25Jun12 - Shakespearean Swim

It's been a few days now but my mind is clear enough that I feel I can write what happened.
The day was pretty uneventful.  I got up and had a good breakfast with my dad then rested awhile.  I went with Patricia to pick up Gords and Josh from the airport then right back to the hotel.  I took a nap then went to the lobby and sat there with Marcia, Douglas, Josh, Gords, my wife, and my dad for about an hour.  It was nice and relaxed.  Marcia and I got to chat some.  It was nice talking to her face to face.
We all loaded up around 1745 and were on the way at 1800.  We all go on the boat around 1830 where Lynn (observer), Rob, and Allison (assistant observer) were waiting for us.  While we waited for Neil to show up with his kayak, Lynn gave her safety speech and so did the boat captain John.  I also gave my instructions and then Neil was on board.  We took off around 1900 to Catalina.  The ride out was really bumpy and I wasn't feeling that great.  I was NOT alone on this.  I won't name names because only ONE person did not throw up during the whole trip.  Everyone barfed sooner or later.
We got to the island and I got in and started right after 2200.  Water felt great.  Kelp was REALLY thick but fun to swim through.  Chop was tough and Neil was getting tossed around a bit.  I just got into a comfortable stride then held it.  Hours and hours passed by and I would ask for Ibuprofen at times or complain about jellyfish stings or fish biting my toes.  I was asked to report every time I peed and I did.
I was counting my feeds that were 1/2 hour apart.  I figured that after 11 or 12 feeds, I'd be at halfway point.  I was nowhere close.  I got pissy and started demanding to know where I was.  Marcia put her foot down and told me to stfu and my only job here is to swim.  SHUT UP.....SWIM...!!!!!!!!!!
I knew I wasn't close to halfway and this was a little upsetting to me.  I started to get cold too.  They had to warm my feeds for me which helped immensely.  I kept getting zapped by jellyfish through the night.  They weren't too bad and it only lasted 30 seconds but it just never seemed to end.
It was beautiful watching the sun rise over the ocean and being in the middle of it.  It did lift my spirits some as I pressed on.  Marcia told me that I was WAY off pace and that I'm going to finish at 18 - 20 hours if I keep going the way I'm going.  I picked it up a bit.  I could feel myself getting tossed around still.  Gordon got in after 0600 to swim with me.  It was nice having my friend with me.
Around 0800, Rob Dumouchel got in and swam with me for awhile.  I was starting to get cramps and was throwing up in my mouth a lot at this point.
Neil kept asking me questions to see if my brain was still active.  Who is the vice president?  What is 27-13?  What is your father's birthday?
At the 12 hour mark, the whole crew got up and cheered extremely loud.  This was noticed by more things in the water besides me.  A sea lion popped up RIGHT BEHIND me to look at me and the people on the boat then went back under.  We JUST missed getting a pic of him.
Josh got in soon after and didn't stay in long.  He said it was too cold and rough for him.  He was vocal on wondering how the hell I was still swimming in such conditions.  Neil kept telling me that we were in a head current for most of the swim.  The boat does automatic compensation for the currents so I go in a straight line but there were many times when the boat was facing parallel to CA and a few times during the last couple of hours where the nose actually pointed AWAY from CA to compensate.
It was at this point where the crew started to seriously ask about pulling me out.  They kept asking Patricia but she said there was no way she was going to make that decision.  She knew I would never get out on my own free will or just quit.  The captain John even asked a few times, "Is this sonofa bitch ever going to give up"? 
Neil stopped me at one of my feedings and told me that I am just barely under 5 miles to go and they are considering pulling me.  It's extremely doubtful I'll finish.  He told me to pick it up and that if I could just get past this next tide, I'd be fine.  I picked it up and gave it my best effort for the next 20 minutes.  My arms were in so much pain I was tearing up inside my goggles.  I could feel small tears opening in my pectoral muscles and shoulders.  I pulled harder anyway.  We got to the point where Neil said I should have been past the current but it was not so.  Another tide came in just as strong and now I was getting pushed back. 
I was in tears, my arms and shoulders were on fire but I kept pulling.  Lynn told Neil to inform me that continuing is no longer worth it.  She is going to pull me regardless so I shouldn't do more damage.  It was very clear to everyone, that even though it would have taken me another 9 hours at that spot to finish, I would have continued anyway even if it meant swimming myself into the hospital.  I was completely gassed and when Neil said that Lynn wants to pull me, I said fine.  15 hours of fighting against the elements and currents that even Neil said he was having some trouble with at times was all I could take.  I never quit and it took me facing a real possibility of serious injury to force them to get me out.  I got on the boat and balled my eyes out.  Most on the boat were crying too.  I gave it my all but couldn't get past mother nature.  It's one of the things I love so much about OW swimming.  You never know what you'll get from day to day.  If I had gone the previous night, maybe I would have had an easy swim.  That swim was not for me....my lot was for something else.
