For an entire year, my training sessions in Aquatic Park have been the same: swim laps around the cove (~1 mile), or swim laps along the line of buoys close to shore (800m round trip). It’s not as bad as swimming aimlessly along a black line in a pool, but after an hour or so without a pace clock, coach, team mates, or sets, it still starts to get a little mind-numbing.

On Wednesday, fellow Dolphin Mike Chase introduced me to a new concept: get over keeping an exact mental record of distance when you swim in the Cove, and turn it into a playground! The Cove is comprised of all kinds of markers, obstacles, and possibilities. Strap on a watch to keep track of time (seriously, this gets to be so fun you might over-swim and be late to work!), take advantage of the currents, and go play!

Both Wednesday morning and Thursday morning, I met up with Mike and set off in all kinds of crazy zig-zag paths across the Cove.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Mike said as we treaded water around the Oprah Buoy that helps anchor the Thayer, a black and red ship near the South End Club’s pier. “Flag, Appleton Hall, Opening, Goal Posts, BBB, Flag, Oprah.”

“Huh?” I said, losing track around “Opening.”

“Don’t worry, just keep up with me!” (Added bonus to swimming with Mike – he’s fast. So when he turns it on, I’m obliged to kick it up a few notches myself. Excellent!)

We fought the currents going one way, and rode them in the other direction. We raced to the green boat in the middle of one of the Cove walls, trying not to get swept into it (Appleton Hall). We visited the Bay proper, trying to discern the Golden Gate Bridge through the shrouding mists (Opening). We darted like fish in and out of the large, wooden poles sticking out of the water on one far edge of the Cove (Goal Posts). We swam under part of one of the sea walls to reach the BBB. We dodged boats as we raced back to the flag, and cruised on back to the Oprah buoy.

I’m a convert. Mike wasn’t around this morning – instead, he was off with 6 other Dolphins to do a 100 mile, 2 day relay swim down the Sacramento River to raise money to protect the San Francisco Bay (you can track their progress here.) I made up my own crazy path of shapes and zig-zags, and didn’t want to get out!

We arrived today in Maui! The Maui Channel Swim starts tomorrow morning at 8am, so we will have to get up early to meet our boat captain at 5am and sail over to Lanai. On my support boat will be our captain, Johnny Odom, along with his son, Dylan, my friend from childhood Krista, her friend Trevor!

This afternoon, I got in for a warm up swim with Greg Kearney, a friend from the Dolphin Club who is also swimming the Maui Channel solo. The water was HOT, which was nice for playing around, but I think it’s going to be tough to race in tomorrow. Still, the clarity is beautiful! I can’t wait.

Most would agree that swimming across the English Channel ranks right up there on the “Extreme Adventures” list.  I figure any undertaking where the main goal is really to finish, in which there are external factors (aka non-controlled environment) capable of smashing your goal to smithereens, deserves both the titles “Extreme” and “Crazy”.

However, as I am exploring this brave new world of extreme adventures, I’ve discovered a few that might possibly rank even higher than a solo English Channel crossing on the “crazy” scale.

True, the number of successful solo English Channel crossings is one third that of successful Everest summits.  However, it is also true that the Everest rate of disease/death/dismemberment takes the Channel any day.

I thought I’d put it to a vote.  Pick what you think is the most Extreme Adventure and make your voice heard!

Row Across the Pacific Ocean:  Takes 2/3 to 3/4 of a year if you do it straight, up to years if you make some stops to recover.  Storms, currents, hard-core food and water rationing, sleeping in your rowboat.  Plus, do you realize how freakin’ BIG the Pacific Ocean is?!  You get in trouble out there, and no one is going to find you.

Badwater Ultramarathon:  135 mile run through Death Valley, hottest spot in the US.  Roads can heat up so much that running on the black asphault can melt the soles of your running sneaks.  Hallucinations and thoroughly destroyed kidneys not uncommon.

Swim the English Channel:  Swim can be as short as 24 miles and as long as you can swim before your arms drop off (30 miles?  40 miles?  50 miles?…)  Nasty currents, sudden changes in weather, jellyfish, hypothermia, nausea, and majorly huge shipping vessles combine to make this one hell of a long swim.  And that’s assuming the tide doesn’t change when you’re within a mile from shore, turning your 7 hour swim into a 10 hour nightmare.

Arch to Arc:  Run from London to Dover (84 miles).  Swim from Dover to Calais (see above).  Bike Calais to Paris (184 miles).  Do it in 7 days, including the time you get stuck in Dover waiting for your chance to swim the Channel.  I think that’s enough said.

Climb Mount Everest:  70 days.  Hypothermia.  Frost bite.  High Altitude Pulmonary Adema.  High Altitude Cerebral Adema.  Avalanches.  Ice climbing.  Intestinal infections.  Sudden storms.  Fierce winds.  Supplemental oxygen.  Air so thin at Base Camp that you’d pass out if you were helicoptered in from sea level.

Hot off the press!  In today’s Orange County Register, an article appeared in the Sports Section entitled “Family Talent Pool Runs Deep,” written by David Whiting.  It talks about my English Channel training and long term goals.  Even cooler, though, it highlights my amazing family, all athletes who love the water, with huge work ethics and killer smiles.  I think it really illustrates how important these people are to me, and how much they are a part of who I am and what I am doing.  I’ve said it before, but I’m so lucky to be surrounded by these energetic, enthusiastic people who inspire me every day.  Without them, I’d never be able to even think about doing this!

You can see the online version of the article, as well as a photo gallery, here.

Ever wish you could custom design your own energy bar?  With all the stuff you like, and without all the stuff you don’t?

Personally, I’m a huge fan of Clif Bar – Maple Nut and Oatmeal Raisin taste like breakfast in the snowy woods of Minnesota (or at least what I’d imagine that’s like, having never been in the snowy woods or Minnesota), while a Chocolate Chip left in the glove compartment to melt all day tastes like cookie dough.  Still, maybe you wish energy bars had less fat, more protein, and better taste, all at the same time.

Tada! Say hello to  YouBar!  YouBar is a web-based company that lets you customize your own energy bar.  You get to choose from 7 bases, 4 types of protein, 14 types of nuts, 12 types of dried fruits/berries, 3 sweetners, 9 seasonings, 4 grain mixes, and 4 infusions.

Whew!  I hope you’re feeling creative!  Plus you get to watch the nutrition contents of your bar-in-progress change as you add your ingredients, keeping tabs on fat, protein, carbs, calories, vitamins, etc as you go.

Check it out here.  And if your creativity stores aren’t sapped by the time you’ve finished designing your new bar,  there are also shakes and trail mixes to customize to your heart’s content.