English Channel Swimming

SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS

2011-12-26T13:01:00.001-08:00

On December 21st I went to Orlando, Florida, to meet my daughter who was spending her vacation here in the USA. On our last day I surprised her with a fantastic experience swimming with sting rays and a 30 minute interaction with dolphins. Even though the the experience wasn't in the wild,(it felt like I was visiting prisioners), I got to learn a lot about dolphins in a artificial environment and the fantastic job their trainers do keeping the retired Sea World dolphins active.

We had a very special time together!

Marathon Swim Lake Zurich 2011

2011-12-26T12:59:00.001-08:00

23. Int. Self-Transcendence Marathon-Schwimmen

2011-09-20T11:28:00.001-07:00

41 solo-swimmers and 26 relay-teams from 18 different nations startet early in the morning in Rapperswil with goal to reach Zurich within 12 hours by swimming nonstop. Heavy rain in the morning and wind in the afternoon made it quite a challenge for both swimmers and helpers.

Zurichsee

Our Adventure!

Results

http://ch.srichinmoyraces.org/files/ch/Rangliste_2011.pdf

First to reach Zurich was the team "Are-we-there-yet?" with Terry Bantock (South-Africa) and Russell Shiels (USA): they completed the 26.4k in 6h 49m 50s. Fastest solo-swimmer was Thomas Ladurner from Italy (without wetsuit) in 06:54:45 and in the women's category Anja Sigloch from Germany (with wetsuit) in 06:56:57.

COURSE

http://ch.srichinmoyraces.org/files/ch/Karte_Zuerichsee_Rappi-Meilen.pdf

http://ch.srichinmoyraces.org/files/ch/Karte_Zuerichsee_Meilen-Zuerich.pdf

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team once again congratulates all the athletes for their achievements!

Extracted from:http://ch.srichinmoyraces.org/veranstaltungen/zhlake

Race Information

http://ch.srichinmoyraces.org/files/ch/Ausschreibung_e_2011_web.pdf

Information if you bring your own boat

http://ch.srichinmoyraces.org/files/ch/Own%20boat.pdf

Sea Eagle Kayak we took to Zurich

http://www.seaeagle.com/pdf/default.aspx?hullID=385ft

July 19th 2011. One Year anniversary of my Channel solo Crossing!

2011-07-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Edited by Kimberly Howard

Thursday July 8th, 2010. Virgin Atlantic Flight 020 San Francisco-London Heathrow, Jumbo Jet 747-400! I would like to highlight the fantastic service provided by Virgin Atlantic! Very professional, very friendly and very supportive of my dream! Special thanks to the Check In people, to the In flight Crew and to the pilots! You made my flight very special!

Friday July 9th

After answering the famous question from the English Immigration Officer; What is the reason of your trip to UK? I was officially in England. He told me that if I wanted to reach France faster I could always take the Chunnel.

Eddie Peinado and Virgin Atlantic First Officer Dave Mutty who personally escorted me to the baggage claim to meet my friend and pacer Gary Bruce.

After a warm welcome from Gary Bruce who brought me special regards from the Queen, who unfortunately didn't come to the airport to receive me, we drove to Capel La Ferne, Folkestone and settle into our caravan.

Home sweet home.

After we put away our luggage we went for our first training session in Dover, a 10 minute drive from our caravan site.

I guess we never made to the beach.

After a couple pints of English beer, Fish and Ships we had to finish the damage with some home made pecan pie and chocolate cream pie. Gary Bruce training really hard!

We finally made to the beach next day for our first swim.

On July 11th Kim Howard, The President of the South End Rowing Club and the Captain of my Solo English Channel swim team arrived in London. The team was almost complete.

Kim piloting Eddie and Gary at Dover Harbour.

On July 15th, Gary and I went to London to pick up my father at Heathrow airport. I had a chance to put a swim workout at the 36 meter swimming pool at located at the Hamptons neighborhood.

The team is completed! Edison senior and official swim team cook arrived bringing a bag with spices, cooking knives and a chef's uniform.

Edison Senior and his fantastic warm smile!

David and Evelyn, Varne Ridge owners and our guests of honor for the paella dinner (at their own house), couldn't believe we were there for an English Channel Solo Swim attempt, since we were having so much fun during the days prior the swim.

Paella Valenciana.

Every night after special dinner prepared by either Kim or Edison Sr. we went to have a night cap, or many night caps, sitting at the cliff located in front of our caravan park, facing France.

Picture taken by a very tipsy Kim. In this picture Eddie and Gary drinking Sambuca, Port and smoking cigars celebrating a succesful training journey!

THE BAD WEATHER MOVES IN

On July 17th a low pressure moves in bringing bad weather.

50 MILE AN HOUR WINDS

During those days of bad weather Gary and I still trained at the Dover Harbour. We kept meeting this Australian girl that was attempting a solo double crossing. Indeed she was number two during my window using the same boat I would be using, waiting for my swim to happen so she could do hers. The most annoying thing was that she was pushing me to go in bad weather because she needed to do her swim. She even told me in a very arrogant way that she was going for a triple crossing and that was important for me to do my swim so she could do hers.

After seriously irritating me and later on irritating Gary, my pacer, we told her that the GO/NO GO decision was up to the skipper of the boat and not up to the swimmer. What a b..! On top of that she was badmouthing her previous pilot from the Channel Swim and Pilot Federation for her failure on a previous attempt. Later on we learned from other Channel swimmers how bad her reputation in the swimming community was.

JULY 17TH 23:59; MY SWIM WINDOW IS OPEN!

On Saturday July 17Th, at 7 PM I called the boat pilot, Reg Brickell and he told me that no swim for tomorrow due to the bad weather but Monday, July 19Th, it might be a good day. Since my crew and I had already done a detailed briefing about the crossing and since I was not going to swim tomorrow we decided to go to THE SHIP INN, aka "Reg's Office", for Happy Hour.

No swim? Have a pint! Picture taken by Kim Howard.

18 July 2010

At 7 PM I called Reg Brickell, our pilot and the captain of the Viking Princess, and he told me to be at the Dover dock at 5:15 AM. We had a swim!

I went back to the caravan and told my team members the good news. We were very excited and happy for the adventure about to come. Gary and Kim scrambled to pack their boat bags, Edison Sr. made us a quick pasta dinner, and then the four of us spent some time notifying people about the swim.

At 10, my dad made gnocchi from scratch for the boat ride, which was baking until after midnight. I prepped the vegetable soup, tea, coffee and water so they’d be ready to be heated early the next morning. None of us went to bed before midnight.

After sending some emails to family and friends, I stopped by the cliff right in front of the caravan park. The weather was good and I could see the lights in France. It was a fantastic, beautiful night. I prayed and asked the Channel Gods for protection and for a good crossing and after that I quietly went to our trailer and tried to sleep.

At 2 AM I was wide awake. I had less than two hours of sleep. Lack of sleep was nothing new to me since I intentionally did many long workouts on only one or two hours of sleep during my training sessions back in San Francisco. I woke up, prepared coffee for my crew, heated the soup, tea and warmed the water. Kim, Edison Sr. and Gary woke up one by one and got ready.

At 4 AM Gary and I drove to Dover Harbor with all the swimming, feeding and pilot gear. As we arrived in Dover, Gary asked me how I was feeling and I told him I was ready. I had trained as well as I possibly could. As an airline pilot, I did most of my training (probably 65%) tied to swimming pools all over the USA, and the rest of my training was done at home in the San Francisco Bay with the South End Rowing Club, one of the best places to train for the English Channel because of the similar conditions.

After Gary dropped me at the Dover Dock, he went back to pick up Kim and my father. During that wait I had a chance to meet Panamanian swimmer Cesar Barria, a disabled swimmer who also was attempting a solo crossing that day. Cesar and his team were waiting for their boat. He had a TV crew with him and under the Panamanian TV lights we hugged and prayed together and we wished each other “buena suerte” (good luck). Cesar lost one of his legs in a car accident.

Later on I heard his crew had to pull him out the water after 13 hours, due to the strong currents along the French coast. Cesar is a successful swimmer in Panama having crossed the Straits of Gibraltar in 2006.

At 4:45AM Gary returned with Kim and my father and at 5AM the Viking Princess docked. As we loaded the boat, we greeted our pilots Reg and Ray Brickell and met the official Channel swim Observer, Mikee Phillips -- what a character. At 5:15 we were on our way to Shakespeare Beach. It was one of the most beautiful mornings I have ever seen.

During the ride to the beach, I took a short video and then I was all business. I had on just my swim cap and swim suit and Kim greased me up with lanolin. At 5:30 we stopped 100 yards from the beach.

After wishes of luck from my crew, I climbed on the rail. Right before jumping in the water, a wave of emotions overtook me. Suddenly it hit hard what I was about to do. Scenes of my life flashed through my mind at light speed, and then my body went numb. I was nervous, excited, scared and thrilled all at once. I looked at the ocean, saluted my gods and spiritual guardians, jumped in the water and swam towards the beach.

I reached shore, stood on the rocky beach facing France, and at 5:36 AM the Viking Princess blew its horn to start the swim.

The Start

The first few strokes were all over the place. I was hyperventilating and felt panicky. I wasn’t expecting this reaction from myself at all. Apparently all the anxiety I had been beating back for months suddenly surfaced and took control of me. Even though my stroke per minute (SPM) was about 49 and I was jamming, I was swimming horribly. I wasn’t sure about the task to be accomplished. I was afraid! I was afraid like never before, to the point I almost cried. It felt like I had pulled a grenade pin and I was about to implode.

After the first 30 minutes I stopped for the first feeding. Although Gary, Kim and I carefully planned my feedings days before, I couldn’t eat what they pushed out to me on the feeding pole. I barely had a sip. I wasn’t hungry.

At 35 minutes the worst happened. My neck pain came back! In April this year, I had a pinched nerve that took 8 weeks to fix, thanks to the great care of Stephanie Gerk, Craig Marble and Laurel Condro. Two days before the Channel swim, I woke up with a stiff neck but I didn’t tell my crew because I didn’t want to worry them. I could not believe it was back now, at this most important moment.

I started panicking and feared severe pain was going to spread across my back like it had in April, preventing me from swimming. Thinking of this made me even more tense and afraid. I was crumbling. What if I don’t make it? Can I swim 12 more hours this way? What if it takes longer? Could I last? I had doubts for the first time.

At the one hour mark I stopped for my second feeding and asked if Gary could jump in to pace me, but the observer Mikee said he couldn’t get in until the third hour.

After that, I gave Kim the thumbs down signal for the first time to let her know I was in pain, but I could tell she already knew something was wrong. I yelled between breaths, “Neck! Neck!” and her face went dark. She disappeared from the side of the boat. (Later I learned she was grabbing the Advil.)

At the next feeding, Kim sent me Advil but I lost it the water, which she didn’t see and I didn’t tell her because I didn’t wanted to lose more time.

I continued swimming in pain, breathing only to my right because it hurt too much to turn to the left. I wasn’t happy at all. I started thinking: Two years of my life ending like a sand castle crumbling on the beach. Two years of hard work, commitment, discipline – all to end on English shores. Then I got mad at myself for getting into that state of mind. I punched the water.

At the fifth feeding, Kim sent more Advil and this time I was able to swallow it. But I was not doing well, and I could see the concern on everyone’s faces. The pain got worse to the point I barely could turn my neck. I stopped a lot, tried to stretch, and did the breast stroke on and off between freestyle, which slowed to 40-42 SPM. I was afraid the pilots and observer were going to call the swim off on behalf of my safety.

At the third hour, I took more Advil but still couldn’t eat. Gary jumped in to pace me and we took off at a good pace – 48 SPM. After stopping so much and swimming so slowly for three hours, 48 SPM felt like a sprint. A half hour later, we were up to 56 SPM. As a joke I stopped and gave the middle finger to Gary because he was making me work hard. He replied in his Royal British Army accent, “Fuck you, as well!” Then my father yelled from the boat, “Fuck you!” not knowing what it meant, and we all started laughing. For the first time in nearly four hours, the pain in my neck began to subside, though it still hurt. I felt my humor coming back, just a little. At one point I even started swimming back towards England as a joke, and I asked Mikee for a cigarette, since he was chain smoking next to me the entire time and I was practically smoking anyway.

I was bummed when Gary got out at the fourth hour. There was no longer a distraction from the pain. My stroke per minute dropped a lot. The neck ache came back stronger than before, after swimming hard for an hour with Gary. I mentioned to my crew several times that I was tired and didn’t feel good. For an hour and a half, I swam mostly breaststroke and I still couldn’t eat. I was a breaststroker in high school so at least I was moving forward. The rest from freestyle was good for my neck, but I still felt like I was going down. I lost a lot of time swimming slow, but it was the only way I could move forward. My crew couldn’t get a stroke count much of this time because I was stopping so much. Around this time, a small jellyfish stung my chin.

At the five-and-a-half hour mark Gary jumped in again, but our pace was nothing like the previous pace; we maintained a 46 SPM for most of the hour when I wasn’t stopping. I was getting cold, shivering a little. I still couldn’t eat. After one hour Gary got out. After the swim I heard he got cold too. The water temperature was below 60 degrees Fahrenheit for sure.

I would like to highlight that during all those painful moments, Kim not only prepared my feedings, but she also was cheerleading and smiling and giving me the thumbs-up and telling me I could do this. From the very beginning when she noticed I was struggling, she wrote notes to me and leaned over the boat to make sure I saw them, messages like pain is temporary, glory is forever, the White Horse is waiting (the pub where Channel swimmers sign their names on the wall), make the South End proud, you ARE an English Channel swimmer, and many more.

Meanwhile, my father was so concerned about me that, as he told me later, his hands were shaking and his heart was pounding from anxiety.

The Turning Point

At six-and-half hours, I stopped for another feeding. I was still feeling bloated and the fumes from the boat were making me nauseous. But at that point, Kim and Gary refused to let me continue swimming unless I ate. Gary yelled, “We are not moving until you drink that whole bottle!” It was warm matté tea mixed with Hammer Gel for fast energy, and for desert they sent me a HoHo. To be frank, I loved it! I suddenly realized how hard they were working on my behalf. I realized how much they wanted me to succeed. I felt that swim was as important to them as it was for me.

I looked towards England and barely could see the White Cliffs of Dover. I looked to France and to my surprise I could just make out the tip of Cap Gris Nez, my end goal. For the first time that morning, it dawned on me that I could reach France. I looked at my father, Kim and Gary. They screamed, “Come on, Eddie! You can do it!” I put my face in the water and swam. I told myself I had to change my attitude and deal with whatever was going on because I still had a very long way to go. I thought about all my long trainings and how much they prepared me for this crossing. I remembered the seven-hour “15 Coves of Love” in 59-degree water that I did on behalf of Adriana Ospina, a South Ender who suffered a serious bicycle accident. I thought of all the hotel pools I dragged through on my layovers, all the kayaks I towed from Alcatraz.

