Catalina Island The FOG!If you are swimmer, you may know the name, Florence Chadwick. In 1950, Florence became the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways and she swam it in record time. About 2 years later, July 4, 1952, she began her swim from Catalina Island to Palos Verde on the coast of California. Her goal was to be the first woman to make this swim. As she began the 26 mile, Florence Chadwick all that she could see was a solid wall of fog. The water was cold as ice and the fog never lifted. Florence swam in the frigid sea for 16 hours. Millions were watching in national TV. As Florence tired, her mother and coach provided encouragement from one of the boats that escorted her on this perilous journey. Florence was told she did not have much farther to go, but all she could see was fog. Florence was urged not to quit, she had never quit before, but she had no idea how far she was from her goal, the fog was relentless. With only about a mile to go, she asked to be pulled out. Palos Verde Light House
Several hours later, Florence told reporters, "I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land I might have made it.” What stopped her was not her fatigue, it was not even the cold water. What defeated Florence was the fog. She was simply unable to see her goal. The good news is that just two months later, Florence tried again. Again, she faced the same dense fog. This time, however, things were different. On that day, Florence Chadwick not only became the first woman to make this swim, but also she broke the men’s record by two hours! To quote Wikipedia : "She said that she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam." This is a TRUE story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Chadwick |
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you will never arrive. Don't get pulled out early, and if for some reason you do, take what you have learned and start over.
Anything you want to achieve is possible.