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!

I hope you all had an awesome 4th of July!  I had a fabulous day, and it kicked off with a Dolphin Club swim from Fort Point back the the Dolphin Club.  It’s about a 3.5 mile swim, and we timed it to ride the flood, getting a nice push.  Having not been to the bay in weeks, you can imagine how much I looked forward to this swim!

We boarded the Lovely Martha, a fishing vessel, and sped out to the Golden Gate Bridge as the sun was rising.  We met up with the pilots on the ocean side of the Bridge, climbed over the side, and took the plunge.  It was super wavy going under the bridge, which is understandable given how much water has to move through such a narrow space.  But I love swimming through swells, and the water was warm, and best of all – I had people swimming with me!

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Mike Chase, Suzanne Heim, and I formed a pack, and we stayed together all the way back to the Club.  Used to the tedium of swimming alone, it was an absolute joy to have Mike and Suzanne to swimming next to me.   I welcomed the feeling of camaraderie, and they pushed me to go faster, even when I felt tired.  We flew along with the current, finishing the swim in less than an hour.

I felt GREAT!  And my shoulder held up better than I’d hoped.  And the breakfast our fellow DC members prepared for us was delicious!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a wonderful experience – the swimmers, the pilots, the timers, the cooks, the artists, the photographers, the people who wrote numbers on my arm…. Fireworks don’t even come close.

3 Hour Swim Course

Well, the swims continue to increase in duration!  On Saturday, I did a 3 hour swim out in the San Francisco Bay.  The course, above, was designed by Reuben, my wonderful pilot and SF Bay guru.  I went against the current for most of it, then flew back with the current at the end.  It was very similar to my 2 hour a few weeks ago, only this time I nearly made it to the Golden Gate Bridge.  Which is actually a little scary at 11am on a Saturday, given that boat traffic picks up considerably.  Still, I had Reuben to guide me and Neal to time and feed me, so I was well taken-care-of.

Unlike my 2 hour swim, I followed orders and ate (1 GU) and drank (250-300mL of GU2O or jasmine tea with sugar – delicious!) every half hour.   It made a huge difference!  The water was still quite cold (55-56 degrees), but I stayed relatively comfortable and my body felt fine at the end as far as fatigue goes.  I really felt like I could have swum for hours more.  Amazing what nutrition will do for you.  I’m still having hip flexor issues – they were burning like crazy at the conclusion of 3 hours.  Duke, a Channel swimmer at the Dolphin Club, recommended I curl up in a ball for a quick second at every feeding to help this and to prevent my back from getting too stiff.  I think I”ll try that next time.

I started cruising a bit too much during the last hour – my stroke rate noticeably declined.  Another thing I’m going to start doing is to record my CPM (cycles per minute) every hour, and focus on keeping it consistent for the duration of the swim.  All in all, though, this 3 hour went very well.

Next on the list:  4 hours at the end of May.  Woohoo!

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This week marked the first of my long training swims, which in a way is kind of funny: 2 hours is going to seem like child’s play come August! Still, the water is a heck of a lot colder now than it will be in 4 months, and seeing as how all week it was 52 degrees or below, I was understandably nervous. Thankfully, San Francisco Bay decided to have pity on me and warmed up a whole 2 degrees! Yay!

Luckily, it was a beautiful, sunny day, and I loved getting to swim out of the cove and explore the Bay a little. My pilots timed it so I got to ride the flood current back to the Dolphin Club, so I felt like I was flying! Which is always nice when your hands are paralyzed in a funky sort of claw, and you would otherwise believe they couldn’t pull you anywhere. (That’s from the cold, by the way…normally my hands are quite nice actually).

I was colder by the end than I’ve ever been in my life while swimming, but hey, that was also longer than I’ve ever been in water so cold.  2 hours: check!

Next for May: 3 hours in a few weeks and 4 hours at the end of the month. Stay tuned!

After celebrating Barack Obama’s victory, I spent last night bundled in sweats and blankets, my entire body shivering.  This can’t be from the swim..right? I thought.  Can’t be…I hope not…that could be bad…

I woke up at 6:30am, feeling like death.  My minor cold from last week had returned with a vengeance, complete with a mild fever, ginormously swollen glands, and mega chills.  I really, really, REALLY did NOT want to go back to the icy waters of Aquatic Park.  However, I knew I had to – it hadn’t been the best experience last night, and I could feel apprehension and doubt creeping up on me.  I didn’t want that to be the memory of ocean swimming I had festering in my mind.  I figured I could rest tomorrow.

Aquatic Park was stunning as we pulled up at 7am.  The sunrise glittered off of the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, and the water, where not enveloped in shadow, glowed a sapphire blue.  Despite the relatively early hour, the cove was busy, with Dolphin Club and South End Club members entering and exiting the water continuously.  I looked on as my friends set off on their swim, dodging the small waves shooting fridgid water to meet my toes.

Ten minutes later, I was still standing on the beach, trying to bring my rebellious, sick body to just go. Honestly, entering the water is the absolute worst part of the entire experience – once you’re in, it really isn’t so bad.  The issue was that I just kept thinking of how cold I was last night…and my legs simply refused to move me forward.

An elderly gentleman probably 50 years my senior came up alongside me, adjusting large goggles over his eyes  “This is the tought part, eh?” He asked, grinning hugely as he faced the cove.  With that, with not a single hesitation, he trotted forward and plopped himself into the sea.

“Okay, seriously Laurin,” I thought to myself, “if this dude can do it, you need to get your butt moving!  Here you stand, you, the kid, stuck here like a beached whale.  This is getting to be SO embarrassing!”  Shaking my head in disgust, I took a deep breath, circled my arms, and ran in.

It actually felt slightly warmer, and with the sunrise, the atmosphere of the cove was totally different from the eerie spookiness of last night.  A myriad of colors gleamed before my eyes; the blue of the sky, the greens, reds, and yellows of the boats, the gold of the sun across the water.  Even the pilings of the breakwater seemed to glow.  My arms pulled me past floating sea gulls as I made my way around the cove, my legs kicking steadily behind me.  Though I felt weak and tired, I seemed to glide over the surface, and with each stroke, I remembered why I love to swim in the ocean.

When I got out after 2 miles, I could tell my body was displeased with me.  I need some serious sleep and rest, and from a medical standpoint, swimming this morning was probably unwise.  However, I’m glad I did: I now have this sun-kissed morning to recall.

Time to focus on getting healthy!