The temperature finally came up enough for me to get in my final long swim before my big Hawaii swim, and just in time too! I swim a week from Sunday, so now need to begin my taper and let all my hard work settle in and pay off. Although my last long weekend was not exactly LONG in the sense I’m used to, and much different than my original training plan has written on it, I had to be flexible given the unpredictable water temperatures and window of time I have left.

Our large group met this morning at Cliff Drive. We had Uncle Dan, who was planning on swimming at least one hour; Lenny, who offered to kayak for up to 4 hours if I could handle it; Madison, a fast Nova age-grouper who is very interested in ocean swimming and aspires to cross the Catalina Channel one day; and her father, Kurt, who kayaked in a double so Madison could get out if she got too cold. When we started, it was no warmer than 56, and warmed up to 57ish after about 300 yards. Madison put in two brave 5-minute intervals, but the cold was too much for her first cold swim and she helped her father in the kayak and observed. Uncle Dan put in an hour. Lenny and I split from the rest to continue south, in search of warmer waters so I could stay in. After an hour and 15 minutes, I told Lenny we’d better head back just in case; my toes were starting to get numb. Within the next 45 minutes of swimming, my body warmed up and I felt the surface temperature warm up from the sun. At the next stop, I decided to turn back around for 45 minutes, to extend our time in the water to four hours. On the way back I heard a bunch of very chatty dolphins underwater. We stopped and saw a few swim right by, and Lenny saw a pod of 30 in the distance. They were communicating so loud and I could hear them everywhere - it was amazing!

On average, the water temperature was no warmer than 59, but it was very inconsistent with cold and warm spots everywhere, and the top two inches typically much warmer than the colder water my arms pulled through. It was a strange feeling, and I’m very happy with four hours and surprised I handled the temperature so well. Must have been from yesterday’s 1:30 in 55! Thankfully, Lenny had the time - and was willing! - to kayak for 4 hours. I feel like between the two days, while not as long as initially planned, I am ready. The quality of swimming was high (both stroke and speed), and I felt great, especially today. I definitely could have kept going. I’m beginning my taper now feeling great about my training up to this point and excited for my Hawaii swim!

I’m frustrated because I should be turning around at the half way point of my swim this morning, starting to come back towards CDM, but instead I’m in my room on the computer drinking hot coffee and trying to stay warm. I knew 8 hours would be a long shot because of the cold water temperatures we have been seeing, but I had hoped pushing the swim to today would help a bit. Sadly, the sign at CDM read 55 degrees. We decided to go ahead and get as far as we could without risking hypothermia. Getting the kayak in was quite an eventful scene. The ice-cold water made our feet burn and we just wanted to get my mom launched as quickly and as dryly as possible. To further complicate the process, we were testing out my new Shark Shield, a device I bought for Hawaii that sends out an electromagnetic field that deters predatory sharks. It’s heavy, so we strapped it to the side of the kayak, since I swim within 5 meters of my mom, which is the protective range of the device. We did not want to drag the long cord, so we put that in the kayak and my mom set off. A bit of water got in her kayak and I heard her scream several times; it looked like she was trying to avoid something in the kayak. The Shark Shield, which we knew I must avoid running into because it does deliver a shock that causes surface muscles to spasm, had accidentally been turned on and shocked her legs as the salt water touched it, and it touched her. As soon as she could she pushed the coil overboard with her oar, and I got in and started swimming. Well, at least our Shark Shield test was successful!

