The Catalina Men

This is the account of my training for the Catalina Channel in September 2017 in the hope of sharing the learnings I collected.

I am based in San Francisco and member of the two Open Water Clubs in town: the Dolphin Club and the Mighty South End. My first approach to Marathon swimming has been in 2015/2016, training for Bay to Breakers. By the end of 2016, taking further steps in the world of Marathon Swimming, I decided I was ready to tackle some serious Channel Swimming.

My friends Andrew, Dave and I decided to go for the Catalina Channel. This covered all the basis:

• It’s Local: easier to get to without having to haul all the “stuff” across an Ocean.
• It’s Long: approximately the same distance of the English Channel
• It’s Hard: both part of the Ocean 7 and the Triple Crown

Andrew, far more organized than yours truly, researched and found information about training plans, and off we went.

The Plan

Vox Populi

First of all we researched on the more reliable forums:

• From the marathonswimmers blog:
  1. Weekly training volume should be (at least) equal to your target swim distance, for several months.
  2. At least one training swim of 65-75% of your target distance.
  3. other people suggest that 40 to 45k per week is required from the start of the relevant calender year.
• From the usms forum:
  1. At least 60-75% of the length of the swim before you attempt it.
  2. Train about 35K-50K yards per week for at least 6 months prior to a marathon swim and do at least 3 swims of over 6 hours during that time
  3. Train for at least 6-8 months for a swim of over 15 miles, and for a swim over 20 miles, which will usually take in the 7-10+ hour range, a swimmer should have done at least 2 swims of 6 hours or more in the prep up to the swim, but not closer than 3-4 weeks before the “big” swim.

Another detailed Channel Training Plan.

Our Plan

Our plan ended up being quite simple and flexible: a progression of weekly yards and a crescendo of training benchmarks:

• At least one 15 Mile Training Swim
• Night swimming experience
• 4x50% swims (10 miles)
• 37k week for 3 months prior

Month	Days	Yardage	Yds/Day	Yds/Week	hrs/Week
January	31	125000	4032.258065	28225	7.6
February	28	130000	4642.857143	32500	9.8
March	31	140000	4516.129032	31615	10.6
April	31	140000	4516.129032	31615	10.6
May	31	140000	4516.129032	31615	8.5
June	30	150000	5000	35000	11.4
July	31	150000	4838.709677	33870	9.1
August	31	150000	4838.709677	33870	11.4

The Execution

We ended up following the plan quite closely, hitting above the mark for most of the training.

Total Yards: 1,151,960

Milestones

The fun part of the training has been pushing the limits and ramping up to longer and longer swims. This is a path full of false starts and learnings. I like to believe that failures are even more educational than successes, and I had plenty of failures on my training.

Two Hours

The two hours mark was hit and passed quite easily, with a beautiful out of cove swim accompanied by a great crew. The infamous 5 Coves of Death is another great chance to squeeze 2 challenging swims in a day and hang with a bunch of crazy swimmers.

Four Hours

This milestone was harder to hit. This is when feeding and technique started to matter. Not feeding frequently enough is a easy enough error to make, since energies are plenty at the beginning of a swim, but run away quickly if not replenished. Another issue that surfaced was hip cramping. Due to both sighting and bad technique my psoas ended up having to endure too much stress and to lock and cramp.

• First attempt: the plan was to feed every two miles and to change course after every feed. Andrew was with me and our hips locked after the first hour. The constant changing of the course also didn’t help us to focus and we ended up shivering in the sauna.
• Second attempt: on my second attempt I went hypothermic for not feeding not frequently enough. I ended up staying in for 3 grueling hours mostly thanks to the wonderful community that kicked my ass when I tried to bail out at hour 2.
• First 4 hours: Duke has been a wonderful menthor through all of my training and he stepped in and kayaked for me for 4 hours (plus some, just to be safe). My hips were in some pain, but feeding regularly (Carbo-Pro every 30’ plus a Gel on the hour) did the trick. This is the first time I figured out a combination that works for me, and I still stick to it with minor variations.
• Second 4 hours: Stayed in the Cove with Ryan, feeding after each loop. This helped getting into “The Zone” and to create automatism and habit.
• Third 4 hours: Andrew, Catherine and I hit the Belvedere Lagoon, generous concession of Bob.
• Fourth 4 hours: Tahoe!!! On July 10th we tackled the width of Tahoe. with Mark Henderson as our pilot, Catherine, Andrew and I swam from Sand Harbor to King’s Beach. Leaving at a leisurely 7am we had a lovely swim in warm water with a great Sun.

Six Hours

Here the psoas issue became really serious and costed me two attempts. The cold water seems to exacerbate some of the flaws in my technique and putting too much strain on the postural muscles, which end up cramping up pretty badly and locking up.

• First attempt: A bunch of laps between Aquatic Park and the GoldenGate bridge, supported by Duke and Adam. I ended up drinking too much and ingesting too much salt water, which didn’t let my feeds be absorbed correctly. My hip completely locked and I got pulled at 4h30’. This incident also made me research into some more nutrient and dense feed, which I will describe later.
• Second attempt: I stayed in the Cove, but my hip was still injured from the previous attempt and I had to limp out at the third hour.
• First 6 hours: the first success was in the warmer waters of the Belvedere Lagoon. The main lesson learned from this swim is that most of the zinc sunscreens designed for outdoor athlete wash off after 4 hours in the water.
• Third Attempt 6 hours: the third attempt was a botched Night Swim. The plan was to swim a round trip angel island to get familiar both night swimming and to crunch some miles. Catherine and I got separated and some issue with communication got us pulled. All in all I got the night swimming learning I needed.
• Second 6 hours: in the Lagoon with Adnrew and Dave. Overall quite easy swim, warm and sunny, easy way to finish off the training and start with the taper.

