What a day! What an Event!

What a day! We knew there were aggressive cut off times and that we would be close. And we were. We missed the last cut off by 6 minutes. After arriving at Two Harbors missing the cut off we were simply happy not disappointed. We officially DNF but to us, we did it. The remaining distance was a 2 mile run and a 1 mile swim. It was HARD and FUN at the same time. Genuinely fun because Catalina Island is beautiful and it was fun to do this crazy event. Fun because alternating running and swimming meant we had to constantly take in a new challenge each leg. Hard because each leg had some degree of difficulty. The start was a straight vertical uphill run while dodging cactus. Every single downhill was straight down on ruddy, baked mud or scree. The 3rd run was a 1.5 mile straight up hill run with 2,000 ft elevation gain. It was the ‘ red zone hill’. David McMurdie helped me up the hill with his hand on my back or by lifting me by my belt to lighten my steps. He worked hard helping me. My left quad throbbed at the top. With a 5 miles descent down double diamond difficulty sloped hills, we stopped to tie up my quad. The bike tire tube holding my pull buoy to my leg became my brace. Game changer. I went from being unsure how to keep going to being able to run again. We descended down to the western tip of the island to big dynamic waves and pounding shore break. We nailed the washing machine swim and crawled out laughing. Dave’s scuba and free diving experiences exiting gnarly water matched my mermaid experience. The Otillo team high fived us and congratulated us on our skillful swim. A spirit raiser for sure. We had minutes to spare to get to cut off #2. We had to RUN and run hard. We ran this leg tethered and I surrendered to just run and not think about anything. Dave got us to the CO #2 with a few minutes to spare. The rest of the event included long swims which allowed us to recover a bit. I led us through the gorgeous Catalina shoreline. It was very obvious why the shoreline is so popular for scuba divers. This part of the event was a race against the clock. We still needed to take a few minutes to ensure that we were fueled up. We stopped at the next energy station to be greeted with a huge bottle of honey! A couple of chocolate chip cookies with honey on top was divine 🙂 They fueled the longest swim. We crawled out of this swim to scamper up slippery, muddy trail to run 2 miles to the next swim which would take us to the final cut off. The photo is of Dave and I at the end of this swim running to the timing strip. The Otillo team greeted us and let us know we missed the cut off by 6 minutes.
Amazing day. The entire Otillo team and volunteers were fantastic. The field of incredible athletes who finished were from 17 countries. We were honored to be part of this event. I’m so grateful for Dave and the experience. We took care of each other and had fun too. I’d do it all over again.

Heading to the last cut-off

Train for the Worst and Hope for the Best

This may be the best advice for any endurance event since so many variables are out of anyone’s control. Hope is always a good thing but it’s grounding when up against things like Mother Nature or mechanical/equipment gremlins.  

It’s my nature to be hopeful and optimistic, some might say a bit too optimistic at times.  For Otillo, my crazy optimism kicked in when I heard about the event. Somehow, Dave got pulled into the gravitational force of this optimism and agreed to do it together as a team.

With Otillo in a few days, I’m realizing that I’ve experienced the ‘best’ already.  It’s been awesome to train with Dave especially while running. He always checks in during our runs. He reminds me to smile, adjust my technique and, occasionally, channels his best James Brown…..“I feel good”  “So good” “So good”.   Laughing, I reset and plod up the hills.  We trained A LOT and it never felt like drudgery.

I’m grateful for such a great partner.

No need to hope for the best.  It’s already happened. The only thing that can top it will be a hug at the finish.

#otillocatalina#wildswimming#montereybayswimmingassociation#thefitpotato#swimrun#openwaterswimming

Lessening the Tides of Grief

Its been just over a month since my sister Joy passed away.  I'm still dazed from the roller coaster of events that led up to her death. My resulting grief flows like the ebb and flood tides controlled by some force outside of myself.

Dave gently reminds me to lean on the tools from my marathon swims to get through the darkness and Im grateful that he does.  During the tough times on my swims, I think about what I'm grateful for and Dave is right about doing it now too. Its even more poignant since Joy was with us on my Loch Ness swim in which I needed to dig deep swimming so long in the cold water.

