25Feb19

een busy lately and lazy other mornings but had no excuses to not swim today.

4 x 100
3(2 x 50 K then 200 IM)
12 x 75  First 4 on 1:30 next 4 on 1:25 then last 4 on 1:20  SLOW times I know!
easy 50's and 100's to get to 2500.

Felt really good today actually and glad I went.  Curious how I'll do with full day of work then climbing gym after work.  Haven't done this kind of busy workout day in awhile.

2500 SCY

24Jan19

Patricia was in Florida last week for work so I was doing the single parent gig then I was not feeling that great earlier this week.
I felt good yesterday and had a great night sleep so no excuses to to swim this morning.

5 x 100 WU
6 x 75 (free, breast/back, free x 25)
50 hard
500 (100 free then 50 breast repeat.  Last 50 was hard pull)
10 x 50 on the :60 hitting under :45 per 50

Felt good to be swimming.  I'm still finding more joy climbing right now but hoping if I can discipline myself to go to the pool more that my motivation will slowly shift.
I did keep thinking about a comment a friend I climb with made.  I offered to take him swimming in the summer and he said that I was a 5.14c swimmer and there was no way he would want to swim with me.  It was a climbing difficulty scale reference and it made me laugh.

2000 SCY

10Jan19

I've been sick the past few days and breathing has been difficult so swimming has been out.  I've been resting a lot but felt good enough last night I knew I could go today....but take it easy.

500 WU - no time
5 x 100 on the 2:00 (back, free, breast, free)
10 x 50 on the :60 keeping under :45 for each 50 

1500 SCY total

4Jan19

Getting out of bed this morning was really tough.  It was easy on the 1st when I knew I could go home and nap but I work today after swimming so it was harder to get going.  I dragged my feet all morning which I knew would cut into my swimming time but simply did not care.
I got to the gym and I had to set up my membership for the year again.  That took some time then Sue gave me a tour of the facility since they remodeled quite a bit since I've been gone over the past year.  The new place and layout looks great.
Finally dragged my sorry butt to the pool and got in.

10 x 50 on the :60 - hit around :43 for each.  Not bad actually
4 x 100 on the 2:00 - Went 1:27 for each.  Also not bad but the 4th hurt a bit.  I'm REALLY out of swim shape!
50 back to breast
50 free

1000 SCY total

1Jan19 - I'm back baby!

My year hiatus from swimming is over.  I did the mini UTC last year and only swam 3 times for exactly 1 mile each and that's it.
I discovered a new sport I thoroughly enjoy and don't plan on stopping even though I plan on making swimming my main sports love again.  Sorry rock climbing, but my main squeeze is calling, :)
Got up and went to the Kearns pool for the annual New Years Day swim.  The swim that coach Becky had planned was 119 x 50......no thx!  I'm not in shape for that.
I visited with my swim buddy Sue at the front desk some then headed to the pool.  Forgot how much I love the smell of chlorine.
Chatted with Becky some and several others who were genuinely glad to see me again.  It was good to be back.
I just wanted to get in and not do anything crazy for my first day back.  I got in the slow-poke lane which was set on a 1:05 timer.  LOL  Nice and easy.

10 x 50 free
10 x 50 back down free return then breast down free return
5 x 50 kick
5 x 50 free did some "harder" pulling on a few of them but nothing crazy.

Easy mile done

I'm glad to be back and my only real goal for January is to get in the habit of getting up early a few times a week to actually go swimming.  We'll see how it goes.

Saw this sign and it made me laugh.  We do SO much hypoxic work while swimming that this sign is a joke.

1500 SCY total

9Sep17-UTC24!

Before I even start with the blog on this, I want to give credit to the person who helped me cook up an idea as idiotic as this!  Grace Van Der Byl and I though of this together several years ago when I was a guest at her home.  It was mostly a "what if" joke but each year, we would somehow mention it and the more we talked about it, the more it seemed like it could be done.  Well Grace, it is done!  Thanks for the inspiration and guidance during this several years journey.