I thought of my 10-hour workout in the St. Ignatius pool with Diane Davis. I remembered how hard it was and how good it felt when I finished. It was during that workout that I had the vision of my father on the boat -- and there I was in the middle of the Channel looking at him. He kept his eyes on me the entire time.

At hour seven, Cap Gris Nez looked really close. I imagined how it would feel when I reached the beach. I told myself to focus on the successes and not the failures that I was going through. It was time to let go of the bad moments and the neck pain. It was time to change my attitude, swim hard and enjoy the crossing. As I swam I told myself, “I can do this!” At that point, I decided my only options for getting out of the swim were in France or in a body bag.

At my next half-hour feeding, I looked around and once again realized the outcome was up to me. For the first time in my life I really felt how much control I had of myself and my destiny. It was up to me to regain control. It was up to me to become an English Channel swimmer.

Powerful, efficient strokes kept me moving forward at an average of 45 SPM. At hour eight, Gary got back in the water and together we increased the pace to 55, covering precious miles. We exchanged a few choice words and laughed. I was so grateful for his company. I had found my groove, and although my right leg cramped up a few times, I only stopped once. I just kept swimming, feeling more and more confident about the swim.

Gary got out at hour nine, less than two miles from Cap Gris Nez. I could now see the French landscape clearly, and I passed the big buoy that I recognized from the end of my relay Channel swim in 2002, giving me a burst of energy. Unfortunately, the end of the ebb tide kept pushing me south for another hour as I watched Cap Gris Nez fade to my left. During this time, Kim kept eye contact with me the whole time, either leaning over the boat showing me her cleavage (inadvertently or intentionally I wasn’t sure, but it helped) or to mimic a strong elongated stroke to keep me focused on perfect form.

At last at hour 10, slack tide hit and I was able to advance due east toward the French shore again, swimming at a consistent and efficient 48 SPM. I was tired but felt strangely energized, almost euphoric.

At hour 11 the water began changing color, from dark to light, from deep to shallow. I was getting closer to France! But I knew, as people who know the Channel say, that this was “where the real swim begins,” where most English Channel swims are decided: one mile from shore. I knew from hearing many stories that once you miss the Cap, whether on an ebb tide (water pushing you south) or a flood tide (water pushing you north), it might be hours before you make any progress toward France. Many a swimmer has spent literally hours and hours being pushed back and forth just off the coast, like a cruel joke.

Gary got in and we swam hard despite my fatigue. I asked Kim to feed me in 15 minutes instead of the usual 30-minute mark so we could make some progress. As expected, the slack tide quickly turned into a roaring flood tide, pushing us north. I swam hard but held back to keep some energy in reserve. Once again I watched Cap Gris Nez pass me, only this time to my right. I decided then that I could swim at least another six hours if needed, and it might very well be needed. By now I was tired but feeling good, happy, confident I could do this. We swam at 50 to 52 SPM for a solid hour.

At hour 12, Gary got out, and I was close enough to shore that I could see people on the beach. At this point, Kim, Gary and my father were going crazy, jumping and screaming that I was almost there! It was time to swim hard. It was time to live up to the Fast Eddie name and sprint. I was on fire! My stroke felt powerful, stronger than it has ever felt. I could feel my hard training paying off. I could see my name written on the wall of the White Horse pub. I could see my name etched on the English Channel Swim plaque at the South End Rowing Club.

Ten minutes later, Ray Brickell lowered the dinghy on the water – a sign I recognized from my 2002 relay swim that meant I was going to make landfall soon. Another burst of energy surged through me. My heart was thumping so hard I could hear it in my ears. I sprinted even faster. I had fuel left in me! I felt like I could swim forever. I felt nothing could stop me. More flashbacks from my 2002 relay crossing passed through my mind, of the last moments finishing the swim. I knew it was a matter of moments before the Viking Princess could not proceed due to shallow water and the dinghy would have to escort me to be beach.

Stroke by stroke I neared the bow of the Viking Princess; she could not proceed anymore. Kim, Gary and my father were all at the edge of the boat screaming. As I passed the bow, an unexpected cry erupted from my lungs, so loud my crew heard it. I mouthed “Thank you” to my crew; I thanked the Viking Princess for its protection during the swim. I could see Kim and my father crying and smiling, and Gary was leaning as far over the bow as he could, still clapping and yelling, “The White Horse is waiting! The White Horse is waiting!”

The Last 400 Yards

The last 400 yards I took what was mine. I sprinted all-out. I thought of the thirty 200-yard sprints I did at the University of San Francisco pool with Tom Keller, a successful English Channel swimmer and good friend from the Dolphin Club who helped me train for the Channel. Then Ray showed me the last sign from my crew, the one following the sign that read “There are people waiting for you on the beach!” This one said simply: NUDIST COLONY. I laughed and swam harder.

Suddenly the water felt really warm. I wasn’t cold but it still felt luxurious to swim those last yards in 65-degree water.

Fifty yards from shore I could see the rocky beach and though I thought I was already swimming as fast as I could, I swam even faster, until I touched the bottom and I could not swim anymore. With the rocks scraping my knees, it was time to stand and run to dry land. I took a few long strides onto the beach, turned around, and raised my arms. The Viking Princess blew her horn, marking the official end of my crossing. I had made it! 12 hours, 29 minutes. I dropped down on my knees and with my arms outstretched I cried from pure joy. I did it! I crossed the English Chanel!

Down on my knees I thanked the Channel Gods and my gods and I sent a kiss to Kim, Gary and my father on the boat. I was so grateful to Reg and Ray. I felt literally on fire. I wasn’t anywhere close to cold. I almost felt like getting back in and swimming back to England!

Due to French regulations I could not stay in France for more than five minutes, so I rushed to fill my swim cap with French rocks to take home. I made my way to the dinghy where Ray was waiting for me with a big smile. We shook hands and made the quick trip back to the Viking Princess.

When we got closer, I put my hands together and bowed my head and gestured toward my crew on the boat and said "THANK YOU." I felt electrified. Kim and Gary pulled me in from the ladder even though I didn't need help, and forced me to get dressed even though I wasn't cold. My eyes and tongue were swollen, but not as swollen as after some of my extra-long cove swims in San Francisco. I hugged Kimberly for a really long time and whispered to her that I could not have done it without her, and then I shook Gary's hand, thanked him and called him a bichon (gay in French, our inside joke). We laughed. I shook the hands of Reg, Ray and Mikee and thanked them, and then I hugged my dad and, in true Brazilian form, we both cried. We could not stop smiling.

After bundling up and sitting in one of the deck chairs, the first thing I asked for was my father’s gnocchi (mashed potatoes, ham and cheese balls baked in tomato sauce). It was a smooth, relaxed, happy two-hour journey back to England. We arrived just after sunset and the sky was lit up with beautiful red and gold clouds, just as it was at dawn that morning. The Dover coast guard passed us at the opening of Dover Harbor and they nodded at us as we passed.

Back at Dover Harbor, we saw Liam, a 6’7” or taller Irish swimmer we met at Varne Ridge who successfully crossed the Channel that same day. We celebrated together. Liam told me that what I accomplished nobody could ever take away from me. I knew the same was true for him.

We packed the car and rushed to Varne Ridge to share the good news with the owners Evelyn and Dave. They were ECSTATIC! We shared the good news with some of the swimmers and their crews and families who had come out of their caravans to greet us. Then, starving, we rushed down the road to the Royal Oak pub for food. They had stopped serving food, but re-opened the kitchen for us when Gary told them he had a hungry Brazilian in the car who just swam the English Channel. We had steaks, ribs, fish and chips and beer. Gary and I were both sweating from the heat of the long swim (he swam four hours with me!). When we got back to the caravan, we all collapsed like rocks.

Most photos and videos by Edison Peinado Sr. and Kim Howard.

The Day After

At 6 AM I was already up. I barely slept. I was restless and still hot. Spending 13 hours swimming under the sun really overheated me. Gary was packing his bag since unfortunately he had to work that day (he is also an airline pilot). Together we walked to the Varne Ridge cliff for another look at the Channel. It was a surreal feeling looking across that body of water, trying to let it sink in: what we had done the day before. We were mesmerized. I think our brains were still there in the middle of that channel reaching for France. It was another perfect day and we could see a line of fishing boats escorting a new batch of swimmers on their way to France.

After a warm goodbye, Gary left for London and I went back to bed. Eventually Kim and my father woke up. They were dead tired but their faces were radiant.

During the following week, Kim, my father and I rented a car, took the Chunnel to France and drove to Belgium, where we visited our good friends Kees and Marian, rode bikes every day, ate like kings, drank beer made by monks and enjoyed the beautiful farmland and all the animals (cows, sheep, horses, miniature horses, donkeys, cats, dogs, ducks, birds, even lamas). We made a short trip to Amsterdam, where we stayed with friends, took a canal boat tour and walked till we couldn’t walk anymore. My father flew back to Brazil from Amsterdam, and Kim and I went to the northern coast of France for two days.

We made our way back to Dover via car ferry, and experienced another surreal view of the Channel, still hard to believe that I swam that distance. Gary met us at Dover Harbor, and we went for our last swim. The three of us drove up to Varne Ridge to say goodbye to Evelyn and David, and we ended up having a nice late lunch with them. It was a perfect way to finish our trip.

BACK IN SAN FRANCISCO

Artwork by Pedro Ordenes.

Sign posted by Diana Craig.

The following is from an email that my friend Bill Wygant wrote. Bill is a past president of the South End Rowing Club and successfully swam the English Channel on a relay team with his wife, daughter and three other South Enders.

Last night our newest English Channel swimmer cooked everyone hamburgers for Happy Hour. Perhaps more importantly, we placed his plate on the English Channel Plaque in the Day Room.

Fast Eddie Peinado
2010
12hr 29 m

Eddie’s crossing displayed an embarrassment of physical riches and a huge heart. Perhaps not since JP has an English Channel swim been planned as meticulously and carefully. His training schedule involved tethered swims in small hotel pools after flying all day, sometimes for hours at a time. His baseline was an Ironman and the conditioning accelerated from there to marathon bricks of biking-running running-swimming. During his training we were given stories of his going out for a long run and ordering up a pizza to be delivered along his course. Once, club members arrived back at the club after a long run without him and finally located him by cell phone: he was eating pasta at an Italian restaurant in Marin before completing the run. During swims he at times towed 3 kayaks across from Alcatraz and many times completed an Alcatraz swim by circling the Cove while we watched from the dock. Of course his 15 Coves of Love will be hard to match, if not for the quantity, for the imagination he displayed in doing it.

Eddie’s gift to us is that he actually took us along for the ride; he engaged us and made the swim available to everyone who was interested. This is perhaps as large an accomplishment as the swim itself and far above a minimum standard to just get by and complete a crossing. Because psychologically, it is much harder to tell everyone your goal, load your boat up with your parents, your wife and friends and head off to conquer a major open water venue like the English Channel. In a very public way Eddie took on the Channel with all of us peering over his broad talented shoulders, and succeeded. Sitting in my office, work left undone, I watched those last few GPS plots of his swim. When he was just south of the Cape, we got word by e-mail that the boat captain had told Eddie that it was now time to “be Fast-Eddie” and the line from that point was straight and true to the beach. Etched before us all on our computer screens was a physical plot of a remarkable person's character.
Congratulations Eddie, that was a remarkable swim.

I learned that evening while adding my nameplate to the plaque that I am the 21st South Ender to cross the English Channel, and based on the CSA list of successful crossings, it appears that I am the 15th Brazilian to do so.

Final Words

For two years I trained for the 21 miles that put me face to face with the biggest challenge of my life. For two years I didn’t go a day without thinking about swimming the English Channel. It was, to say the least, quite a challenge to combine this level of a training schedule with my life on the road as an airline pilot. The long training workouts brought out the best in me and helped push me beyond what I thought were my limits. I already miss the grueling training and having that goal to work toward. But most of all I will miss the people who were part of my journey.

The priceless support from my family, friends and the South End Rowing Club – emotionally, spiritually, physically and financially – has left me feeling lucky and thankful for a lifetime. I am especially thankful for the love and support from my crew: my wife Kim Howard, my father Edison Peinado Sr. and Gary Bruce, my good friend and pacer. I am equally indebted to the priceless piloting of the Brickell brothers, Reg and Ray, and grateful to the Channel Swimming Association. I also can’t imagine doing the swim without David and Evelyn Frantzeskou, proprietors of the Varne Ridge Holiday Park in Folkestone, who were fun and gracious and endlessly helpful.

But one thing I learned from this swim is that even the best support team in the world, which I had, can take you only so far. At some point during an event like this, it’s up to the individual to decide whether to give up and get out or stay in and keep going. I’ll tell you: that ladder at the back of the boat tempted me more than once. If we don’t figure out how to control our minds and bodies and push ourselves, no amount of encouragement, as helpful as it is, will keep us going.

Some people say that swimming the English Channel has something to do with spiritually connecting two points on earth. Some people say 21 miles is the size of your ego. For me those 21 miles represent a pinnacle: the highest point I’ve ever reached, a place I can now look back on and draw from when I need courage to face future challenges.

To reach that pinnacle, I surrounded myself with family and friends, learned from fellow athletes, and put together a world class crew that guided me there. And I kept my eyes on the prize. Every time I walked by the English Channel Swim trophy at the South End Rowing Club, I touched it, I even kissed it. I visualized my name on it. I wanted to have my name among those Channel swimmers. I had a goal! And I decided I wasn’t going to give up until I reached it.

Now that I’ve swum the channel, yes my name is on that plaque. Mission accomplished. But I’m still humbled by the many amazing athletes at both the South End and the Dolphin Club next door. I am surrounded by some of the best rowers, swimmers, handball players and runners in the world, no exaggeration. They inspire me and keep me thinking about what’s next.

What is next? This is the question I get the most. First, I’m going to give my body a rest, lose the extra pounds I gained for the swim, and get my speed back. And before investing in another big adventure, I plan to pay down my student loan as much as I can and take on the challenge of upgrading to Captain at SkyWest Airlines.

As for my next sports adventure, it’s hard to say. I have never been as passionate about swimming as I am now, so my next event will probably be another swim. There are so many that I would love to do; for example:

• The length of Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada: 20 miles
• Lake Zurich, Switzerland: 26 kilometers
• Lake Windermere in northern England: 11 miles

I am also considering running the Marathon Des Sables, a 151-mile run across the Sahara Desert in Morocco, inspired by fellow English Channel swimmer Madhu Nagajara. Maybe I’ll learn how to mountain climb and take on Mount Everest.

The important thing is that I feel like I could do anything. That is one of the best outcomes of accomplishing something like this: you realize that life is limitless. It is yours for the taking.

Thanks to all of you! I could not have done it without you!

Fantastic sign done by Pat Cunneen.