Eight Hours

• In the Lagoon at Night: Andrew and I jumped at 9pm and swam into 5am. Not the most fun swim, particularly tough mentally and for nutrition. The geography of the lagoon forced us to feed on gel only at the 45’ mark and drink every hour and a half. This messed with our stomach. The utter darkness of the lagoon made it for a repetitive and dull swim. The murky water was dark enough that the difference between keeping our eyes open or close them was slight. The lagoon also crawled with little critters that kept bumping into us for the whole time. Swimming through the night was a good preparation to what your body goes through at different hours and to swimming in total darkness.

Going the Distance & Doing the Time

The weekly yardage was our actual goal and we did hit it most of the times, staying on average above the distance of Catalina. The ramp up has been pretty gradual, but a huge jump from our previus yardage (November and December averaged around 10k a week). This meant a lot of sore shoulders and slower swims in January February, but, once the initial discomfort settled, we endured the yardage quite easily.

Indoor/Outdoor

Winters are quite harsh in SF Bay. Temperatures in January and February dip below 50F (10C) and this adds an extra challenge to training. For this reason we mixed pool and open water, especially in the early months of the year. As the training progressed and temperature rised the mix changed. Overall the early part of the training was dominated by shorter swims in the pool, many times a week. As the training progressed we cut down on the number of swims in favor of (and to force us to) swimming for longer hours.

I’m a member of SF Tsunami Master team and this is where I get most of my indoor swimming. I also really love North Bay Aquatics Saturday practices, coached by Simon, a great way to get 2 solid hours under your belt.

The Crossing

The Gear

I stick to what’s allowed by the federation but here are a few preferences I have:

• Goggles: I LOVE Roka R1 for the clarity, the width and for how they stay put on your face.
• Silicone Cap since I find that latex caps pull my hair and are uncomfortable.
• Ear Plugs: I am really happy with these .
• Desitin layer for sun protection. This is super hard to take off, but offers the best protection since it lasts for way more than 10 hours.
• Vaseline (or alternatively Bag Balm) as protection from chafing. For applying this and for the above mentioned Desitin, is a good idea to wear gloves when applying the layer . Gloves are good not for protection but to keep your hands from getting horribly greasy and soiling your goggles.
• Blinkies
• I personally don’t like to take off my wedding ring every time I swim, I just wear a silicone band on top of it to keep it in place and to reduce the chances of losing it.

The Feeding Plan

In all the iterations during my training and through some research I learned a few things that worked for me (and may be disastrous for others):

• The “God” Bottle (available from Amazon): This is a great bottle, super sturdy, wide mouth (so you don’t ingest air) and super easy to open even when your hands get The Claw.
• Carbo-Pro: burns nice and smooth and hardly tastes like anything. My favorite feed for flexibility and energy.
• CLIF SHOT Energy Gels (Citrus is a great flavor and the chocolate based ones are quite decadent): they burn quite quickly and they need a chaser of some fluid to be washed down, but they do the job.
• Rice Mix: asking more experienced swimmers (e.g. Simon) I got the recipe of this rice based drink which I adapted to my needs. Basically blended rice with almond milk, Carbo-Pro and Almond Butter, with a spike of Nutella. The biggest difference from the original recipe is the absence of bananas, which I loath with all my heart.
• Energy Blocks: (Powerbar Cherry being my current favorite)
• Kind Bar (Dark Chocolate and Cherry): my favorite solid feed.
• Stinger Waffle: a backup solid feed if the kind bars tire me.
• Liquid Ibuprofen: as a contingency plan if my shoulders started to act up.
• Berrocca: a nice bump of caffeine and a good way to flavor up the Carbo-Pro

My plan was quite simple

• Odd Feeds: Carbo-Pro + Gel
• Even Feeds: Rice
• Every 3 hours a solid feed in addition to the liquid
• Treat around the last one/two hours mark (chocolate truffles…)

I brought plenty of all of the above to be sure to last way more than the expected duration of the swim and to allow my crew to prepare more of my feeds.

Dave’s Advice

Before the swim I had a minor freak out. I was not concerned about the training, but about what could go wrong during the crossing and about any contingency I didn’t think of. Dave had some great advice based on his experience as a swimmer and as a crew chief:

• Try to Negative split it: don’t go out way too fast (as I’m used to) but try to finish strong.
• For the same reason don’t race with pacers. This may sound obvious or dumb, but it’s easy to get carried away by the joy of having some company and to throw the pace off.
• Don’t stop for any reason and, for the love of god, don’t touch your goggles.
• Feed on your back, feed under a minute, the feeding time piles up, so keep moving and don’t waste time.
• Have treats and get the crew to Cheer up
• Keep the kayak far and follow boat to keep a straight line.