I will just start with a few days earlier and give a brief recap of the days leading up to this swim.
Thursday the 7th - I met Gordon at his mom's house and we drove to his in-law's family cabin near Bear Lake (BL).  We stayed up late watching TV, catching up, and relaxing.
Friday the 8th - Woke up early in hopes of being tired in the afternoon so I can nap for several hours and then rest for the swim starting at midnight.  Didn't work out that way.  We did get up early, ate breakfast, then went to a secluded spot behind the house and fired off guns for an hour.  They were all Gordon's guns and ammunition so I took it easy on shooting.  I didn't want to spend energy firing guns as much as I wanted to and besides, it was Gordon't ammo so I don't want to be a jerk and use up someone else's ammunition.  Gordon did most of the firing and it was relaxing and FUN!
We then headed into Logan so I could contact my family and then run a few errands.  When lunch came, we went to an all you can eat buffet and I ate quite well.  After that we went to a movie to kill more time.  We then made a quick ice cream stop then back to the cabin.  Nap time...only, I did not nap well.  I forced myself to stay on the bed with my eyes closed for 2 hours but sleep was minimal.  My nerves were starting to get to me.  I finally gave up and watched TV.  Gordon woke up awhile later and we started packing.
We left the house at 2215 and headed to BL to meet up with Joelle.
We met her at 2300 and she got in the front seat and I got in the back to lie down for a short nap.  I woke up and we were at the start.  Time to load up the kayak and grease up.
The air was chilly but we did a water reading and it read 68 degrees.  So much warmer than usual for this time of year.  I was afraid of the cold being a factor for this swim and it turned out to be a complete non-factor.

Quick Selfie 5 min before start.

Gordon counted me down from 1 minute and as midnight hit, I got in.  I tried walking in like a badass but actually slipped on the first rock, fell forward, and nearly busted myself in the first 3 yards!  I recovered and just got on my belly until it was deep enough to start swimming.  I adjusted quickly and off we went.
The BL swim went perfect.  There was a slight current for a few hours but nothing major.  Joelle made small corrections and we stayed on our course target.  My goal was to just swim smooth and not kill myself.  I wanted to finish around 4 hours and we hit land at 6.6 miles at exactly 4 and hours and 1 minute.  Perfect!
We loaded up quickly and dropped Joelle off at her car on the way to Deer Creek (DC).
I fell asleep quickly after drinking some recovery fluids and Gordon woke me up as we were at the boat ramp at DC.  I texted Becky and she was walking down the ramp ready to go.  We got the kayak loaded up and then it was time to grease me.

The weather said partly cloudy but I did not want to take any chances so I put a good layer of Desitin on me.  Yes, that is the baby butt cream but it is 40% zinc so it is an amazing sunscreen.  It is also good grease so that is all I needed.

After taking care of some last minute “business”, we were off.  We started just before 0630.  I knew this was going to be the toughest of the 3 swims so I kept myself motivated and focused on what I was doing.  Becky did an amazing job.  She critiqued my stroke when needed which saved me the most important things, energy and time!

I hit the halfway point quickly and I was feeling strong.  I hit the turnaround point for this swim faster than when I did this a few weeks ago for the SLOW swim event.  We even went farther past the turnaround point.  As we were heading back, the winds picked up and the current did too.  We got to an open spot and Becky told me to pick it up a bit to get to a point nearby where the land formation around the lake will protect us from the wind and make it easier.  I picked up my effort but when we got to the point, Becky looked down and said, “Turns out I lied”!  She didn’t lie to be mean, it was just a bad guess.  I had a chuckle and started back.  This time when I tried to pick up my stroke, I could feel my energy fading a bit.  I asked for my high calorie feed and a buzz bite.  They helped some but I knew I was not going to be coming back anywhere near as fast as going out. 

Starting

Heading back

Even the fish are jumping for joy as I finish!

We just plugged away the miles.  Once we hit the main bay that takes almost 3 miles to cover, my GPS watch she was wearing started to act up.  It was still “working” but I am 100% sure it was not being as accurate as before.  We got to where I know the turnaround for the 1 mile event is and the GPS watch said I had over a mile to go.  This made me mad.  I have gone farther in my distance along the shores and where we turn around to head back and yet my distance was not the same.  Becky was patient as I yelled at her about the watch screwing me over.  We got to the boat ramp and I could see Gordon but somehow in her magic coaching ways, convinced me that instead of getting out (even though I knew I had gone over 10 miles), to actually TURN AROUND and swim more.  No idea how she convinced me of that.  We need to keep it so there is NO doubt I did 10 miles.  I swam 5 minutes out and 5 back.  When I could see the boat ramp again, she signaled that 10 was on the GPS watch and she had finished timing.  So 10 *cough 10.5* was done at DC and now on to the Great Salt Lake (GSL).

