Mile 1

"Is that the boats, making these waves? It's rougher than I thought."
"Partly - that and the tourists running around on their jet-skis out there. The rest is natural."
"Oh, great."

Mile 2

"Hey, cool, I see starfish down here! And little striped fish. Oh, and brain coral!"

Mile 3

"Hey, there's Fort Zachary-Taylor. Wow - you made it here faster than we drove last night!"
"Yeah, well, but we circled the island a few times..."

Mile 4

"That's Mallory Square, where everyone goes to watch the sunset."
"Oh, yeah, I see it!"
"Careful through these waves - they're pretty intense, with that crane working over there, and they just keep bouncing off the seawall back at you."
"Oh, it's okay - I'm starting to find a rhythm now. Hey, check out that ship - it looks like something from Pirates of the Caribbean!"

Mile 5

"Two hours and fifteen minutes - you're on pace to finish at about six hours flat, like you wanted."
"Sweeeeet. YIKES! A giant ray just swam under me! ...Cool!"

Mile 6

"Hey, where did you come from?"
"I was behind you the whole time."
"Really? I thought we were last!"
"Oh, no, there're tons of people back there. How're you doing?"
"All right. Pretty nauseous, though - have been since mile two."
"That sucks. Want some electrolytes?"
"Sure - thanks."

Mile 7

"Christine? Could I have two Aleve? My shoulder's starting to hurt."

Mile 8

"Those buildings are just not getting any closer! Argh! I wish I could swim freestyle - breaststroke feels so slow - but it just hurts too bad."

Mile 9

"Hey, that's awesome!"
"Is that part of an old boat?"
"No, I think it's an old dock or something - and there are TONS of fish around it! I see black-and-yellow angelfish, plus those striped ones. Neat!"

Mile 10

"How're you doing?"
"Not too good. I am officially at my low point."
"I think you'll get a lift when we round the corner and you can see the finish."
"Hope so. ...Grr - I could sit on the bottom here if I were allowed to touch it - it's that shallow! How am I supposed to drink if I can't go vertical?"

Mile 11

"I know I'm doing breaststroke, but still, I feel like I'm only moving half as far with each stroke as I was in Cow Key Channel."
"Yeah, the tide's doing something funky now, I think - plus you're swimming into the wind."
(mentally) This sucks. I want this to be over, NOW. And I wish those tourists would quit it with the jet-skis already! I'm already nauseous and now I'm getting seasick! (*much gagging and loss of lunch ensue*)


Mile 12 & 12.5

Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"I can't see the finish."
"Yeah, the seawall curves kinda inward - once we get past it, you'll be able to see."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Hey Jess - I see the finish!"
"Really? No fair - I still can't!"
"Yeah, you're too low - it's just a big triangular orange buoy in the water."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Could I swim next to you, instead of behind you?"
"Sure."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Hey, there's a conch shell down here!... Oh, darn, it's got something living in it. I was gonna take it."
"Would've been a good souvenir for you."
"Yeah - too bad."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Oh, wait - I think I can finally see the finish."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Oh, yeah, here are those poles that he said start at the last half-mile. One down, nine to go."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Seven."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Five."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
"Three."
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.
Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe. Touch buoy.
"Seven hours, twenty-seven minutes. Good job, kayaker, good job, swimmer!"

Afterward:

"You swam six miles, breaststroke?!"
"Well, I wasn't gonna quit!"

Trophies: a wrecked left shoulder, a sunburned face, and a glass finisher's medal. Plus, more reinforcement of my second-grade teacher's tactful words, "She's - a very determined child..."