I began swimming but immediately knew this was colder water than we had had all WINTER! I could hardly keep my head in the water. It was at least 54 by the buoys. I swam quickly to try to generate heat. As we swam away from CDM the temperature warmed about one degree, and my body warmed from the quick pace, but I was still never comfortable. I felt surrounded by a cold blanket that was trying to suffocate my core. I regularly checked to make sure my core was warm, and that I had fine motor skills (by wiggling my toes and fingers). The loss of fine motor skills is one of the early signs of hypothermia, so these checks are key to survival. I wanted to make it to the 45 minute stop, but I had to listen to my body, which was saying you better turn around because there’s no where to swim in if you get too cold; you have to swim all that way back and you’re pushing it. I stopped a couple minutes early and we turned back. It’s a good thing too because the current was flowing south and it took a bit longer to get back (not good for the water temperature!). As we neared Little Corona, I was starting to worry. My entire feet were numb and felt like bricks; I could sense my small toes curling up from cramping. It was time to get out.

It’s been hard to stay positive about today’s swim as it relates to my training and upcoming Hawaii swim, but I’m going to keep trying! It was a very fast hour and a half, so I did get in a good workout. I’m going to swim as long as the temperature allows tomorrow, and possibly add a pool workout to get in some more miles. Even if I don’t get close to my original plan, I’ve felt ready for my Hawaii swim since my last big 5+5 weekend. I’ll do what I can, but sometimes Mother Nature knows better and perhaps this is happening to prevent me from overtraining :)

I’m going to dedicate today’s Naples Island 1-mile swim to Stone, pictured above, who braved the chillier-than-promised waters of Long Beach. He refuses to enter pools under 80 degrees, but once a year comes out to compete at Naples for a fun 1-mile swim, risking hypothermia. To combat the cold he posted a blazing fast time and almost upset my dad! Uncle Dan, Marlena, and sister Katelyn also competed in the race. We have long believed that the 1-mile is actually closer to a mile and a third. I don’t remember my exact time but it was one of my better races; I felt good the whole way and swam a tactically smart race, edging out two women at the end. Sadly, even though I swam the whole thing with my GPS under my cap, I forgot to turn it on during the chaotic start, which is also why Stone’s picture is posted above.

Tomorrow morning my mom and I plan to set out from CDM for the 8-hour attempt. We will see what the ocean has in store for us. Assuming all goes according to plan, I then have a 2-hour swim on Tuesday with a whole entourage: Lenny in the kayak, Uncle Dan for the first hour and a half, Marlena for however long she can handle it, and Madison and Kurt, a Nova age-group swimmer interested in open water and swimming Catalina one day, and her father, who will kayak. Should make for a great swim!

Flexibility is key in open water swimming - and not just physical flexibility! Today was supposed to be my 8-hour swim, followed by the Naples Island 1-mile race tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, the water temperature has dropped significantly around here and I knew 8 hours was out of the question. On Thursday it was 59-60 degrees, and when I called the Newport Surf Report this morning, it was 54! In August! It did mention a small south-west swell coming in, which will hopefully begin to THAW the icebergs so I can try to maneuver through them on Monday, my new 8-hour swim date. The upside of this is I’m sure I will perform much better in one of my favorite races tomorrow: Naples.

Naples has been a large part of family tradition for years. Although not as strong as La Jolla, which attracts three generations of Schumachers with La Jolla streaks (some who have gone for DECADES without missing), the Naples Island swim has brought us to Long Beach for quite some time. Naples was one of my first ocean swims ever. I still remember my first year, swimming side-by-side with my dad, so terrified of swimming under the bridges that I would hold my breath through the dark water until I was through to the light. We finished together and the positive experience was one of the initiators of my passion for open water swimming. My grandparents (pictured above with my dad and UD), make the trip to Long Beach most years and have competed in past years. This year we will be celebrating my grandma’s birthday after the swim with our traditional post-swim breakfast at either the Pantry or Long Beach Brewery. My goal for tomorrow: compete and feel good, push as hard as I can while still having enough for Monday’s potential 8-hour swim, water temperature permitting.

