TRIBUTE TO PAPA PEDRO

Papa, I love you!

In 2001 when I rang the bell of the South End Club this Latino guy opened the door for me with a huge smile on his face welcoming to the South End Rowing Club. His name was Pedro Ordenes and right away I felt a great friendship was about to happen.

Pedro is a long distance swimmer, triathlete and certified U.S.Swimming Coach (ASCA) holder of two world record swim crossings. The First one conquering The Straits of Magellan in December 30 of 1999; swimming 3 miles in waters temperature 39F. The second one, crossing the Beagle Channel round trip between Chile and Argentina, on January 28, 2004 in water temperature between 41F and 38F. Pedro has completed over 500 swims across Alcatraz.



Pedro has participated and completed 3 Ironman Championships Triathlons in Utah, Hawaii in 2002 and, Canada Ironman in 2003. He has trained many local and international triathlon clubs, swimmers and triathletes throughout the last 15 years. Mr. Ordenes directed the South End Rowing Club Alcatraz Invitational for 6 years and in 2002 founded the Alcatraz Swim with the Centurions challenge, event that raises funds to 2 different Cancer organizations.

Pedro is the CEO of Water World Swim. A company that has been offering open water swimming events and training programs for over 15 years. Some of its programs include the "Swim with Pedro" weekly workouts and training sessions, regular Alcatraz crossings and instructional clinics, the New Waves program for young swimmers with an interest in open water swimming, and our numerous open water races and events. http://www.waterworldswim.com

On May 2nd 2010, Pedro will be in charge of crossing 1800 swimmers from Alcatraz to Yatch Harbour, as part of the Escape of Alcatraz Triathlon. I will be in the water guiding swimmers from The Rock to shore.

http://www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com/ESCAPE_From_Alcatraz_Triathlon.htm

Since I have joined the SERC Pedro has been a big influence in my life, to the point where people around the SERC and the Aquatic Park think he is my father and I am his son. Indeed it does feel we have that type of relationship. When together we are always speaking in Spanish and joking about life. His great personality and charisma attracts athletes from all over the world seeking introduction to the cold waters of San Francisco bay.

THE SOUTH END ROWING CLUB

The South End Rowing Club was founded on San Francisco Bay in 1873 by a group of rowing enthusiasts who gathered at Jimmy Farrell’s Saloon at the southern end of the city near 3rd and Berry Streets.

The club became a dominant power in the Pacific Coast rowing regattas and attracted many great West Coast athletes. The original clubhouse was a rough redwood structure, built near the Belt Line Railroad that serviced all the shipping piers of the old San Francisco waterfront.

In 1884, club members raised funds for a new clubhouse, a handball court was added to the boathouse, and the club soon dominated the sport on the West Coast. In 1908, the clubhouse was ferried by barge from its original location to Black Point at the foot of Van Ness Avenue, between the Belt Line Railroad Tunnel and the old Alcatraz Island service pier located just across from the City emergency fire pumping station.

In 1927, the clubhouse was moved again, this time to the foot of Larkin Street near the current location of the Maritime Museum in Aquatic Park. The clubhouse was moved one last time in 1938 to its current location at the foot of Hyde Street to make room for construction of Aquatic Park. The original main clubhouse has survived every move, and lives on as testimony to the devotion of members of the South End Rowing Club.

South End athletes have competed in many Olympic and International sporting events, including swimming the English Channel, but the club welcomes everyone with an interest in rowing, open water swimming, handball and running. Club members also regularly swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco (typically clad only in swimsuits and bathing caps), row in regattas around the world, compete in marathons and long-distance running events and are renowned in the international handball community for championship play and world-class tournaments.

Over the its history, Club members have accomplished extraordinary athletic feats – never losing sight of the fact that to be a South Ender is to love life, enjoy good food and drink, revel the company of fellow members, throw great parties and be very glad to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Text copied from the club's front wall plaque).

