Natalie Mooney Lang, a 1995 Durango High School graduate, has completed some crazy swims in the last couple of years. She swam 21 miles across the English Channel from England to France. She also swam the Catalina Channel in the dark, which is 21 miles from Santa Catalina Island to the California mainland.
Her most recent swim wasn’t as long, but it was arguably the most painful. On Feb. 19, Lang basically did a polar plunge, except she did it for 34 minutes and 4 seconds while swimming a mile in the open water near Boston.
Lang and two of her friends, Elaine Howley and Vera Ridard, swam an “ice mile” in 39-degree water in Pleasure Bay. Howley had swam an ice mile before, but Lang and Ridard were just the 31st and 32nd American women recognized by the International Ice Swimming Association for accomplishing the feat. Worldwide, they were the 498th and 500th people recognized, with someone else’s paperwork sneaking in between the two.
“It was nice to have someone to suffer with,” Lang said. “It’s really easy to punk out after five minutes if you’re by yourself … My teeth were chattering so hard (after the swim) I felt like I would chip a tooth so I tried to keep my jaw open.”
For the ice mile, they measured the length and put down two green buoys that they swam three laps around. The water also has to be 41 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, and wet suits aren’t allowed. They also had to hire an EMT to keep them safe.
“Getting in is always the hardest part,” she said. “For me, I get in to about hip height and then dive in. Once I get my breathing regulated, and the headaches stop, I’m OK. Your extremities, hands and feet, are the most painful, though.”
Once in, she said the buoys looked “incredibly far” so she looked for her husband, Gordan Lang, in his kayak.
After the initial panic, she said she felt OK for a little while, but returning on the final stretch, she said she was ready to get out. Lang expected the mile to take her between 29 and 30 minutes, but she ended up swimming over a mile so it took her a few extra minutes.
“I was following the curve of the beach so I swam more,” she said. “When you’re that cold, you have to keep moving to stay warm. Your breath gets short and you want to get out. It’s painful and uncomfortable.”
When Lang got out of the water, she said she felt a little drunk, even though she was super aware. “It was kind of an out-of-body experience,” she said. “The pain was so bad I wasn’t fully present.”
She said about 20 minutes after getting out of cold water, your body will drop in temperature a second time, which can be dangerous.
A few people helped her put some layers on because her hands didn’t work. She dunked her hands in lukewarm water and then sat in a car with the heater cranked up while she shoved about 10 heat packs in her clothes.
“It took a really long time to warm up, probably 30 minutes,” she said, adding. “I didn’t realize I could do (the ice mile) until I made it.”
Training to swim in the cold water of the English Channel was the catalyst for Lang to try the ice mile. She said she had been doing cold-water swims year round for the last few years to prepare to swim across the channel. At first she didn’t swim in water under 50 degrees, but she gradually started to. Since August, she has been swimming outside twice a week in every temperature. “Can I do five minutes? Can I do 10 minutes,” she described her thought process while progressing. “I got to the point of acclimation. Your hands when you first start, your fingers separate so you can’t swim. I started to realize it wasn’t happening.”
Before attempting the ice mile, Lang had to do a 1-kilometer observed qualifying swim in the cold water. She also had to take an EKG test and get a medical clearance. The International Ice Swimming Association sets the rules and verifies the ice miles.
“You can get yourself in trouble so easy,” she said. “Getting out of the water after is the most dangerous, but there are so many present dangers.”
By swimming outdoors in the open water weekly since August to prepare, however, Lang’s body was ready.
“Your body acclimates as the weather changes,” she said. “It was really cool to do a science experiment on my own body and see how my limits changed, even week to week.”
She also trained in fresh water, which she said feels colder than salt water at the same temperature. Fresh water freezes at 32 degrees while salt water, because of the salt, doesn’t freeze until it hits 28 degrees. She swam her ice mile in salt water.
Now that she’s completed an ice mile, she is torn whether she would try another one.
“Part of me says absolutely not, but part of me wouldn’t say I wouldn’t go for it,” Lang said. “I did it once, I’d be interested to see if I could do it faster. It was a manageable commitment to me.”
She also said she might just do some non-swim related travel.
“I trained for the Channel for five years, six days a week,” she said. “It will be nice to take a break.”
Lang’s parents, Sue and Jim Mooney, still live in Durango.