24th International Self-Transcedence Marathon Swim Rapperswill-Zurich, Switzerland

2011-06-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Date: Sunday, August 7th 2011

Race briefing: Saturday afternoon in Rapperswil.

Start time: • Solo swimmers: 7.00 a.m. • Relay teams: 7.30 a.m.

Start: Rapperswil, Lido “Schlossbadi”

Finish: Zurich, Strandbad (lido) Tiefenbrunnen, Bellerivestrasse 200

Distance: 26,4 km – can be equivalent to 30 pool-km (dependent on the weather conditions)

Cut-off: 12 hours for individuals / 11,5 hours for relay teams (1.30 p.m. cutoff in Meilen)

Minimum age: • solo swimmers must be 16 on day of competition
• relay team swimmers must be 14 on day of competition

Entry fee: • Solo: CHF 190.– • Relay: CHF 290.–Included: food (before and after the swim), hot showers, t-shirt, results,certificate and medal.

Boat: • CHF 220.–. The swimmer will be accompanied throughout the race by a kajak, row boat or motor boat. It is permitted to bring your own boat,
see separate informations!

Change of category (wetsuit) is not possible.

Cat. without • Main categories men and women: up to 39 years
wetsuit: • Master men and women: 40 years and over

Categories • Main categories men and women: up to 39 years
with wetsuit: • Master men and women: 40 years and over

Categories • Relay teams without wetsuit
relay teams: • Relay teams with wetsuit

Follow below the video from the 2010 Swim

Brazilian Mermaids Conquer the English Channel Twice

2011-06-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

On June 27Th four Brazilian women broke the round trip world record for an English Channel Double Crossing Relay Swim, 18:42HS. The previous record was 19:02HS. They swam under the supervision of the Channel Swimming Association and were piloted by Andy King on board of the Fishing Vessel Lousie Jane. England to France: 8h:22HS. France to England: 10:22HS

Follow below their website:

http://www.travessiabalkis.com.br/

15 KAYAKS OF SUMMER

2011-06-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Fantastic books I recommend before any open water swim

2011-06-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Don't forget this one of course!

"Channel Food"

2011-06-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Follow bellow the feeding backbone of my English Channel Solo Crossing:

Hammer Gel

SPIZ

MAXIM

FRAN CRIPPEN DIES AT UAE WORLD CUP 2010

2011-05-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

US 10k Open Water Championships

2011-05-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Fran Crippen outsprints his American and Canadian rivals, including Chip Peterson, Andrew Gemmell and Alex Meyer, to win the 2010 USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Championships in Long Beach, California

MARATHON SWIM 2010 SWITZERLAND

2011-05-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

UNITED STATES PRESIDENT, BARACK OBAMA'S LETTER TO EDISON PEINADO JR.

2011-03-17T23:17:00.001-07:00

Letter written by Kimberly Dale Howard, Fast Eddie's Wife and English Channel Swim Pilot

ESPERIA MAGAZINE ARTICLE ABOUT EDISON PEINADO SWIMMING THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

2011-03-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

FAST EDDIE LA LALANNE PEINADO TRAINING

2011-03-17T22:48:00.001-07:00

BRAZILIAN TRIATHLETE, ROBERTO RODRIGUES, CANAL DA MANCHA ASPIRANT 2013!

2011-03-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

ENGLISH CHANNEL DOUBLE CROSSING KICKSTART TRAINING VIDEO 2

2011-02-06T12:21:00.001-08:00

ENGLISH CHANNEL DOUBLE CROSSING KICKSTART TRAINING VIDEO 1

2011-02-06T12:19:00.000-08:00

FAST EDDIE LALLANE PEINADO TRAINING

2011-02-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

13 KAYAKS!

THE FASTEST MAN IN THE WATER IS A BRAZILIAN! 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Dubai (UAE)

2010-12-31T18:58:00.001-08:00

Cielo’s high note

Extracted from: http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1

In what was perhaps “the” race of the championships, Cesar Cielo Filho (BRA) got the gold in the men’s 100m free, touching home in a new championships record of 45.74. Winner of the 50m free and third in the 4x100m free relay here in Dubai, Cielo also obtained the world crown in the 50m and 100m free at the 2009 long course championships in Rome (ITA), and getting the gold in the 50m free and bronze in the 100m free at the 2008 Olympics.

At 23, and training in Auburn (USA), Cielo is already the best swimmer in Brazil’s history and will certainly be the sprinter to beat at the next major rendezvous, including the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai (CHN), and naturally at the 2012 Olympic Games in London (GBR).

In his successful trajectory, Cielo has been the “obstacle” of French sprinters, namely Fred Bousquet, Alain Bernard, Amaury Leveaux or Fabien Gilot. This time, the latest “victim” was Fabien Gilot, who finished second in a time 45.97 – it was his first individual medal at world level, after being first in the 4x100m free relay and third in the 4x200m free relay. The bronze went to Russia’s Nikita Lobintsev (46.35), who got his fourth medal of the championships, after winning the 4x200m free relay, and finishing second in the 400m free and 4x100m free relay.

BRAZILIAN CONSULATE VISIT

2010-12-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

On December 21st I had the opportunity of meeting the Brazilian Consul at the Consulate General of Brazil for the San Francisco Branch. (http://www.brazilsf.org/indexE.htm)

The main reason of my visit was to officially thanks the Confedaracao Brasileira de Desportos Aquaticos,(http://www.cbda.org.br/canal-cbda/links-id-3604), for sending me the official Brazilian Swim Team uniform so I could proudly wear it in England/France during my Solo Channel Crossing Trip, representing Brasil.

It was a dream coming true representing Brasil with the Brazilian colors and the Brazilian Flag in Open Arms.

Follow below the letter I sent to the consulate:

December 21, 2010

Vossa Excelência
Consulado Geral do Brasil
300 Montgomery Street, Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94104

Dear Vossa Excelência,

On 19 July 2010, I swam 21 miles across the English Channel, from Dover to Calais in just a swim suit, cap and goggles (no wet suit, per official rules). This swim is considered the Mt. Everest of open-water swimming, and only about 1,200 people in history have successfully completed it. I proudly represented Brazil with the Brazilian flag in open arms, becoming only the 16th Brazilian to conquer this major venue of open cold water. In September, two more Brazilians swam the English Channel (including, to my knowledge, the very first paralympic Brazilian, an almost unimaginable feat), bringing the total number of Brazilians to 18.

I was inspired by the Brazilian swimmers who have been conquering this challenging body of water since 1959, when Abilio Couto became the first Brazilian to swim it in 12:49 hours. Below is a list of all the Brazilian swimmers who have successfully crossed the English Channel to date (2010 is the first time more than one Brazilian did it):

1. 1959 Abilio Couto
2. 1979 Kay France
3. 1989 Rogerio Lobo
4. 1993 Ana do Amaral Mesquita
5. 1994 Jose Rodini
6. 1995 Dailza Damas Ribeiro
7. 1996 Igor de Souza
8. 1997 Igor de Souza (double crossing)
9. 1998 Renata Agondi (em memoria)
10. 2001 Christiane Fanzeres
11. 2003 Percival Milan
12. 2004 Marcelo Lopes
13. 2006 Marta Mitsui Izo
14. 2007 Paulo Maia
15. 2009 Luciana Mesquita
16. 2010 Edison Peinado Jr. (myself) – TIME: 12:29
17. 2010 Marcello Collet (paralympic athlete – one leg) – TIME: 10:06
18. 2010 Tiago Sato – TIME: 9:51

In an effort to shine light on a sport not yet as prominent in Brazil as our world-class soccer, I would be grateful if you would, in the name of the sport of world-class open-water swimming, give notice to the Confedaração Brasileira de Desportos Aquaticos and the Federação Aquática Paulista that three Brazilians (Edison Peinado Jr., Marcello Collet and Tiago Sato) achieved what was at one time considered unachievable.

My swim was ratified by the Channel Swimming Association:
(http://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/).

For 2010 swim results, please see:
http://channelswimmingassociation.com/doc/2010_Swim__list_181010_for_the_web_site.pdf

I would like to express my gratitude to the Confedaração Brasileira de Desportos Aquaticos for sending me an official uniform of the Brazilian Swim Team so I could represent my country in English and French Waters. I also would like to highlight the special care that Ms. Chrisitane Fanzeres, the CBDA Maratonas Aquaticas secretary and also a successful English Channel swimmer and Mr. Coaracy Nunes Filho, CBDA President, for making sure I received the official Brazilian uniform in time to my trip to England.

I have read that more people have been in outer space than have accomplished this feat. I am honored to be a part of this incredible family of brave and passionate athletes, and to have represented Brazil among them.

I appreciate your attention, and I look forward to talking to you in person if you think it is necessary.

Sincerely,

Edison Martos Peinado, Jr.

CSA DINNER AWARD

2010-12-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

On November 2010 Kim and I went back to Dover, England in order to attend the Channel Swimming Association Dinner Party. During this dinner I received my Solo Crossing certificate. The dinner happened on November 6th at the Dover Town Hall

Arriving in London

The Varne Ridge

Dinner at the Royal Oak with David and Evelyn, owners of the Varne Ridge and Gary Bruce, my Channel pacer.

10 mile run; Folkestone-Dover-Folkestone, before the CSA Dinner.

Moments before my run I asked David to help me make a hole on a pound coin so I could start my new collection of earrings. Evelynn got so excited with the idea she ended up getting some pound earrings to herself too.

CSA DINNER

During the CSA dinner I had the opportunity to meet the Deputy Mayor of Dover who made me an honorarian Dovarian.

UNE MANCHE PARTOUT STEPHAN LORENZZO

2010-12-26T13:31:00.001-08:00

On July 2010 after my Solo Channel Crossing I had the honor of meeting French swimmer Stephane Lorenzo who became the first French disable swimmer to conquer the English Channel. He crossed the English Channel in 16:11 Hrs. Follow below his story and his website.(Stephane Lorenzzo, second from the right).

http://www.unemanchepartout.fr/mediascont.php?id=15

PRESENTATION.
STEPHANE LORENZO.

I am 37 years old, a competitive sportsman, and was a member of the French "Handisport" [disabled] swimming team from 1992 to 1996 and from 2003- 2004.

The passion is still the same - that of water and water sports, most particularly swimming.

The different occupations that I have had have always been in that area, and even now as I work as a Bodyguard and Swimming instructor at Aix-Les-Bains swimming pool, a qualified Sports Teacher.

After a break of several years for family and professional reasons, I decided to get back in training in the pool in order to take up a mad challenge: to swim across the English Channel. My motivation remains as strong as ever.

As I was born with a handicap, with no femur in my left leg, I still have to prove that I am as capable as an able-bodied person.

In taking on this challenge, I am hoping to prove to everyone that in spite of a handicap, of whatever kind, the human body can adapt and achieve great things.

To succeed in this project, I am giving myself two years of preparation [the crossing is planned for the beginning of August 2010] in order to make sure of my plans, to amass sufficient funds and to do my training.

I want to hold all the trump cards, have all the advantages on my side and so I have [ the help of] a physical training specialist, Frederic Bocquet, a physio-masseur, who will co-ordinate training sessions, and an advisory doctor, Valerie Gueguen, a sports doctor who will also look after my diet.

My preparations are made up of 6 x 3 hour long training sessions each week, plus a regularouting in a kayak on Lac du Bourget of about four hours.

I have the physique to do it, the mental capacity to succeed and the support required to make a go of this marvelous project: to be among the 900 swimmers to conquer the tiredness, the cold, the Channel currents and above all the first handicapped Frenchman to succeed.

An Association " Une Manche Partout" has been set up to collect the necessary funds. Also there is an internet site "http://www.une manche partout.fr" in order to publicize and give up-to-date information about the crossing, the training and to provide a site for the partners [sponsors]

I already have the support of various media groups who will follow my preparation up to the crossing. I would be very pleased to count on you as one of my sponsors, to carry our symbol, the flag of Aix-Les-Bains, of Savoie and of France as a sign of success and of surpassing oneself.

Swimmer uses Tibetan meditation technique in crossing of English Channel, Pt. 2

2010-12-26T12:49:00.001-08:00

Swimmer uses Tibetan meditation technique in crossing of English Channel Part 1

2010-12-02T17:50:00.001-08:00

By South-Ender Mark Welte:

Mark Welte is a yoga-guided writer who has been practicing for over ten years and teaches in the San Francisco area. He aims to spread greater vitality in others-in mind, body, and spirit-through yoga, and help to de-mystify the ancient practice. Plain-spoken and humorous, Mark helps make yoga and its benefits accessible to everyone-including his wife and daughter! Reach him at . ilfaunoyoga@gmail.com

Most people associate the practice of yoga with a routine of poses and a few minutes of meditation done in a room warm enough to illicit from the yogini a NyQuil cap of sweat, all packed into a 60-to-90 minute session. A yoga high follows, sometimes a frozen yogurt, too, and we're off on our blissed-out way.

That isn't the kind of yoga experience that San Francisco athlete Edison Peinado is used to. In "Fast Eddie's" world, the routine consists of one action repeated thousands of times and meditation that lasts hours, conducted in an environment of salt water ranging somewhere between 53-60 degrees Fahrenheit. And it goes on for over twelve and a half hours.

Eddie is an open water swimmer who this past summer completed the crossing of the English Channel. The feat is paramount in endurance sports, and calls on every fiber of the athlete's body and mind. Re-loading on food and supplements "mid-practice" is mandatory to keep up one's body heat and energy reserves. But sometimes even packet after packet of various "goo" supplements aren't enough to ward off the cold that drives down deep into the bones: "for the first six hours my stroke rate decreased and I started feeling hypothermic, and my boat crew could see my teeth chattering." Six hours is for most people only halfway through the swim, at best. And after months of training and thousands of miles and dollars to get to the swim itself, quitting is anything but an option. So how did he do it? How did he find the strength to keep warm and strong enough to finish?

The answer is a little-known meditative technique practiced by Tibetan monks, called Tummo. It is a discipline of the body, mind, and spirit that actually generates heat as an effect. Stories abound of Tibetan yogis sitting in the freezing cold with wet sheets draped around their nude bodies, and drying the cloth not once but several times. Tummo is a Tantric practice in which the yogi consciously gathers the body and mind's energy, and directs it toward a specific purpose. It is a variation of Kundalini yoga that cultivates an inner fire that burns away not only ignorance and ego, but apparently the usual physiological effects that usually accompany sustained immersions in cold water. "I visualize suns warming up my chakras, making them spin rapidly, and sending heat throughout my entire body," says Eddie, who now lives half the time in Chicago (he is an airline pilot with an ORD hub), and has yet to buy a winter jacket for four years now.

Check back tomorrow to read about Eddie's experience with Tummo as he swam the English Channel, and how he'll use it again next week for an Alcatraz swim fund-raiser for the South End Rowing Club.

