My journey starts in England and finishes in France.
I will attempt to swim from Dover to Calais (21 miles) and here you will find out how I plan to succeed!
My swim 'window' is July 18-25, 2010, but my countdown started in 2008 when I started training.
For some people I'm crazy. For others I'm nuts. But for most people I know I am just "FAST EDDIE" and swimming the English Channel is a dream coming true.
"The journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination." Peaceful Warrior/Dan Millman
For those of you interested, you can follow my channel swim live by tracking the course of my support boat, The Viking Princess. The web-site will show you the approximate location of the boat even though it will not get all the way to shore.
The night before of my swim I will put a quick update on my blog saying I will be swimming tomorrow and about what time I will start. As a reminder my tide is July 18th-July 25th, 2010. I will be swimming some time in that slot depending on weather conditions,
The link is- www.marinetraffic.com/ais and you can also find a link on the right hand of my Blog at the English Channel Weather, Water Temperature and Vessel Traffic link.
How to use the web-site
On the top left hand corner, below Ships Map, Go to Area, selectct English Channel. Then bellow that you will see all the different ship types, you can unclick Cargo Vessels, Tankers, Accord/Moored this will help clear up some of the traffic so you can find my boat.
If you want to watch all the boat traffic going around me you can leave them all on. My boats name is VIKING PRINCESS and its MMSI number is 235018274. I will be swimming in the narrow part of the English Channel between Dover and Calais.
On March 24th 2010 I did another long pool workout at Saint Ignatius College Preparatory Swimming Pool. (http://www.siprep.org/pool). This time the workout was prepared by swimming and rowing Coach Diane Davis. Diane is also a world class rower with many participation and placements at the Head of the Charles Regatta. The Head of the Charles is the largest 2-day regatta in the world, with more than 8,000 athletes rowing in around 1750 boats in 56 events. (http://www.hocr.org/home/default.asp)
This was my workout for the day:
10 x 200 free 30" rest
8 x 500 free 1' rest
3000 kick fins
4 x 1000 pull buoy with Finis snorkel to simulate high altitude
500 easy
10 x 200 free 30" rest
8 x 500 free 1" rest
3000 kick fins
4 x 1000 free
500 easy
27,000 DEBRIEFING
My flying work trip days before my training was hard with not enough rest. Even though I ate and slept very well throughout my trip, the commute to and from Chicago O'Hare was brutal.
Monday the 24th
Last day of my 4 day trip plus a 5 hour commute to SFO.
By the time I got home I had been awaken for 22 hours and looking like a zombie. I went to Naan and Curry on Irving Street and had Indian/Pakistani food for dinner. I should not have done that since it takes at least 2 days for my body to get rid of all that creamy sauces), anyway.
Tuesday the 25th:
I Slept for 10 hours and I should have slept more. For breakfast I had a huge bowl of Irish oat meal; I shouldn't have eaten that since it makes me a farting machine. I had a super busy day at home with unnecessary chores before a long swim. I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning, going to the dentist and packing for my next trip.
Around 6 PM I start thinking about prepping for the 27,000 swim when indeed I should have been going to bed. I even started giving second toughts about really doing the swim next day since I was so tired. But I kept soldiering on.
After shopping and brainstorming the menu for next day at 10 PM I started cooking the meat patties and potatoes for my main feeding meal and since it smelled so good I ended up have a really late dinner at around midnight.
The Feeding
This was the menu and feeding schedule for the swim:
Right at 1 AM I started feeling pumped and excited about the swim and started watching some motivational videos to get me even more pumped and before going to bed for a night cap I had a couple shots of Scotch. Well, I should not have done that! Follow below a couple inspirational videos I was watching:
...Yes I can!
...for a moment I closed my eyes and I could see myself running on French shores...
And of course I had to watch this one:
Needles to say I couldn't fall asleep and when I finally did I had to wake up in one hour. I actually was able to sleep for one hour. I was trashed!
Wednesday the 24th
I woke up at 4:30 AM and not feeling hungry at all, still digesting the late dinner I had a big cup of black coffee, did my famous sh.t, shower, shave and got ready to go. For some reason I wasn't feeling like a million dollars...duh!
I finally arrived at the pool at 5:15AM and right at 5:30AM together with my swim partner and South End Rowing club Swimming Commissioner, Cathy Delneo I started my lapandemonium.
Cathy was able to swim 7,000 yards with me and then she left to go to work. After that Dine Davis and her rowing friend kept me company for a few thousand yards. I finished the first 10,000 yards under 3 hours. I was feeling great and strong and eager to continue at that pace. Dine and her friend left and Elisabeth Glass joined me for a few laps. It was very nice to see her. She took great pictures and the video below was taken by her.
