Streamgirl

Dear Streamgirl, Thanks for your comment about Heather O'Neal's Trekking The Huron and all the other activities that the HRWC has planned to involve people in the swim. I am so happy that they have come up with such great activities to involve everyone. With this involvement, there will be much more awareness of the river, its role in our daily lives, and how much it means to everyone. We can do without alot of the stuff we have, but we really need water.

Answering Readers' Questions

Dear Jwolf, thanks for your question about how swimming in a pool is different from swimming in a lake or river. The big difference is enjoying the outdoors. It is also so much more interesting than just swimming back and forth in a lane. You swim with the fishes! I find that the time goes by faster since I am not looking at a clock and wondering how fast I am swimming. It is just more natural. I like to look at what is on the bottom of the river or lake, what the shore looks like from the water and all in all, enjoy the outdoors.

Dear KrisO, you asked about how will I know when I should get out of the water due to safety concerns. Without a crew I probably wouldn't know when to get out of the water. But I do rely on the paddlers to be aware of the time, air and water conditions as well as keeping an eagle on the river for any obstructions or dangerous debris in the river. The crew will be doing everything in their power to keep us all safe as we wend our way through the mighty Huron.

Certainly if there is an electrical storm in the area, we will leave the river. If there is a rain event I will not be able to swim for the following two days, due to the higher level of E coli and debris that flows into the river from all of its creeks and other non-point pollution sites.

Dear Fike, you asked about how many calories are need to swim long distances such as we will be doing on the Huron River. The daily swims range from 6-10 miles, depending upon where we can safely and publicly put in and take out canoes and kayaks. I believe that calorie wise, I'll use fewer calories than I did in my 2001 swim in Lake Michigan. The Huron is warmer and has a current. Both will affect the amount of nutrients I'll need. What I did before is stay hydrated and fueled by alternating 8 oz of Gatorade and water every half hour, with a couple of short stops to munch an MFit bar or a peanut butter sandwich. My daughter is actually working right now to refine the plan. When I get a full-fledged plan in hand, I'll write another blog.

Thanks for your questions. If anyone has other questions please feel free to ask!

Trekking the Huron River

Heather O'Neal who has a extreme experience travel business, Of Global Interest, will be leading treks along the Huron during the July swim. She also leads treks from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti on New Years Eve, complete with wintry dining opportunities. If she can take trekkers to base camp of Mt. Everest, she can certainly provide a safe, fun adventure in S.E. Michigan. Contact her at Ofglobal@aol.com

Nutrition Aspect of Long Distance Swimming

Based on her experience in helping me eat healthy for my swim in Lake Michigan around the Leelanau Peninsula in 2001, my younger daughter, Karin, caught the nutrition bug and is now a Registered Dietician. Now fully trained and ready to go, she is planning my menus for the 14-day swim on the Huron. Luckily she is more than a dietician, she is also a CIA trained chef. Look for a blog coming soon for information about how and what she is preparing to keep her 60-year-old mother healthy and swimming at peak performance.

Is Swimming in the Huron River Hazardous?

People ask me "Aren't you going to get sick swimming in the Huron River? Aren't you concerned about your health?" "Isn't it hazardous where water is coming out of sewage treatment plants?"

The answer is no, it does not concern me because the water discharged from the plants is cleaner than the water in the river! I know that seems counterintuitive, but that is how effective the plants are at removing the “waste” from the waste water before it is discharged.

Others have heard that waste water plants sometimes dump raw sewage into the river.

It is a rare event. For that to happen, first there must be a power outage. Second, the back-up generators (installed to keep the plant online in the event of a power outage), must fail. I can only recall this happening once in the last ten years. Of course, if that happens while I am swimming, I will have no choice but to get out of the water. At that time, it would not be safe for anyone to go swimming in the river.

Then there is the Big Question that was asked at my friends' weekly Thursday afternoon tea party today, "What about E. coli?"

There is E. coli in the Huron River. Studies by the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner have used DNA testing to determine the sources of E. coli. The main sources are goose, raccoon, cats and dogs. I would be more concerned if high levels human E. coli showed up in the sampling because we know that it can transfer from one person to another. And just in case, I did get my hepatitis vaccinations prior to the swim since I will be in the water for such a long time each day.

There is even more incidence of E. coli after a rain event and I have been told that I cannot swim for two days after the last rain.

Awesome workout

People ask me how I prepare for swimming 100 miles. Besides swimming regularly, I do some weight and resistance training. I also try to make my abs stronger and flatter. But I can't do it alone. Luckily, one of the perks of working at Glacier Hills is having access to The Wellness Connection and the opportunity to hire a personal trainer from our Physical therapy department to utilize all the professional equipment. I feel I am in the best trained hands I could ever imagine. Mindy has been working with me for several months now, on a two to three week interval. She puts together an interesting workout that includes lifting weights, strengthening abs, rotator cuffs, arm muscles, effective stretching exercises and the ubiquitous squats! She is a fierce taskmaster, but is also compassionate and a real cheer leader. Now if could only get those abs tighter!!

More Stories from Glacier Hills

Today Mr. Ernst tracked me down. He had remembered me from the days when I was the volunteer coordinator in the Care and Rehab Center five years ago. He comes twice a day to help his wife with her meals and once in a while goes up north to hunt and fish. Especially fish. On this fine day he was looking for me because he had seen the Ann Arbor News article and wanted to tell me that he had been a swimmer at Ann Arbor High in the '40s. He placed first in the state championship swim in 1942 when he was a senior. Says he couldn't do that now if he tried, but he felt a kinship with my swimming. We walked together to my office in the Manor so I could print out the Liz Swims the Huron schedule. He reminded me that he had gone fishing in the rapids of the St. Mary's River many years ago and thought that I knew the family--sure enough I remember him telling me the story. It was the Leitz family and they had a fishing and hunting store back then. I love the way this swimming expedition makes connections and re-connections to all the people I know who love the water. Afterall, we really can't live without friends and water.