Please subscribe to this column, and follow me @ilfauno

http://www.examiner.com/yoga-in-san-francisco/swimmer-uses-tibetan-meditation-to-cross-english-channel

FAST EDDIE'S ENGLISH CHANNEL STORY

2010-08-22T11:12:00.001-07:00

Homem ao mar: brasileiro desafia o Canal da Mancha Fábio José Santos - Hortolândia/SP

2010-08-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Homem ao mar: brasileiro desafia o Canal da Mancha
Fábio José Santos - Hortolândia/SP - 06/08/2010 1 comentários

O brasileiro Edison Peinado Jr. desembarcou em Londres, no dia nove de julho, com o intuito de tentar uma das mais desafiadoras aventuras humanas: cruzar as águas geladas e revoltas do canal da mancha. A natação em águas abertas -realizada em rios, lagos ou oceanos - é muito mais difícil, pra não dizer perigosa, que em uma piscina. A ausência de controle sobre o ambiente apresenta uma série de problemas ao atleta, mas também proporciona uma série de emoções diferentes, impossíveis em outras condições.

Além do desafio das travessias, como neste caso, a natação em águas abertas quando tem o caráter competitivo esta inserida nos jogos olímpicos através da maratona aquática. Sua primeira prova olímpica ocorreu nos jogos de Pequim (Beijing) em 2008. Por isso, exige preparação e até mesmo questões financeiras são diferentes. No caso do Canal da Mancha, que separa a Inglaterra do continente europeu, com mais de trinta quilômetros, este obstáculo sempre foi um grande desafio aos atletas.

A primeira travessia documentada ocorreu em 1875, por um capitão chamado Matthew Webb. Desde então muitos outros vem tentando esse difícil trajeto, sendo criada até uma organização de apoio para a travessia, a Chanel Swimming Association Ltd. Historicamente sete brasileiros e sete brasileiras enfrentaram esse desafio. O primeiro em 1958 foi Abílio Couto com o tempo de 12H45.Conheça agora um pouco da história de Edison Peinado Jr, que no dia 19 de julho juntou-se a estes destemidos nadadores.

Antes, a expectativa e a certeza do objetivo

LivrEsportes: Como surgiu o seu interesse pela natação de águas abertas?

Edison: Meu interesse por águas abertas começou no ano de 2000, quando fui morar em São Francisco, Califórnia (EUA). Eu sempre tive muita afinidade com o mar, mas como sempre morei na cidade de São Paulo raramente ia para o litoral paulista. Um dia, procurando emprego, estava caminhando pelo Fisherman's Wharf, um dos pontos turísticos mais famosos de São Francisco, quando deparei com um monte de nadadores dando braçadas em uma pequena baia chamada Aquatic Park. Isso me chamou muita atenção porque sabia que as águas desse local são muito geladas. Eu não tive duvida, no dia seguinte voltei ao local de sunga, touca e óculos de natação e pulei na água. Com certeza á água estava muito fria, mas nada que eu não pudesse agüentar. Desde então comecei a nadar neste local quase todos os dias após meu trabalho. Certo dia dei de encontro com uns nadadores que também estavam nadando nessa baia protegida e eles me convidaram para ser membro do South End Rwoing Club, um dos clubes mais antigos de remo, natação e handball da Costa Oeste dos EUA. O clube e famoso pelo seu programa aquático que quase diariamente tem algum sócio nadando de Alcatraz e passando por baixo da ponte Golden Gate. A paixão de nadar por águas abertas surgiu com o tempo, uma vez que eu sempre fui nadador de piscina e alguns fatores que te fazem apaixonar por águas abertas são notórios. Por exemplo: o mar ou rio não tem cloro, não é preciso parar a cada 25 ou 50 metros para dar virada, você nunca se cansa de ver uma nova paisagem. Ou seja, o panorama esta sempre mudando e mesmo que a correnteza seja sempre um desafio extra que faz você mudar de ritmo. Além disso as ondas requerem que você seja criativo em seu estilo, as vezes nadar em águas abertas é como nadar em uma montanha russa. Há um certo grau de perigo que faz de cada travessia uma experiência nova e esses perigos podem vir de uma água viva, um leão marinho, um tubarão ou até mesmo de barcos passando do seu lado o tempo todo. O nadador deve ficar sempre alerta do que rola à sua volta.

LivrEsportes: E pela travessia do Canal da Mancha?

O interesse de atravessar o Canal da Mancha nasceu em 2002 e apareceu minutos depois de eu ter atravessado esse mesmo canal com integrante de uma equipe de 6 homens. Na ocasião eu tive a oportunidade de nadar a primeira, a sétima e a décima terceira horas para chegar na França, sendo que cruzamos o canal em 13h03 em um time composto por 4 americanos, 1 chileno e eu. Assim que terminamos a travessia e pulei no barco indo de volta para a Inglaterra, olhei para trás e um pensamento passou pela minha cabeça: Será que eu conseguiria atravessar sozinho? Estava ai o desafio que subconscientemente havia sido implantado em mim.

Quais as diferenças entre a travessia realizada em 2002 e esta, solo?

A travessia em 2002 foi de revezamento. Naquela ocasião eu nadei a primeira hora e descansei 5 horas no barco. Depois nadei a sétima hora e descansei mais cinco horas e, por fim nadei a décima terceira e última hora dessa aventura. Na travessia da semana que vem terei completá-la toda sozinho, sem poder tocar no barco e só parando por 30 segundos a cada 30 minutos, quando poderei parar para me alimentar, sempre sem jamais tocar na embarcação.

LivrEsportes: Quais foram as etapas de preparação?

Foram dois anos de preparação. O primeiro ano foi de preparo físico geral. Para isso me participei do Iroman Florianopolis 2009.

O esforço da travessia e a satisfação do desafio vencido

Alguns dias após a travessia, a LivrEsportes entrou em contato com o nadador novamente, para concluir o relato de sua aventura.

As condições climáticas favoreceram?

As condições climáticas foram perfeitas uma vez que dias antes da travessia tinha passado uma frente fria e depois de alguns dias o tempo estava ideal para nadar. Estava um dia perfeito.

E seu preparo físico, lhe proporcionou o desempenho esperado?

Sim. Eu estava muito bem preparado fisicamente e mentalmente. Os meus treinos foram muito desafiantes uma vez que como piloto de linha aérea, 60% de meus treinos foram feitos literalmente amarrado nas piscinas de hotéis, uma vez que elas eram muito pequenas. Como você pode ver no vídeo que está no Youtube (em inglês) , durante minhas estadas em hotéis este era o único jeito para eu continuar treinando e manter minha forma para enfrentar os treinos chaves no mar. Mesmo assim nos meus dias de folga meus treinos chegavam a ser de 10 horas na água a fim de que eu atingisse a quilometragem necessária.

Sobre sua equipe de apoio, como foi o entrosamento?

Minha equipe de apoio foi muito importante para mim e eu não teria conseguido o sucesso que tive se não fosse o apoio deles. Eles não tiraram os olhos de mim durante as 12:29 Horas de travessia, fornecendo minha alimentação a cada 30 minutos, contando minhas braçadas, corrigindo meu estilo, e torcendo por mim o tempo todo. Dedico essa travessia especialmente para eles. Nenhum campeão chega ao pódio por ele mesmo, por mais que ele tenha cruzado a linha de chegada sozinho. Atrás de um bom atleta ha sempre uma equipe de apoio melhor ainda.

Qual a emoção após cumprir o desafio?

A emoção e muito grande. Ainda tenho arrepios e choro de alegria quando paro e penso no desafio que foi superado. Foram dois anos de muito trabalho, empenho e amor a natação. Se pudesse voltaria no tempo e faria tudo de novo. Este conquista levarei comigo pelo resto de minha vida.

Quais seus planos? Outro percurso? Ou brincando com sua profissão um "vôo" mais alto?

A principio quero perder os 10 kg que ganhei, ganhar um pouco da velocidade que perdi e me focar a outras provas de águas abertas como, por exemplo, as provas de 10 km.

Edison termina agradecendo as pessoas que o ajudaram, se esforçando para não esquecer ninguém, ao melhor estilo brasileiro.

Foi a travessia de minha vida, devo o sucesso dela a muitos fatores que incluem a seriedade com que enfrentei meus treinos, minha forca mental para superar a dor e o frio, a habilidade do barqueiro em me navegar pelo canal mais movimentado do mundo, a ajuda financeira que minha família e meus amigos me ajudaram para que eu pudesse pagar por este sonho e o mais importante foi o impecável apoio que meu time me deu a cada minuto desta travessia. Gostaria de agradecer o South End Rowing Club, um dos clubes mais antigos de Remo e natação de águas abertas de San Francisco, pela ajuda com os meus treinos e a ajuda financeira. A meus pais e minha esposa pela ajuda e apoio durante toda essa aventura. Ao meu pacer, o nadador Gary Bruce, que pulou na água diversas vezes para impor um ritmo bem competitivo na travessia fazendo que eu nadasse mais forte. E ao Clube ESPERIA, especialmente aos técnicos de natação Helio Gori e Antonio Carlos Tuechiari, Peninha.

A travessia

Um pequeno resumo de um grande feito, um dos maiores desafios da natação de mar aberto, a travessia da mancha é um desafio para poucos.

Dia 18 de Julho de 2010: Às 19h, o nadador brasileiro Edison Martos Peinado Jr recebeu a confirmação para sua travessia para o dia seguinte, dia 19 de Julho, às 5h30 pela pequena praia Shakespeare Beach, sul de Dover, Inglaterra.

19 de Julho às 5h15: a bordo do barco Vicking Princess o nadador juntamente com sua equipe de apoio; seu “pacer” ou “coelho” (nadador que auxiliar, que ajuda a manter o ritmo), Gary Bruce e os 2 pilotos do barco, os irmaos Brickell, seu pai Edison Peinado, sua esposa, Kimberly Howard e um juiz do Channel Swimming Association, para homologar toda a travessia, foram para a orla marítima Inglesa, a 50 metros da praia, de onde o nadador pulou e nadou até a areia, saindo completamente da água para iniciar a travessia conforme o regulamento.

5h35: todo coberto de lanolina para proteção contra as águas geladas do canal, equipado com uma touca de borracha, um par de óculos de natação e vestido de somente um maio, o nadador pulou na água, dando as primeiras braçadas rumo a Franca.

5h35 a 8h35: Edison descreve as primeiras dificuldades, “As três primeiras horas foram muito difíceis, uma vez que senti fortes dores no pescoço devido a um nervo encavalado que eu tinha e vinha tratando ha 3 meses, mas voltou a doer 2 dias antes da travessia”. Mal conseguindo virar o pescoço para direita ou para a esquerda para respirar, por isso meu ritmo caiu para menos de 40 braçadas por minuto, (meu ritmo normal é de 45 a 55 braçadas por minuto), deixado todos no barco muitos preocupados. “Em conseqüência disso a temperatura de meu corpo passou a esfriar devido a eu estar nadando mais devagar do que meu ritmo normal. Em uma de minhas paradas para alimentação, deixei meu time de apoio a par do problema e eles me deram 2 comprimidos para dores aliviando minha dor.”

9h: “Da terceira para a quarta hora, meu pacer pulou na água para me “puxar” e consegui aumentar o ritmo de braçadas.

10h aproximadamente: “Com 6 horas de travessia eu comecei a me sentir melhor e mais aquecido. A alimentação planejada foi me dando mais forca e finalmente a dor no meu pescoço desapareceu. No meio do canal percebi que a travessia era tangível devido a costa francesa estar mais visível a cada braçada que eu dava. Isso me deu um motivo a mais e com isso passei a nadar mais eficientemente mantendo um ritmo de 48 braçadas por minuto.”

14h: “Às 9 horas dentro da travessia eu estava a 3 km da costa francesa. Mas e exatamente neste ponto que a travessia começa uma vez que a maré muda e você passa as próximas três ou quatro horas tentando chegar à praia. Eu estava ciente disso uma vez quando eu participei do revezamento em 2002(ver primeira parte da entrevista) aconteceu exatamente o mesmo. O nadador esta a 3 km da praia e a correnteza o leva paralelamente a costa por horas até que o movimento de água diminui e fica possível chegar a praia. Ciente do que estava acontecendo eu continuei nadando calmamente, fui me alimentando a cada 30 minutos e com a ajuda do barqueiro, que me navegou impecavelmente eu comecei a cruzar a maré diagonalmente para tentar chegar a praia. “

17h: ”Às 12 horas de travessia o Cap Griz Nez (é o ponto geográfico mais ocidental da França e mais próximo da costa da Inglaterra, aproximadamente 30 km) já se fazia bem presente em frente a mim e aos poucos fomos chegando à orla francesa. Meu time de apoio estava indo a loucura de emoção e alegria. Finalmente a 1000 metros da praia e já livre de qualquer correnteza o comandante do barco pediu que seu irmão, Ray Brickell, abaixasse o bote para poder me acompanhar ate a praia devido à profundidade ser muito rasa e o barco pesqueiro não poder avançar mais em direção a terra. Assim que eu vi o bote na água eu sabia que a travessia estava garantida. Eu comecei a nadar mais rápido ainda.

17h29: “Finalmente eu comecei a tocar a areia com os meus dedos a cada braçada que eu dava, e aos poucos a praia foi dando pé e as 12:29HS eu estava de pé em solo francês. A praia que eu cheguei fica entre Cap Girs Nez e pequena cidade francesa chamada Wissant. “

I DID IT! WE DID IT! 12:29HOURS!

2010-07-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

Dear family and friends,

I did it! 12:29 Hours! It was the best swim of my life! I owe the success of this crossing to my fantastic support boat crew. They played a key role during this swim. Thanks Kim Howard, thanks Gary Bruce and thanks my dear father; Sr.Edison Peinado, Reg and Ray Brickell and Channel Swimming Association Observer, Mike.

Crossing the Shipping Lane

100 yards from the beach

Kim and Gay. They literally rocked that boat!

My father, Sr. Eddie Peinado, my guardian angel.

To one of the BEST countries in the world; I love you my USA!

Brazil: I LOVE YOU! Forget soccer...stick with swimming!

Thanks Eperia! Thank you Helio Gori and Antonio Carlos Turchiari,AKA Peninha.

SWIMMING TODAY JULY 19TH!

2010-07-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

I will start my swim across the English Channel, England to France today, Monday the 19th at 6AM UK time.

San Francisco time 10PM of July 18th.

Sao Paulo, Brazil 2AM of July 19th.

Follow below the GPS link so you can track me during the swim. It will be activated at 6AM and it will be reporting my position every 20 minutes.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0CodCjF3noGjLbsnYTQuAt8ZJn50cuoqS

I just want say a huge THANKS to all of you who helped me get here.

Dear family and friends and beloved South End Rowing Club: I LOVE YOU!

Sunday July 18th, My Swim Window is open!