The Crew

• The Boat:
  • Bottom Scratcher
• The Observers:
  • Dan Simonelli
  • Jax Cole
• My Crew:
  • Kris “Killa” Estrada-Pozzi (my lovely wife): on feeds.
  • Andrew Wynn: Kayak and support swimmer
  • Frankie Lazzaretto: on feeds
  • Alex Sigal: Kayak and GoPro
  • Meghan Earley: Kayak and support swimmer

The Swim

Catalina Total: 20.1 mi (32.3 km - 35323.71 yds)

The days before my swim a strong heat wave hit the West Coast. This made it for a very uncomfortable ride down from SF to LA and a hellish night (no AC in our Airbnb) and day building up to the swim: I had to sleep the whole afternoon covered in wet towels to stay cool.

The crew showed up at 8:30pm at the dock and, after Dan and the captain briefed us on the rules I took a nap on the way to the island. Two hours later we were by Catalina.

Conditions were great, the Ocean was calm and the night, cooled down by a light drizzle, wasn’t windy at all.

The crew started getting ready. Kris covered me in Desitin and Vaseline and by 11:30pm I jumped into the darkness.

The first half of the night went on the wave of excitement. The most remarkable detail was the wonderful bioluminescence that was sparking at every stroke.

As the adrenaline wore off I made the first mistake of the day: I overfed. After chugging way too much rice and chasing it down with a chocolate gel I started to feel very nauseus. This, combined to the fact that the body feels naturally more tired around 2/3am slowed me down, until I finally puked and relieved my stomach a little bit.

Sunrise was almost a rebirth experience, bringing new hope, enthusiasm, and energies. This is the time I heard dolphins singing underwater and then saw their pod crossing my path. This pumped me up quite a lot and made me start to pick up my pace.

As I progressed through the day I was still a bit sick from the night. This, and the fact that all my rice went bad, made me stick with mostly liquid feeds (i.e. Carbo-Pro plus the additional gel when pushed by my crew) for the rest of the swim.

My second mistake was to look up. The trick is always to live fully in the present moment, and to NEVER look to what’s ahead or behind. Since when I started to see land I started to project my arrival time. By hour 7 I was growing quite annoyed by how much land seemed not to be any closer. Fortunately, this didn’t discourage me, but got me increasingly irritated by my slow pace and it’s probably part of the reason for the higher speed in the last portion of the crossing.

Even through this I followed the advice I got to never ask for how long it’s left nor for information about the progress.

The greatest joy and surprise was to be told that I was only 1 hour and a half away from the end. At this stage I was considering land as this unreachable mirage and my arrival time more of a theoretical horizon than an actual event that was going to happen.

At this mark my wonderful kayaker and friend Alex gave me a swig from a cold bottle of Coca Cola! This tasted like heaven! Cold. Crisp. Sweet. My mouth was burned by salt and the sweetness was just the best thing I could’ve hoped for. I have to say that that was one of the best things I tasted in my whole life.

Cheered up by the treat and after taking a swig of Ibuprofen (one shoulder was starting to get cranky and, with the end in sight, I saw no reason not to take the edge off) I kept pushing.

In the last stretch I was joined in the water by my crew and, unstable on my legs, I climbed on the rocky shore. 10 hours and 32 minutes! Done!

Conclusions & Learnings

As much as I still know nothing, this experience was a great learning. Some take-home learnings are:

• My tolerance to cold needs some serious focus and improvement: even if I’m not plannin a longer swim the next season, I’ll want to try the EC soon. Besides it bugs me not being good at it.
• My feeding plan needs some fine tuning: I need to start thinking in terms of the calory count to avoid feeling sick and/or bloated.
• Favor longer swims earlier in the training: it’s just way more fun and allows for more cross-training since you can condense the yardage in fewer longer days.
• Conditions, Conditions, Conditions: I was originally scheduled to swim on September 20th. That date ended up being one of the roughest in the season. Andrew as well ended up being caught in the tail of the storm during his crossing. My day was greatly different and largely due to luck. Can’t plan everything but just hope to be ready.
• Pepsi/Coke is a great treat!
• Human support is key: I’m not cheesy if I say that I could have never done it without the awesome support group and without my training buddies. Knowing that you can call on people to volunteer their time to support your swims is truly priceless.

Thanks

As I said above this swim would have not been possible without the awesome support from a super large community. Here are a few of the people I wouldn’t have done this without:

• My lovely wife Kris, who patiently supported and advised me through training and, despite being sick as dog, crewed for me. She’s always there to push me and to kick my ass if I need it.
• My buddy Andrew made the training so much easier thanks to mutual motivation and to his great planning skills. It’s so hard to find someone at your exact same speed training for your exact same goal.
• Frankie for being an awesome friend, for taking care of me all through the night, and for being the BEST at throwing the feeds.
• Alex for being a solid kayaker, a wise counselor and an amazing friend, always taking a great care of everyone.
• Meghan for bravely enduring seasickness and my driving to be there to support me through the darkest part of my swim.
• Duke for all the wisdom and the support, including spending an insane amount of time on a kayak to keep me in the water.
• Dave and all the NT crew for all the support, advise, and swimming together. Special gratitude to Bob for welcoming us to the Lagoon.
• My swimming family at the DC, SERC, and Tsunami for all the miles crunched together.
• Luke and Giacomino for being the cutest supporters I could’ve hoped for.

FAQ

All through the training I made no mystery of my goal since I find that stating it out loud helps with commitment. The reaction of people not accustomed to this type of swimming were quite striking. As usual many “less than smart” questions came up. Here a few of them:

• has he been training for it?
• isn’t he afraid of sharks?
• At once?!
• oh! a boat follows you?
• can you get on the boat?
• with a wetsuit right?