The feeding was working great and I wasn't anywhere close of being tired. But around 4 hours into the swim I started feeling a little bloated and gassy. I think the whole concoction of Indian food, scotch, late dinner from the previous days added to my training food was making my guts a little sick. I finally had to go to the restroom and cameback a "little lighter".
At 13,500 yards I was happy to be done with half of the workout and started the next 10X200's on a great pace. Anne Dunn, from the South End joined me and kept me company for quite a while.
At 16,500 I started getting stomach sick. I think all those flip turns added to indigestion were back flowing my feeding and I wasn't able to digest anything and on top of that I wasn't able to feed at all since I wasn't hungry. In order to keep going I changed the order of the workout and decided to do some kicking trying to avoid the flip turns. One of Dine Davis swimmers, Dylan Moscone jumped in my lane and kept me company and together we had great kicking workout when finally left since he had to go back to class.
At 17,000 yards another great swimmer from the South End, Susan Saylor, joined me for a few thousand yards. It was also at 17,000 yards I had to leave the pool again for my second restroom pit stop. This time I cameback I a little afraid of continuing since I was feeling very stomach sick altough I had stopped farting since all that entire "Indian and Scottish legacy" was out of my system. I was lucky I had planned to try Chicken broth to my feeding and that bought me another 3000 yards without any pain at all.
20,000 Yards
Around 7 hours into the swim I started fighting a cold. I was sneezing and coughing without stop. I actually was already fighting a cold during the end of my flying trip since I had flown with a sick crew member. The next 5,000 yards were very painful and frustrating to me since I almost couldn't keep my head in the water sneezing and coughing so much. For a while I thought it was the chlorine but when I did the 25,000 workout in February at USF I didn't cough at all and USF pool has way more chlorine than SI swimming pool. It got to a point where I was running out of breath! But I was still smiling.
25,000 Yards
At 25,000 yards Diane Davis started walking back and forth following me and observing my stroke, correcting it when necessary. Her presence was very important to me and really gave me a nice boost of confidence. She was clapping her hands and screaming my name saying Let's Go, Let's Go Eddie! On the other side of the pool the girls from the SI high school swim team, coached by Matt, who kindly let me use a lane the entire day, since his Masters workout at 5:30 AM, were also cheering. It was a nice GO EDDIE moment.
But even though I had that great support I was feeling really sick. Coughing, sneezing and still stomach sick. I was pretty much done and satisfied with my duty for the day, especially going through all that sickness and still being able to swim 25,000 yards. Them I remembered that one of the biggest challenges of crossing the English Channel is actually the last mile of the swim where you have been in the water for many hours, tired, sick, hypothermic and still trying to make landfall in France with the tide changing on you. With that in mind I decide to suck it up all my whining, put my head in the game and finish that swim ordeal. I was committed to finish the 27,000 yards!
26,400 Yards
The last 600 yards were a challenge. I was planning to do 12X50's to finish the day when all the sudden I grabbed the ladder to walk out the pool. I was done! I was tired! Suddenly Diane Davis squatted next to me and started saying: "C'mon Edison you can do it! The last 600! The last 600! You can do it! I looked at her and started to cry. I wasn't sure I could finish it. I looked down the lane, I looked around all the other lanes with the high school team swimming as fast as dolphins and all the sudden everything started moving at very slow motion, with Diane still there squatted screaming and telling me I could do it and asking me to swim 6X100's when I barely could put my head in the water.
Most of you noticed reading my blog that I am a big Sylvester Stallone/Rocky Balboa fan. Who isn't? Who doesn't get pumped when he comes back from getting beat the entire fight to win the last round? On his last Rocky movie there is a scene that pretty much portrays the last moments of my swim:
And there I went willing to take the hit of thoese last yards, willing to take on the challenge of finishing those 27,000 yards. Those 26,400 yards had literally brought me down to my knees. Throughout the day I had to put in practice every piece of mental and body strength I had inside me, positive attitude and the most important; passion and love for swimming, in order to finish that workout. The same attitude and passion I will be taking with me from England to France.
26,900 Yards
The last 100 were a glory for me. The first 25 yards were calm and steady. The second 25 yards were a little nervous and strong. The third 25 yards I treated like "the last 50 yards"; I barely breathed and after the 1079 flip turn, I just couldn't resist; I had to finish the 27,000 yards swimming butterfly. I did it! I finished! 16 miles! 10:12HS
Walking out of the pool Diane hug me, Coach Matt and the entire high school team started clapping and cheering. It was a great feeling! Walking towards the locker room I looked back at that swim lane, lane number 1, and thanked it for the protection. I felt that part of me was left in that lane.