2010-07-18T02:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Saturday July 17Th, I called the boat pilot, Reg Brickell and he told me that Monday, July 19Th might be a good day. In my opinion the swim should not happen untill Tuesday. No worries and no rush.!We are having a great time here. I am swimming everyday and my special crew is making my stay very special. I am very lucky to have my wife Kim Howard, my British friend; Gary Bruce and my father Edison Peinado taking care of me. We had a crew briefing yesterday and we are ready to go!

I will keep all of you posted!

Love,

Eddie

Looking at France from Folkestone

2010-07-14T10:01:00.001-07:00

TRAINING IN DOVER

2010-07-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

Eddie Peinado and Gary Bruce at the Dover Harbour going for another training session.

Follow My English Channel Crossing Live

2010-07-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

During My my crossing I will have a GPS on the boat tracking my course. Click on the link below.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0CodCjF3noGjLbsnYTQuAt8ZJn50cuoqS

Special thanks to Mark Stone, Santa Cruz County Supervisor and also a successful English Channel Swimmer, who let me borrow his GPS/Spot device.Please click on the link below to read about Mark's journey.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_12839935?IADID=Search-www.santacruzsentinel.com-www.santacruzsentinel.com

First Swim at Dover Harbour

2010-07-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

On Saturday July 10th I went for my first swim at Dover Harbour. The water temperature was 62F/16 Celsius. Very warm compared to the San Francisco Bay Waters.

I was very happy after my first swim. Bring it on!

80F degree weather!

The Varne Ridge Holiday Park

2010-07-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

Home sweet home. This is our trailer in Folkestone, Capel La Ferne.

SFO-LHR by Virgin Atlantic

2010-07-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday July 8th, 2010. Virgin Atlantic Flight 020 San Francisco-London Heathrow, Jumbo Jet 747-400! One day I will fly one of these babies!

I would like to highlight the fantastic service provided by Virgin Atlantic! Very professional, very friendly and very supportive of my dream! Special thanks to the Check In people, to the Inflight Crew and to the pilots! You made my flight very special!

Madam Butterfly!

Hum, Can I swim that gap?

Almost there!

My favourite screen shot!

My last week at "work"

2010-07-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

When you catch yourself walking around your work environment taking pictures of you, your co-workers and the work environment you live in, you realize one thing: WOW! I really enjoy what I do! And I really do!

Captain Tony Seymour and First Office Eddie Peinado

You really feel the adrenalin when you are at the controls of a Jet airplane, either running down the runway going over 200 miles an hour for a take off, cruising at 500 miles an hour over the entire North America or coming for a fantastic landing at the nation's busiest airports.

YES!I LOVE MY JOB! I also take this time to thank SkyWest Airlines for this opportunity!

...THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!

THANK YOU SOUTH END ROWING CLUB!

2010-07-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

The month prior my trip to England was one the busiest months of my life. So many last minute trip details to go over on top of the training sessions I felt I little overwhelmed. Besides that the South End Rowing Club held a fantastic English Channel fundraising party on behalf of my trip. The party was fantastic especially with the HUGE help from Kim Howard, Robin Kincaid and Dave Maloney, Alisson Kallahamer, Tom Keller and many other helpers. Due to my work schedulle I was not able to go.

The love and support from the members from the SERC has been something that I take not only to France but throughout my entire life! Thank you so much for all the great support! Thank you so much for warm hugs and good luck wishes!I could not have accomplished this huge part of my journey without you!

Also,I could not have arrived at the English shores ready to go without you, Kim Howard; THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH END ROWING CLUB!

2x2 Hr SWIM at the Aquatic Park, Water Temperature 53-63F

2010-06-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

On June 12th 2010, I did two 2 hour swims at the Aquatic Park. Besides the perfect weather conditions, air temperature almost 80 F, the water temperature wasn't giving me much of a break, with a few very warm spots, 63F and, a few very cold spots, 53F.

My swim partners for the day were: Maya, Berry McGuire, Darrin, Jim Bock, Alison Kalhammer, Kim Howard, and our beloved friend from the Dolphin Club and also a successful English Channel swimmer; Duke Dahlin.

It was perfect day to work on my "brazilian colore".

Eddie and Duke showing off their tan.

Pictures by Maya Nasution.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE WHALES!

2010-06-18T08:52:00.001-07:00

The Humpback Tail

This one will be swimming the English Channel with me!

For more information about the Humpbacks go to the website below!

http://www.whale-images.com/info/humpback-whale-facts.htm

TOMALES BAY SWIM

2010-06-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

On May 30th 2010, Chris Blakeslee, aka El Sharko, also a successful English Channel swimmer, hosted the SPRING CHOMP SWIM. The course was from Hearts Desire Beach, West side of Tomales Bay, to the East side of Tomales Bay and back; a two mile swim. The water temperature was around mid 60's F. It was a perfect day!

Perfect swimming conditions!

Fantastic Area for a Pic-Nic!

Southenders enjoying the day!

After the swim a big group of southenders went to Point Reyes town for a great brunch. In this picture; me, Masita Nasution, aka Maya and my swim partner Berry McGuire. Maya is a National Champion Swimmer from Indonesia. Besides being a great swim coach and a fantastic swimmer she is a great person to be around. She is studying to be a cooking chef.

THE CAUSE

2010-06-10T12:08:00.003-07:00

10% of all donations I receive will go to San Francisco BAYKEEPER, a great nonprofit that keeps Bay Area water and its marine life clean, healthy and safe.

How I train for the English Channel when I'm on the road

2010-06-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

To all of you who ask me how I train for the English Channel while I am flying around the country, enjoy this:

Gray whale in SF Bay

2010-06-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning a kayaker from the BASK group, shot this video as he was out for a nice morning paddle. What a surprise! Follow below his narrative about the encounter.

June 02, 2010 — On my paddle today, came across a gray whale that was probably feeding. The first 2 parts are from the first time I saw it, the last part from just before I left (about 45 minutes later). He/she would come to the surface 4 or 5 times for a breath, and then go deep (presumably after food).

Marine Mammal Protection Act disclaimer. The MMPA states that we can not "take" marine mammals. Originally, take meant kill, but over the years it has come to mean harass. Now the safe route is to make sure your actions do not change the marine mammal's actions as a way to know you are not impacting it (and definitely not harassing it). These videos where shot with telephoto (so I was not as close as it may seem), and at no time did the whale's behavior change. When I left, he was still feeding in that area.

FOLKESTONE AND VARNE RIDGE BUNGALOWS

2010-06-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is the place I will be staying in Folkestone. It is right on top of the cliff facing France.

DOVER

2010-06-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

On September 2009 I went to Dover, England in order to find a hotel to stay in 2010 during my crossing. The pictures below portray Dover very well. Enjoy it!

BAY TO BREAKERS SWIM 2010

2010-06-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Follow below a fantastic write up by Cathy Delneo about the Bay to Breakers 2010 Swim that happened on May 31st of 2010. Enjoy it!
Yesterday 19 swimmers entered the water at the Bay Bridge and began their swim toward Ocean Beach accompanied by zodiacs and the Dauntless. The slowest swimmers jumped at 5:45, the second group at 5:50, the third at 5:55, and the fastest swimmers jumped at 6:00.

Everybody on board the DAUNTLESS

Captain Dave Santos

Things seemed easy enough at the beginning. The sun was rising, the water was calm and smooth. Race Director Bill Wygant directed the pilots to keep the swimmers close along the waterfront - no trips to Alcatraz on his watch! The swimmers swam in four pods until they reached Aquatic Park and met up with their individual pilots, who accompanied them for the rest of their journey. This was the first time we'd tried this new approach to the swim, which Bill Wygant developed. Bill pondered some of the logistical hangups we'd had in the past with B2B and did a great job of rethinking how to handle the swim. It was great to see all of the kayakers and wooden boat pilots when we got abeam Aquatic Park!

Once we'd paired up with our individual pilots, the wind seemed to pick up and with it, the chop. It was a bit tough to find a nice rhythm between Aquatic Park and the Golden Gate Bridge, but the swimmers and pilots soldiered on.

We passed beneath the Golden Gate about a quarter of the way between the two towers. Then, sighting on Mile Rock, the athletes made their way along the course. Most swimmers went to the right of Mile Rock as originally directed. You'll have to ask others how they navigated Mile Rock, but I followed my pilot's direction and rather than get smacked into the structure, went inside Mile Rock and a small rock that was jutting out of the water to its left. It has been said that once you get to the Gate, the B2B swim begins. I've decided that once you get to Mile Rock, the B2B swim begins. I've been there before and thought I had the beach in the bag only to find myself shut out by poor course, rip currents, and waves. I knew better than to think that it'd be smooth sailing.

After passing Mile Rock, we sighted on Seal Rocks. This was where the course people took seemed to make a big difference. Those who aimed straight at Seal Rocks were able to come in tight and swing right around it then land on the beach. Those who sighted just to the right of Seal Rocks got swung wider and moved further from the finish than they expected by the current. There's a theory that if you turn perpendicular to shore at Mile Rock you'd actually be in the best position - anyone want to test it next year?

Upon getting to Kelly's Cove, most swimmers felt the waves were a little easier to navigate than they were for our OB test swim on Saturday. The waves were certainly smaller - but they were also disorganized. There wasn't really any way to body surf in, there was a lot of swirling and "voodoo currents". Yet many swimmers did successfully navigate that last challenging bit of the course! While the swimmers headed toward Sharko's warm embrace, the kayakers headed back to the mother ship.

The swimmer-pilot pairs who made it to Ocean Beach were:
1. Jim Sweeney - Randy Brown
2:18.41
2. Michelle Deasy - Holden Hardcastle
2:18.58
3. Hank Stern - Barry Naughton
2:20.56
4. John Walker - Tom Wilhelm
2:22.00
5. Mike Tzortzis - Alan Owings
2:37.15
6. John Flahavan - Patty Norman
2:38.15
7. Hendrik Meerman - Elizabeth Glass
2:39.20
8. Cathy Delneo - Bryce Goeking
2:39.26
9. Jim Cooney - Cy Lo
2:43.30
10. Tina Voight (w) - Jim Bock
2:44.15
11. Anne Schonauer - Kristin Hutchins
2:44.21
12. Kristine Buckley - Joe Bracco
2:47.00
13. Lisa Serebin - Paul Springer
2:51.15

The following swimmer-pilot pairs made it to Seal Rock but went back in the big boat:
Anne Turtle (w) - Julian
Sylvia Marino (f) - Darren Leva
Jay Ligda - Joe Butler

Dianna Shuster (piloted by Jeff Brown), James McLoughlin (piloted by Rafe) and Eddison Peinado (piloted by Alison Saylor) got out earlier. (Strangely, Eddie jumped back into the water for the final swim to the beach and then ran back to the club. Seriously? Eddie! You're a madman!)

Special thanks to the two Dolphin Club members who aided us in the swim! Marcus, a Dolphin rower, joined us for the entire course. And Barry Christiansen came to our aid upon hearing about the recent troubles the black zodiac has been having. He took out one of the Dolphin Club's boats with Bill James along as a co-pilot.

South End zodiac pilots Paul Saab, JJ Crawford, and Barry Maguire zipped about the course, finding the best places for the swimmers and pilots to go. They were aided by co-pilots Zina Deretsky, and Susan Petro.

On the big boat we had a super crew - Dave Santos, Steve Zielinski, and Scotty - and great volunteers, too - Jeany Duncan, Mary Leigh Burke, and Lynn Sywolski. Photographer Geoff Strum came along to document the event, as well! (Can't wait to see those pictures!)

We also had wonderful volunteers in the surf: El Sharko served as the beach captain and his crew included John Hathaway, and Marie Watson.

Many friends and family gathered on the beach to shower swimmers with warm water and ferry cold swimmers back to the warmth of the South End saunas. (Did I see Jane Koegel, bearer of warm water there on the beach? Or was that just a mirage?)

The swim was a great success, with so many swimmers getting all the way to Seal Rock and a big number making it safely to Ocean Beach. Many thanks to everyone who assisted with planning this event including Bryce Goeking, kayak wrangler! Special thanks to the non-South Enders, who gave up part of the weekend to help us do this dream swim! And most especially, thanks to Bill Wygant for all the hard work and planning that he dedicated to putting on a safe, fun swim!

Cathy

p.s. I'm confident I'm forgetting to thank someone....
p.p.s. Please forward this on to anyone involved in the swim who's not on the google and yahoo groups. Thanks!

Bay to Breakers Beach Practice

2010-06-02T11:39:00.001-07:00

On May 29th 2010 the South End Rowing Club held a practice swim at Ocean Beach; Kelly's Cove, for the swimmers who would be swimming the famous Bay to Breakers swim on May 31st. This swim starts under the Bay Bridge and finishes at Ocean Beach, requiring a lot of effort from the swimmers to make landfall due to the high seas.

The practice swim was a great way for the swimmers to get familiar with the rip tides, back eddies and the surfing into the beach. It was a fantastic practice swim!

The Crazy Bunch

CHANNEL CROSSING DAY SIMULATION

2010-06-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

On May 28th 2010 I had a Channel Crossing Day Simulation with two of my pilots; my wife, Kim Howard and my friend pilot and swimmer Gary Bruce, who will be in charge of preparing my food, feeding me, counting my stroke per minute on every hour and, making sure I am doing well during my swim.

The preparation started with Kim and Gary mixing the protein/carb drink bottles, heating the vegetable broth, making the tea, labeling the bottles and organizing it inside a basket in order to feed me the right food at the right time. All of that preparation was guided by a feeding schedulle excell sheet.

After that we went to the South End Rowing Club Dock where we finilized the details for the swim. That day I was attemting a 6 hour swim but due to a pinched nerve on my back I had to stop the swim after 1:30HR.

On the picture above Kim is finishing greasing me up with Vaseline in order to protect me a little bit from the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay. Please disregard the "flotation device" I have hanging above my swim trunks. The "device" besides keeping me afloat is giving me great insulation.

Thumbs up! Here I am moments before the swim with Gary Bruce who will be my pacer during my solo crossing across English Channel. Gary will jump at the 6th, 9th and hopefully the 12th and last hour of my crossing.

I WILL CONQUER THAT CHANNEL...ONE INCH AT A TIME

2010-05-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

Extreme swimmer sets record for swimming in the Antarctic

2010-05-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

July 16, 2007 — Extreme swimmer Lewis Pugh has set a new world record for the most southerly long-distance swim, conquering the icy Antarctic waters at 65 degrees south. The 1 km swim follows just months after a record Arctic swim, making the British solicitor the first person to accomplish such a feat in both the world's coldest seas.

