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Come join me at my new site for my new running and swimming adventures.

So this past 6 weeks I haven’t been laying low.  I’ve started to make good on my promise to run a 5K with my friends.  Jane has me on a running program that started at the beginning of October.  Here is the program (complete these cycles 3x per week):

• Week 1 – 20 minutes of aggressive walking
• Week 2 – 4x (1 minute running and 4 minutes of walking)
• Week 3 – 4x (1.5 minutes running and 3.5 minutes of walking)
• Week 4 – 4x (2 minutes running and 3 minutes of walking)
• Week 5 – 4x (2.5 minutes running and 2.5 minutes of walking)
• Week 6 – 4x (3 minutes running and 2 minutes of walking)
• Week 7 – 4x (3.5 minutes running and 1.5 minutes of walking)
• Week 8 – 4x (4 minutes running and 1 minute of walking)
• Week 9 – 4x (4.5 minutes running and 30 seconds of walking)
• Week 10 – 20 minutes of straight running

Hopefully at the end of this, I’ll be able to successfully run a 5K on New Year’s Eve at midnight.  There is a 5K through Portland that evening.  I figure that is a good way to bring in the new year.   I’m currently struggling through Week 6.  The running is actually going OK, but I don’t think my bum has hurt this much in a very long time.

In addition to running, I’ve been doing Pilates to strengthen my core muscles and 1.5 hours of physical therapy on my shoulders 3 times a week.  So you can see I’m still very busy and trying to stay in shape.

I was speaking with Michael Read from the CSA, Ltd.  to determine when my vellum would arrive.  According to him it is in the mail, I hope to share a photo of it when it comes.  He also informed me that I was the fastest American swimmer for the CSA, Ltd and because of this my name has been added to the Robert Lyle trophy.    Between the two organizations, the CSA Ltd and CS&PF, I was the second fastest American and 5th fastest swimmer of the year.  Lynne Smith of Austin Texas was the fastest American at 9 hours 50 minutes for the CS&PF.  

During this whole process, I was overwhelmed by the support of friends, family and fellow swimmers.  At first this was a solo journey, and I learned from your comments that many of you joined me.  I surrendered to your kindness and love, and it was good.  I was even more taken aback when people started offering monetary donations.  I decided that if people were willing to put money towards my dream, I should use some of it and give some to others. In that way others’ dreams might be realized.  

Since breast cancer has been prevalent in my family and among my friends, it was the natural place to put additional monetary resources.  I also had worked as a lab care technician at the University of Minnesota towards a breast cancer cure before my IT life.  It was a cause that was near and dear to me…wait it wasn’t dear to me, it upset me and I wanted to do something to help fight the damn disease.   After a particular late August (August 23 to be exact) conversation with my mother,  I am fighting even harder.    

Two weeks before I left for England, my parents who live in Minnesota came to Portland to help me with my split Channel training.   They needed to learn how to make my food and I needed company on two very, very long days of training.  My mom came out early to help me with some incidentals like cleaning my house and making dinner.  I was living in a mess and eating boxed mac’ n cheese.  (Note:  This is not the ideal training diet).  One evening I was working particularly late and my mom kept pestering me to have a talk.  I thought the talk was going to be about what was for dinner or the weekend training schedule. I had not thought about either and only wanted to lounge in my chair and not think.  I finally finished my work, collapsed in my chair and surrendered to the ”what’s for dinner?” talk.    And, Mom began talking softly:

Mom – “I have something to tell you.”

Me (thinking internally) – Odd way to start a dinner conversation.

Mom – “I went to the doctor last week.”

Me (still thinking internally) – What does this have to do with dinner?

Mom – “They ran some tests on a lump. I have breast cancer.  It will be OK Michelle.  It will be OK.”

Me (still confused about the ‘what’s for dinner conversation’) – “Excuse me?”

Mom – “I have cancer.”