Many thanks to Diane Davis who supported me and let me use the SI pool for this crazy workout! Huge thanks to Coach Matt who let me use one of his lanes during his Masters and high school workouts. Also many thanks to Carlos who takes care of SI swimming pool like no other.
A special thanks to Cathy, Diane Davis, Diane's friend, Elisabeth Glass for taking the pictures, Anne Dunn, susan Saylor , Dylan Moscone, Jordan and the girl's high school swim team for keeping me company.
My last word about this 27,000 and my English Channel training is actually a paragraph written by triathlon coach Joel Friel from one of his books The Triathlete's Training Bible, Part 1, Chapter 1 page 12, 4th paragraph:
Most of us go through life living only on wishes and never coming close to our limits. But wishes are important; they're the start of great feats. Wishes grow into dreams when you are able to mentally "see" yourself accomplishing the wish. Dreams turn into goals when a plan for attaining them is defined . Goals become a mission when unwaivering self-belief and purposeful zeal are realized. Big challenges require mission status. The difference between a goal and a mission is attitude. Missions are evident by an accompanying passion commitment. With the proper attitude, almost anything is possible. What you believe you will achieve.
On February 11th 2010 I did another pool workout at University of San Francisco, this time a 25,000 yard swim, 14miles. It took me 8:52 HS to complete the whole workout. It was a long day.
The reason why I choose to swim 12X2000’s was because based on my pace it would simulate the feeding schedule I am planning to have during my English Channel crossing. It was a great experiment, especially because I got to try my new smothie made of water, ice, macadamia nuts, frozen berries, soy protein and vitamin C.
On January 21st I had another lap o’ rama at the University of San Francisco, KORET swimming pool. (http://web.usfca.edu/koret ). This time I was aiming for a 13 mile workout, just following my hectic training schedule. Once again, I had to face the boredom of a 25 yard swimming pool and this time I confess I was a little scared about such a commitment especially when you convert 13 miles in yards:23,000 yards…wholly sh..t! That’s a lot of laps.
Before giving you an aftermath of the workout let me tell you what I was trying to accomplish during that workout. A few weeks ago I was reading about English Channel crossings and swimmers on the web and I found Marcia Cleveland’s English Channel web site, (http://www.doversolo.com ) Marcia crossed the Channel in 1994 Reading throughout her training advice for the English Channel I found this one:
Teach your body to learn how to burn fat. Regularly do not eat for 6 + hours before your swims. Water is ok. (I.e. swim in the morning on an empty stomach) This will simulate what happens after 6 hours in cold water. Your system will learn to switch over from using its initial energy stores of carbohydrates/glycogen to fat right from the start of your swims. (http://www.doversolo.com/engchprep.htm)
Bingo! That was what I had in mind to accomplish in my 23,000 workout. To put my body in the 6 hour stage of a cold water swim experience and deal with the upcoming moments.
Having had a late dinner the night before, a huge mistake I did, I woke up feeling tired and sleepy still digesting my dinner. After a nice cup of Brazilian coffee and little bit more awake and ready to go, my personal pacer, Tom Keller picked me up and off we went to the pool. I was unsure and a little bit nervous about the yardage I was attempting to swim.The “demons” wandering around my mind where:
• Are you sure about this? • Do you have what it takes for this? • Do you have the mental edge to push yourself for over 7 hours? • What if you get tired?
The doubts and questions went on and on.
Arriving at the pool Tom had reserved a lane for me (what a guy) and agreed to swim at least 6000 yards with me since he had to go to work. This was my duty for the day:
After 1 hour into the training I already was feeling a little tired and craving for fuel. I had not eaten anything for breakfast on purpose, (I had in mind eating only after 2 hours after starting the workout).
It was during the fourth 1,500 at around 5000 yards I had a mental breakdown. I was swimming shoulder by shoulder with Tom and all the sudden I started slowing down to the point he almost got 25 yards in front of me. Suddenly all those doubts about if could swim all of those miles started crossing my mind again, especially when I realized I still had 18,000 yards to go! I realized I would have to spend at least the next 5 hours going back and forth, pushing myself to a still unknown 23,000 yard mark.
Part of me was telling me it could be done. Part of me still doubted my capabilities and strength. All the sudden everything became slow motion, just like those moments during that Rocky Balboa movie (one of my favorites movie series) where he is almost giving up and he starts looking around the crowd, the judges, the other fighter, his family with his opponent beating the crap out him….yeah. It was just like that. I didn’t have a purple eye or a bleeding nose though.
The pool environment started becoming very vivid to me: the chronometer, pool tiles, life guards, Tom Keller’s wake on the other lane, the wall clock showing 8:15AM, flashbacks form my IRONMAN came back to my mind.