I don’t even remember trying to get comfortable or even leaving the parking lot of DC.  I just woke up and we were at GSL and I could hear Josh talking.  I slept great for that drive.

I was too tired to even remove my cap!

Now THAT is a true friend!

Did I miss a spot?

I got out and Gordon helped put more Desitin on me and then I added more lanolin/vaseline grease to offset the high level of salt at GSL. 

 I felt good but was tired.  The water was really warm and the marina website read 78 degrees.  Felt even hotter.  I took 2 strokes and my arms were screaming at me.  No tricking myself for this one, my body knew it had already swam 16.5 miles.

I followed Josh out and he navigated me through the first lap.  I will admit that when we hit the first turn around spot, it took a lot longer than expected.  I decided to pick up my pace going back.  I made it back significantly quicker than going out but paid the price.  Heading out on my 2^nd lap, Josh paddled in and Patricia took over.  We argued a bit over spotting but kept going anyway.  I was mainly cranky because I wanted to get it over and I knew my energy was dissipating.  We finished the 2^nd lap then Josh took over again.  

When we hit the last turn, he told me that from now on, I can flip off each buoy as I passed it because it will be the last time I saw it.  I had to ask him to clarify because when he first started explaining, I could not hear him well and all I saw was a double barrel of the middle finger right in my face!  

I was too tired to flip off the buoys and the sun was now gone as I was a few hundred yards from finishing.  I could hear him yelling for me and also my support on the shore.  My father in law was there with his wife and so were my wife and kids next to Gordon. 

Finishing

I hit the last buoy and turned into the marina and headed to the boat ramp.  When my fingers hit the bottom, I just kneeled there for a second unsure if I was going to be able to stand.  The cheers from my family and friends helped motivate me to get on my feet.  I slowly walked up the ramp and when I was clear yelled, “We did it!”  This goes back to remembering Jamie Patrick in that no swim like this is done alone.  This event is a team effort.  No exception for this one.  I picked a great team and every person pulled their weight beyond asking and that was the biggest key to my success.

I started to dry off and I felt a bit light headed and wobbled a bit.  Gordon stepped up with a towel and started wrapping me up and holding me up.  I put my arms around him and starting sobbing uncontrollably.  The emotional high of finishing something so grueling and mentally taxing was too much to handle at that moment.  He just held me up and told me how proud he was of me.  He helped walk me over to the dock so I could sit.  I just sat there crying for several minutes.  My girls were genuinely confused as to why “daddy is crying so much”.  It reminded me of finishing the ice mile and having Gordon and Josh helping me out of the water and crying then too!  I cry too much.

We packed our gear and headed home.

BL – 6.6 miles…I’ll say 6.5 in 4:01.00

DC – 10 miles in 6:44.23

GSL – 7 miles in 4:58.49

Driving total - 216 miles

Total time for event - 20 hours and 34 minutes

Thanks:

Not to be funny but I really do want to thank God for this swim.  I prayed a LOT before this swim and even more during the swim that I would make it.  My energy did fall but I never stopped moving forward.  I also truly believe He blessed me with the best weather and water conditions imaginable. 

Joelle – Paddler for Bear Lake.  You guided me through the first step of this journey and were not only happy to be there, but eager to be there.  You have now been on the crew of my 3 most difficult swims I have done.  You are my good luck charm!  Thank you for your help and thank you for your friendship.

Becky – Paddler for Deer Creek.  You were apprehensive about paddling for me but after a training session a month ago, you did great.  You were amazing in your guidance and keeping my spirits up.  Even when the winds and currents turned against us, you still had a smile on your face.  That helped a lot.  Great pics too!  Thanks for being such a good coach and friend to me.  I still do hate you though.  J

Josh – Co-Paddler for Great Salt Lake.  You were always in a good mood and smiling at me.  You kept my spirits up when I was getting at my lowest points.  At one point of the swim, I really felt like just lying there for an hour but you leaned in and yelled encouragement to me.  I asked if you could believe I was going to finish the event.  You said, “I never had to believe it, I always knew it”.  Those words echoed in my head all the through the home stretch. 

