Amy Mazur, recently retired and about to turn 63, is such a person. She plans to swim the English Channel this summer. The idea was hatched a couple of years ago, when the coach of her swim club in Moscow, Idaho, suggested the challenge. Since then, Mazur has maintained a rigorous training regimen that is equal parts physical conditioning and cold-water acclimation. These are rarefied waters, as the Channel Swimming Association has only authenticated 1, solo swimmers in its year history.
The fastest time for the mile strait is 7 hours, 17 minutes, while the fastest female time β set more than four decades ago β is Though Mazur will do all the swimming, she is only half of a team. An accomplished swimmer herself, Bonney sets a high bar for physical conditioning. Training days in the pool can run up to 6 miles, while open water swims in the Snake River can be even longer.
Endurance training is a big part of their regimen, but cold-water acclimation is another key component. On a bone-chillingly cold day in late January, the pair drove down to the Snake River at Wawawai, a few miles downstream of Lewiston. Into the belly, into the chest, make a circle, let it go. After several minutes, the voice ordered them to hold their breath. Be aware of your heartbeat and slow it down. Mazur easily held her breath for two minutes. Then she stepped out of her truck wearing only neoprene booties, a thin one-piece swimsuit, a hat and gloves.
Bonny, similarly clad, accompanied her. The air temperature was hovering in the low 20s, and the wind was blowing. Humidity was high, and conditions at the dock were wickedly cold. Slowly and deliberately, Mazur and Bonney waded into the degree water. Taking care not to immerse their hands or heads, Mazur and Bonney treaded water for 10 minutes while carrying on a giddy, but still perfectly normal conversation. When they emerged, their skin had the ruddy tinge of lobsters on their way to being boiled alive.
Away from the river, the pair was spotted cross-country skiing under a full moon in January β wearing nothing more than shorts and tank tops. Mazur is an intense woman who talks loudly and quickly, scattering ideas like leaves in a tempest.