Me…well basically there isn’t much to say I felt the jolt and I turned into a big puddle.  I was upset and angry and so very sad.  Mom’s aren’t supposed to get sick.  They are supposed to hold you when you cry; help you when you are sick; and, tell you they love you when you are being ugly and nasty, even after you have long since moved away.  They are the MOMs.  That’s their job!  I know it must have just killed my mom to tell my brother, sister and me that she was sick.   I know that she even debated about whether to tell me before the swim as I was soon to leave for England.  She didn’t want me to concentrate on her illness when I had to focus on the mental challenge of the Channel. 

    
I’m glad she told me as swimming is my way of dealing with issues.  And heck, I was going to have plenty of time to battle not only the Channel, but also my mom’s news.  As you all know, the Channel swim went very well and my crew did well too.  Mom is strong and determined.

Since returning from England, I’ve been researching breast cancer foundations.  There are many with some being very large.  However, I knew that I wanted the money to go to a smaller organization that focused on breast cancer research.  Turns out I didn’t have to look very far.  My old employer the University of Minnesota Cancer Center is just that place.  I knew from working there that they were respected in the research community.  They are one of 39 research facilities recognized by the National Cancer Institute.  I knew first hand that they respected and treated their patients as individuals.   Besides now my mom was one of their patients. 

Of the $2000.00 raised from your donations for my swim, I have donated $1250.00 to the University of Minnesota Cancer Center to be earmarked for breast cancer research.   With the my company match, the center will receive a total $2500.00 for research.  The remainder of your generous donations were used to cover some of the the costs of my crew during the England stay.  

Thank you to everyone for your donations.  With your help, we will make a difference. 

For more information about the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, please visit their website http://www.cancer.umn.edu/.

P.S.  My mom’s prognosis is very good.  She has a great doctor and a great attitude.  I believe that she will make good on her promise to alternately make my life miserable and hold me for a very long time…something that I’m looking forward to every minute. 

PS.  I have more misc. photos that I will be posting the beginning of November as I don’t have any more room on Flickr.

Oh I almost forgot I promised some of my good friends that I would participate in their sport of choice…running.  I think they caught me at a weak moment when I was delirious with hypothermia because I promised I would run in a 5K with them.  Now I know to most people a 5K run isn’t really that far, but for someone who doesn’t even run when chased…this might as well be a marathon.  For some reason I think that this could be as challenging as training for the Channel.  I can mentally swim through the pain barrier, but with running it isn’t the same.  I would rather stop than continue running.  These updates of my run training could be even more entertaining than my swim training.

PS. Still working on the photos from the swim.

For those who want the long version in the same evening dress read on.  And yes I do cut off the orchestra many times to get every word in.

First I want to thank my sponsors:

• Synthetic Kit
• Sports Quest Direct
• Nike Swim
• Clif Bar

To Jeremy who asked the initial question “What would you do if you had all the time in the world?” and directing me to the book Now Opportunity Wasted by Phil Koeghan.

To Bob Pearson for guiding me in my initial research of my dream and directing me to an incredible boat captain and crew.     

Thank you to my friends who initial kept the secret and then convinced me to come clean.  I could have never imagined the level of support, excitement, and love that everyone wished to provide.

Thank you to my fellow swimming friends new and old.  You trained with me, helped me through the times of worries, shared the secrets of the Channel, etc.  Some of you I have never met, but you have enriched my swimming experience by just playing a part. 

To my friends that sacrificed their weekends to help me train either by sitting on the beach, kayaking beside me, teaching me about new swimming holes and helping me stay focused during the long training sessions.

To the local park staff and sheriff’s office who granted me permission to do night swims on Hagg Lake even if they didn’t fully understand the reasons. 

To Jon Clark for coaching me through the training program. 

To Michelle, Cathy, Andrew, Jennifer, Dr. Greenleaf and Dr. Kort – Without you I would have had constant headaches, shoulder aches, etc.   You helped to keep my body working towards my ultimate goal of landing in France. 