Everyone said I did one of the most heroic and inspiring things they have ever seen.  Not one of them could believe I had gone for 15 hours straight.  Neil said he's never seen someone so determined and was in complete awe of what I had done.  The boat captain said in all the crossings he has done, no one has ever been so tough.  He said everyone else he's had that quit had quit a LONG time before I had.   It was nice to have my friends on board to share this moment with me.  I was COMPLETELY heartbroken, had small tears in many of my muscles, and was wiped out mentally and physically.  That is the nature of OW swimming!
I am VERY grateful for all the emails and facebook messages of love and encouragement that I've gotten over the past few days.  Gordon even made a poster for me...of me...swimming in the channel and posted it on my front window to my house. 
I've had some time to talk to people and reflect on the good/bad things of the swim.
Bad -
1. I started out on too slow of a pace.  I should have been holding a faster pace.  I was unaware how bad the currents and elements were that were against me but I would have improved my odds of finishing if I had started at a faster pace.
2. I kept throwing up a lot of my feeds into my mouth then swallowing them back down again so I wouldn't lose the hydration.  This is actually a bad idea.  If you need to barf then just barf.  It's actually good information for the observers.
3. I was too concerned for where I was instead of focusing on what I was doing.  My mind wandered a bit too much and I got obsessed at times with where I was in the channel instead of shutting up and keeping my head down to swim.
Good -
1. I had WITHOUT ANY DOUBT the best paddler I'll ever know helping me.  Not one person watched what Neil Van der Byl did while paddling for me and wasn't without complete awe.  He is truly world class and I'll never swim around California without asking if he can join me.  He guided me, fed me, gave me meds, checked my stroke count, communicated, and more than I'll ever know.  I can't thank you or praise you enough Neil for how good you were.  You went from a complete stranger to a person I hold in the highest respect forever for what you did.
2. My wife was there!  She was completely incapacitated from being sea sick but that was not her fault.  Like I said earlier...all but ONE barfed!  Just the support and liberty she has given me the past few months to train for this have been amazing.  She has been my biggest fan and supporter and she never has told me that I can't do something or go somewhere in order to swim or train.  Even when it was inconvenient for her.  I love you Patricia and thank you for your undying support of me.
3. My crew was fantastic.  From my coach (who refused to have me lift a finger to do ANYTHING) to all my friends that made it.  My dad was there and helped out a bunch too.  He helped signal when feeds were coming up and this was a big mental relief for me when I saw him signalling 5 minutes until next feed.  Rob, Gords, and Josh swam with me.  Douglas helped with feeds.  My crew was amazing and they did more than anyone realizes until you are on a support crew for a swimmer.  I had the hardest work to do but all the rest are not far behind at all for what is required while on support.
4.  My observer Lynn Kubasek and assistant observer Allison DeFrancesco did a phenomenal job watching me and keeping track of me.  I have no doubt that their biggest concern was my safety.  Even though they knew it would hurt me mentally, they ABSOLUTELY made the right call to have me pulled.  I thank them for it.  It was obvious that I was never going to quit on my own unless I was dead so they did what they were trained to do...take care of me and make sure I'm safe.  Thank you ladies so much!
5. The crew of Outrider.  Your boat and abilities are amazing.  Things got rough at times and you knew that it was going to be a long day but you stuck it out.  I'm glad I made an impression on you with my determination and hopefully my next channel attempt will end successfully a lot sooner!
6. Even though I had to face the fact that finishing my swim was a lost cause, I NEVER QUIT.  I truly showed people what real determination looks like and what I'm willing to do in order to accomplish what I want.  Neil told me after that it was a lot tougher than normal for the water out there.  He was having a rough time at times.  To be completely honest, it had NEVER crossed my mind ONE TIME during training that I might not finish the crossing.  It wasn't until Neil told me that they wanted to pull me out that the thought occurred to me that I might not accomplish my goal.  Even then, I just put my head down and kept going.
There are many other things I've learned from this swim and the months leading up to it.  I'll keep the rest to myself.  I am sad that I didn't finish the crossing but I'm taking definite pride that I swam for 15 hours straight.  That in itself is an amazing feat!  I also know that when all the odds are against me, I'm still going to press on!