I miss Joy a lot especially over the holiday but the hole created is smaller because of her wonderful friends, my family, my own amazing friends and the compassionate people I met during her stay at the Winnie Palmer hospital in Orlando.   During her 3+ weeks, I was regularly prayed over and hugged by many people at the hospital and Joy was prayed for by so many strangers like the Starbucks barista. There is a long list of people who I'm grateful for their support including her Drs, ICU nurses and hospice team.  They made an awful situation tenable and led the way for navigating her end of life.

For me, this gratitude is what is filling the gap between low and high tide. This is my way of softening the blow.

In one of Joy's journals I found a list of 100 things that she was grateful for.  Her list included things large and small, family and friends to the early morning fall chill.  Joy walked through life observing everything and always giving to others.  Im grateful for her and all she did to look over me as a big sister.  I know that she is still looking over me and still helping others just in a different way.

Energy of Open Water Swimming

The most common conversation that I have around ultra marathon swimming is about what it takes to prepare and do a swim. I usually talk about basic things like training, calories, physical energy, and time.  It’s easy to focus on these things simply because they are measurable.

I was reminded today there is something far more important.  There is an energy of open water swimming, a bi-directional flow. For all that I put into swimming (what it takes and what I give), I receive 2X as much in return. Im not really energized by being lauded for hard work and a good swim. I am energized by being able to help kids in dire situations. I think other open water swimmers experience something similar and this stood out as I watched the newly released film about Kim Chambers.   

Her joy and passion are so evident but it’s the ability to inspire others to go after their dreams, overcome challenges and stare fear in its face that provides the return for her.  Kim’s swims took a lot but what they’ve given to her and to others is amazing.  The give pales in comparison to the receive.  Check out the film here.

It’s been 6 weeks since my Loch Ness swim and the swim continues to give back to me in so many profound ways and I’m forever grateful.

Seanachd + Tha e mu Thàmh

I often think of a swim in terms of challenges and potential issues that I'll have to navigate.  For Loch Ness, the list of challenges was pretty simple; cold water, very limited sunshine, fresh water (less buoyant means more work), and wind.  Like all ultra marathon swimmers, I do my best to prepare for the worst but still hope for the best in terms of conditions. I thought about the worst that could happen on Loch Ness but I was totally unprepared for the best.

I was stunned by the beauty and the feel of the loch. Ancient and peaceful are two words that might express some of the uniqueness and magic.

Ancient: seanachd (in Gaelic)

The loch looks and feels very old. This isn't just because there are not any modern high rises or clutter of buildings and homes. Rather it's a feeling as well as the wildness of the landscape.  During the swim, I thought about how ancient this land is.  It feels unhurried.   A lot has been witnessed by this land.  I thought a bit about  how much joy and suffering has happened there. Humanity has come a long way since the times of tribal warfare across Britain but there are still tribal wars happening in places like Afghanistan that represses people and causes so much suffering and despair. I loved the ancient feel of the loch but lamented that some places in the world have gone backwards in terms of opportunities for kids especially girls.

Peaceful: tha e mu thàmh (in Gaelic)

Loch Ness is incredibly tranquil. Laughter or chatter flow across the lake and break the velvety quiet. There is a deep softness and stillness on the lake. It feels like time slows down.  
You can't help but feel at peace at Loch Ness, even when swimming for 12 + hours.

Im very grateful for the opportunity to swim across the loch and to experience the beauty and majesty of the loch. This swim brought together so many wonderful people in my life and Im so happy to have the support from near and far. 

Here are the basic details from my swim on August 12th:

22 miles

Ft. Augustus to Lochend Beach

12 hours and 26 minutes

50 - 51 degrees fahrenheit/10 degrees celsius

1 castle

3 seasons in one day

2 hours of sunshine

No Nessie...sadly

Tapering Is Not Just for Athletes

Taper is usually a favorite word for athletes.  But, it really could be a powerful word for anyone no matter what you do.

The definition that I like best is ‘a gradual narrowing’.  For getting ready for Loch Ness, it means a lot less yardage and time in the water swimming.  I taper from a peak yardage of 40K per week to 15K this week.  Lower weekly yardage means that I'll be recharged and ready to swim 22 miles across Loch Ness.