To Freda and Cliff who welcomed me to the swimmers beach and explained the ropes of swimming in Dover Harbor.

To the Dover Harbor swimmers for keeping me company, watching my stuff on the beach and for rescuing my shoes when I mistook the direction of the tide.  Paul, thank you for swimming with me to the pier.  I look forward to another lap sometime.

To Martin, Sonia, Jade and Kelsey – Thank you for opening up your home to me and my crew.  You helped me remain calm during the waiting period and also provided tons of advice as to the places to see in Kent. 

To Reg, Ray and Mikey – I couldn’t have asked for a better boat crew and CSA observer. 

To Mom, Dad, Jane and Leroy – for being my support crew during the swim.  You made sure I was safe, fed and that messages were passed through when I really needed it. 

And lastly to everyone that followed me on my dream.  We did it!

After the swim I was pretty dang excited and proud of myself.  I kept thinking “That wasn’t so bad.” (Make sure to put the verbal inflection on SO.  It was tough and had its bad moments so don’t mistake me)  Oh but those thoughts were so premature.  I decided before going to sleep that I should take a few more Advil and an additional pain pill.  Little did I know that these would do nothing.  I slept terribly.  Every bone, muscle and I believe even hair follicle was screaming out in agony.   I spent most of the night praying that the pain would cease.  No such luck, there was no position to lay in where my shoulders didn’t hurt.  Morning soon came and I could end the game of pretending to sleep.

Our first stop was to a breakfast joint to eat our weight in breakfast goodies.  Then it was down to the swimmers beach to say hello to any of the remaining swimmers.  I was able to see Freda and Cliff.  I wasn’t even sure that they had heard about my swim until I saw them walking up with big smiles on their faces.  Freda told me to go get on my swimming cossie and loosen up.  I tried to explain that I couldn’t lift my left arm and for once I wasn’t going to get in.  (Note:  She was probably right about the loosening up, but I was stubborn.)  Turns out I had a successful swim on the General’s birthday.  That has to be a good omen, doesn’t it.

Then I dragged my Mom, Dad, and Jane over to France.  Where we were promptly charged too much in the taxi to get to Wissant.  Oh well, thankfully I had Euros left over from 3 years before when I was working in England and traveling around Europe.  The winds were really crazy today and the beach was full of windsurfers, kite surfers, wind go-carts, kites, etc.  Anything wind propelled was there that day.  Unfortunately I didn’t land by Wissant.  I landed 1/2 mile from Cap Gris Nez.  However, at the time I didn’t know that these were like 3-5 miles apart along the beach.  I wouldn’t allow us to pop the champagne until we reach the exact spot where I landed.  Had I been smarter or spoke any bit of French I would have had the taxi take us to Cap Gris Nez.  After a very long walk, which wasn’t well received by my crew, we finally found the spot.  (Note to other swimmers:  Your crew get pretty banged up on the boat as they learn to get their sea legs.  They get bounced around quite a bit on the boat.  They get the bruises that you don’t get in the swim).  The champagne was popped and sipped by all.  It was really too bad that none of us really like champagne.  Then we completed the walk to Cap Gris Nez to again catch an overpriced taxi back to the ferry terminal.  Finding a taxi in a town that was closed down is a whole different adventure story! 

On Monday we began the long process of packing up our bags.  Once this was completed, I headed into town to get some flowers and lager for Reg.  The lager was for Reg and the flowers were for his wife Michelle who helped me through out the year with my questions.  We met up with Reg, Ray and Mikey down at the Jetty pub to review my swim.  Turns out I took a pretty straight path across the Channel.  Usually a swimmer’s chart looks like an “S”, but mine was pretty much point to point.  It was here that I learned about the large jellyfish that I almost jumped on from the start.  I also got a chance to see the relaxed joking side of the crew as Reg and Ray were all business on the boat. 