Thank you all for the love and well-wishes I've gotten the last few days.  It has meant more to me than I'll ever be able to show. 
This is not the end of the road for me.  I have many more swim journeys ahead of me.
This chapter may be over but the book is still being written!

(pics soon)

24Jun12 - Travel Day

Got up nice and early and packed all our luggage and kids into the Escape.  Dropped my girls off with their aunt and Patricia and I headed to the airport.  We flew on SkyBlue.  LOVE this airline.  Even though it was only an hour and 1/2 flight, we all had our own TV headsets with free satelite so I just relaxed and watched the Olympic diving trials and some ESPN the whole way.  Made the flight go by extremely fast.
Got our rental car then checked into the hotel.  We were both pretty hungry so we went walking around to the pier area of Long Beach.  Not bad.  Found some food then wandered around relaxing. 
I'll admit  I did something that I might end up seeing on Tosh.O one day.  We were at a restaurant/grown up video place (like a Dave and Busters) and Patricia was already outside when I finished up and was walking out.  I was convinced that I was heading out the door when I walked straight into a huge glass wall.  THANKFULLY I was adjusting my hat so my elbows got the brunt of it.  It made a huge thunderous sound and pretty much the entire restaurant looked at me and all the serving staff laughed at me.  I just stood there disbelieving how dumb I had just been then laughed myself almost to tears.  My humilty was nice and high that moment.  Only one server asked if I was okay and I think she only did it to be polite.  She was supressing laughing while asking!
I typically do something to make a complete ass out of myself daily but this one was a real good one!
Went back to the hotel and my dad was already here.  We chatted for a bit then I had to ask him to leave so I could get some sleep.  Took a nap then we all headed out for a late dinner then a movie.  Dinner was mediocre at best but we did see MIB 3.  Loved the movie.  Plus it forced me to sit on my butt and do nothing for a few hours so that is a plus.
Hit a grocery store for some chocolate milk and other necessary items for tomorrow then Patricia went to bed.  My goal is staying awake until about 3 or 4 tonight until I can take a short nap.  I'll get a long rest tomorrow while everyone is arriving.
I'm a bit calmer than I was yesterday but the constant feeling of "it" is always in me.
Tomorrow we meet at the boat at 1830.  Josh and Gordon are going to try and have a live GPS tracker on me so people can see where I am during the swim.
I'm also going to leave my FB page up so people can leave messages....LEAVE MESSAGES FOR ME!!!

23Jun12 - Packing

I've been laying stuff out around the house for me to pack the last 2 days.  I THINK I have all of what I need for my trip.  Today is packing day!  No more swims and now I just put everything I have into a suitcase and then continue my rest.  I am going through swings of when I'm okay and when I'm a nervous wreck on the verge of FREAKING OUT.  Patricia and my kids are gone for most of the day so I can relax and do nothing all day.  I need to get to sleep now since I was up until 0400 last night and got up at 0600.  I think I'll be good for not getting tired or wanting to be in bed at 0300 on Tues. 
Chad came yesterday by my place and dropped off a full container of channel grease.  Thanks Chad!  He's another person that it has been fun to swim with.  He's a great guy and would never hesitate to help someone in need.  I'd normally say that he'd give you the shirt off his back but since he wears NASCAR shirts 99% of the time, I'll pass.  :)
OK, bed and final packing....this time tomorrow I'll be on a plane flying west!

