I had an awesome swim today! I decided last weekend that before setting off for England, I wanted to do one more longish swim in the Bay. When deciding a course, these were my requirements:

1. Must be something cool, preferably with a defined “start” and “end” point. Not just “I’m going to swim along the waterfront for X hours and then back X hours.” No no no. Needs to be something more inspiring than that.
2. Should be 2-3 hours long (since I’m going to be swimming 25 miles 6-12 days from now, I didn’t want to do anything too crazy).
3. Cold water required (not like I”d have a problem finding lots of cold water around here! I just had that in my head since Maui was so warm).

I checked the tide log on Thursday and got really excited. Between 8am and 1pm on Saturday, there was going to be a big flood! If I were to swim away from the Golden Gate Bridge and into the South Bay, I’d get a nice push the whole way.

Know what’s 10 miles along the water front to the south of the Dolphin Club? Candlestick Park, home of the 49′ers. I’d already been to AT&T park a couple of times, where the Giants play. Why not visit the stomping grounds of San Francisco’s other major sports team? This sounded perfect!

So at 9am this morning, I jumped into the water with Neal in a zodiac alongside me and set off toward Candlestick Park. The flood was really hauling – I was embarrassingly slow fighting it to get to the opening! But once I got outside the cove, I really started to fly. I decided, then, that I was going to scrap my original plan of mimicking my Channel feeding tactics. I was going to push the first 3 miles, feed, then abstain from GU or liquid for the rest of the swim. My thought was that by not feeding for 2 hours after swimming a pretty hard 3 miles, I’d get more tired faster. Sure, I’d break down a bit. But I have plenty of time to replenish, and I kind of wanted to feel the sensation of being hungry, tired, and sore and still force myself to swim hard. I figured it would reinforce my confidence in my mental toughness were I to feel like I’d been in the water longer than 3 hours by the end and still keep swimming fast.

(Frankly, it’s probably silly of me to feel the need to “test” myself. But I’ve always been like this, and if a confidence booster is what’s needed, then that’s what I’d go after.)

I hit the 3 mile mark in under 50 minutes! Swimming down that flood felt sooo good. I proceeded to annoy the heck out of Neal when I refused the next 4 feedings he desperately encouraged me to get down my throat – I hadn’t shared my little change of plans because, in all honesty, I knew I was being a tad bit crazy. “Act first, apologize later,” I thought to myself guiltily.

Sure enough, as I passed by really cool industrial scenery I’d never before seen, my arms started to tighten up, my stomach started to rumble, and my hip flexors knotted up painfully. Still, I kept my turnover stable and pulled hard, smiling reassuringly at Neal every now and then. I did pause to take a quick rest and stretch out my back and hips a couple of times, though.

Neal found us a nice stretch of beach to land on in Candlestick Park. I finished the 10 miles in just under 3 hours, and I was very happy. I wasn’t cold, I felt fine to keep going, and I was stoked to have done such a cool swim!

We motored back to the Club, stopping for lunch at a bayside restaurant on the way (I was starving). What a great way to spend my last weekend before Dover!

When you start to dabble in the stuff of adventure, you start to meet all kinds of interesting people.  Prior to getting involved yourself, you’d definitely say they were crazy.  Bonkers.  Missing a few marbles.  What kind of person actually derives pleasure in subjecting their body to extreme conditions, putting themselves through some masochistic test of the human ability to endure?

Answer?  All kinds.  Young, old, great athletes, average athletes, wealthy, not so wealthy…

There is a common feeling of camaraderie fostered in places like the Dolphin Club that can be summed up in the words of my dear friend Reuben Hechanova:  “We are all equal opportunity supporters of crazy people.”  It’s funny how we all seem eager to jump up and help our comrades fulfill their dreams of self-torture.  The South End Club is the same way.  When you’re in an environment like this, where people not only understand the extreme but encourage it, it’s weird how “crazy” quickly becomes “cool.”

You want to swim from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park in shackles?  Awesome!  I’ll pilot you!

You want to swim continuous trips around Alcatraz and back for 8 hours, dodging huge cargo ships in one of the busiest shipping channels over and over again?  Sweet!  Wish I’d thought of that.  Can I do one of the laps with you?

You want to swim the English Channel?  Go for it!  I’ll meet you here at 4am on a Saturday and we’ll do a 4 hour swim in the dark to get you ready.

You want to swim 40 miles in 3 days in 50 degree water in the middle of winter?  Great!  I’ll spend most of my Christmas vacation making you hot drinks to warm you up.