After receiving my chart, we were off to the White Horse pub.  Years ago a tradition was started where successful Channel swimmers signed the walls of the pub.  You have no idea how bad I wanted to sign these walls.  I walked in order my pint of cider and said “I get to sign one of these”  I was promptly handed a pen.  After signing, I had the opportunity to walk around and see all the other signatures of swimmers I knew of, swimmers I had met, etc.  It was amazing.   

After this we were back to the Sandown Guest house to say our good-byes and work our way up to London to visit with my aunt, uncle and cousin.  As soon as we left Dover, my time as persona numero uno ended.  It was now time for me to do whatever my parents and Jane wanted to do in London.  We did the following:

• took a bus tour
• took a boat tour
• saw Spamalot
• Saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace, which was weird as one of the bands did a montage of ABBA songs.  We began to wonder if they were getting paid to advertise for Mama Mia.
• went to Greenwich where time as we know it today began
• Shopped at Niketown.  Jane and I had to see how it was in London. 
• Look kids Big Ben, Parliament
• Chinese dinner with Leroy, Jane and family. 
• Toured St. Paul’s Cathedral
• Went to the Photography Museum
• Toured the US Embassy.  This is where my aunt and uncle work the lucky ducks.

Basically we walked my legs off, which was sad as they were the only part of me that didn’t hurt after the swim.  The crew took care of that for me though

Even though it was a whirlwind tour of London, it was a fabulous time.  I think we all got to unwind from the stress of the swim.  Plus it was great to see both my extended family and Leroy after not seeing them for quite a few years.  And I’m sure my legs will forgive me in the next few days or so. 

Note: Still working on the photos.  I hopefully will have the chance to post some this weekend.

As promised, here is my account of the swim as I remember it.  I know a lot of people mention that they remember every nuance of the swim.  Unfortunately there are phases of the swim that are a fog for me.  I’m sure with time and some settling the fog will burn off and I will see things more clearly.    

Friday night I ate my weight in pasta with red sauce, rashers and mushrooms.  I thought that I was going to explode or at least sink when I entered the water the next morning.  My crew just kept ensuring that I wouldn’t and that I would need the energy.  Then it was a normal night, I read my book and went to bed.  Surprisingly my nerves were not getting the best of me.  I know that I was more quiet than normal with the weight of the task at hand.  I guess in some way I always thought of me swimming the Channel as a job that I must accomplish.  The crew had their job of monitoring and feeding me.  Reg and Ray had their job of guiding me across the Channel and keeping me safe.  And the CSA observer had the job of making sure that I followed every rule and regulation.  My job was to swim the best that I could.

Saturday morning we drove down to Folkestone Harbor to meet with Reg and Ray.  After parking, we quickly met Mikey the CSA observer assigned for the swim.   He was a very jovial fellow who was quick with a joke and a laugh.  I remember one of his first questions being “Is this a drunken bet or a lifelong dream?”  I can’t imagine taking on the Channel after a drunken night bet.   I think even then most people would be lucid enough to say “Are you nuts?”  Nope I explained that I was completely sober when the decision was made and still completely nuts!

We took off from Folkestone around 7am just as the sun was beginning to rise.  It was a beautiful sunrise and I was hoping that it was a prediction of the weather to come.  I asked if I should start getting ready.  Again Mikey came back with a quip “You have 20 minutes.  It all depends on how long it takes for you to get ready.  You know the reason that women live longer than men?  It takes them longer to get ready!”   Hmm…this was going to be an interesting swim.  Even with 20 minutes, I decided to get ready.  I got on my cap and had Jane begin the process of lubing me up.  I received the thickest layer of rashguard that I had ever used.  I know Jane was making sure that I was completely covered to prevent any pain from chaffing.

