The wind was still blowing strong this morning again from the northeast accompanied by strong waves coming from the same direction but also swells from the south. This was an odd combination, none of which worked in my favor.
I had put an extra layer of wetsuit and felt constricted. I had to work much harder to rotate my arms and stretch them in front of me. I was warm though but maybe I overdid it.
I took my first nutrition break after swimming for one hour. I only had water to stay cool. I was battling those waves gorged with plankton and every so often one was breaking over me and my whole body was under water. My snorkel was also under water for few seconds and filled with water each time. Fortunately, it has a purge at the bottom and the water drained by itself, I just had to blew to clear the mouthpiece.
After the second hour, I wondered what my speed was. I was only doing a little over 1 knot. That was very disappointing and did not make any sense to swim a full day of 8 hours to only progress few miles like I did yesterday. We tried a more southern route to find out if it would make any big difference. After one hour going more south, knot my speed had increased by only knots. This was absolutely ridiculous, I was very frustrated and upset and decided to stop for the day…I knew these conditions weren’t going to last but it still got to me.
Ben
20 thoughts on “[DAY 15] Frustration”-
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Take heart, Ben. We are with you. Try not to be hard on yourself. Tomorrow will be better. ❤️
More power to you my friend. It will pass soon. Prayers for you and the crew.
Think of La Grand Bleu when the mind gets uneasy. We love you.
Obstacles are meant to be there. Just keep going and keep swimming.
You’re amazing and what you’re accomplishing each day is absolutely mind boggling.
Relax and don’t be hard on yourself. Remember even if you swim 1 mile, that’s 1 more mile closer to your destination.
All the very best. We are following you from India!
Today, you fought hard against all odds, and yet still made progress in the right direction.
There is a lesson there for us all – well done!
Stay confident, there is no way that you can overcome everything that mother nature throws at you. You can and must stay calm and persevere.
Ben!! Take heart ❤️ praying daily for your success! God Bless…
You’re not alone, there are so many with you, pulling for you on this journey! You must be getting all the frustrating days out of the way up front 🙂
No matter what..never stop..better moment are there forward few miles in front..supporting you from Qatar.
Class 2D from Regent International.
We hope you will not be frustrated tomorrow and you will be okay!
Thanks,
Year 2
An Irish lady following you from in Barcelona! Don’t be hard on yourself, Ben. You can do this. Take the rest when you need it and let the hard times pass.
Such admiration for what you are doing!!
All the best,
Michelle
There will be better days, when the weather and sea conditions will be more in your favour. Then you will probably feel, at times, that you are flying through the water. Everyone is on your side, come what may!
Ben, such difficulties make one stronger, and your spirit is stronger than the Pacific Ocean.
Such frustrating days will make your victory sweeter and after the journey you will remember the toughest days and feel great that you made it after all.
We are all with you everyday, people from all over the world.
Good luck, great man.
Go ahead and admire you
Supporting you from China.
Courage Ben, you’ll get there! Thanks for doing this, it’s so important.
Ben, do not worry, this beginning is your test of patience and inner strength. Future days will be a reward for your patience and determination. Even from Slovakia, we hold our fingers.
✊✊✊✊
Ben, I hear your frustration .. it’s good to express it , allowing it to pass through. I share your logs with my clients at the fitness studio I work at. We are all in awe of the goal you’ve set for yourself and have great respect for the way you are handling the setbacks. I encourage all my clients to tap into your incredible determination to help them get through their challenges, from doing an extra set of push ups at the end of a workout to having to make an important decision. And I do the same. You are an inspiration!!
Blessed be your journey!
We read your log book in my English class in Germany. My students love to follow up on your journey.
Getting ready a class test on your journey. 🙂
Supporting you from Germany
That’s fantastic, thank you Eduard for following with your students.