29 May 2007

8 Hour Swim - check!





Thank you to Alice, Brenda, Marta, Nigel and Joel for making this swim happen. I swam from about 8:30 - 4:30 and it was rough and windy the whole way. At two hours I knew it was going to be a long swim because my shoulders were already hurting. We headed towards Candlestick for two and half hours, turned back towards the club (and a sailboat regatta) and cruised in for a change of crew at about 1:30. I swam around the cove while Joel hopped in the zodiac to relieve Brenda. We headed towards Chrissy Field and I started to get cold. The water was only 54 degrees. I was shivering from about 5 hours to six and a half hours. I felt very cold and very tired. At six hours I felt much worse than I did finishing my 6 hour swim a month before. I continued on and my shoulders started to hurt more and more. We arrived at the cove and still had an hour. Alice got in with me which was a huge motivator. We did several small coves and then Alice got out early to make sure the showers were warm and the sauna was on. I was greeted on the beach after eight hours, two minutes and twenty two seconds by my roommate Kristina and Alice. I thought that I would need to crawl up on the beach, but I was fine to walk and made my way into the shower. I sat for several minutes and couldn't believe I was done. This was the hardest swim that I had ever done.
Up next: 10 hours on June 9th!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice sea lion in the last video...seriously later I thought he was going to jump in the zodiac! He followed us almost all the way to the cove!

Joel Wilson said...

Hi Jessica,

Really enjoyed the article in the Chron and it's great to hear that you're doing so well getting ready to take on the English Channel.

I wish you the best of luck in your training. I'm very confident of your ability to complete the swim. Keep your head down and keep stroking.

Cristi said...

WOW! And I thought the Alcatraz swim was a big deal. This is amazing.

I came to your page via Sarah.
Keep it up!

Sarah said...

Jessie,
I SO wish I could've been there. I was really bummed that the conditions wouldn't allow for another person. :( In any case, I was thinking of you all day and I'm SO proud of you. I know I sound like a broken record saying how proud of you I am, but you just continue to inspire and amaze me.

You SO ROCK!!!! Can't wait to see you tonight and give you a big hug!

christine said...

Hey Jessie,
I'm so proud of you!!! You are doing such an awesome job of staying motivated and I think I speak for everyone when I say that you are quite possibly the most positive person!!!! Sorry I had to miss your fundraiser but I can't wait to see you soon!

Steve said...

Jessica-
Your story has really been an inspiration to me. I joined my local master's swimming program about six weeks ago to get back into shape and it's amazing to me to see how much someone can accomplish.I wish you the best of luck on your English Channel swim
as well as all your swims in the bay. I hope to try open water soon although I think I will wait for a hot day to do it.
Thanks so much for the great blog,
Steve

Hoffy Swims said...

Jessica, great blog and well done so far. I know what you are going through. When is your swim, who is your pilot and who are you swimming with? Best wishes, Hoffy - www.HoffysChannelSwim.org.uk.