At 7:30ish am we arrived at the take off point of Samphire Hoe.  Since I was ready and everyone else was ready, we decided to get the swim underway.  Now I know that my aunt, uncle, cousin and Martin Sandham were coming to see me off, but I couldn’t wait for them to arrive on the beach.  I was ready to go and like I said I had a job to do and it was time for me to get started.  While I was perched on the side of the boat, I realized that I had my goggles on my head.  I quickly removed them to hang on as I have read plenty of stories where the swim began with the swimmer losing their goggles first thing from jumping off the boat.  I guess during this time that I was removing my goggles, Ray had Reg rev the engine.  Apparently there was an extremely large jellyfish that I would have jump onto.  As Ray stated “It had tentacles reaching back to Dover”  Thankfully I didn’t see this jellyfish and I didn’t get a personal introduction.  The jellyfish were a main concern as I haven’t been properly stung and wasn’t sure just how I would have reacted.  After I was in Ray used the anchor to move the jellyfish out of the way so I wouldn’t proceed to swim back into it.  

I began my swim into Samphire Hoe.  As soon as I arrived on the rocky beach, I made sure my toes were out of the water and I turned back to the boat.  I remember just waiting for the horn signalling the start of the swim.  I didn’t wave or do a little dance I just began my part of the job…swimming.  On the horizon at the start we could see at least 4 other boats that were escorting swimmers (Note: I was eventually told that there were 9 boats out that day with swimmers per Mikey).  My mom’s first note on the white board was Living the Dream.  This promptly put a song in my head with the word Dreaming/Dream.  Even now I can’t remember the song.  I have eliminated some possibilities. It wasn’t the following:

• In my dreams
• Dream a little dream of me
• California Dreamin’ – The Mamas & The Papas
• Dreaming of me – Depeche Mode
• Dream Weaver – Gary Wright
• The Impossible Dream

However, I still can’t remember it, but then again I don’t really know if the title of the song includes the dream line that was repeating through my head. .  After approximately 11 minutes into the swim, I had my first yelling at the crew.  My mom had the white board held up and I kept thinking that there was something for me to read, but there wasn’t.  Yet I still kept looking at it.  I finally yelled during breathing “PUT THE WHITE BOARD DOWN!”  It was harsh and I know this, but it was frustrating as I was altering my stroke to read absolutely nothing on the board. 

The first hour into swimming and I felt really good.  The sun was further up in the sky and I was beginning to feel the warmth it was providing.  I had seen some jellyfish, but they were way beneath me and I figured that Reg was true to his word; I wouldn’t be stung during the swim.   The first feeding went quickly and was purely liquid.   I made sure that Jane told Mikey the grasshopper joke as this provided me with endless chuckles throughout the week (Thanks Barb!).  (Note:  Apparently it didn’t translate well as the English don’t have a drink called the grasshopper. Oh well.)

The second hour came and went with me still singing the now elusive Dream song.  My mom had put the IZ song Somewhere over the Rainbow on the white board, but this did nothing to knock out the Dream song.  I thought I’m going to tell them the song at the next feeding, but I never did.  Unfortunately in the second hour, I took an odd stroke and my neck popped.  I promptly started getting a headache.  Of all the times for me to tweak my neck.  Fortunately it wasn’t my atlas going out.  However, it was still causing a headache.  This made me a tad more than crabby especially since I was coming up to my dreaded 3rd hour.  The hour from hell for me regardless of what swim I’m doing.  At the second feeding, I asked for Advil due to my headache.  That and I remembered that I had forgotten to take some at the beginning.  (Note: I wasn’t to have Advil until the 3rd hour and then in 4 hour increments afterwards).  About the time that the headache started, the dream song evaporated. 

Now my mantra in my head was “Ignore the headache.  It will go away”.  This was also followed by my traditional “1-2-3-breathe. 1-2-3-breathe.”  The next feeding came much sooner than I expected and I was ecstatic as I figured I was through my dreaded hour.  No such luck, when I asked if it had already been an hour I received the reply that it had only been 30 minutes.  They had decided to get the Advil in as soon as possible.  I was thankful and disappointed.  That meant I had 30 minutes left of mental wrestling.  I believe that it was in this last 30 minutes that Mom wrote the movie Billy Elliot.  I began to hum the song where he is dancing through the streets, Town Called Malice by The Jam.  This lead me through the next 30 minutes.

