She’s So Lucky
My 5 hour swim on Saturday was incredible! I had a blast, and I realized that I’m the luckiest girl ever. I had so many wonderful people out supporting me – check out the support team breakdown:
In the Farrell – Reuben (Senior Pilot and navigator), Neal (Co-pilot and chef), and Daddy (photographer and videographer)
In the Arias – Dave (Captain and boat deflector), Mom (head cheerleader and occasional commando), and Old Grand Dad (champion open water swimmer and Laurin Fan).
We started at the Dolphin Club at 8:05am and headed toward the Bay Bridge. Neal and my parents prepared a wonderful surprise for me in the form of large poster boards with uplifting or funny messages written on them. Neal or my dad flashed them at me often during the swim. So freakin’ cool!
30 minutes into the swim, I found my stride, and started flying. The water was warm! 57-58 degrees, warm enough such that my hands did not splay for the entire swim! After months of swimming with claws for hands, that alone was super exciting.
We passed under the Bay Bridge and continued on toward AT&T Park. The sun came out from behind the clouds as we rounded the bend, and the stadium loomed above us, breathtakingly beautiful from the water.
Everything just went perfectly. Neal warmed up my GU before putting it into the GU Gel Bot (an awesome contraption that allows you to have GU and a drink of your choice in the same vessel), so for the first time I was able to actually able to get the GU out of the Gel Bot and decreased my feeding time to about 25 seconds. My friends and family cheered me on for the entire 5 hours, clapping, waving signs, laughing, making me feel strong and happy. Dave made sure no boats ran me over. The sun came out 2 hours in, warming my back as I swam. I felt fast, I felt strong, I felt warm, and I felt loved. I couldn’t help but smile as I swam.
Our only mishap was misjudging the currents – I ended up swimming into a very strong flood current. But hey, fighting a crazy current is good training, too.
I’m humbled to know that so many people care about me and want to see me reach my goals. It’s amazing how fun training can be when you have such a plethora of love and support. A huge thank you to all of my supporters on Saturday!!