Lisa – Training partner for this event.  You had a prior commitment so you were unable to attend and I missed you greatly.  There is no simpler way to put this, without all the miles we logged together at Jordanelle Reservoir, there was no way I would have been prepared to finish this.  No matter what distance I wanted to swim, no matter what unholy hour I wanted to start, your answer was always, “Okay, see you then”.  You were nothing short of spectacular for how you helped me.  We got to the point where a 6 mile swim wasn’t even hard anymore!  We were loose swim buddies before who swam together at random times, now I consider you a solid swim friend that I will respect forever.

Gordon – Driver, cheerleader, grease-applier, and 100 other jobs!  You got me into ultra-marathon swimming and look where it has us now years later.  You took time off work to help me relax and prepare for this swim.  You drove me everywhere and helped me with every single small detail to numerous to count that helped me succeed.  You are one of my best friends and it was the greatest honor to share this whole experience with you.  I love you and you truly are my pal forever.  (Sorry I trashed your van!)

Patricia – Co-Paddler for Great Salt Lake and most important for last.  This whole journey over the past several years could not have happened without your support.  When I told you that this was the year for UTC24, it was nothing but help from you.  I know I ruined every good sleep you had over the summer because you had to listen to the alarm going off as early as 2 in the morning so I could go swimming.  You let me swim whenever I needed and nap daily to help recover.  Everyone else helped tremendously but all pale in comparison to the love and support you have shown me while I trained for this.  You are my greatest love and my eternal companion, thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting up with me and giving me nothing but love.  I promise I’ll “try” to do a smaller swim next year.  J

Thank you also to all the people cheering me along the way.  All posts of encouragement during my swim helped me greatly.  Thanks to Phil Cutti for nutrition advice.  Thanks to Jed and his wife for coming out and cheering for me.  Also thanks to my girls for making posters of encouragement for me.  It was great. 

Thank you everyone who helped me along the way and God bless you all!

23.5 miles OW

4Sep17

Went to JN this morning at 0500.  Easy swim planned for today.  I did not even grease.  As I was putting my goggles on, SNAP!  There goes the nose strap.  Put my backup goggles on and prayed they would not snap or that would be the end of it.  They held and I got in the water.  Felt a chill but was adjusted within 20 seconds.
Swam out 1k yards then back.
Easy day.  Later today I will re-strap all of my goggles and try them out in the pool tomorrow.

2000 yards OW

2Sep17

Up at 0420 and drove to JN.  I have not been in the lake for awhile and feared the water temp was dropping rapidly.  I also know the air temp is colder in the early mornings.
I arrived soon after 0500 and took a an air temp reading.  48...brrrr.  Went to check the water and it was 69.  Wow, much warmer than expected.
I got in and I felt great.  I barely even felt any sort of chill.  I headed to the dam and stopped around 2k yards.  I took a feed then headed back.  I hit the green buoy with just over 4k yards.  I had a little drink left so I finished it.
When I was heading out, I just wanted to mentally be tough enough to enter and swim in the "cold".  That was done so my goal for the swim was already met.  After taking my last drink, I felt a genuine desire to swim more.  I headed out and did another 1k yards.   I finished just under 3 miles.  I felt great.  I had to force myself out.
My body felt full of energy and mentally I had a strong desire to swim for so many more miles.  This is a good sign!
Rest for 2 days then a swim on Monday with Lisa.  I thought we were done for the season but we are making time for one more.  I am eager to swim with my friend again.  3 miles is a joke for me and she is a major reason why.

2.9 miles OW

30Aug17

Some personal things have come up lately that I have not been sleeping well.  I also have been outside a lot more since work has started again so I was also more dehydrated than I realized.  I felt good for my warm up.  After doing the first set for Masters workout, I started to feel my energy sink.  I progressively got worse and after 4000, called it.  I considered just doing easy stroke work for another 1000 but it would have been a chore and made me mentally unhappy to be swimming.  4k is still better than nothing.
It was just one of those days.