The feedings were now coming at 30 minute intervals and always included a liquid mixture with the option of some solids, either peaches or Clif Shot Bloks.  Now my thoughts turned to getting from feed to feed.  I was starting to chant 25, 25, 25, breathe, 25, 25, 25, breathe.  25 stood for 2.5 hours and I knew at the next feeding it could change to 30, 30, 30, breathe, 30, 30, 30 breathe.  My goal was to make it through until I was chanting 50.  At this point, I knew that my remaining time would be in the single digits…9 hours, as long as I was on schedule. 

Hours 4-8 are pretty much where the fog starts to occur.  I know that I was counting jellyfish.  I saw 8 and had a 2 close encounters when I stopped counting.  I poked one of them.  Luckily on the top and wasn’t stung and I swerved around another one.  It was a close call if I do say so myself.  I asked during feedings if I was on track for time and received a yes you’re doing great keep it up.  From the white board I remember seeing the following comments:

• Just keep swimming.
• Comfortably Numb
• Thumbs up!
• You’re faster than me – there was a fish accompanying this one.
• Anyone for Frogger
• Stroke rate 64-66
• Another one bites the dust

Apparently, the last comment was in regards to me passing the other swimmers that were out that day.  During one feeding, I received a comment “You are just about to pass another one”.  At this time, I wasn’t really concerned about other swimmers.  All of the swimmers out there were giving their personal best and each of us was on our own journey.  We each were experiencing different pains, different waves, different mental struggles and different paths.  Even though there were 9 of us out there (including relays), we might as well have all been in different waters as the Channel doesn’t treat any swimmer the same.  It wasn’t a race, we all just wanted to finish.  During these hours, my left shoulder went from hurting to shifting over to my right shoulder.  I really only remember my right shoulder having the pain though as that was how I relayed the information back to Jane on the boat. 

It was during the 5th hour that I became aware that I may swim faster than expected.  I thought I was halfway, but was told that I wasn’t.  This was pretty disheartening since I was told I was on track for time.  At the next feeding, I turned to Ray who was on deck and asked “Am I really not halfway yet?”  I was whining and knew it, but I so needed to hear that I was over halfway as I knew I had already made it through the first shipping lane.  Ray looked at me and thankfully said “You are over halfway love”  OH JOY OF JOYS!!!!

It was around this time that the winds began to pick up.  They were coming from the SW and were doing exactly what I hated…bouncing off my head.  But I knew that this was part of the job and I had to swim through it.  Reg did an excellent job of positioning the boat so that it cut down on the waves and wind that I had to contend with.  For this I’m eternally grateful.  And thankfully the wind gods decided after 2 hours that they were tired and abated.  I was back to swimming in relatively calm seas with rolling swells, which makes for a pretty enjoyable swim.

Between hours 6 and 7, I had a small detour during the swim.  We had apparently reached the other shipping lane and a tanker was not responding to calls.  We were heading into it’s path or it was heading into ours.  I don’t exactly know who has the right of way.  In my mind, BIG tanker wins.  Apparently Reg tried to radio the tanker and Ray set of flares, but they weren’t receiving any response.  This required us to do a large circle.  We turned back towards England and then circled back towards France.  All the while I was in the middle of the large circle.  Reg was trying to protect me from the waves and the wake.   We successfully avoided the tanker and got some pretty good pictures of it as well.  The swim was back on course.