Appendix: The Full Training

	ds_week_ending	name	distance	hours	is_pool
start_date
2017-01-03 07:00	2017-01-08	First swim of 2017!!	2455.591894	0.700833	open water
2017-01-04 07:00	2017-01-08	GPS mishap	1798.988450	0.719444	open water
2017-01-04 19:00	2017-01-08	[POOL] Gnarly IM	3520.002507	1.000000	pool
2017-01-05 06:00	2017-01-08	[MISC] Yardage missed by the GPS	2187.220000	1.000000	open water
2017-01-05 07:00	2017-01-08	Another GPS fuckup..	1495.074231	0.806944	open water
2017-01-06 08:00	2017-01-08	[POOL] Mission: Zack	4374.440000	1.000000	pool
2017-01-07 08:00	2017-01-08	[POOL] Doing (pool) time	6014.855000	2.000000	pool
2017-01-07 11:00	2017-01-08	Rainbow swim	2641.614955	0.721667	open water
2017-01-09 07:00	2017-01-15	Finally a Flood!!	3002.943699	0.819722	open water
2017-01-10 19:00	2017-01-15	[POOL] Shitshow practice	4921.245000	1.500000	pool
2017-01-11 07:00	2017-01-15	Swimming through floating Pumpkins	2885.708707	0.909444	open water
2017-01-11 19:00	2017-01-15	[POOL] IM crunch	4374.440000	1.250000	pool
2017-01-12 07:00	2017-01-15	Don't try messing with the King Tide	2984.899134	0.845000	open water
2017-01-14 08:00	2017-01-15	[POOL] Double Trouble Saturday!	6561.660000	2.000000	pool
2017-01-14 11:00	2017-01-15	Beware the floating trees	2863.945868	0.741111	open water
2017-01-16 08:00	2017-01-22	Cold Flood and Seal	2691.702293	0.860556	open water
2017-01-17 07:00	2017-01-22	Fucking Cold	2451.436176	0.728333	open water
2017-01-18 07:00	2017-01-22	Smells fishy	3313.638300	0.922778	open water
2017-01-18 18:00	2017-01-22	[POOL] Puke-arama	4593.162000	1.500000	pool
2017-01-19 07:00	2017-01-22	Sneaky Ebb	2978.337474	0.817778	open water
2017-01-20 07:00	2017-01-22	[POOL] We (barely) made it!	3280.830000	1.000000	pool
2017-01-21 08:00	2017-01-22	[POOL] Rough with Zack	6780.382000	2.000000	pool
2017-01-21 11:00	2017-01-22	The Cherry on top	2064.188875	0.547222	open water
2017-01-23 07:00	2017-01-29	49F (Finally)!!!	3525.798640	1.014167	open water
2017-01-24 19:00	2017-01-29	[POOL] Swim with Dave	4374.440000	1.500000	pool
2017-01-25 07:00	2017-01-29	Cautious Swim	2855.196988	0.784722	open water
2017-01-25 19:00	2017-01-29	[POOL] Lots of yards with Casey	4702.523000	1.500000	pool
2017-01-26 20:00	2017-01-29	[POOL] "Yeah Right!"	4483.801000	1.500000	pool
2017-01-27 07:00	2017-01-29	RTFM Again!	2763.880553	0.892778	open water
2017-01-28 08:00	2017-01-29	[POOL] ...kinda pointless....	2952.747000	1.000000	pool
2017-01-28 10:00	2017-01-29	Strong Flood	2720.682958	0.839167	open water
2017-01-30 07:00	2017-02-05	Can't wake up...	3110.883006	0.824722	open water
2017-01-31 07:00	2017-02-05	I love it choppy!	3160.860983	0.923333	open water
2017-01-31 19:00	2017-02-05	[POOL] got out early :/	2734.025000	1.000000	pool
2017-02-01 07:00	2017-02-05	So much trash!	3411.078951	0.920000	open water
2017-02-03 16:00	2017-02-05	Making up for lost mileage	3104.758790	0.796111	open water
2017-02-04 10:00	2017-02-05	[24 hrs] Leg 1: GPS fucked up...	5279.949080	1.166667	open water
2017-02-04 16:00	2017-02-05	[24hrs] Leg 2: push it!	4201.758981	1.068889	open water
2017-02-04 23:00	2017-02-05	[24hrs] Leg 3: crawling in the dark	2835.074564	0.753056	open water
2017-02-05 05:00	2017-02-05	[24hrs] Leg 4: Last Tango	2843.386000	0.833333	open water
2017-02-06 21:00	2017-02-12	[POOL] struggle bus	4046.357000	1.500000	pool
2017-02-08 07:00	2017-02-12	Back to it!	3109.789396	0.834444	open water
2017-02-08 19:00	2017-02-12	[POOL] The waiting is the hardest part...	2187.220000	0.833333	pool
2017-02-09 07:00	2017-02-12	Swallowed a nice gulp of sewage	3239.163459	0.918611	open water
2017-02-09 19:00	2017-02-12	[POOL] just a lil' sumthing...	1093.610000	0.750000	pool
2017-02-13 07:00	2017-02-19	Back from Vegas	3024.159733	0.783611	open water
2017-02-14 07:00	2017-02-19	Valentine's Day heart swim	2953.731249	0.830278	open water
2017-02-14 20:00	2017-02-19	[POOL] valentine day warmdown	3390.191000	1.000000	pool
2017-02-15 07:00	2017-02-19	Obstacles course!	3058.827170	0.804722	open water
2017-02-16 18:00	2017-02-19	Fresh AF	2199.468432	0.565556	open water
2017-02-16 19:00	2017-02-19	[POOL] lot of stroke...	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-02-17 07:00	2017-02-19	[POOL] that escalated quickly	4374.440000	1.500000	pool