When you’re with people who “get it,” the impossible becomes possible, both because you alter your perspective AND because you discover a cult of people who actually want to get up early/freeze outside in the wind/swim beside you/fetch you food/sit in a row boat for hours/get wet/coach you through the lows/spend their entire day forgetting about their own comforts and goals all to help you.  They’ve been there, and they know what it’s like.  People were there for them.  Now you need them, and you know it…and there they are, supporting you every step, stroke, or pedal of the way.  It’s pretty rad.

Beware, though…once you take that first step into madness, once you feel the thrill of adventure, you open a Pandora’s Box of possibilities.  Without realizing it, you become one of the crazies.

And man, does it feel good.

Meet Bill Bradley, a gregarious, 40-something new member of the Dolphin Club who has a huge grin on his face at all times.

Even when his body is shaking with early-stage hypothermia after a 6 hour swim in the 60 degree waters of Aquatic Park.

For the second time in 6 days.

Bill is no stranger to physical anguish.  In fact, looking over his history (and his motto, the title of this post) you might start to question his sanity.  He started running marathons and competing in Ironmans in 1996.  Okay, both are pretty tough, but no biggie.  Lots of people do that sort of thing.  Start talking 100 mile ultramarathons and 500 mile bike races rent with hallucinations from sheer fatigue, though, and the population of willing participants drops off pretty quick.  Now move those ultramarathons to Alaska (towing a 40 pound sled) and Death Valley (where people run on the white lines in the road so their shoes don’t melt), and -

- You have GOT to be KIDDING me!!  (<– My reaction to discovering that people actually do this sort of thing).

PS.  He’s also done triple Ironmans (as in 3 times the distances of normal Ironmans).  Yeah.

Bill isn’t the fastest swimmer.  He hasn’t been swimming in cold water for the past year.  Or even the past 3 months.   But he says he wants to swim the English Channel, and dog-gone it, he’s gonna do it.  Whatever it takes. And with the way he’s attacking the Bay, my money’s on him to succeed.

Bill and I are on the same neap tide (September 24 through October 3), and we are both Position 2 with different pilots (so we’re likely to swim on the same day).  If you have a sec, take a look at his website and give him a shout-out – he’s a real swell guy!

This Sunday will be my longest training swim so far, 6 hours out in the San Francisco Bay.  Dolphin Club Rowing Commissioner and Pilot Extraordinaire Reuben Hechanova designed the course you see above.  We aim to start from the Dolphin Club at 7:30am, head around Alcatraz and Treasure Islands, under the Bay Bridge toward Candlestick park, and return to the Dolphin Club along the waterfront to wrap things up at 1:30pm.  At which point we will grab some yummy Ahi Tuna sandwiches at the conveniently located Blue Mermaid Restaurant.

I’m really excited because my family will be up again for the swim!  My dad, mom, and sister will be out on the water cheering me on, along with usual suspects Reuben and Neal, and with Dave Hollembaek captaining the Arias.  Here’s the breakdown:

Reuben, Neal, and Dad in one of the gorgeous DC rowboats.

Dave, Mom, and Karri in the Arias (zodiac).

I’m aiming to treat this swim exactly as I would the real Channel swim, from the feeding schedule, to the food, to the boat position, etc…maybe we’ll even throw in a few twists or two, like changing out goggles or something.  It will also be a chance for Mom and Karri to learn how to “feed me” in case they are called upon to perform this task in England.

I”ve been training really well all week.  This morning, I did 9k in the pool, then headed to the Bay for a 4 mile swim right after.  The water has been very warm (59-60 this morning) and I’ve been feeling strong.  My shoulder is still hanging in there, and my foot, I am happy to report, is still attached despite the pain in my ankle.  I’ll get in a good long training session on Friday, take Saturday completely off and cheer on in the Dolphin Club/South End Club Golden Gate Bridge swim, and be ready to bring it on Sunday morning!

Today was one of those rare days in San Francisco that was undeniably gorgeous. The sun was out in a perfectly blue sky. The air was warm, and there was zero wind. The water was flat and glassy, and best of all, warm!

Normally, when I roll into the Dolphin Club after morning workout in San Mateo, the sky is misty and grey, the air cold, the water colder. I’m always tired from the 8-10 grand I just finished in the pool, and exposing my body to the dreary cold is the last thing in the world I feel like doing.

Today, I was still pretty exhausted from practice, but it was so nice out that I couldn’t wait to get in! I swam hard, feeling fast and strong, for 2 miles, at which point my triceps rebelled. I seriously felt as though my arms were burning! Part of me wanted to stop, but the part that was revelling in the virtually never-before-seen conditions refused to get out. I got an additional 2 miles in before a little thing called “work” necessitated my aquatic exit.

If only it could be like this the day of my Channel swim!