At my 8 hour feeding, I finally asked how far away was France.   I received the response 3.5 miles.  And then Mikey said “Look it is right there”.  OH CRAP!  I had been doing my best to avoid looking at the French coastline as I didn’t want to experience the mental challenge of seeing it for the next 6+ hours and not getting any closer.  I’m sure that my mom, dad and Jane all wanted to slap Mikey as they knew I didn’t want to look.  My response “Now I just need to get there”.  Jane replied “You’ll get there.  OK this is the hard part Kiddo.  You are tired, you hurt and this is the tough part.  Just keep with Reg and you’ll get there.  He wants you close because of the tides.”  I put my head down and the mantra soon became “Keep with Reg” breathe “Keep with Reg” breathe.  It was also at this time that I began to sprint.  My stroke rate jumped to 68 per minute and held steady.  I knew that this was where I had to power through the tide that was pushing me away from the beaches of France.  After 30 minutes, I received the response that I was doing well and to keep it up.  Again I was back to sprinting and my mantra.  It was also at this time that I received tons of feedback on the white board from all of your comments on the blog.  The comments were coming so fast that my mom actually couldn’t keep up and I couldn’t read them fast enough.  One hour of sprinting had passed and I was hitting the wall.  I couldn’t keep up anymore.  I had started to trail behind the left corner of the boat into the sunshine.  (Note:  I knew when I was next to Reg and the boat when I was in the shadow of the boat.  When I was in the sunshine I knew I was trailing behind or drifting too far away).  It was at this point that I lost it.  Nobody was at the back of the boat where I could see them.  I had been sprinting for what seemed like forever.  I was no longer seeing the comments and I was starting to falter badly.  I only had the energy for one shout “I’M DYING!!!!”  After yelling, I quickly saw Mikey run into the wheel house.  And then I felt bad.  I wasn’t dying, but I couldn’t keep up and I was struggling.  I had a brief thought that I they were going to touch me ending the swim.  In actuality, Mikey ran back to the wheel house to have Reg cut the engine as when I yelled I completely stopped swimming and they were concerned about the engines.   Jane quickly came back and yelled “5 more minutes until a feeding”  In my mind I thought “OK 5 more minutes of sprinting and then we need to talk”.  Off I began to swim again.

At this feeding the conversation went something like this:

Jane -”You’re golden.  1 mile to go”

Me – “Really one mile?”

Jane – “Yes, one mile.”

Me – “Can I stop sprinting now?”

Jane – “Oops, yeah you can stop sprinting”

Me – “OK, one mile”

I returned to my stroke rate of 64-65 and I stopped powering through as hard.  I began to relax.  The messages on the white board kept coming and some of them were making me cry.  I knew that I was going to do it.  And it was only 1 mile.  I had done plenty of those in competition, what was one more.  I began to see Ray getting the dingy ready to guide me in.  I saw my parents in the floral swim caps.  And then I saw the perfect sign…Jane flashing me her wetsuit.  I knew then that I was close.  Jane was only going to show the wetsuit when it was a sure thing.  I stopped for one last conversation.   Jane could get in and swim in with me the last bit, but we needed to stay together.  She was concerned that she would slow me down.  And as much as I wanted Jane standing on the French beach with me, I knew I just wanted to finish.  As I began to swim away from the boat with Ray guiding me in the dingy, I really knew that this was it.  I had accomplished my goal.  My dream was coming true.  I began to see the ripples of the sand beneath me and then I began to feel it beneath my hands and feet.  In true open water swimming style, I waited until I was grabbing and pulling myself along the bottom before I stood up.  I grabbed a small shell in the process.  Then I stood up and started to run!  YES RUN!  I was going to finish this thing in style.  I ran all the way in laughing, crying and laughing some more.  I was running as fast as I could towards the beach and the French people on the beach.  I began to also think I better run faster so they don’t touch me before I exit the water.  They were clapping the whole time.  Once my toes passed the water, I turned and waved to the boat and then I heard the most beautiful sound…the boat horn.

I know you’ve heard that you can only be on French soil for about 5 minutes before being considered illegally entering the country.  I didn’t time myself once reaching France, but I was eager to get back to the boat to the people who helped make it a success.  The French people asked where I came from and said congratulations.  I said thanks and “I’ve got to go”  I swam back to Ray and hopped into the dingy.  Then we were back to the Viking Princess. 