4000 SCY

28Aug17

2 x 1000 WU
10 x 100 Free first 50 and choice (no free) 2nd 50 on 1:50
length reverse ladders 11 - 1 pull  5-10 sec rest between each
12 x 25 sprint on :45.  Easy on 5 and 11
50 CD

5000 SCY

24Aug17

1000 WU
5 x 200 swim
5 x 200 pull
4 x 100 IM, 75 drop a stroke, 50 drop a stroke, 25 drop a stroke
4 x 100 on 1:40
3 x 100 on 1:35
2 x 100 on 1:30
1 x 100 on 1:25
500 CD

5000 SCY

22Aug17 - Back to the Pool

Summer is over for me and work begins again.  Today I went back to Kearns and the pool had been converted back to SCY.....  :(
1000 WU
500 K
1150 by length swimming 9 down to 1.  Odds pull and evens swim.  Last length put me at other end so it was light pull back.
350 K
10 x 50 on minute, trying to hit wall under :45
2 x 100 N/S
2 x 50 CD

I noticed that I have gotten a LOT slower in the pool.  I've done so much longer slower swimming that I am not making the times I am used to for pool workouts in SCY.
I will work on that over the winter.

4000 SCY

21Aug17 - Solar Eclipse Day

Up and at JN by 0500.  Lisa had prior commitments so I was solo today.  I decided to swim to the dam and back anyway.  I had a lot on my mind this morning so going out seemed to go by quick.  Once I was at the dam, I swam east for a few hundred yards then back west.  I then headed north back to the boat ramp.  When I got to the green buoy, I headed east for 1/2 mile then back.  This put me at 4 miles.  My GPS stopped working during the whole first half of the last mile but I have swam this reservoir so many times I know distances there pretty well.
I got out feeling good and barely noticing that I had swam.

4 miles OW

18Aug17

Met Lisa at 0500 at JN.  The air was in the low 40's and the water was noticeably cold when we got in.  The plan was the big loop to get to 4 miles then go from there.  I have not slept well the past 2 days or slept much at all for that matter because of things going on at home.  Just been a stressful few days.  I told Lisa that depending on how I feel, we might just do dam and back.
We headed out and what seemed like forever, we hit the dam.  I asked how she was doing and she said she was ready to head back in.  This immediately got my attention.  I asked what was going on and she said she was a bit cold.  Looking back, I believe that this is the first time that Lisa has ever uttered a word that even remotely sounded like a complaint.  She is one of the toughest and strongest willed people I have ever met.  Her admitting that something is bothering her means something.  She said she needed to swim fast so she could warm up.
Off she went and by the time I got to the boat ramp, she was fully dressed and looking...."less than comfortable".  This is our last swim together for the summer.  School is back and we will both be busy with it and won't be able to swim anymore at the reservoir.
I told her how much I appreciate her coming to swim with me over the summer and help me but words will never express how much I respect her for what she has done for me these past months.  I am ready for the UTC24 because of her.

I was feeling warm and energetic so I headed out to get myself to 4 miles.  I hit 4 miles and took another feed.  Might was well do one more!  I did one more mile then headed in.  I was glad I did the 5th mile and felt good the last 2 miles.  I was warm, comfortable and was keeping a good pace.
I will probably do a swim Monday but not sure yet.

5 miles OW

17Aug17

Test for my muscles today.
1000 WU
8 x 50's on 1:05
6 x50 on 1:00
4 x 50 on :55
2 x 50 on :50
200 easy
500 pull...muscles were sore but not pain.
300 CD

To the lake tomorrow!!!

3000 LCM

15Aug17

Took Monday off to recover a bit from Saturday.  Turns out that it wasn't enough rest.
1000 WU
Did some IM work that is too weird to write down to make any sense.  At 2k, I was supposed to do a pull set that would equal 1500.  After 300, my triceps started to hurt.  It was not an ache, but actual sharp pain in my muscles.  I guess they had not forgiven me yet.
I took paddles off and did light laps until I hit 4000.  I was supposed to do 8000 today but I don't want to injure myself.