This morning’s Laguna swim with UD, my dad, and Marlena was like a typical winter swim. We arrived and the gray sky was looming over a beautifully flat sea, only we knew it would not be quite as inviting as it looked. As our toes touched the icy water there were moans and groans, until UD began his water-warming ritual. The colder the ocean the more extravagant his dances, so I made sure to capture this one on video (see below). We began nice and slow, just barely able to move our stiff muscles due to the cold. Even at the half way point I did not feel comfortable. We turned around and I slowly started to feel myself generating warmth, and only then did my stroke start feeling nice and smooth. The pace picked up naturally, and as UD and I approached the buoy, we continued on to Bird Rock without a word. We were both feeling too good to stop, and knew the pace was much better and wanted to take advantage of the good training. The other two had swum in, still freezing, and after we got to Bird Rock we joined them. At the beach we were greeted by a cute dog who seemed to not mind the cold water at all and wanted to go for a swim. We rushed to our cars and got out the hot gallons of water - they felt so good today!

Today was quite the eventful day. First, I was greeted at Laguna for an early morning swim by Marlena and the always-entertaining Uncle Dan. He insisted on a remake of his previous Single Ladies recording:

Just before starting our swim, I saw a baby leopard shark slithering away from us amidst the sea grass. I instinctively jumped but then composed myself, remembering that Marlena is the one person more scared of sea life than myself. “Did you SEE something?!?” I heard her exclaim. “No, I just thought I did…by the way shuffle your feet,” I fibbed. When I later confessed that I did in fact see a sea creature, she said she also saw sand sharks on the way in. Two types of Laguna sharks in one day - what a treat! At least, as long as they aren’t man-eaters :)

So, we began our swim and not surprisingly after my weekend, I felt a bit stiff. I tried loosening up and paying attention to my stroke but nothing was helping, and I just resigned to have a good swim and deal with being uncomfortable. Minutes felt like hours and I kept wanting to look at my watch or for the rock we swim south to. When I struggle with time like this, it is always a test of will power to look at my watch or sight as little as possible, and never stop, until we are at our destination or told to stop. And today I did just that, at least until finally I could take it no more and stopped. Sure enough, it was not just me, we were well past the rock we swim to and had completely missed it! For all my struggling and wanting to be at the rock, I had not even noticed us swim by. The extra swim was good for us, and we had the time, so no one was bothered. We enjoyed Milky Ways, my new feeding treat, at the half way point. On the return as we neared the buoy we picked up the pace and finished with a sprint. Great workout for not feeling so good - those are the workouts that matter!

Next: crosstraining. After Europe, I started running and biking to loose some vacation weight. I’ve continued this habit just to keep the fitness high without pounding my arms any more than I have to. And, after my marathon swims, I’ve decided I would like to try my hand at a different type of marathon, but that’s an entirely different story for another time. Anyways, I drove to Shady Canyon on the way home and did a 6-mile run. It was a bit of a struggle, especially with the heat, but for a second workout it was not too bad.

Final stop: Think Physical Therapy. Although not a regular patient anymore, Nick agreed to help me out with my shoulder issues. During my first Catalina training, I was going to Think regularly and it worked wonders because of their combination of exercises with stroke technique, which is just as important to keep shoulder problems at bay. I still do my therapy exercises, but have been having more difficulty with my stroke and shoulder pain has been more persistent this time around. Within minutes of talking to Nick, he had a spot-on theory about what I was doing in the water. We did some dry strokes and it made total sense. He had me hop in his Think Tank, a pool equipped with underwater video, playback, a mirror, and a tether, so I could swim in place and then view my stroke immediately. Sure enough, as soon as I made the correction, the pain dissipated. We did some more stroke work and I left feeling relieved and elated. It was something so simple, that now I know how to fix when I feel that pain, but it gave me so much more confidence for my upcoming marathon swims. I don’t have any delusions that there will not be pain; when your goal is to swim 20+ miles there will be some pain. But the key to managing it is to recognize it, minimize it, and cope with what’s left. And this was a huge step in minimizing it.

