Qualifier Do Over - Saturday, November 2nd

After a week of nondescript pool swims and some very warm weather, I decided to regroup for my qualifier. We are going to keep it simple this time. Kayak support and stay close to land. Mapped out a 4 mile loop round trip from Addie's house to Ulmsted Beach and back in the Magothy. We will stay close to the shore the whole way and do 3 loops to hit my 6 hours.  Kevin had the idea of bringing  his tandem kayak so he could paddle and Alison could focus on feed and observation.
Once again ABC stepped up. I had folks volunteer to take shifts in back up kayaks and folks at the home base preparing feed to restock Alison after each loop.
I also has 2 nurses and a doctor volunteer to be on hand for recover. Joanne was especially eager to use her anal thermometer to check my core temp. yikes.
We set out at 10am and I immediately felt comfortable in the water. The temp read 58 at the dock but Alison checked it during the length of the course and it really held steady at 60. The first loop was just fine. Steady pace. Stroke count in the 70s. Core and extremities fine. When I returned to the dock area for the end of the first loop my spirits were lifted by ABC folks standing on the dock cheering. Alison and Kevin paddled to shore to take a short break and to refuel. Traci met me in her kayak and escorted back to start loop 2. Within minutes Kevin and Alison were back along side. I notice in the second loop that my shoulders felt very tight. I was not feeling cold at all but I could tell the colder water was effecting my pace and tightening me up. At the 3 mile turnaround I tried some backstroke and curled in a ball at feed time to counter stretch a little. At one point I saw a big nettle under me (visibility was great) but he drifted off without making contact.
On the third loop I was joined by a flotilla of kayakers in addition to Kevin and Alison who were in for the duration.  We proceeded on the course and hit the one hour mark much sooner in the distance mark. I could tell my stroke was slowing and i was stiff in the shoulders. About this time my legs became dead weight and my hip flexors were killing me.  Every once in a while I made my self kick to stretch things out but it was not effective. Alison later said my stroke count was down to the mid 60s. Eventually I made it back to Addie's. To the cheers of my buddies, i exited the water navigated the stairs fine and entered the warm house.  The nurses took over and got me bundled up on the sofa. Alison, ever prepared, had heat packs ready for under my arms and for the back of my neck. I shivered a lot but never felt at risk. Joan made some wonderful chicken soup and after two bowls of that and some hot tea I felt almost normal. Within an hour I was good to go.
I can't thank the ABC group enough. Alison and Kevin stuck it out the entire 6hours in a kayak. Traci, John, Suzie and Sally all kayaked in shifts. Chris came by on his wave runner for a loop. Dan was ready to paddle at the outset but stayed behind to prepare feed for the end of the first loop. Joan, Maureen, Erin and Danny all helped on land. Joanne, Sandy and Lisa gave medical support. Addie graciously let us invade her house and set up a home base. What a great group of swimmers. That is what open water is all about!