4000 LCM

12Aug17 - UTC24 Test #2

Alarm goes off at 0150.  Everything is already packed so I just put my clothes on and walked straight into my car and met Lisa at JN at 0300.  I arrived a bit earlier to get some items organized and prep for the upcoming day of "fun".
Lisa and I were in the water at 0250 and off we went.  I felt good and calm.  The usual aches of the first mile were setting in when I took a breath to my left and saw a massive flash of lightning.  Lisa and I both stopped and immediately turned back for the boat ramp.  When we got in, it was clear to the west and the east was ugly but nothing to keep us out.  We made it back to the green buoy and we just floated there a bit.  No more lightning.  We decided to play it safe and just go back and forth a few buoys at a time until we were 100% sure it was gone.  We made it 3 buoys and another flash lit up the sky.  "That's it...we are done!"  We headed in and got to our vehicles.  I looked at my GPS and it read that we had done a mile. I was actually disappointed we only got a mile in instead of the planned 3.  Safety first.  After we were dry and getting ready to sleep, we noticed the clouds were moving but they were heading away from us and the lightning had stopped.  Oh well!  At least we didn't act stupid and stay in thinking we would be fine.
Alarm was set for 0630 and I fell asleep quickly in the back of my SUV.
Awoke feeling good and Lisa drove me to Deer Creek (DC).  Today is the open water marathon swim that my friend Jim and his wife put together each year.  I was signed up for the 10 mile event and Lisa was going to paddle for me.
There was a pretty good turn out for other events but there were only 4 of us for the 10 mile event.  I got my gear and greased up with Desitin.  It is a baby diaper rash cream but it has 40% zinc and never....NEVER comes off!  I looked like a ghost and an even bigger idiot than usual.

She's leaning in but she does not want to touch me!

We started and I just got into a comfortable pace.  I was not concerned about speed or beating the hell out of myself.  My only thought was finding a good pace that I know I can hold without breaking myself.  This would be my 2nd swim today and I had another 3 to go after finishing this.  I need to simulate my speed and ability as much as possible today.
The miles ticked by and nothing major happened....except one thing.  The U.S. Coat Guard was there. They had a little boat and a few guys on it.  What made these lads interesting was that not one of them looked like they were in shape to be considered to be in the military on any level.  One guy was so big he made his PFD look like an orange sports bra.  I named them the Beef-Cake boat.  Every time they would come by to check on us, I would tell Lisa, "Beef Cake!"  I am very pro military and I strongly believe that if you wear anything that represent any of the 5 branches of our military, you better look like it.

Heading back.  This was the Beef Cake boat behind the jet ski

Lisa did a good job navigating and keeping my feeds at good intervals.  Our communication was good except ONE thing.  No matter how many times I would ask, she would paddle ahead of me.  I prefer my paddler to be a bit behind me so I can look back to see them.  This helps keep my form a bit better and whenever I see my paddler moving ahead, I feel like I am moving backwards and it can be discouraging at times.  I got really angry at her but kept my calm when asking her to please come back for me.  It was fine overall and she and I had a good laugh about it when it was all over.  She would just get caught up in thinking about work or the wind resistance of butterfly wings or who the hell knows and pull ahead!

Plugging along

Me looking like an idiot

I felt pretty good until about mile 9.  The last mile seemed to take longer than usual and I was becoming eager to finish.  I felt okay but I knew that soon I could rest and that was taking over my thoughts instead of my stroke and what I was doing.  Lisa even noticed I was not that great the last mile.  We survived and I finished with an official time of 5:43:31.  My 2nd best time for this event.

Punching the finish buoy

 
I left my kayak at the edge of the water and Lisa and I went to the SUV to rest for 90 minutes.  We just sat there relaxing and talking about the swim and how the next one will go.  We then talked about our kids and etc to pass the time.
90 minutes were up and back to the water we went.  She got back into the kayak and I got back into the water. I considered only doing 2 and calling it good.  The biggest test was completing the 10 miler so I had already considered this day a success.  Fortunately/unfortunately my GPS watch was not being accurate so Lisa took me all the way down the first bay before it read I had done 1 mile.  We both knew I was well past it so I might was well go to where the 5k turn around was and then head back.
As we were heading back, a boat came close to us and I could see they were talking to Lisa.  They were asking where we were going and that we needed to get out.  Soon, a familiar fellow moved up to the front and asked, "Hey, isn't that the same guy that did the swim earlier?"  It was the head Beef Cake himself still in his orange sports bra PFD.  He looked at the others and told them I was good and they took off.  Lisa looked at me and mouthed "beef cake" and it took me over a minute to stop choking on water from laughter.
We finished the 3 miles and I felt great.  I just went slow and steady.  Lisa said I was moving slow but I looked good and my stroke looked like it was holding well.  I knew I could hold this stroke rate for hours more if needed.  I was now 100% sure I will be able to complete the UTC24.
Bad news ruined the day though.  As we were getting out, there were police everywhere, a news van and a commotion at the boat ramp.  We asked what was going on and apparently someone had drowned.  It happened right near where we turned around for our 3 mile swim and right around the same time.  Eerie!  Someone dying is sad but the person was in a kayak with his wife.  The kayak flipped and neither had a PFD on.  What?  Then it comes out that the both had a PFD but it was sitting in the kayak.  WHAT?!?!?!  Why would you have a life jacket and not wear it?  Loss of life like this is sad but this recklessness makes it stupid.  Such blatant disregard for your safety when you have something to help keep you alive right next to you and yet it is left to be ignored.  Ridiculous!