Sporting only a swimsuit, cap and goggles, Pugh took less than 19 minutes to complete the swim near Vernadsky, a scientific base on Antarctica, in water of 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and heavy snow.

www.itnsource.com
Reuters 17880/05

Lewis Gordon Pugh North Pole Challenge

2010-05-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

LewisGordonPugh — February 13, 2008 — Lewis Gordon Pugh became the first human to complete a long distance swim at the Geographic North Pole in nothing more than a Speedo, cap and goggles. By swimming in a region that was once completely covered in ice, Lewis showed the world that climate change is happening and we have the power to stop it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sS8OcEwXNs)

Take a look at his great website:
http://www.lewispugh.com/pages/default.aspx

RIO 2016

2010-05-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

VAI BRASIL!!!

The English Channel and the Channel Swimming Association

2010-05-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

The CSA

The Channel Swimming Association is the governing body of English Channel swimming and since March of 1927 has been organizing and regulating all swim attempts. All the swims are officially observed by its designated officials and are faithfully recorded in the Association’s Official Handbook. Many Long-Distance Swimmers strive to join the ranks of the famous few, who have conquered “The Channel” in the Strait of Dover and, to have a successful swim officially ratified and recorded by the CSA represents the highest swim pinnacle of success. (Extracted from the CSA book ISBN 978-1-906299-31-6)

Captain Matthew Webb was the first person observed to have successfully swum from Dove, England to Calais, France in 1875. His crossing time was 21 hours and forty five minutes.

On August 6th 1926 Gertrude Ederle, a nineteen year old American lady, was the first woman to swim the Channel, from England to France, in 14:39 hours, setting a new world record.

The CSA also set rules for relay teams, allowing them to be authenticated. Relays of 2,3,4,5,6 swimmers are allowed. On July 6th 2002, I was part of the San Francisco Sunrisers, a six man relay team. We crossed the Channel in 13:03 minutes. I had the chance to start the swim from Shakespeare Beach, swim the 7th hour and I had the honor to swim the 13th hour and the remaining 3 minutes, finishing the crossing with my teammate, Rhys Ludlow.

From left to right: Jim Miller, Dan Needhan, Steven Ray, Edison Peinado, Pedro Ordenez and Rhys Ludlow; celebrating the crossing.

The Five Coves of Death / Cinco de Mayo Swim

2010-05-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

On May 5th 2010 at 5PM The South End Rowing Clubs held its annual Cinco de Mayo Swim aka The Five Coves of Death. In this event swimmers attempt to swim 5 coves; about 1 mile each cove, with water temperatures ranging from 54-56F. This event was created years ago by Bill Horgos, a South End Legend, and it is a qualifier for the famous Bay to Brakers Swim; a 10mile swim from the Bay Bridge to Ocean beach, event to happen at the end of May. Tequila shots are optional after every cove.

I started the swim by myself at 2:30PM and at 5PM 40 swimmers joined me for their five coves attempt. It felt great having company around me every cove I swam.

As part of my training schedule I used this event to attempt a 6 hour swim. The Channel Swimming Association requires at least one 6 hour swim in water temperature below 60F, one swim cap and one swim suit, in order for a swimmer to qualify for a solo crossing attempt at the English Channel.

Kim Howard, Captain of The Penaat, piloting the swim.

The South End dock became one big feeding station for the swimmers.

By 7:30PM most of the swimmers had completed their many coves and I was still soldiering on, committed to my 6 hour attempt.

My wife Kim Howard had been rowing/piloting the event since 5PM and after 7:30PM she became my personal pilot, making sure I was doing alright and committed to the 6 hour challenge.

In this picture I am on my last hour, doing laps to and from the Flag. Every round trip I did would "buy" me 15 minutes in the water.

After 6:05 minutes in the water and without daylight, it was time to finish the swim. As I approached the South End and the Dolphin dock to swim my last yards I looked up at the South End dock and saw all my beloved friends screaming and cheering me, it brought tears to my eyes!

Even tough I had already qualified for the Channel on September of 2009, this 6 hour swim was key to my training schedule since I was able to stay in the water for 6:05 hours in temperatures below 55F, boosting my confidence towards my solo crossing.

Celebrating the qualify with Kim and looking for a pen to get that "piece of paper"(6 hour certificate) signed!

TRIBUTE TO PAPA PEDRO

2010-04-29T10:00:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-15T12:34:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-04-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

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.

Follow My English Channel Crossing Live

2010-03-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

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.

27,000 YARDS POOL TRAINING

2010-03-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

"My Office"

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:

1. 1HR FRS (Carb/Vitamin Energy Drink)
2. 1:50 FRS
3. 2:40 Warm chicken broth+MARZIPAN+water
4. 3:20 ½ bottle smoothie tied with bottle H2O
5. 4:00 ½ bottle smoothie + hot green tea+gu+honey
6. 4:40 Warm chicken broth+water+MARZIPAN
7. 5:20 FRS+WATER
8. 6:00 MASHED POTATOES+MEAT+NUTELLA+WATER
9. 6:30 MASHED POTATOES+MEAT+NUTELLA+WATER
10. 7:00 WARM GREEN TEA+WATER +VITAMINS
11. 7:30 FRS+WATER
12. 8:30 Warm chicken SOUP+WATER
13. 9:00 Warm chicken SOUP+WATER
14. 9:30 WARM GREEN TEA+WATER
15. 10:00 FRS+GREEN TEA+WATER+VITAMINS
16. 10:30 FRS+GREEN TEA+WATER
17. 11:00 Warm chicken SOUP+WATER
18. 11:30 GREEN TEA+WATER 19. 12:00 FRS

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.

Take care, Love

FAST EDDIE PEINADO

25,000 YARDS TRAINING

2010-03-25T19:20:00.001-07:00

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.

This was my duty for the day:

12x2000 1'rest

1. Swim
2. Swim
3. Kick
4. Pull
5. Swim
6. Swim
7. Kick
8. Swim
9. Pull
10. Swim
11. Kick
12. Swim

5x200 30" rest

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.

5,000 yards down, 18,000 yards to go!

2010-03-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

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:

• 5 x 1500 yards resting 1 minute.
• 4000 yards kicking
• 3500 yards swimming and breathing every 4 strokes
• 1000 yards backstroke
• 3000 yards pull buoy
• 20X200 yards

Total workout: 23,000 yards.

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"!

It was just like that!

THE SOUTH END ROWING CLUB AT SUNSET

2010-03-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

This video was taken by Kim Howard in one of the most beautiful sunsets at the SERC. Enjoy it!

THE SOUTH END ROWING CLUB AT SUNRISE

2010-03-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

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.

62nd Alcatraz Crossing

2010-03-23T09:19:00.001-07:00

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.

THE SWIMMER

2010-03-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

Every English Channel Swimmer has a list of favourite movies. The Swimmer is number one in my list. Enjoy it!

The Fantastic Five Run the Winter Solstice Outlaw Marathon

2010-03-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

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.

SERC Fast Eddie Training for English Channel Swim

2010-02-14T00:50:00.000-08:00

This great video was taken by Allen Wong while I was paddle boarding around the Aquatic Park. Enjoy it!

Save your shoulders: Cross train!

2010-02-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Being a member of the South End Rowing club is definitely an advantage when the subject is swimming across the English Channel. The club is located in one of the best places for any channel training, specifically the English Channel, due to its cold water temperatures and strong tides, making it natural training grounds for open cold water swims and fostering endurance swimmers. We are also neighbors to another fantastic swimming and rowing club, The Dolphin Club, also well known for having sent many swimmers to the English Channel.

So far the SERC has logged something like 20 successful solo crossings and three 6 people relay teams. In 2002 I was part of one of these teams, crossing the Channel in 13:03 hours. So I know from experience that training in the San Francisco Bay is definitely an advantage for anybody seeking to master their open water swim skills and gather information for future channel attempts.

My biggest concern about my English Channel training making sure I don’t injure myself, especially my shoulders, since shoulder injuries tend to be common among long distance open water swimmers.

Some things I try to do to avoid injuries include breaking up my long training sessions in the bay and ocean with intermittent pool swimming to maintain my stroke, lots of stretching, weight training, resting, and cross training. This combination, in my opinion, helps me avoid some of the wear and tear on my shoulders.

For cross training, my schedule typically includes:

• Biking
• Running
• Stretching
• Weight lifting
• Yoga
• Sea-kayaking
• Rowing
• Paddle boarding

The beauty of the examples I mentioned above is the fact that I love doing them and I never get bored adding them to my regular pool and bay swim workouts. Many of you know the kick start for my English Channel training was completing my first IRONMAN in Florianopolis, Brazil. Training for that IRONMAN formed the foundation for my water training, and more importantly, the mental training, because I had never done a sports event lasting over 10 hours before that. (My write up about the Ironman is below.)

My favorite bike workout is going from the SERC to Bolinas and back. It is about 60 miles with a lot of climbs and descents.

View Larger Map

My favorite run workout is running the Dipsea trail. A double, of course! (About 14 miles round trip of steep mountain trails starting at about 0’ in Mill Valley, peaking at 1360’ just above Cardiac Hill and dipping back to 0’ again at Stinson Beach.)

In the picture above I am on my way back from Stinson Beach.

Take a look at this oldest trail race in Amercia: http://www.dipsea.org/

View Larger Map

Stretching and yoga are my routine during my flying trips. For my yoga I follow a great book from Peter Kelder. You can check it out at:

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Secret-Fountain-Youth-Book/dp/0385491670

Weights

There is a lot of information on the web regarding swimming exercises and weight training. Weight training when done right will definitely improve your strength in the water. I find this website very helpful: http://www.netfit.co.uk/swimming-web.htm

Below is a nice circuit I like to do in the SERC or hotel gym:

Squats
Leg Press
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Lat Pull-down
Seated Rowing
Bent-over Rowing
Lateral Raise
Shoulder Press
Bench Press
Dumbbell Curl
Push-up
Abdominal Work
Assorted Stretches

Sea Kayaking is another passion of mine. Either doing a round trip Alcatraz at 5:00 pm when the winds are gusting and there are white caps all over the bay or riding the big rollers under the Golden Gate Bridge are my favorite kayak workouts.

Rowing is another great way to cross train because it uses so many different muscles in the body. It’s pretty much the closest thing to running in terms of using the whole body. If not out on the water, in the gym on the rowing machine. The SERC has a fantastic rowing program and a variety of boats, from old woodens like the one I’m rowing in the photo below, or racing shells.

Paddle boarding lately has been my most frequent non-swimming workout. It is a fantastic upper body and shoulder workout since your body is pretty much on the water line. Every time I go back to my regular pool and open water workouts I really feel the strength in my stroke after a good paddle board workout.

20,000 YARDS OF THANKSGIVING

2010-02-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

On November 25th 2009, the day before Thanksgiving, I did an 11+ mile workout at University of San Francisco that took me 6:15 hours. I had the company of many South End Rowing Club and Dolphin Club members including a personal pacer, Tom Keller, former president of the Dolphin Club.

20,000 yards later and still smiling

Tom successfully crossed the English Channel a few years back and has accomplished many open water swims, including the Sacramento River delta swim relay, from Sacramento to the Aquatic Park in San Francisco. The swim raised funds for BAYKEEPER, the same nonprofit I am raising money for, bringing awareness to people about the water quality in and around the San Francisco Bay.

Before my workout I had the opportunity to meet in person Larry Scroggins, an “OG” (old guy) by his own words, who also will be crossing the English Channel this summer. Larry is a fantastic swimmer, a great guy, and as I learned recently, also a great writer – check out his blog about swimming and training for the Channel:
http://larrychannel.blogspot.com/.

Look at the “OG’s” abs, 22 years older than me. I feel like the Michelin man next to him.

This was my workout breakdown in the pool that Wednesday before Thanksgiving:

• 7X1000 YARDS 15’ REST
• 3000 YARDS KICK FINS
• 3000 YARDS PULL BUOY WORK
• 2000 YARDS SWIMMING WITH FINS
• 1000 YARDS BACKSTROKE
• 20X200 FREESTYLE EACH 4’

Since the pool rules don’t allow eating around the pool, I had to feed on liquid carbohydrates, mainly Endurox.

Pool workouts are a fantastic way for any open water swimmer to improve their speed, work on their stroke, and pay attention to details that are neglected during open water events due to the sometimes overwhelming conditions. Details like:

• Neck chains
• Wristwatches
• Earrings
• Swim cap (too tight or too loose)
• Uncomfortable swimsuits
• Uncomfortable goggles

The list could go on and on, especially when you have 800 laps to cover. The mind has a lot of time to wander around and pay attention to details you never thought or worried about during an ocean swim.

One of the biggest things I learned about that swim is that one should avoid drinking and eating the night before the swim wheat beer, a variety of sharp Belgium cheeses, gigantic slices of pecan pie and pita chips and humus. I confess at least a couple thousand yards were covered by “jet propulsion”. Other than a turbulent swim caused by self-induced turbulence, it was a smooth swim.

Recued Bird

2010-02-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

During a two-hour training on a paddle board around Aquatic Cove in San Francisco, I noticed a beautiful bird wandering around the surface of the water looking kind of lost. As I got closer, I realized it was in distress. I decided to approach it and the closer I got, the more in trouble I saw it was in. It had a broken beak! Amazingly, the bird agreed to come up on the paddle board with me, near my chest. I calmly but quickly paddled back to the club, wrapped a towel around him and took him inside looking for help.

Club manager Wayne Black was there at the moment and we decided to call my wife Kim Howard, knowing she’d be in front of a computer, to help us figure out who to call. She looked up the wild life refuge animal control phone number. I told them what happened and they said to stay there, that they’d be over as soon as they could. I was really worried because his throat was really swollen and he was having a hard time breathing.

Not much longer, while waiting for the wild life rescuers to arrive, sadly, the bird died in my arms. It was one of the saddest experiences I have ever had with an animal. I was really hoping to save him.

I learned later that the bird was a grebe, known for its superior swimming and flying abilities, two things I admire a lot.

Growing up in Brazil, one of my childhood dreams was to become a veterinarian. I have always loved animals. They are innocent and pure. While I pursued my other childhood dream and became an airline pilot, I hope someday to do both. Maybe flying animal rescue missions, or saving animals from natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina.

In any case, watching that grebe die that day was the main inspiration for learning more about BAYKEEPER, and the reason why I decided to raise funds for them. I don’t know what broke that bird’s beak, but I do know we need to be doing more to keep our water clean and safe, for all of us.

It’s cold baby, it is cold! Ten days of hell!

2010-01-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

After spending a fantastic full blue moon New Year’s Eve at 35,000 feet commuting from San Francisco to Chicago onboard American Airlines, completely by myself in first class but wishing I was at the South End cooking with everybody for the New Year’s Day swim, my 2010 started with a three-day trip flying in and out of Chicago O’Hare. The temperature in the Midwest dropped below freezing, making my days a bit cold and miserable. At least I was being exposed to the cold weather, which had me thinking about my Channel swim training pretty much non-stop.

Since signing up for the solo Channel swim back in September 2008, I have discovered that the most difficult part of training is the winter season. I remember trying to keep the edge during my Ironman training last winter; it was hard.

