.
Why no shark cage? Because a 22 year old from Australia already completed the swim in 1997...but she used a shark cage. Good grief.
However, this week I heard of one physical conquest that did not make me ponder, "Could I do that?":
"Become the first woman to swim from Cuba to the Keys without the aid of a shark cage."
She did not make it (to the Keys, I mean...she didn't die). Every once in a while you hear about someone attempting something like this. I have absolutely no idea why anyone would have a desire to do this. Could I do this? - absolutely not! She estimated it would have taken her 56 hours. Of swimming. Without sleep. Or getting out of the water. For 56 hours. Having to stop to grease yourself up - to prevent sunburn and chaffing. Consuming only a liquid-goo substance to stay hydrated. Jellyfish stings. Just to say you did it? No thanks.
Why no shark cage? Because a 22 year old from Australia already completed the swim in 1997...but she used a shark cage. Good grief.
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