Then I remembered a talk I had with Pat Peyton in 2009 about training for the English Channel where he said that there would be times during my training where it would be ok to just “step back” and get out of the water and go home. But there would be times where I would have to push myself and break that barrier that was stopping me from reaching new limits.
With that conversation in mind I realized that the only way that I would finish that training would be if I focus my energy on every single stroke, yard by yard, lap by lap instead the whole training, or how long it would take me to do the whole workout.
All the sudden I began to swim a little faster. Just like the movie Rocky, when he starts getting back on his feet and still in slow motion he looks at his coach and the cheering crowd; I could see in my mind the Viking Princess, the boat I have hired to escort me across the Channel. I could see Kim, Gary, Alison and my father waiving and cheering shouting my name and waiving the Brazilian and the American flag. WOW what an energy boost that gave me. All of those flash futures really made my heart beat faster and made me swim faster. I was “back on my feet”; I was back in the game, just like Rocky Balboa did during his last round.
In 500 yards I was able to put myself together, catch up Tom finish that 4th 1,500 and continue my workout. The “last” 18,000 yards were just like another regular workout. I was a happy "boxer"!
This video was taken at 6AM when The Sunrisers were getting ready to swim another Alcatraz. It was one of the most beautiful mornings I have ever seen at the SERC.
On March 10th I completed my 62nd Alcatraz crossing. This picture was taken on the way to Alcatraz at 6:00 AM by Allen Luong. Paul Saab, the guy next to me, also training to swim the English Channel, Diana Shuster, Joe Butler, Steven Ray and Allen were my swim mates that morning. 2002 English Channel swimmer Kristine Buck was the pilot that morning. Air Temperature 48F. Water Temperature 53F.
Enjoy the wild zodiac ride to Alcatraz that morning.
In the dead of winter, December 20, four brave souls (Michelle Deasy, Tom Wilhelm, Tom Linthicum, and I) set out to continue the “illegal” tradition of running from the South End to Stinson Beach and back to Old Mill Park, a felony known as “The Outlaw’s Marathon.” (Why this is an outlaw run is a mystery to this day.)
We left the club at 6 a.m. in the pitch-black dark. The only lights we could see were the white clouds our breaths made as we exhaled into the freezing cold air.
Wonder woman Michelle Deasy led the pack and then left it in the dust, smoking everybody and winning the race handily. I only saw her twice during the whole run.
Ultra-runner Tom Whilhelm, having run a 50-kilometer race the day before, set out to do his “25-mile cool down jog” with the rat pack following Michelle’s dust, only to discover after Mile 10 in Mill Valley that he’d rather take a well-deserved rest.
That left just me and Swim Criminal (and now Run Criminal too) Tom “Reptile Brain” Linthicum, aka The Golden Gate Bridge Ghost. After Tom reappeared after getting lost around Fort Point, we ran a nice pace together to Mill Valley, but then he took off like a speeding bullet. Left behind and feeling a little empty, I decided to pit-stop for a double espresso and coffee cake. I paused at Old Mill Park for a brief chat with Keith Nowell, who, along with his wife Linda, was helping us out at stocked aid stations along the way (thanks, Keith and Linda!).
I got back on the road and took as many short cuts through the Dipsea Trail as I could. Along the way, Michelle Deasy passed me going the other way, looking like a graceful gazelle and not the least bit tired.
Running pro Dominic Spinetta greeted me at Stinson Beach, where he also manned an aid station (thanks, Dominic!). Hot after running 17 miles, I decided to take a dip in the ocean. As I came out of the water, Tom Linthicum arrived and saw me and said, “Where have you been?!?” Reunited, we ran back along the Dipsea trail together most of the way.
Then, out of nowhere, in the last minutes of the race, we saw Kathy Bailey running down the Dipsea Trail on her way to the finish line! Where did she come from? We learned later that she did a Super Outlaw Marathon, starting the race from her HOUSE! Hats off to you, Kathy.
I greeted Kathy as I made my way down the steps and across the finish line in 2nd place (far, far behind Michelle), followed by Reptile Brain and then Super Marathoner Kathy.
We couldn’t have asked for a better welcome than Suzie Dods waiting to pick us up and give us a ride back to the club. It was a perfect ending to a perfect morning.
Thanks again Dominic, Keith, Linda, Suzie, Tom, Tom, Michelle, and Kathy for a great day and a great run.
The next crime spree will be the Spring Solstice Marathon, a run from Bolinas to the South End – keep an eye out for notices, and please come join us.
Your generous contribution of any amount will help me with training, pilot-boat and Channel Association expenses, and to raise money for BAYKEEPER (see below).
Things I love: All living beings, especially dogs and cats, air, fire, water, earth, airplanes, true friendships, my family, my job and the South End Rowing Club.
I truly believe we should live our lives going after our childhood dreams.