Winter days are shorter, the air is cold if not freezing, the wind chill makes my body think it is an Eskimo, my biological clock slows down, at 4:00 p.m. I am ready for bed, I am always hungry for hearty meals, and the blankets are cozier than usual, making that fantastic jump in the San Francisco Bay at 6:15 a.m. feel like a real sacrifice with the water temperature at 49-52 degrees Fahrenheit.

On top of that, as an airline pilot, I am exposed to thousands of people on board, in airports, in hotels – all the holiday travelers, especially families with kids, and of course all the illnesses that tag along with them. And being based in Chicago flying all over the Midwest and Canada constantly exposes my body to air temperatures well below freezing. On January 1st I flew to Saskatoon, Canada, and after we landed I did the walk-around safety check of the airplane. The temperature was -15 Fahrenheit.

All this to say that the past few weeks really put my body to a test, and maybe not so surprisingly, I found myself fighting a miserable cold, something fierce. My lips were cracked and bleeding because of the dry cold air and my lower back was aching from so much flying and lugging my bags around the airport. Add to this a date with the dentist on Jan. 3 during which she sliced open my gum and carved my jawbone to lower it 3 millimeters to make space for a new crown, and that was it. I was down for the count.

Even though logically I understood that these were all good reasons for me to rest, my mind was telling me I was missing out on training during the important 6-months-to-go window. “You are not training enough.” “Why aren’t you training today?” I had a feeling my mind was playing shenanigans on me. And it was.

I knew that if I didn’t put a stop to those thoughts and that pressure, I would end up listening only to my mind, forgetting to listen to my body. I need to have confidence in my training schedule and what I have planned for the whole season, and more importantly, to listen to my body when it really needs to rest.

It is fantastic to recognize how our minds can play tricks on us when we are under the gun training for events like the English Channel or an Ironman triathlon. It’s easy to keep pushing, pushing, pushing to “stay on schedule.” But sometimes that kind of pushing can lead to over-training or to increasing miles just for the sake of increasing miles (‘garbage miles’), which can lead to getting hurt, and in the end sabotaging the overall game plan. It’s important to recognize the difference between resting when it’s needed and resting because the mind or body are just a little tired. I was more than just a little tired.

Training-wise…well I couldn’t resist and ended up “visiting “ the pool for a few days and swimming 15,000 yards for the week, pulling weights twice and escaping from Alcatraz with the “Fantastic Four”: Paul Saab, Steven Ray, Commissioner Cathy, and Bill James on the engine. Still, in my mind I heard “Why are you swimming only 5,000 yards instead 15,000 yards?” and “How come you did only a one-way Alcatraz swim instead of a round-trip?”

Luckily, I was able to quiet the little devil, and during the few days I was off duty and at home in early January, I focused on healing, sleeping a lot, eating well, and completing all my Channel Swimming Association Medical exams, blood tests, urine analysis, fee payments, etc., which ended up being very time consuming.

I am glad I put in a few long swims in October, November and December before the water and air temperature dropped. I even ran a marathon on December 20th as part of my cross training schedulle. I actually had in mind to slow down between December and January, but my body did it for me and I am very glad I was able to listen to it, even though I wanted to keep going.

So these past ten days I really took it easy, gave my body a chance to heal, got my back in shape, my jaw is not swollen anymore, my lips are in one piece and the cold weather, well…it is -15F right now in Quebec City.

Cold, damn cold, baby!

6 Hour Swim

2010-01-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

On August 26th 2009, I did a 6 hour swim around the San Francisco Bay with my friend Paul Saab, also swimming the English Channel in 2010. It included e few round trips to Alcatraz, and a few laps around the Aquatic Park. The swim was piloted by Joel Lanz, JJ, Joe Butler, Steven Ray and Bill James. It was a perfect day!

WELCOME TO MY ENGLISH CHANNEL SWIM BLOG

2009-12-25T18:47:00.001-08:00

SPOT ME AT THE CHANNEL WITH SPOT DEVICE

2009-12-25T18:45:00.003-08:00

During my Solo Channel Attempt in July 2010 you will be able to track my swim course online with google maps. Take a look at this cool gadget wors.

Enjoy my "life strokes"!

2009-12-25T18:45:00.001-08:00

This fantastic video about my life was created by my cousin from Brazil, Adilson Silva Junior, as a birthday gift. Enjoy it!

The San Francisco Sunrisers English Channel Relay Team 2002

2009-12-25T18:44:00.001-08:00

In July 2002 I was part of a six man relay team, all members of the South End Rowing Club. We crossed the English Channel in 13:03 hours.

From left to right: Jim Miller, Dan Needhan, Steven Herweurtz, Edison Peinado, Pedro Ordenez and Rhys Ludlow after crossing the English Channel. Picture taken at the Vicking Princess, fishing vessel owned by Reg Brickell

IRONMAN BRASIL 2009 / English Channel Kickstart Training

2009-12-25T18:43:00.001-08:00

The kickstart training for my English Channel attempt was my first Ironman triathlon that I did on May 31st 2009 in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, Brazil. Follow bellow a fantastic write up about it. Edited by Kimberly Howard.

Dear Friends, Family and South Enders,

Many of you have asked how my first Ironman triathlon went. For those of you who are interested, below is a write-up of my experience of the Sunday May 31st Ironman Brazil in Florianopolis, including the most challenging moments.

On Thursday the 28th I flew from Sao Paulo where my parents live, arrived in Floripa at 12:30PM, picked up the car at the airport located at central-south of Florianopolis Island and drove to the North of the Island where the event would be held. My cousin and only local cheerleader (besides you all from Terra Americanis), Daniel Mendonsa, beer drinker and cigarette smoker, was already waiting for me at the airport…with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in another. I felt I was arriving at the South End for happy hour.

The bike arrived fine, no worries at all. The bike case was a nice investment besides the $50 I had to pay to have it checked on my flight to Florianopolis from Sao Paulo. Luckily I did not have to pay the $350 fee on United (round trip) from the USA since I am a regional airline pilot and fly under the United system for United Express. (One of the very few perks for regional pilots.) By the way if you ever need to borrow a bike box, please let me know: (415) 412-0665.

The drive to the North of the Island, about 45 KM, was on the same road the bike leg would be on. It was great exposure to the course for me. My cousin and I went to the Hotel Costa dos Ingleses, located at Ingleses Beach, Northwest of the Island, about a 30-minute drive from Ironman City, located at Jurere International, on the Northeast side of the Island. After I checked in at the hotel, we went to Ironman City to register and get to know the details of the race.

Arriving there, a few miles away from the site, I could “smell” the triathlon environment. People from all over the world going and coming from the Ironman site, people riding their weightless bikes with those teardrop helmets, all composite wheels and skinny as Kenyans runners. It made my 35-pound weight loss feel just a detail. I was mesmerized…It had been such a long time since I had done an event like this that I felt totally out of my airspace.

Anyway, the dream was coming true, I was about to register for my first Ironman. The registration process was fantastic, the staff really gives you an individual detailed rundown of the event. Then they make you sign a whole bunch of paperwork, tag you with a blue band and give you a magnetic ankle chip for the race. I even joked with the girl who tagged my wrist that maybe she should tag my big toe instead in case I had to be identified at the morgue.

Then we went to supermarket. I shopped for food, my cousin shopped for beer, chips and cigarettes. What a great influence.

On Friday the 29th, I went for a swim at the hotel pool, had breakfast and drove again to Ironman City to attend the Regulation Briefing and after that walked around the Ironman Expo. If you imagine triathlon gear is expensive in USA, double the price if you are in Brazil. WOW! Very expensive gear. Went back to the hotel, put the bike together, went for a short ride, and went for a second swim, this time at the hotel waterfront, 70 degree water. I was in heaven. Had dinner with my cousin and finally went to bed at 1AM.

On Saturday morning, the 30th, I woke up at 6:30AM when my cousin arrived from his night of bar hopping, singing loudly, tipsily drunk. GREAT!! What an influence! I went for a swim, ate breakfast, then for a short bike ride since it was raining really hard, windy and cold. Did some race food shopping, went back to the hotel, and prepared my 3 race bags for the swim, bike and run. Did the last tuneup on the bike and drove to Ironman City for bike and gear check-in.

Once again, jaw dropping, state of the art organization and logistics. You are escorted from the minute you arrive at the bike check until you leave the area. The staff double-checks your helmet, your bike, your running shoes, bib number, bike shoes, brake pads, aero bars and wetsuit. Wait. Wet what?? When the guy asked me about my wetsuit and I said I didn’t have one, you should’ve seen his face. He asked me: Are you crazy? Do you know how cold that water is? It is 70F! You will be the only one without a wetsuit… And I said: “Nobody told me anything about wetsuits.” And enjoyed his reaction, knowing you South Enders would have too.

Went back to the hotel and finished prepping my race food and special needs bags: one to be handed to me at the 56-mile mark on the bike, and the other to be handed to me at the halfway mark of the run. By 11PM I was finished preparing and ready to go to bed, but had to force myself to sleep. I set five alarms and ordered the front desk staff to open my room door and wake me up if I didn’t answer the front desk wakeup call at 4AM. My cousin went out again. This time I took the car keys so at least he’d be on foot. I hoped he’d make it back not too late, and not the morning after the race.

SUNDAY, MAY 31st, IRONMAN DAY
I woke up at 2AM, just couldn’t sleep anymore, afraid I would sleep in. At 2:30AM my cousin arrived from his night of shenanigans and was glad to see me awake. He told me he was prepared to pound me in the head in case I slept in. He looked at me all serious and asked: Are going to warm up or not? Like he was my coach. Did my famous ‘triple S’ (Sh*t, Shower, Shave) and at 3:00AM I went to the hotel gym, did 40 minutes of yoga, 20 minutes stretching and went for a 30 minute swim warm up at the hotel swimming pool. WOW, look at me, I was feeling like a real athlete. Like a soon to be Ironman. By 4AM I was ready, even with my swim cap on trying to keep my body temperature warm. At 4:30AM we left the hotel and went to Ironman City for body painting and getting ready for race start.

6:30 a.m.
Started walking towards the race start; flip flops, swim suit, t-shirt and a South End Golden Gate Swim towel wrapped around my near naked body. I confess I felt a little awkward, everybody in wetsuits and me just bare bones. I felt like a polar bear surrounded by penguins (couldn’t get the March of the Penguins movie out of my head). I managed to position myself behind the Elite group, on the right side of the start, straight line to the first buoy, flanked by the crowd, and giving me room for my own swim. I felt ready. The ocean was not calm, big surf going on.

7:00 a.m.
Lights, Camera, Action, and Cannon Blast: the race was on!

In a frantic run everybody gunned towards the surf and instantly I started jumping under it trying to dodge the waves and after a few jumps, I started swimming trying to keep away from the crowd. But there were people everywhere, and they were swimming like they were going for the 50-meter freestyle world record. Whether I wanted to swim fast or not, I was being pushed to because the inertia going on was huge. Arms, elbows, knees, feet, faces, heads, hands, butts, people losing their goggles; floating caps…I felt I was swimming back from Normandy on D-Day with the Germans on my tail. What the hell did I get myself into? As well I could, I calmed my mind and eventually found my groove and rhythm by the time I reached the first buoy.

The current and wind were so strong that the second buoy drifted 400 meters away, adding quite some length to the first leg of the M-shaped swim course. After the second buoy, we swam towards the beach to finish the first leg of the M.

The third leg was uneventful. I relaxed and even had time to stop, pee, set my course and catch a lot of people. The fourth leg was great; I increased my speed and felt I was having a good swim and a good time. I arrived at the funnel in 1:05. (I learned later I was the 260th swimmer out of the water of 1,400). I felt good, in shape, ready to ride and felt my heart rate was controlled. I was all smiles.

Run Forest Run
Ran to the transition area, changed in the tent, and at 1:09 of the race I was on my bike going for a long ride.

The only bad thing about the bike transition was that I got my socks wet and had to ride with soaked feet the entire bike leg. I could feel blisters forming under my toes. I wish I had put my socks and my bike shoes on AFTER the transition area. Oh well, lived and learned.

As I rode, I was thinking about how I could have done better in the swim. I would have needed to do a lot more interval trainings and attended more of the Masters Program at the St. Ignatius pool. I think I could have shaved 5 minutes off the swim easily. Anyway. That is history now. But a good note for next time.

Let’s Bike Eddie
It really took me a while to find my groove on the bike. I guess that is why the triathlon book I read said to train for transitions. Too late now, my heart was racing but my leg muscles were not. I knew I was ready for the 112-mile ride, but I wasn’t mentally ready to compete with the other racers, who were flying past me in droves. I had trained to finish the bike in 6:30 on flat terrain, having spent many a 7-hour ride on the track at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park, and I knew I could handle hills because I did the San Francisco-Bolinas round-trip ride on Highway 1 at least a dozen times. But it was still a major frustration to see everybody passing me like hundreds of Lance Armstrongs. I fought to center myself and focus on only one thing: 18MPH speed, my average speed during my Polo Fields experiments.

There was a lot of wind and a lot of rain, but I did not feel cold. Air temperature was somewhere between 70F to 74F. Eventually it was a great ride. I fed very well on Endurox R4 and my concoction of baby food, GU, honey, green tea, electrolytes, and salt capsules. The combo really worked. No back pain (proper bike fit played a big role), no tendon pain, no split chin, no diarrhea, no gas, no vomiting, no nothing. My many feeding experiments (some with disastrous results) really paid off and I was very glad for that.

Final bike time: 6:40.

THE MARATHON: 26.2 MILES (42.2 KILOMETERS)
At 7:49 into the race, I started my run. I was very happy with my time so far. Even if I dragged out a 5-hour marathon, I would finish with 12:49, a finish time that would have made me very proud, and faster than I trained for. And so I went for it.

BUT…BUT, at just the 3 KM point, the world came to an end. I stopped running. I was completely drained. I made myself walk but kept hearing in my head “I can’t do this.” My mind was freaking out. How could I run 40 more kilometers? Where would I find the energy? More Endurox? More baby food? Oranges, bananas, Pepsi, cake, crackers, GU? I could not shove all that aid station food down my throat fast enough, trying to find a solution for my weak state of mind. Sh*t! I was losing the race - mentally. It was definitely the low point of the race.

And then I started doing the math. If I walked 4KM an hour for the next 9 hours, I still had a chance to finish under the 17-hour cutoff time. I could get that Ironman medal, the t-shirt, the towel, and bragging rights of a lifetime. But more importantly, I could do what I came here to do. I could get off on the right foot in this important first training step leading to my 2010 solo English Channel swim.

And there I went, intermittently walking and jogging, nearly crawling uphill and running downhill, all the way to the 15th KM, still debating whether I was going to finish in time.