2017-02-18 07:00	2017-02-19	Rough Chas	3775.360442	1.096944	open water
2017-02-18 09:00	2017-02-19	[MISC] started the watch late	880.027967	0.166667	open water
2017-02-18 18:00	2017-02-19	Dip #2	2252.617878	0.568333	open water
2017-02-20 16:00	2017-02-26	Muddy Waters	3123.896965	0.824722	open water
2017-02-21 07:00	2017-02-26	Hilly Swim	3937.324083	1.071389	open water
2017-02-21 20:00	2017-02-26	[POOL] Swimswimswim	4702.523000	1.500000	pool
2017-02-22 07:00	2017-02-26	Blind and Bumpy	3756.987794	1.030000	open water
2017-02-22 18:00	2017-02-26	[POOL] FUEGO reunion	4046.357000	1.500000	pool
2017-02-23 07:00	2017-02-26	That was chilly..	2815.936389	0.798889	open water
2017-02-24 07:00	2017-02-26	[POOL] hijacked the distance!	6014.855000	1.500000	pool
2017-02-25 08:00	2017-02-26	[POOL] tired Medley	3062.108000	1.000000	pool
2017-02-25 11:00	2017-02-26	Slow and short..	2856.618681	0.744444	open water
2017-02-27 19:00	2017-03-05	[POOL] a case of the Mondays	4593.162000	1.000000	pool
2017-02-28 07:00	2017-03-05	Island of garbage	3732.272208	1.082778	open water
2017-02-28 19:00	2017-03-05	[POOL] amateur night	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-01 19:00	2017-03-05	[POOL] Hungry for Yards	5030.606000	1.333333	pool
2017-03-02 07:00	2017-03-05	Foam Party	3402.658154	0.974722	open water
2017-03-02 20:00	2017-03-05	[POOL] low expectations	3608.913000	1.000000	pool
2017-03-03 07:00	2017-03-05	[POOL] skippin skips	5796.133000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-04 09:00	2017-03-05	3 Coves (equivalent) in March	4512.453582	1.151944	open water
2017-03-06 07:00	2017-03-12	Struggle Bus	2974.837922	0.806667	open water
2017-03-07 07:00	2017-03-12	Weird conditions..	3074.356432	0.912222	open water
2017-03-07 19:00	2017-03-12	[POOL] lots of IM for a Tuesday	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-08 19:00	2017-03-12	[POOL] overpopulation	6014.855000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-09 16:00	2017-03-12	Catching up	2884.943180	0.758611	open water
2017-03-09 19:00	2017-03-12	[POOL] proving a point	5456.020290	1.500000	pool
2017-03-10 07:00	2017-03-12	[POOL] do it for Tartine	5358.689000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-11 10:00	2017-03-12	Uphill	4799.854290	1.213333	open water
2017-03-13 07:00	2017-03-19	In the (sea)lion den	3362.850750	0.899722	open water
2017-03-14 18:00	2017-03-19	Afternoons are Dumb	2147.193874	0.540278	open water
2017-03-14 19:00	2017-03-19	[POOL] need them yards!	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-15 19:00	2017-03-19	[POOL] fucking time change	5468.050000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-16 07:00	2017-03-19	Struggle bus......	3111.429811	0.830278	open water
2017-03-16 19:00	2017-03-19	[POOL] just enough	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-17 07:00	2017-03-19	[POOL] open water at mission pool	5030.606000	1.250000	pool
2017-03-18 09:00	2017-03-19	Wandering around...	4624.220524	1.326667	open water
2017-03-19 10:00	2017-03-19	[POOL] long course warm-down	2734.025000	1.000000	pool
2017-03-20 07:00	2017-03-26	Chas at last!!!	3605.632170	0.908889	open water
2017-03-20 18:00	2017-03-26	Binging on that flood	3259.067161	0.810000	open water
2017-03-21 07:00	2017-03-26	Polar Bear: Done.	3330.370533	0.869167	open water
2017-03-21 19:00	2017-03-26	[POOL] coach choice	6014.855000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-23 07:00	2017-03-26	Do it for the glory	3668.186662	0.919444	open water
2017-03-23 19:00	2017-03-26	[POOL] waste of time	4374.440000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-25 08:00	2017-03-26	[POOL] round one.	5686.772000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-25 11:00	2017-03-26	Feeling Strong	4239.488526	1.078611	open water
2017-03-27 12:00	2017-04-02	Bayshit crazy cove	4310.463815	1.076944	open water
2017-03-28 07:00	2017-04-02	Bru-Nope	3646.861267	1.025833	open water
2017-03-29 18:00	2017-04-02	[POOL] Zack brought back some yards	6014.855000	1.500000	pool
2017-03-30 07:00	2017-04-02	Smokey water..	3865.145823	1.091111	open water
2017-03-30 20:00	2017-04-02	[POOL] Fuck this shit	546.805000	0.250000	pool