6 HOUR SWIM ATTEMPT 52-55F WATER

On April 24Th I attempted a 6 hour swim at the Aquatic Park. The course was a 0.8 mile, aka cove. I was able to swim 10 coves; 8 miles and stopped the attempt at 4:10 minutes due to the uncomfortable water temperature of 52-55 degree water. I had great pilot support from my wife, Kimberly Howard, Jen Valosek, Elizabeth Glass, Andrea Kellogg, Bill Wygant and many other South End Rowing Club members. The swim was dedicated to Kim's grandmother, Helen Stewart, who is not doing well health wise.


The following is a quick summary of the training event:

GOOD FACTS

1- I slept well the night before
2- I ate well the week before
3- I swam 2 hours in the bay the day before the swim
4- I took a nap the day before the swim
5- I prepared early for the swim
6- Lots of people involved with the swim, great support
7- I ate a good breakfast the morning of the swim
8- I woke up in a great mood, feeling ready for the challenge
9- I had a fantastic kitty support (my kitty Chandelle made sure I was well prepared)



BAD FACTS

1- I did not prepare a good communication line with my pilots regarding feeding
2- I decreased my swim mileage the month before due to work, fatigue, jet lag
3- I did a marathon 10 days before the swim
4- I did not stretch or warm up before the swim
5- Started too strong and continued too strong for the first 3 hours
4- I didn't feed properly
5- The warm liquids were too hot, making it hard to drink
6- The water was cold: 52-55F
7- All of the above led to making a poor judgement call (got out too early)
8- Tunnel vision regarding quitting: I am done! No more swimming! Coming out of the water now! Instead of changing the course and swimming in shallow warmer waters or pushing harder

THE START

JEN VALOSEK, ON THE YELLOW KAYAK ESCORTED ME AROUND THE COVE

TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH MICHELLE DEASY


SWIMMING WITH JP, TOM KELLER, JOHNNY WALKER, SUZIE DODS AND KAREN ROGERS


SWIMMING WITH MELISSA BRAISTED

KIM HOWARD WAS THE CAPTAIN OF THE PENAAT TAKING GREAT VIDEOS


WARM AND HAPPY AFTERWARDS

For all of you who have been supporting me during this English Channel Swim journey, thank you so much for the love and support. I could not do it without you all! Thank you for standing by me. Enjoy the video below:

26 Mile Run/Hike Cross Training

On April 14th I did a 26 mile run/Hike from Bolinas to the South End Rowing Club as one of my last long cross training events before my English Channel Swim in July. It took me over nine hours since I had some problems with my running shoes after mile 5. (I washed it in the washing machine and put it to dry on high heat and it shrunk). I had to finish the course walking for 20 miles. It was a long day!


Coast Cafe in Bolinas, where we started the day


Muir Woods


Crossing The Golden Gate Bridge

My running partners were Tom Wilhelm who finished it in 4:18Hs (Garmin data above) and Tom Lithicum who finished in 5:45Hs. Running Pro, Dominic Spinetta, gave us a huge support driving us all the way to Bolinas.


Golden Gate Bridge



It was a perfect day!

SWIM EAT SWIM FLY SWIM SLEEP!

The picture above is my airline pilot's bag and with some "extra" calories.

One of the best parts of my English Channel training is the "adding the extra pounds" part. During my English Channel Crossing in July 2010, I will lose 5 to 10 Lbs! So I will need an extra layer of "insulation". The challenge is not to gain too much weight on behalf of insulation; otherwise speed is scarified and I will end up spending more time in the water.

65th Alcatraz Crossing

On April 11Th I swam my 65th Alcatraz Crossing. It was a fantastic morning. For some reason I felt the need for some drag...


Fast Eddie Peinado and Trudy Molina


Almost "home"

Round Trip Alcatraz

On April 8th I did a RTA (Round Trip Alcatraz) with my crazy friends Cathy Delneo, Paul Saab, also a Channel Swimmel Aspirant, Kristine Buckley, and The King of San Francisco Bay Steven Ra.JJ Crawford was the Zodiac pilot. We did the crossing in 1h55m.
Water Temperature: 55F


YES! I was towing a kayak.