22Jun12 - LAST SWIM

Kim picked me up today again at 0500.  I'm reversing my sleep schedule so I was up all night.  I didn't think it was very wise for me to be the one driving.  We drove to Pineview for my last swim before Catalina.  We decided to do the buoy route today instead of the dam route.  It's only a mile but I just mainly wanted to be in colder water one more time.  The sun coming up over Pineview is absolutely gorgeous.  It annoys me that with how good picture technology has gotten, it doesn't come close to representing how beautiful that lake is when you get in it at 0530.

Seriously, who would take a pool over THIS?

Did one dam route then stopped by Einstein's Bagels on the way home.  Since Kim can't make it to my swim and she has been a MAJOR help in my training I treated her to breakfast.  I just wanted her to know how great it was of her to be with me in the pool for so many mornings at 0430 to train with me.  She kept me motivated and really helped push me on days when I was dragging ass some.  She was there to help train for the GSL 8 miler but was there to help me too.  When you get up at 0400 and go to the pool alone, it is nowhere near as motivating when you have to get up knowing someone will be there counting on you to be there!

Kim and me

I just want to publicly thank my Ogden training partner Kim for all she has done.  She has helped me train, kept me motivated, and even listened to me when I was having small freak outs over this swim.  She's never slow to laugh or smile and she's a good friend.  I'm lucky to know her.

1 mile OW

21Jun12

Kim picked me up at 0500 and we met with Gords at Pineview.  We both have been needing some colder water to swim in and Pineview is close enough and cool enough to keep us adjusted.
Water temp was 64.  Felt great.  Air temp was definitely colder.  Kim and I just did one dam route.  I have to keep reminding myself to take it easy and my distances short.
When we got to the dam buoys, Gordon was there and he swam up to chat for a second.  He had a big smile on his face and showed me his extended hand.  "Goody, you have the number of days left until your swim that you can count on your hand".  Without realizing it, I was giving him the "alternate" We're #1 signal.
He laughed then swam off.   Kim and I finished our swim then headed home.
Took another cold shower despite the fact that I was already shivering when I got in.  My streak continues!!!
It has now been nearly one month since I've had a SOLO cold shower.  I've had one hot shower and it was because I was in it with a beautiful woman...can't blame me there!

1.9 miles today OW

20Jun12

Short and easy workout today
500 WU then another 500 where I held :45 per 50
500 kick
500 swim
ladders by 50 up to 200 repeat back down

3000 total

My shoulders were sore for most of the swim. I'm sure it's from the cold I have that I'm almost over.  Just don't feel right still.  Doing much better daily and it should be gone in no more than 2 days.

It's getting to me more and more daily that my swim is close.  I got close to having a tiny panic attack on the drive home from the pool today.  I was just thinking that I only have 2-3 more swims left and then that's it.  The BIG one will be here.  My chest got a little tight and I could feel a panic coming.  I just told myself over and over to just calm the F down.  It worked......for now! 
I start my first packing today!  IS IT REALLY HERE???

19Jun12

Met with Gords, Josh, and Kate Greene.  She won an essay contest of a perfect swim and she was traveling west across America to swim in different bodies of water.  Well WELCOME TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE.  I guarantee you'll never swim in anything more unique anywhere in America!
We all headed out and I needed to keep it casual.  I'm tapering so I'm swimming very little and when I do swim, my effort is a joke. 
We headed out of the marina and after we stopped at the first red buoy, Kate was already not doing so good.  It was obvious the salt content was more than she imagined and she had taken some in.  Swimming in the GSL does take some adjustment but once you are accustomed, it's fantastic.
We swam out to the 2nd red buoy and then she said she was good.  She was swallowing too much and it was making her not feel so good.  We've all been there Kate!  We headed back in and just chatted for a bit.  Short swim and although I don't know exactly, I marked myself for 1/3 mile today.
I'll do a real swim tomorrow.

