Run/Swim

When there is land: run.  When you hit water: swim.  It’s that simple.  It’s the Run/Swim. 

A staple of the Island School experience, the Run/Swim is an exercise that challenges you physically and mentally.  After a mass start just north of the boathouse docks limbs become tangled and it is difficult to gain traction through the water due to intense kicking aerating the water.  Faces have been kicked, ankles grabbed, and water swallowed in the first frenetic seconds of the event. 

Normally during morning exercise, the group stops to wait for all participants and we move between each obstacle in unity and with a swim buddy.  On this occasion, due to the fact that it was a timed Run/Swim, we had support along the entire course allowing each person to strive for a personal best.  Moving swiftly through the tiny trails on each spit of land poses significant hazards.  On the first overland traverse, concrete blocks are piled in the middle of the goat path creating an obstruction. 

Running at full speed over a beach whose rocky shores are a mix of coral, stone, and conch shells proves to be an interesting challenge.  Gauging when to begin the dive is critical.  A slip or wobble can cost precious distance or even roll an ankle.  Going too soon means a belly flop into knee-deep water, while too late results in a complete loss of momentum equivalent to hitting a wall.

Snaking through the paths past Triangle Cut becomes tricky as two parallel paths merge right at the beach, resulting in a gracious exchange between two rivals as one allows the other to proceed.  A 50 meter swim through choppy water brings all participants to The Wall.  A reinforcement wall about 7 feet above the seafloor can be cleared alone or with the help of the support team.  If the support team is ready and trained, scaling The Wall takes mere seconds. 

Making the turn back towards campus brings you to the cliff jump.  Depending on the tide this jump can be anywhere from 12-15 feet, possibly more.  More than anything, this feature of the Run/Swim course is the ultimate mental challenge.  Some students will pause at this point and compose themselves before taking the plunge but the sting of falling will only last for a brief moment while the accomplishment of jumping into the unknown and coming out ok will last much longer. 

A few more swim cuts and overland runs bring participants back to the Girl’s Dorm Cut.  Casuarina trees and their foliage litter the landscape.  Hurdling that concrete barrier one final time allows everyone to lift their heads, if only temporarily.  A blazing sunrise coming up over the campus inspires even the most tired participant to dig deep and push through to the end.  Soon enough, despite the pain, it will be over.  Not only is there a desire to finish, but deep down inside, there is the competitive desire to improve on personal best times.

Exiting the water and moving onto solid ground for that last sprint to the flagpole results in that endorphin rush known as Runner’s High.  No amount of pain, fatigue, blood, sweat, or tears can derail the desire to finish.  Entering the circle in a full on sprint, holding nothing back and fighting for every second on the stopwatch results in a scene more akin to bulls charging down the streets of Pamplona.  Upon hitting that flagpole and stopping the clock, nothing matters, it’s over.  Only then will the blood be noticed.  Or the nose blown.  Or the shoe be retied. 

It is an Island School pillar of morning exercise.  Later in the semester all students and faculty will compete again, searching for ways to make up lost seconds through more efficient transitions or a new entrance technique.  In the meantime, the cuts, bruises, and blisters will heal and everyone will be stronger because of their accomplishments.

Energy

While standing in line for breakfast, I noticed that our energy usage had spiked to 197kWh.  All of our campus energy harnessing systems only managed to capture 122 kWh.  Compared to the last reading of only 4kWh greater usage than capture, this spike was dramatic.  A likely reason for this fluctuation is that students had just come to campus and were not yet used to living in an environment where all resources are precious and nothing goes to waste.

A large reason for the need for energy came from the weather.  A stifling hot and humid day, with temperatures in the mid-80s, yielded conditions that prompted fans to be used constantly.  One fan can use as much energy per hour as 15 compact fluorescent light-bulbs.  Two dorms housing the 48 students on campus have a total of 24 fans.  Despite being set to a timer, it does not ensure that the fans will go off when no one is present.  These were on all day, even during dinner when no one was occupying the dorm. 

Our limited energy is harnessed in both solar and wind forms.  On a calm day, the energy production is diminished.  Additional wasteful energy practices continued throughout the day as numerous students kept their laptops or iPods plugged in all day even though they were fully charged.  When The Island School is producing power that exceeds the on-campus needs, it can send the power out to the grid and the national energy company purchases that energy.  Conversely, when the school uses more energy than is being created, we draw in from the grid. 

As students settle into the dorms in the evening, naturally they will have to use power.  Recharging the computer is a necessary draw on energy.  Leaving a fully charged laptop connected into the wall overnight is not.  By eliminating these wasteful practices of unnecessary energy use, we can potentially get to a point where we are consistently selling energy to the grid.  Even on an individual level, these small and simple steps can have a noticeable impact.  When expanded to include the entire community, the actions taken to reduce our energy draws will get the campus on track towards energy sustainability.