Shark Bait

For those of you who are curious about my Alcatraz swim:

I also found out that most of the sharks in the area are found on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge (which is part of the red triangle—AKA home for great whites). But the thought of the possibility of sharks is a great motivator to make you swim faster! =) It was a warm and sunny day in the bay, and the water was 64 degrees, which is very warm for San Francisco. The race is 1.25 miles long, and there are two categories of swimmers skins and wetsuits (we had wetsuits).

The night before the swim Drea and I stayed at my uncle's house to ensure that we could get as much sleep as possible, which worked for me—I slept a full 8 hours. I wasn't nervous for some reason, I think it's because I felt ready for it. We had spent a few months training for it, and I'm pretty comfortable in the water. On the day of the race we checked in at Aquatic park in San Francisco, it was a bit hectic, there were so many people there to participate in the race (over 800). Drea and I got our identification numbers for the race, and I happened to have lucky number 777 (I think I should have gone to Vegas or at the very least bought a lotto ticket afterwards). When you check in they also give you a timing chip to wear around your ankle so they can get your time and also make sure you finish the race and not get swept out to sea!

Soon after we squeezed into our wet suits we headed to the ferry boat, luckily our parents and grandparents were able to join us on the ride out. On the Ferry Drea and I zipped up our wet suits, and put our cap, ear plugs and goggles on. We worked out the last minute jitters and then jumped from the Ferry into the water holding hands (it was a great sister bonding moment, not to mention one last reassurance from one another). Once in the water we turned around to find our family and gave a quick wave and began the journey back to San Francisco—which from that vantage point looked further than I expected it to. That is the last time I saw Drea in the water, she took off and finished the race before me. Every now and again I thought I'd see a purple cap far off in the distance-but it could have been my eyes playing tricks on me.

It's hard to put into words what it's like in the water swimming for so long, all you hear is your hand hitting the water each stroke you take, the bubbles floating to the surface , and the occasional horn from a boat. It is such a long swim and there is such a wide path for you to swim in that you feel like you are really all alone. Once the initial pack broke up it was rare to see another swimmer near you. It's just you and your thoughts, all in all it is pretty empowering, you are all alone and you have to get yourself across. I have to admit I asked myself in the first few minutes "what am I doing?" and I doubted my ability to finish, but when those thoughts crossed my mind I decided I would take it one stroke and kick at a time and eventually I'd finish. Once I got into a rhythm those thoughts left—and the swim became more manageable. I did stop several times, not because I was tired but the view of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges from the surface of the water was amazing, we couldn't have asked for better weather or smoother seas.

Unfortunately I misjudged the current and was swept off course, luckily there are kayakers out to set you back on the right path, but I ended up drifting a ways from the finish point, and spent a lot of time battling the current and larger waves to get back to Aquatic Park. I was shooting for 45 minutes and made it in one hour-and Drea finished in 45 minutes and was caught in the current too. When I crossed the finish line and saw my sister there the first words out of my mouth where "I got caught in the current, let's do it again." I'd like to know how much of my time was spent correcting my error is direction, and what my time would be it that hadn't happened-but I am excited to have finished the race and no matter what the time I know it was a great adventure. It's hard to explain how I felt when I finished, from my knees down my muscles where cramping (I think due to getting dehydrated), my face was burning from the salt water, I was exhausted, but I also felt alive. It is a wonderful thing that I am physically healthy enough to do something like this, and the experience was one I'll never forget. I plan on doing it again, this was a great learning experience and an amazing adventure, considering before training for this the furthest I had ever been in the ocean was waist deep. I do know that the ocean isn't as scary as it once was, I've conquered that fear.

Once out the water we had a picnic in the park, lots of water, and a beer and enjoyed each other. It was great to spend the day with family, especially such a beautiful one! I consider myself very lucky to have a sister who is crazy enough to want to do these things with me, family who supports us in these adventures, and good friends like Kelly who are there every step of the way cheering you on. I am attaching some pictures and there will be a link coming soon to view the photos at Kodak.com. I plan to do this again, and if any of you are interested let me know…perhaps we can do Shark Fest next July??