On a surprise note, my dad called me today and asked if his spot was still open.  I'll be honest and admit that I was a bit shocked at this.  He wanted to go a few months ago but something came up.  That something apparently got cancelled so he figured he might as well come along.  :)  I had to call and ask Lynn if adding one more was okay since I've already turned in my final crew count to her.  She said it was okay and I called him back with logistics details.  He did have to understand that he doesn't have a job to do on the boat and he is not allowed to show or voice "concern" for my well being at any time.  Parents fussing over their kids while they do something like this is never helpful.   So my dad is coming now.  It will be good to see him and good he can be part of such a great event in my life.

15Jun12

Another easy day today.  Got to Pineview early and did one dam route.  Water was 65 and felt really nice once I got going.  I mainly focused on my stroke and the feel of the water.  At no point did I ever pick it up or push myself.  Just a nice and steady stroke I could have held all day.  I was considering doing some more but I'm considering doing a night swim tonight with Gordon at Antelope.

1.9 miles OW

11Jun12

Easy day today.
I'm taking a class to get another endorsement for teaching so I was in a class all morning and by the time I got to the pool, I was pretty mentally tired so that made my physically tired. 
My shoulders were sore and tight and didn't loosen up until about 2500 yards.  That's nice and all but my swim was for only 3200 today.
Did my swim and was more than happy to get out.  Just didn't feel it today.

9Jun12

Arms were pretty stiff so I went to the pool this afternoon and did a EASY 1000 yards.  200 free then 50 breast repeats to 1000.  There were a LOT of kids in the pool today and they kept moving into the lane to play or get stuff and it was pissing me off pretty bad so I left before I got mad enough to yell.  I just needed to swim nice and slow to relax my sore/stiff arms and I did.  Now full rest until Monday.

1000 yards - zombie pace

ANOTHER MILESTONE - today I hit 250 miles and I'm halfway to my goal of doing 500 miles for the year!  HOOOOORRRAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8Jun12 - GSL 8 mile

Yesterday Gordon sent out an email declaring that due to a wind storm that was supposed to come in, the GSL 8 mile race was being cancelled.  I was pretty upset and disappointed about it but Gordon is very reasonable and a smart person who won't ever hesitate to put safety first so it didn't take me long to get over it.  I would just do 8 miles by doing the Gridley Straight over and over.  Such is life.  The harbormaster at the GSL did tell Gordon that if he wanted to bump the race up a day earlier then that would be okay.  Well, unbeknownst to me, Gordon is also a part time wizard!  He spent the ENTIRE workday on the phone hammering out logistics so it could be possible for us to swim on Friday instead. There were 5 people from out of state that had already driven/flown in and didn't want to miss out.  We all met Thursday night for dinner at the Spaghetti Factory for a nice dinner.

Today was amazing.  Clear skies and a perfect day for a swim.  Josh was my paddler and I was pretty happy about his.  He knows me pretty well and can take it if I turned into a "diva" while swimming. 
The drive out to the island was not that great but the gnats were nowhere near as bad this year as they were last year.  We got loaded up quickly and started the 1/2 mile wade to the start.

Where is my taco?

So Kim....my plan is to stay back 300 yards for 5 miles from you then SLOWLY pass you at mile 6 then beat you by 2 minutes on the last mile....that okay?

 We were all pretty excited and some gnats decided to say hello to me but got stuck on my channel grease.  Not fun! 

Gnats!!!!

When we got to where we were going to start, Michelle (who is deaf) was looking at me to time for her.  I counted down for her using my fingers and off we went.
We started and my goal was to beat my time last year.  This shouldn't be a problem but there was a good breeze and a current that was pushing us sideways the entire swim.  At times it wasn't bad and others times it was really knocking you around and making breathing efficiently difficult.
I had a specific plan for the swim and I did well following it.
I wanted to swim at a decent pace the first 3 miles to get me warmed up and going.  Mile 4-6 would be faster progressively and the last 2 miles I would go for it with max effort.  There were a few mishaps along the way.  First was my first feeding when I turned into a diva and started yelling at Josh for not being where I wanted him to be.  Then between mile 1 and mile 8....yes the WHOLE swim, we ran into each other about 10 times at least.  We both took blame for this so 5 were his fault and 5 were mine.
After the first mile and everyone had settled down, I knew the French guy Gilles was in the lead and it was unlikely I would catch him.  Kim was a couple of hundred yards away and I just wanted to stay in contact with her.  Michelle was ahead also but she was going WAY off course to the right.