I finished the day with a 1 mile swim at JN, 10 mile at DC, then another 3 at DC.  14 miles total.  Good day.  I was able to test out some more items for when the UTC24 is really upon me.

Thanks go out to the Hubbard family for putting the race together.  Thanks to Josh and his family for timing the event.  Thanks to Lisa for swimming/paddling for me the whole day.  I could not have survived today without you.  The most gratitude goes to my wife.  She had to listen to my alarm going off at 0150 and deal with my kids and other family members by herself all day so I could splash around some reservoirs.  Another summer is ending and you have been nothing but supportive for my drug habit I know as swimming.

14 miles OW

9Aug17

Met with Lisa at 0600 at JN.  She needed to learn how to kayak for me.  Every swimmer likes their kayaker to do certain things and be in certain places.  We just headed to the dam and worked on signals, feeds, and pacing.
It was a great success.  Going out was pretty good but coming back our distance to each other, communication, and pacing was fantastic.  Lisa is going to be great coming Saturday.
Having a kayaker is so nice.  I never had to look up, worry where I was going, looking out for boats, etc.  Lisa was in charge of all of that.  I just focused on my strokes and keeping my body in good position.  The 3 miles seemed to go by quickly.  I am looking forward to the 10 mile event Saturday.
This coming Saturday I am doing a 3-10-3 event for my final test for the UTC24.  Completing this will be a huge mental boost for me.

3 miles OW

8Aug17

Pool day today.
Met Becky at 0500 at Kearns.
1000 WU
10 x 100 on the 2:00 but must hit 1:45 or it doesn't count
2(5 lengths pull, 4 lengths IM order, 3 kick, 2 swim, 1 swim harder, 1 pull back)
5 lengths pull, 4 swim, 3 pull, 2 swim, 2 pull.
2(3 lengths - breath by length, 3, 5 7)
Rest was easy free to 50 laps

5000 LCM

7Aug17

Left my house for JN and the sky was clear and the moon was big and beautiful.  This was going to be a great swim in the dark.  Met Lisa at 0500 but at JN, there was massive cloud coverage and nothing could be seen.  We were both a bit disappointed.  When we got in, we both noticed that not only the air was cooler, but the water was too.
The plan was for 6.  Lisa said she wanted to go to the dam and back twice then some buoys to make up the rest to get to 6.  Sounds good to me.
I started out slow and achy as usual but getting to the dam did not seem to take too long.  I started to feel decent at this point.  Quick drink and back we went.  Lisa took off and about 20 minutes into going back, my body started to shut down.  I felt myself slowing down and I became tired.  I lost motivation to be out there and I had to really focus on what I was doing.
I made it back but told Lisa that considering coming back was a struggle, it was probably not safe to be that far from shore again.  She agreed and said it was probably best to do the 1 mile route we know.  I took a feed and tried a new flavor of buzz bite.  If these don't kick in then I'm done after 4.
About halfway between mile 3 and 4 the food and buzz bite kicked in.  I felt great and the caffeine put me on HIGH alert.  When I was finishing the 4th mile, Lisa was already out and dressed.  I asked her to get dressed and do one more with me.  It was a pipe dream request.  She looked a bit chilly and I could tell she was done.  The cold today was noticeable and having to wait for me probably froze her out.
I took another liquid feed and took off for another mile as Lisa went home.  I paced myself and felt pretty good.  I finished mile 5 and at this point, it was lightly raining and the wind was picking up.  I called it after 5.
Considering I lost the will to swim before 3 and was seriously considering stopping at 4, I am glad I did 5.  It is less than what I intended but more than I expected after how I felt after mile 2.  I just need to keep that in mind.  If I feel that bad again, just let the food and caffeine do their thing and be patient.  It was still smart that I stayed close to shore for safety reasons.  Going back out to the dam would have made sure I finished at 6 but that would have been foolish.

5 miles OW