Then I got the wakeup call of the race: as I jogged down the steepest hill of the run, tired and worried about my time, I saw a triathlete in a wheelchair coming in the opposite direction on the two-way course, conquering that uphill battle inch by inch. Every spectator and every racer was cheering him on, and he was smiling. He was smiling! That brought tears to my eyes. What an inspiration! How sh*tty it was for me to dare not finish that Ironman in a reasonable time. I felt so little and so ashamed that I wished I could have gone back to the start to run those first 15 kilometers all over again.

After that I was motivated. I finally made the 22 KM mark (just over the half-way point). Going into the next 10 KM lap was very hard because although I was finally warming up, I was still really fatigued. Throughout that second lap, I started thinking about the English Channel swim in 2010 and how I would need to apply all these hard Ironman moments into that crossing. Was I just going to give up and ask my pilot Reg Brickell to pull me? Was I going to give up my dream of crossing the channel to my weak state of mind? Or would I find strength within and proceed towards France?

These thoughts occupied my mind for a long time. And then, finally, I let them go. Instead I asked my inner gods for help. At last I started enjoying the beautiful evening. For the first time since I started the run, I smelled the fresh, rain cleaned air and the ocean, felt the breeze, took in the lush green beauty of my home country. As I ran I watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Finally I started absorbing the energy from the fantastic nature surrounding me. I started enjoying that marathon and feeling much better, even a little recovered. I was getting mentally strong again, and ready to finish in less than 14 hours -- a big step considering not long before that I was trying to figure how I would even finish.

KM 32, 10KM TO GO
So, finally, the last 10 KM arrived. It was my best lap. I regretted all the time I spent fighting my mind. But ultimately it was a great lesson and I think it made me a stronger person, a stronger athlete. I saw how much I had learned about myself and about the Ironman. I had a *new* understanding now why a significant percentage of racers don’t finish. I really had a whole new respect for Ironmen and Ironwomen.

During the last 3 KM, I got a second wind and ran the entire stretch. It felt great!

As I got close to the finish, I could hear the crowd cheering and the Master of Ceremony announcing the athletes as they crossed the finish line. My heart started beating stronger and stronger; there were people all over the last 2 KM shouting GO EDISON (they could read my name on my bib) -- I was almost done! Even triathletes who had already finished the race joined me for the last strides, wow what a support.

I was crying!

There at the funnel entrance was my cousin Daniel waiting for me, screaming like crazy, calling me by my family nickname. Go DUNE, GO DUNE, GO DUNE! He ran with me to the finish line. He was crying too! (And not a beer or cigarette in sight!)

At 13:51 I was done!!! Wow what an experience! I couldn’t stop smiling.

I did it.

POST IRONMAN
I really would like to go back one day and do another one. Or better yet, many of them. What an inspiration to see all those athletes so well trained and focused. It really showed me levels of dedication I have seen only rarely (the others being some of the great athletes at the South End). Although I knew this going in, I learned first hand how huge a difference there is between training just to finish the race and training to time well enough to get a slot in the World Championship Ironman in Kona.

Someday…somehow.

First things first: English Channel here we come.

THANKS, I COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU

I would like to say many thanks to those of you who shared your previous Ironman experiences with me – JP, Michelle Deasy, Katrina . It really helped a lot.

Thanks to my and our beloved KIM HOWARD, who put up with my crazy flying and training schedule. Oh boy, I was pretty much gone the entire time I was home. Thanks for your understanding and tolerance.

Thanks to Diane Davis for the great advice and for making St. Ignatius my private swimming pool.

Thanks to all the great world class athletes at the South End who inspired me just by doing what you love: swim, row, run, playing handball.

Thanks to Miller, one of my best friends from Brazil who challenged me to do this Ironman before my Channel Swim.

Thanks to my cousin Daniel, who many times screamed from the crowd: Nada filho da puta…swim, run, bike you son of b****!

A huge and special thanks to my parents who gave me all their support and love and who sponsored a big part of this dream. I am who I am because of you.

And thanks to my inner gods for listening and giving me the strength I needed when I needed it.

Love,
IRONJELLYEDDIE

The 15 Coves of Love

2009-12-25T18:42:00.001-08:00

On September 11th 2009 I did a 6+ hour swim in order to qualify for the English Channel. This swim was dedicated to Adriana Ospina who suffered a serious bycicle accident and almost lost her life.

Dear Cove Lovers,

Now that Kim and I are flying home from Europe (where, among other things, we finalized preparations for my English Channel swim for next July), I finally have time to write about the 15 Coves of Love swim I did just before we left in honor of Adriana Ospina.

For PHOTOS taken mostly by Elizabeth Glass, one of the best swim supporters I have ever known, please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/Kimikatis/15CovesOfLove

The idea of the 15 Coves swim came to my mind when I was looking for an over-six-hour swim for the month of September. Since I hate to swim by myself in the sharkless infested bay, with its murky waters and horny sea lions and sea lioness, stinging jellyfish, nipple-biter harbor seals, and giant squids, AND because I truly enjoy other people’s company, I realized that the Friday before the Alcatraz Invitational would be the perfect opportunity to swim with as many people as possible. Cove swimming is also a great opportunity to train for frequency, feeding experiments, support, love and companionship from fellow South Enders and Dolphins.

Turns out the combination of company, friends, support, and time in the water was more than perfect. The 15 Coves of Love was one of the best swims of my life. IF for some reason (and there are many ifs out there in the middle of the English Channel), I don’t reach the shores of France next year, I will be content with this and all the other trainings I have done and will do that are adding to my life as a person and as an amateur athlete. It has been a fantastic journey!

Thursday the 10th: Preparation Day
After a crazy six-day work trip, flying in and out of Chicago O’Hare and then commuting five hours to SFO, I finally made it home late Thursday morning.

Trying to figure out a feeding schedule and options, pacing tactics, took me quite some time. It required pulling all my Ironman training logbooks, both mental and physical. (So glad I did that Ironman in May.)

During my last six-hour swim in the bay I took some liquid protein, soy milk based, and that was a disaster. I had a lot of cramps and had to go to the “rest-ebb-room” (don’t worry Paul Saab, you were upwind of me). So I had to come up with an alternative protein. A trip to Trader Joe’s and Sports Basement later, I had my feeding ready…at midnight the night before. The menu was:
· Endurox
· Green tea+Gu+ginsen
· Water
· Vanilla meringues
· Chocolate espresso beans
· Hash browns
· Meatballs (easy and quick to eat)
· Port wine

After a short night of sleep, about three hours, I headed towards the SERC to pilot the Alcatraz Test Swim.

Since Wednesday night, I was anxious, nervous, excited, happy, pumped and scared. I had never prepared for a swim like that or been in the water for over six hours, so the outcome was very unpredictable.
My warm up for the swim was rowing the Sal Reina to Alcatraz with swimmer David Yudovin and his wife in tow, and piloting him back to shore. Great people. Great test swim.

At 10:00 I set up at the end of the dock my feeding station, plus coffee and snacks for the helpers/swimmers/cove lovers. I was nervous and impatient. Even Lynne Cox asked me how many times I had gone back and forth on that dock and with a nervous smile I joked: oh I am just warming up. Right!

10:05 AM
My #1 supporter Elizabeth Glass took a few pictures of my great support team at the dock: Najee, John Walker, Keith Nowell, Rose McNally, Sara, Anna Sojourner (thanks for the special care Anna), and Dan McLaughlin, and then I headed towards the beach. I saw a few kayaks on the beach from the test swim, and didn’t think twice about towing one for a couple coves.

I wish I could remember the names of everybody who jumped in and out of the water to swim coves with me, because I’m grateful to everyone who did. Boy does it make a big difference to have company out there. I know for sure that Allison Kalhammer, Stephanie Gerk, Anna Sojourner, Sarah Mehl, Dan Needham, Paul Weiss, John Walker, Jim Miller, and Mark Stone did at least one cove with me at some point along the journey. Thanks for that.

10:10…I started and started strong!

COVE 1
At the flag my mind told me 14 and ¾ to go! WOW! I tell you that was a very scary thought. But I immediately recognized that my mind was already trying to play shenanigans on me and right way I decided not to think about the number 15. From that moment on I decided to focus on each individual cove; one by one. And there I went; negotiating the goal posts, going under the Chinese and Mexican fishermen’s fishing lines, negotiating the Muni pier and the opening buoy, going around the two white Balclutha buoys, around the green boat, around the two white Thayer buoys and headed to the dock.

COVES 2, 3, 4
With a quick Endurox feeding during each stop at the dock, I was able to maintain a pace of about 25 minutes per cove.

COVE 5, THEN LUNCH TIME
Hash browns, meatballs, meringues and water

COVES 6, 7, 8, 9
Maintaining the 25-minute pace per cove, I was able to mix in some kicking, pull buoy and hand paddles. It was a great but tough workout and I started feeling tired. Usually it takes me 1 hour to warm up but for some reason I started warming up only after 3 hours. I felt many cold spots around the cove and later Mark Stone told me his watch was showing 59 degrees.

COVE 10, WOW 10 COVES!
At the 4-hour-10-minute mark, I reached the dock for the 10th time. Completing 10 coves gave me a boost of energy and excitement. I had only 5 more to go! Seeing how much fun everyone on the dock was having gave me a boost too. I remember a lot of faces out there and everybody cheering and having a good time. After the 10th cove, it was time for my last long feeding, because after that my stops would be quick because I was trying to pick up the pace so my body temperature wouldn’t drop. I was getting a little tired for sure. After a couple meatballs and hash brown bites, Dave Maloney served me some port wine and there I went, to the last five coves.

COVES 11, 12, 13
After 5 hours in the water I was definitely feeling the weight of towing the kayak. I think it was a 1.9 knot flood and if that helped me a little on one side of the cove, on the other side it was making me work hard. The water was very choppy by the afternoon. Even though it was a perfect, sunny day, it was windy and at the opening I was literally being tossed around and getting pushed towards the breakwater.

There is something interesting about doing laps to train for a big event. After that much time going around and around I started to go a little crazy. Maybe to prevent myself from going insane, I started memorizing all the landmarks I saw over and over: the flag, the Ghirardelli sign, the Maritime Museum, the Sea Scouts boathouse, the goal posts, the anchored blue and red sail boats, the canon doors of the Balclutha. But even with memorizing landmarks and swimming in circles, every time I went around I had a new perspective of the cove, of the swim, and indeed of each new battle in my head to keep going.

By cove 12, I needed to draw on anything I could to stay focused and energized. I imagined the path I was making in the cove from above, of the forces being created by the circular motion, picturing a centripetal force anchored at the dock, creating a brightly lit path around the cove with a new electric energy. The force was strong like a turbine engine. I visualized drawing from that force to propel myself forward, again and again, like earth rotating fast around the sun. I heard Newton in my head and felt my body being impelled towards the dock.

By cove 13, I was well known fella to the Mexican and Chinese fishermen, having dragged their fishing lines under the kayak I was towing every time I swam along the Muni Pier. This time they asked how many times I was going around. I said “13 down, 2 to go.” They looked at each other and I heard “Pute madre pinche loco (crazy son of a bit@#!)!”

COVES 14 AND 15 - THE LAST TWO!
Approaching 6 hours, it was time to let the kayak go. I had enough drag for the day. After a quick stop at the dock to drop the kayak, I started the last two coves strong. During the 14th cove I started realizing how many coves I had done and what I was about to accomplish. I was about to swim 15 coves.

As I was passing the opening I saw a swimmer with a yellow cap: it was Mark Stone. I stopped and he asked if he could join me, and of course I said yes, it was an honor. On the way to the dock to complete the 14th cove I could see everybody cheering and shouting: 15th! The last one! Smiling, I pretty much passed by, didn’t care about feeding and just went for it! Anna and a few others joined me and Mark, and there we went! I was pumped!

At that point, everything becomes the last one. The last flag, the last goal posts, the last opening, the last Jacuzzi, the last cove! As I passed the flag, I had a huge sense of gratitude and thankfulness for the 14 times I had passed it. It was almost like “thanks for being there marking my path.” I saw the South End and Dolphin stickers on it. It made me proud to belong to these clubs (one literally, one in spirit). It made me so happy to be part of such a unique corner of the world. Negotiating the Muni pier, I made sure I rimmed it. Like the others before it, it had to be a real official cove. Once again my friends the Mexicans and Chinese were there, waiving. I shouted, “Last one!! Fifteen, quince!!” They waved goodbye and there I went. I could see the South End and Dolphin piers from the opening. It was a perfect evening! I was almost done! Swam around the white buoys and headed toward the middle of the docks. I stopped and already with tears in my eyes thanked Mark Stone for being there with me and I sprinted towards the beach. I could feel the sand between my fingers. In a quick flash future I imagined reaching France! I made it!

There was quite a crowd in the beach! I was warmed to see everybody there, happy they were sharing that day with me. We drank some champagne and port on the beach and shared many warm hugs. I couldn’t have done without all that support, without all that love. I was very happy.

With my parka on, I walked towards the end of the dock, stopped at the end of it and one more time, my eyes went around the cove remembering every moment I had gone throughout every cove. I thanked Mother Nature for the protection and love. In silence I dedicated those coves of love to Adriana Ospina and wished her well.

I thought about how much this swim brought to me. I had learned about myself, my body, my mind, my Channel training. After that much time in the water, I had a new understanding of cold water swimming, even though I couldn’t quite explain it, I just had experienced it. It took my respect for marathon swimming to a whole new level, even though 6:40 hours in the water is just a detail when you compare it to the swims like the English Channel, Catalina, Lake Tahoe, Tom Lithicum’s 10 hour round trip Angel Island and so on.

To all of you who imagined swimming a distance you weren’t sure you could make and went for it anyway, whether from Gas House Cove or Alcatraz or the English Channel or anything in between, thanks for your inspiration.

Below are all the people I’d like to thank (in no particular order) for being there, for swimming with me, for cheerleading, for supporting me, for feeding me. Thank you so much.

Love,
Fast Eddie

Keith Nowell
Naji
John Walker
Rosemary McNally
Dan McLaughlin
Barry from the Dolphin Club
The black dog on the beach
Bob Roper
Sarah Mehl
Anna Sojourner
Elizabeth Glass
Lynn Sowolsky
Dan Needham
Allison Kalhammer
Stephanie Gerk
Berry Maguire’s friend with tattoo
Point Bonita girl swimmer
Tina diLorenzo
Dave Maloney (Port and Meatballs!)
Jason Carls for rescuing my fins
David Yudovin
Lynne Cox
The log that was floating around the cove
Bonnie
Paul Weiss and his friend
Naji’s doggie
Bill Wygant
Jim Miller
The swimmers I ran over during the test swim
Mark Stone and his wife
Kimberly Howard, for putting up with my crazy training schedule
Rafe for allowing me use the kitchen to cook some pasta for the crew
Cecile Marie
Connie Wellen
Dave Santos
The one harbor seal who seriously considered jumping on my kayak for a free ride
The one sea lion
Wayne Black