The first few feeds seemed to come quickly and I kept each one under 20 seconds.  It was good practice for Catalina.  Josh had a GPS and I was averaging about 1.1 miles per 30 minutes.  Not bad.  My reflector goggles started to leak after mile 3 and I had to change goggles even after trying to adjust them.  This made me really mad.  I'm glad I packed backup but the fact that they were leaking now when they were fine for so long had me puzzled.  My backups are clear so my pupils were dilated and the sun was shining bright now so I felt like I was swimming blind for awhile.  This is where Josh and I ran into each other the most.

I know I'm an idiot!

After mile 4 I picked it up a bit.  After mile 5 I picked it up a bit more.  I noticed that coming up on mile 6 that I was closing the gap between myself and Kim.  About mile 6.5 I got even with her.  I was at a feed and she was parallel to me.  I knew I had her.  I was feeling really good and it was definitely the time to start pouring it on for effort.  I got her completely behind me before mile 7 and just focused on pulling hard and keeping a strong pace.  I was feeling really strong but my arms were starting to complain.
I skipped my last feed and just kept going as strong as I could.  Josh kept signaling to me 1/2 mile, 1/4 mile, etc but that damn Blackrock never seems to get closer!  I was at waist deep water when I was pretty much near a full sprint.  My arms completely shut down and I 100% bonked with about 100 yards to go.  I stood up and the water was not very deep.  I just slowly walked into the finish.  I was toasted from my effort but I was really happy that I had performed as well as I had hoped.

1/4 mile....allegedly!

me finishing

When I was done, I was told that I was 2nd place.  I thought I was 3rd behind Gilles and Michelle but she was so far off course that it was taking her awhile to get back.    I was then told that I had finished with a time of 3:49.  This blew me away.  I finished last year at 4:31 so I had made a MAJOR improvement from last year.
My training buddy Kim finished 2 minutes after me and won the women's division.  I was really excited and happy for her.  She was pretty worried about coming in last and she ended up winning for women!  NICE JOB KIM!!!

Kim finishing

Great swim today and it was a fantastic experience all around.

8.3 OW

6Jun12 - Treat Test!

I didn't want to hit the gym I normally go to this morning so I called Gordon last night to see if I could join him at the SLC swim complex.  They have 2 pools there.  One is 25 yards indoors and a 50M outdoor.  We swam about 500 yards then they opened up the outdoor pool.  It has been a couple of years since I've been in a 50 meter pool so I was pretty excited.  The excitement was cut a bit when I realized the water temp was pretty warm.  You could see steam coming off the top the whole time I was there.
I did another 1500M then a bit more to make up the 500 yards to be around 500 meters.
The workout today was all sets of 200's.  Some were swimming regular, some were pulling, some were mixed speed.  My shoulders took their usual sweet time to get warmed up then I started to feel pretty good. 
One set was 8 x 200 and the first set I actually caught Gordon.  I guess he was going really slow or stopped to read a book and I was able to catch him.  This is a VERY rare occurrence.  He realized it and it was the last time it happened.  I was going at a solid pace but he was going back to his normal speed so I was left way behind.  When we had to switch lanes for the swim team, I stood up and chatted with Will Reeves for a minute.  It was a REALLY dumb move that I've told other people I have given lessons to over and over to never have your upper and lower body in 2 different temps.  Sure enough, my lower body was warm from the water and my upper body was in the cold air.  Like magic, my shoulders got cold and tightened up.  As soon as I started swimming again, it felt like lap 1.  I know better and yet I didn't chat with just my head out of the water.  Dumb dumb dumb!
We then moved on to a pull set that made my shoulders REALLY hurt.  I held a decent enough pace but I knew that whatever momentum and good speed I had before was now gone for good.  Workout finished well enough and even had a few sprints at the end.  2nd to last sprint I was able to hang with Gordon and just barely hit the wall before him.  The last one I got TOASTED and had to pull up about 15 meters short and stop because my body and energy crashed big time.  Was fun anyway. 
Finished out with 8000 meters.  I had time to do more but am worried about doing too much before the GSL 8 miler on Sat.

