Thursday, July 19, 2007

Lewis Gordon Strong Swims North Pole

In the second post in two days of people swimming non-traditional locations, Lewis Gordon Pugh gets our nod of the day (sorry I'm a day or two late on this post. Many of you have probably already seen something about this elsewhere but keep reading, there's some good stuff I found out). Lewis swam at the North Pole! There's detailed story and video at this link showing the efforting ("efforting", that's what some call a "good try" on ESPN radio). In the story, Lewis talks about the burning sensation he felt. You don't really think you'd be burning in 29 degree Fahrenheit water but you do (I got the sensation in 42 degrees and it hurts!). Lewis says he made the swim to make a point about climate change. This may be true, but I contend he also did it because he could. I think I would (I like to swim in outdoor pools when it snows just to know I did). Two other interesting points in the story talk about Lewis' prior swim from the Antarctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. I need to research that. I suppose it was a big deal but aren't they attached by a dotted line or something? Good job anyhow! So how does he handle the cold? Somehow he can subconsciously raise his body temperature prior to these cold swims. I'll have to try that (like I do my blood pressure and heartbeat), but I think I'll wait until early Autumn first. In the mean time, as I swim in my favorite overheated summer pool for a while longer I'll be thinking of Lewis. Kudos Lewis!

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