2017-03-31 07:00	2017-04-02	[POOL] rough at the edges	4155.718000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-01 09:00	2017-04-02	[POOL] above expectations	7545.909000	2.000000	pool
2017-04-02 11:00	2017-04-02	2h30 through the Regatta	7809.250288	2.521111	open water
2017-04-04 07:00	2017-04-09	Recovery Swim	3833.977938	1.061389	open water
2017-04-04 20:00	2017-04-09	[POOL] [Censored]	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-05 19:00	2017-04-09	[POOL] Zack's becoming the new Waifa...	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-06 17:00	2017-04-09	Note to self: not on an empty stomach	3277.658531	0.815000	open water
2017-04-07 17:00	2017-04-09	Catching up on miles	3301.280507	0.834722	open water
2017-04-08 08:00	2017-04-09	[POOL] trying to unfuck my stroke	3280.830000	1.000000	pool
2017-04-08 11:00	2017-04-09	This week I suck	2272.084136	0.584722	open water
2017-04-09 07:00	2017-04-09	Morning Swim	1777.881777	0.335000	open water
2017-04-11 07:00	2017-04-16	Back to the grind	3463.244148	0.988611	open water
2017-04-11 20:00	2017-04-16	[POOL] need to ice...	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-12 07:00	2017-04-16	[POOL] in the slow lane	5468.050000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-12 19:00	2017-04-16	[POOL] a long day...	5468.050000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-13 07:00	2017-04-16	Trying to fool the Ebb	3682.075509	0.940833	open water
2017-04-14 07:00	2017-04-16	4 Coves April is back!	5827.410246	1.607222	open water
2017-04-15 06:00	2017-04-16	[POOL] swimming with another tax bracket	8311.436000	2.500000	pool
2017-04-15 11:00	2017-04-16	Finish off the week	2934.811796	0.747500	open water
2017-04-17 07:00	2017-04-23	Infinity Looping	4259.392228	1.157222	open water
2017-04-18 07:00	2017-04-23	April Coves	5800.835523	1.501111	open water
2017-04-18 19:00	2017-04-23	[POOL] pre-movie-night	3344.040658	0.750000	pool
2017-04-19 07:00	2017-04-23	[POOL] pyramids	6687.971955	1.500000	pool
2017-04-19 18:00	2017-04-23	[POOL] distance whore	6452.299000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-20 07:00	2017-04-23	Recovery Swim (and GPS tantrums)	3114.163836	0.923611	open water
2017-04-20 19:00	2017-04-23	[POOL] tedious IM	5030.606000	1.333333	pool
2017-04-22 07:00	2017-04-23	Bruno Point at last!!	4184.042499	1.441667	open water
2017-04-22 09:00	2017-04-23	[MISC] lost from GPS	880.027967	0.150000	open water
2017-04-23 11:00	2017-04-23	[POOL] getting some Sun	2952.747000	1.000000	pool
2017-04-24 07:00	2017-04-30	Enjoying the Flood!	4944.976337	1.147500	open water
2017-04-24 18:00	2017-04-30	[POOL] 50's Easy	5631.982139	1.500000	pool
2017-04-25 19:00	2017-04-30	[POOL] Oh well.....	3499.552000	1.000000	pool
2017-04-26 07:00	2017-04-30	[POOL] drizzly	5686.772000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-27 06:00	2017-04-30	Dawn Patrol 5 Coves	6368.309752	1.900556	open water
2017-04-27 09:00	2017-04-30	[MISC] bad GPS	656.166000	0.250000	open water
2017-04-28 07:00	2017-04-30	[POOL] IM. No seriously	5468.050000	1.500000	pool
2017-04-29 07:00	2017-04-30	[POOL] The Pozzi's @ NBA	8092.714000	2.000000	pool
2017-05-01 18:00	2017-05-07	[POOL] mid distance easy	5631.982139	1.500000	pool
2017-05-02 19:00	2017-05-07	[POOL] Happy birthday to the Coach oftyhe Year!	5468.050000	1.500000	pool
2017-05-03 07:00	2017-05-07	Patchwork	3953.290789	1.131389	open water
2017-05-03 19:00	2017-05-07	[POOL] Taper Sprint	3344.040658	1.000000	pool
2017-05-05 06:00	2017-05-07	Cinco de Mayo(nnaise)	7029.943802	1.760833	open water
2017-05-05 17:00	2017-05-07	Duo de Cinco	7372.462454	1.812222	open water
2017-05-06 08:00	2017-05-07	Inesorabile.	6593.046607	2.023889	open water
2017-05-06 11:00	2017-05-07	[MISC] another GPS misshap	437.444000	0.100000	open water
2017-05-07 10:00	2017-05-07	[POOL] Soaking in the Sun	2288.050842	0.666667	pool
2017-05-08 07:00	2017-05-14	Monster Flood	4115.145069	1.063333	open water
2017-05-10 18:00	2017-05-14	[POOL] huge gulp of poo(l) water	6014.855000	1.000000	pool
2017-05-11 07:00	2017-05-14	Trying to avoid the ebb	3950.556764	1.130278	open water