One really good thing is that I have found my treat for my Catalina Crossing.  I have been trying new things but Gordon liked to eat chocolate Swiss Rolls from Little Debbie snacks.  The guy did the first Catalina crossing this year at a few also along the way.  I gave it a shot and had one about halfway through the workout and another about 3/4 through.  No problems at all.  I have an iron stomach anyway but testing it is always best.  I now have a nice chocolate treat I can have at times during my swim.  This will be a nice mental reward and help calm the chocolate whore that lives inside of me.

4Jun12

Another valuable lesson learned today.
Got to the GSL marina at 1630 on the hopes of getting on TV.  A story was supposed to be done on the GSL swim and some video was going to be shot along with some interviews but it was a no show.  Thanks KSL!
A pretty good crowd turned out anyway.  I wanted to do 2 Gridley Straights today and the wind was really strong.  It was going to be a fun swim.
Josh helped out most of the other swimmers that only wanted to do a mile or so and Kim, Chad, his paddler Lang and I took off for Blackrock.  It was a great roller coaster ride getting there.  I stayed with Kim and helped her while she swam in the roughest water I'm sure she's ever been in.  I was loving it!!!  Towards the end of the first mile, my goggles started to leak.  It was annoying as anything.  When we got to Blackrock, I tried to adjust them but the bands broke.  Lang lent me a cord but that didn't work very well after a few yards.  It was a good thing he had a double kayak!!!  I had to get in as Kim and Chad went back.  It took us 44 minutes to get to Blackrock and only 19 getting back.  Oh yeah!

Lang after 1 mile.  We kept laughing that the salt will make him a Caucasian.

Free ride back!  Thanks Lang

Kim

Kim

Chad

I was really disappointed that I couldn't swim back.  It looked like great fun.  I was also REALLY bummed I only got one mile in today.  I guess I'm going to have to get up and be at the pool tomorrow at 0430 to get my swim in.

1.2 miles OW today

2Jun12 - BAD swim

Met with Jim this morning at PineView a little after 0930.  He's typically a pool swimmer but has been branching out lately to do some open water swims and helping out teams for triathlons by doing the swim portion.  He was pretty excited about today's swim.  We got in and the water was 64 degrees.  Felt great.  Jim couldn't quite understand how I was so cozy and he was still a bit chilly despite wearing a full body wetsuit.  We did the dam route nice and easy.  I was feeling sluggish and tired for the whole first lap.  Jim couldn't stop smiling or talking about how fantastic it felt to swim in the open water compared to a pool.  You could really see it in his face that the excitement and yearning to do more OW swims was there.  I told him that I knew I could convert him!
When we got back, I needed another lap to get to 20 miles for the week.  I'm picky about getting my distance but my feeling bad got MUCH worse.  On the way back to the dam I threw up twice.  Once I was at the dam I started to feel a tiny bit better but once I was almost near the end, my stomach cramped up really bad and I had to take care of something I've never had to take care of while swimming.  It was a new experience to say the least.  I finished the swim and was glad to be done.  My stomach was killing me but I had hit my weekly quota.
3.75 miles OW today.

Now for some Pepto and a good nap!

1Jun12

Got up and was at the pool at 0530.  This is how I'm spending my first week off for the summer?  STILL getting up early to swim?  lol
Kim was there and we just made up sets as we went along.  We did some swimming, kicking, speed work, pace work, more kicking blah blah blah.
She got out at 3k and I kept going.  I did some 100 IM's then a lot of hypoxic work.  I kept doing breathing work by 25's of breath by 5, 7, 5, 9 per 25.  Some of the 9's got tough but not too bad.  Lungs are really big I guess.
5000 yards today