There were hugs and congratulations all around.  I told Reg “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a 12 hour swim, but I hope a 10 hour one is all right”.  To Mikey, I said “We didn’t make it back for lunch, but we will make it back in time for the pub.”   I quickly shed my suit and cap for warmer clothes and went back on deck.  My mom gave me some seasickness pills and some Advil.    To everyone’s credit on the boat, none of them got sick…I did however.  All of the undigested liquids decided they had had enough and were coming out.  I was the only one to get sick on the boat (twice ).  We enjoyed a great boat ride back and a beautiful sunset to cap off the event.  

On a side note, I was the last swimmer in the water that day and the first swimmer out.  To my knowledge, all the swimmers and relays out that day were successful. 

Swimming Notes:

• Do hang onto your goggles when jumping off the boat as they will shoot off and be lost if you don’t.
• Do test your swim suit, but then make sure that you wash it well to get out all the sand.  I didn’t do this and the sand did cause some interesting rubbing.  Although I guess I could just consider it a cheap spa treatment.
• Do use a white board if the messages are short and very dark.  They can provide some much needed amusements.  However avoid long messages as they are very frustrating to try to read in the 3 seconds your face is out of the water.
• Do learn to bilateral breath.  It gives you flexibility on positioning with the boat.  Plus it keeps you evened out.
• Do grab anything (shell, rock, twig) that you can when you land in France.  Shove it in your suit so that it doesn’t get lost in transition.  That little pebble will represent something amazing forever. 
• I recommend 2 brands of products for skin protection. 
  • Headhunter Rashguard – I had absolutely no swimsuit chaffing when using this product.  Ok there was some chaffing due to the sand in my suit, but that was my own damn fault.  I had no neck, arm or groin chaffing where I used Headhunter rashguard.  Thank you to Anne Cleveland for recommending it.
  • Blue Lizard 30+ sunscreen -  This stuff just cakes on you and contains zinc oxide.  It withstood the long training sessions and helped to protect against skin damage.  Again no sunburn when I used this product.  I found if I applied before putting on swimsuit in morning (usually 30 min – 2 hrs before swim) and then applied another coat before swimming I was good to go. 
  • No I’m not currently sponsored by these products I just think that they are that good. 
• Do swim from feed to feed.  It mentally breaks down the swim into manageable parts.
• Do train in cold water.  Colder than you think you can stand.  After training in 50-52 degree water the 62-64 of the Channel felt like taking a luke warm bath.  Beautiful!
• Don’t look at France or England.  You can see both of them for a very long time without seeing much of a difference.  Put your head down and get on with the task at hand.
• Do share the experience with friends and family.  It just enriches the entire adventure.

PS. I’m still working on obtaining all the photos.  I will post these as soon as I can.

First, I know that I have been lax in updating my blog after the swim, but it has been a whirlwind.  Sunday I made Jane and my parents trek the entire French beach until we just found the exact spot I landed.  Only then could I pop the bottle of champagne, which we did and yes we took photos.  And Monday we met with the boat pilot and crew to review the swim and get my chart of the swim.  Again I pinched myself to make sure it was real.  Then it was off to the White Horse Pub in Dover to sign my name to the wall with all the other Channel swimmers (pinch).  Lastly on Monday we packed up all the gear and headed into London.  We will be spending the next week here on a whirlwind holiday.  It is now time for me to do whatever Jane and my parents would like to do, as they sacrificed so much for me in these past two weeks while in the UK.

Secondly,  thank you for all the support that you all have provided before, during and after the swim.  I have a hunch that I will be writing thank you notes for a while after I return to the States.  Your messages were passed along to me during the last 3.5 miles of the swim when things got really tough.  I couldn’t have done it without each of you.

Thirdly, I know that we all would like to see photos and have an update on an account of the swim.  I promise that I will do just this when I have the time to dedicate to it.  It will most likely be a week or so.

Last but not least, again thank you.  I am truly humbled by all the support.   Stay tuned for updates.