2017-05-12 07:00	2017-05-14	[POOL] took it up a notch	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-05-13 08:00	2017-05-14	False start	5838.346346	1.546389	open water
2017-05-13 10:00	2017-05-14	Finish up!	4105.083857	1.200833	open water
2017-05-14 06:00	2017-05-14	Bay to Broken: stuck into the infinity pool!!	11620.153055	1.665000	open water
2017-05-16 07:00	2017-05-21	Quite Brisk	4988.283293	1.389444	open water
2017-05-16 19:00	2017-05-21	[POOL] Swimming with wifey	5358.689000	1.250000	pool
2017-05-17 07:00	2017-05-21	[POOL] Pulling on the laneline ain't a stroke...	6014.855000	1.250000	pool
2017-05-17 19:00	2017-05-21	[POOL] whoops he did it again...	4046.357000	1.000000	pool
2017-05-19 06:00	2017-05-21	Trying not to lag too much behind	4449.680368	1.105556	open water
2017-05-20 08:00	2017-05-21	The GPS and I both fucked up...	7921.235952	3.241667	open water
2017-05-20 13:00	2017-05-21	[MISC] I did at least 3k more	3280.830000	0.016667	open water
2017-05-21 17:00	2017-05-21	Swimming with my babe!!	4007.533845	1.092500	open water
2017-05-22 18:00	2017-05-28	[POOL] nap with Paul	3344.040658	1.000000	pool
2017-05-23 07:00	2017-05-28	Stretching it out in the flood	4073.915972	1.059722	open water
2017-05-25 07:00	2017-05-28	4 hours at last!!! Thanks Duke!!!	14297.419696	4.199167	open water
2017-05-28 13:00	2017-05-28	Shark Baiting in LaJolla Cove!!!	3851.913142	1.264167	open water
2017-05-30 07:00	2017-06-04	A cold welcome back to the Bay	4255.783315	1.779167	open water
2017-05-31 06:00	2017-06-04	Never on an empty stomach	2893.473338	0.825000	open water
2017-05-31 14:00	2017-06-04	Coving in the Sun	7050.613031	1.842222	open water
2017-05-31 19:00	2017-06-04	[POOL] finish off the day	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-06-01 07:00	2017-06-04	So tired...	4480.629531	1.221667	open water
2017-06-02 07:00	2017-06-04	[POOL] Stretch it out before the weekend	3827.635000	1.000000	pool
2017-06-03 07:00	2017-06-04	4hours with jellyfish stings	10056.946921	4.000278	open water
2017-06-03 12:00	2017-06-04	[MISC] GPS fucked up again...	3520.002507	0.016667	open water
2017-06-05 06:00	2017-06-11	Warm-Cold-Warm-Cold...	6192.129181	1.621111	open water
2017-06-05 19:00	2017-06-11	[POOL] 100's EZ	6014.855000	1.500000	pool
2017-06-06 17:00	2017-06-11	Relax and stretch	2383.194912	0.570833	open water
2017-06-07 19:00	2017-06-11	[POOL] Sugar Crash	1640.415000	0.500000	pool
2017-06-08 16:00	2017-06-11	Pre-gaming	3055.108896	0.795278	open water
2017-06-09 16:00	2017-06-11	Taper swim	2684.047023	0.653889	open water
2017-06-10 08:00	2017-06-11	Lake DelValle 10k!	11469.234875	2.636944	open water
2017-06-11 17:00	2017-06-11	Finish off the weekend	4010.705314	0.991667	open water
2017-06-12 07:00	2017-06-18	Let's start off the new week!	6050.069242	1.584167	open water
2017-06-12 19:00	2017-06-18	[POOL] Tender shoulder	4374.440000	1.250000	pool
2017-06-13 19:00	2017-06-18	[POOL] hot pot	5577.411000	1.500000	pool
2017-06-14 07:00	2017-06-18	Winter wonderland	5265.185345	1.533056	open water
2017-06-14 09:00	2017-06-18	[MISC] GPS fuckup	765.527000	0.016667	open water
2017-06-15 07:00	2017-06-18	Better than nothing!	3272.956008	1.152778	open water
2017-06-16 07:00	2017-06-18	[POOL] can't count for shit	4155.718000	1.250000	pool
2017-06-17 17:00	2017-06-18	Critters of the Lagoon!	15118.939528	4.251111	open water
2017-06-20 08:00	2017-06-25	Cooling down with Bae	1365.809529	0.371389	open water
2017-06-20 19:00	2017-06-25	[POOL] That wasn't very successful	1849.950676	0.750000	pool
2017-06-21 07:00	2017-06-25	Binging on that Flood!	6005.231232	1.752222	open water
2017-06-21 19:00	2017-06-25	[POOL] I can't streamline for shit!	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-06-22 07:00	2017-06-25	Float around to ice them shoulders	1422.895971	0.400278	open water
2017-06-24 06:00	2017-06-25	Puking and Twerking..	18054.298129	4.425278	open water
2017-06-27 19:00	2017-07-02	[POOL] IM and I liked that	5468.050000	1.500000	pool
2017-06-28 18:00	2017-07-02	[POOL] no soul	4046.357000	1.000000	pool
2017-06-29 07:00	2017-07-02	Birthday swim!!!	4082.446130	1.260556	open water
2017-07-01 06:00	2017-07-02	My leg hates me.	10462.129426	3.128056	open water