Simultaneously, I narrow how I spend my time. I still put a good amount of  time into my marketing role at Salesforce but I sleep more, spend more time with friends and have more capacity all around.  I feel like I achieve more and its more rewarding.

The value of a taper is the premise of a favorite book called Accomplish More by Doing Less by Marc Lesser.    This book is full of wisdom for everyday life.  Narrowing time spent ruminating and speculating on a future state allows space for clarity and focus . 

With this tapper, Im reminded that when I narrow my focus to things that are really important and that are in the present moment, I can accomplish a whole lot more.  Whether at work, at home, in my relationships or swimming across a lake.

Training Gratitude and Surprises

Its not possible to do an ultra marathon swim without the help and support of others.  A runner could train for a marathon without ever running with another person.  Marathon swimming is different mostly because of safety considerations.  Its not really advisable to swim alone unless you are a very experienced swimmer and can creatively adapt to changing water and weather conditions.

I’m a bit of an introvert so I don’t necessarily always seek out others to do stuff.  But with training, it makes a difference when I can swim with others. A couple of laughs before getting in the water or exchanging a mermaid hug at a buoy make the training go faster and its more fun. I’m always grateful for a friendly exchange before, during or after a training swim.  

The 42 weeks to train for Loch Ness have gone by fast although there were some weeks when it felt like a slog.  But, some of my training workouts have been full of surprises like swimming into someone in San Francisco's Aquatic Park that I haven’t seen in 6 months (it’s a big cove).  Or the conversation I had in the sauna in San Francisco with someone who swam in Loch Ness. 

My favorite surprise was during my 10K Donner Lake swim a few weeks ago.  Donner is at 6,000 ft elevation and I was feeling the lack of oxygen.  Despite the gorgeous setting, it didn't start out as my most fun swim.  But, at the end of my first sweep along the shore, I swam over a message left by some romantic .  J♡M was spelled out in rocks on the bottom.  It completely stopped me mid stroke.  I was so surprised that someone took the time and effort gather rocks and lay out this message for some mermaid or merman.  I totally shifted how I felt about the rest of that training swim. I swam over that message 10 times and smiled every time.

My journey to swim Loch Ness has been about the physical training as its been about digging deep and expressing what is in my heart .  I love the challenge of the swim but I’m even more passionate about helping the kids and this is totally true to my heart.

Eat Like a 5 Year Old

“What do you eat?” is a question that I get asked a lot. After years of fine tuning my feeds, I finally have an answer that doesn’t require explaining the recipe for a homemade concoction - - ‘I eat peanut butter and jelly’.   Not really but its pretty close.

Every open water marathon swimmer has his or her own journey to find the right fuel for their metabolism and taste.  Mine started with the standard approach, Gu and a sports drink that I tried during training swims but I quickly learned that this really didn’t work well for me.  I explored what other endurance athletes ate and came to the conclusion that I needed:

-       A lot of calories from protein and fat

-       some % of carbs

-       Food that was closer to what I eat all the time so I don’t stress out my GI system (for a cold water swimmer stomach issues are huge since we need to keep in calories and throwing up in the water is not good –you can aspirate water and then you have a whole new set of issues).

Based upon my weight, the need to generate body heat and the pace that I swim (~ 72 strokes per minute), I estimate that I burn about 1,000 calories an hour in cold water.  Its well established that the average amount of calories that a person can process is between 300 – 350 per hour.  So, its not possible to take in all the calories that I’m burning.  After practicing during long training swims, I know that I can process 350 calories and sustain my pace and body heat.

The final variable for feeding during marathon swims is that a feed has to be quick.  Wasting time fiddling with a package means you lose body heat and you could go backwards if you are in the middle of a current.

The food, frequency and feeding method that works for me is:

1.     eat every 30 minutes

2.     take in 8 oz of Perpetuem at the bottom of the hour

3.     eat 1 packet of Justin’s Nut Butter and 1 sachet of blueberry toddler food + 8 oz of Perpetuem

4.     chocolate treat every once in a while spontaneously given by my crew

I might even add a Coke just for the caffeine and sugar boost when I'm a couple of miles from the end for good measure :-)