In several of my last swims, I’ve encountered a funky green slime. My first sighting of it was last weekend with my mom at CDM when at our first feed, the green muck was bubbling and I freaked out thinking there was an animal below me making the bubbles. My mom said we were just passing through some polluted water so I tried to keep my mouth shut and not accidentally swallow it. It happened a few more times that swim, and a couple during the week and this past weekend. Today I saw this article that came in my Surfrider e-newsletter about this strange substance: http://www.surfline.com/blogs/forecaster-blog/water-pollution—red-tide-_45923/

The green slime is thought to be produced by a microalgae - Phaeocystis. It is non-toxic to humans, and I have not yet gotten sick from it, so I’ll still be getting in!

Upon finishing this swim, I had swum 10 of the last 28 hours! Between my two 5 hour swims this weekend, I logged 20.5 miles - not much considering the time I was in the water, but still a wild mileage to get under my belt in just over a full day. The mileage was a bit skewed because Mother Nature is playing a cute joke on me - just as I approach the half way point of my swims, after working against the flow of water, the current shifts or slacks. Yesterday, the current just became nil; today we had it for about an hour, then I realized all the sudden seaweed was sticking straight up towards the surface, and then finally during the last 1.5 hours it was swaying behind me, meaning I was once again against the current. I reminded myself that it was good training all the same, and not to worry about the deflated mileage. Under normal circumstances, assuming no net current, my weekend total would likely be closer to 23 miles, since my longer swims are typically around 2.3 mph. Either way, the goal was to go at least the distance of my big Hawaii swim, which is 17 miles, so check! And I’m very pleased that I felt as great today as I did yesterday, was able to kick all the way and finish strong, and aside from some shoulder soreness - which is to be expected - the body feels really good.

This morning’s swim, from CDM with my mom in the kayak, was also full of life. We were far out on the south-bound half, and there was no seaweed in sight. About 45 minutes in, just before my first stop, I felt a sharp sting on my lower back, just above my suit. I hadn’t seen anything, but it was definitely a jellyfish sting. Then my arm got stung. Then I saw the culprits as a white chopped up piece of jellyfish floated below me. All the sudden, they were everywhere - pieces of torn up jellyfish scattered about, but still stinging all the same - and I was in the midst of them. I called out to my mom, who steered me in a different direction (notice our sharp turns on the map). We finally got into the clear, and that was the last we saw of them. I felt the stings for about an hour, but they faded and were just a nuisance, and then the pain went away until I got out of the water. Even then, over 4 hours later, it was nothing to be concerned over and eventually I recovered. That was the frantic part of the wildlife we experienced. On the way back a curious baby sea lion checked us out on one of my feed stops. Then just as we came back to CDM three dolphins swam in a semi-circle around us, no more than 20 yards away - what a sight! Swims like today and yesterday, although grueling at times, remind me why I do this - I love being out there in the ocean and am so privileged to see the things I see, jellyfish pieces included.

Through Nationals, my mom has been super busy running hospitality, and pretty much everything else there (!), so I convinced Scott to join me for a long 5-hour swim this morning at Laguna, in exchange for breakfast. We knew a south swell was coming in as we set off from Cliff Dr., so were not surprised to be going against the current as we headed south. The water temperature started at a crisp 61 degrees, but as we made our way further south it warmed up to a high of about 64. We turned around at half way, expecting an assist from the current, but that surprisingly never came. Luckily, we hadn’t swum extra south in anticipation of the current, but either way it was a struggle to let that one go. After getting over the fact that it wouldn’t be an easy ride back to Cliff, we motored on north back into the cold. The water clarity was amazing and I saw at least a dozen different types of small fish, most notably a ton of Garibaldi and a vast sea of silver fish that seemed to span the entire range of my vision. It was such a beautiful day and my shoulder held up reasonably well, and aside from a bit of soreness I feel great about today - no complaints here! Looking forward to hopefully getting in a solid 4-5 hours that feel just as great tomorrow!