2017-07-03 19:00	2017-07-09	[POOL] back to the grind	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-07-04 09:00	2017-07-09	FREEDOM!	2669.173927	0.776667	open water
2017-07-05 07:00	2017-07-09	Warm flood chilly air...	4879.469098	1.173333	open water
2017-07-05 19:00	2017-07-09	[POOL] taking it easy..	3390.191000	1.000000	pool
2017-07-08 09:00	2017-07-09	Sunny and warm!	4428.245612	1.225000	open water
2017-07-09 06:00	2017-07-09	We swam more hours than we slept last night	22948.093518	6.195556	open water
2017-07-10 18:00	2017-07-16	[POOL] recovery sprint	3062.108000	1.000000	pool
2017-07-11 19:00	2017-07-16	Hanging with GGTC	2375.102198	0.633333	open water
2017-07-12 19:00	2017-07-16	[POOL] Davis Mile	4400.030474	1.000000	pool
2017-07-13 18:00	2017-07-16	100th mile	1485.013019	0.379444	open water
2017-07-15 07:00	2017-07-16	Swam across a border and Transed Tahoe	16574.425077	4.392222	open water
2017-07-16 12:00	2017-07-16	Cool down..	2505.241788	0.666111	open water
2017-07-17 19:00	2017-07-23	[POOL] post Tahoe..	5030.606000	1.500000	pool
2017-07-18 20:00	2017-07-23	[POOL] coach Dave is THE Best	4400.030474	1.500000	pool
2017-07-19 06:00	2017-07-23	Straight to the Point	5011.686547	1.310278	open water
2017-07-19 19:00	2017-07-23	[POOL] just a lil sumthing	3062.108000	1.000000	pool
2017-07-21 21:00	2017-07-23	9 to 5: Dusk till Dawn.	27025.399681	8.288056	open water
2017-07-23 16:00	2017-07-23	Partied too hard...	1464.781234	0.380000	open water
2017-07-25 19:00	2017-07-30	[POOL] ease back into it	1760.055934	0.666667	pool
2017-07-26 18:00	2017-07-30	[POOL] that was rough	4046.357000	1.500000	pool
2017-07-28 07:00	2017-07-30	[POOL] Kris Destroyed me	4046.357000	1.250000	pool
2017-07-29 08:00	2017-07-30	[POOL] great job Camille!!!	6014.855000	2.000000	pool
2017-07-31 07:00	2017-08-06	Got bullied by a seal!	3059.920780	0.756667	open water
2017-07-31 19:00	2017-08-06	[POOL] yawn.....	3062.108000	1.000000	pool
2017-08-01 19:00	2017-08-06	[POOL] bonking ain't fun	4046.357000	1.500000	pool
2017-08-02 07:00	2017-08-06	This feels great!	2586.059567	0.788333	open water
2017-08-03 06:00	2017-08-06	Ripping Flood!	8026.769317	2.097500	open water
2017-08-05 21:00	2017-08-06	Try again. Fail again. Fail better.	5740.686973	1.753333	open water
2017-08-08 07:00	2017-08-13	Always Be Ebbing	2518.365108	0.718056	open water
2017-08-08 19:00	2017-08-13	[POOL] Dave's choice	4046.357000	1.000000	pool
2017-08-09 18:00	2017-08-13	[POOL] Welcome Joe!!	4575.992323	1.500000	pool
2017-08-10 07:00	2017-08-13	Feeling great!	5458.207510	1.426111	open water
2017-08-10 18:00	2017-08-13	Double trouble with mah ol' lady!	1363.512948	0.395278	open water
2017-08-11 07:00	2017-08-13	Five Coves Friday is Back!!!	7826.201243	1.904444	open water
2017-08-12 06:00	2017-08-13	Let the taper begin!!	22669.441690	6.004444	open water
2017-08-15 07:00	2017-08-20	Rogue Gas House in the Ebb!	3452.089326	0.993056	open water
2017-08-15 19:00	2017-08-20	[POOL] Just to get wet	2111.979632	1.000000	pool
2017-08-16 18:00	2017-08-20	[POOL] IM dip	3062.108000	1.000000	pool
2017-08-17 18:00	2017-08-20	Afternoon dip...	1455.485549	0.400556	open water
2017-08-18 06:00	2017-08-20	Swimming over a hill!	6155.602607	1.909167	open water
2017-08-19 08:00	2017-08-20	Dat flood tho	5187.648396	1.470000	open water
2017-08-20 16:00	2017-08-20	In the Bay with my Bae	1999.993968	0.557222	open water
2017-08-21 19:00	2017-08-27	[POOL] low yardage high intensity	4265.079000	1.500000	pool
2017-08-22 19:00	2017-08-27	Away from temptations of quitting	2888.770815	0.713611	open water
2017-08-23 19:00	2017-08-27	[POOL] Dr. Denton's finest	4400.030474	1.500000	pool
2017-08-24 07:00	2017-08-27	Gassy and oily	5002.718945	1.336389	open water
2017-08-26 08:00	2017-08-27	[POOL] Cheap Yards	3499.552000	1.000000	pool
2017-08-28 17:00	2017-09-03	Floating around...	1601.701206	0.441111	open water
2017-08-29 07:00	2017-09-03	Can the taper be done pleeze?	1568.564823	0.397500	open water
2017-08-30 19:00	2017-09-03	Swim with Meghan!	1581.031977	0.495833	open water
2017-08-31 19:00	2017-09-03	Short & Sweet!	719.923463	0.225833	open water
2017-09-01 08:00	2017-09-03	[MISC] not even a watch	880.027967	0.250000	open water
2017-09-04 00:00	2017-09-03	Catalina (until GPS bailed)	12987.712360	10.534722	open water

source