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Sharkfest!

In a little more than a month I do "Sharkfest," the 1.5-mile swim in San Francisco from Alcatraz Island to the shore at Aquatic Park, next to Golden Gate Park.  I've done the 4.4-mile Great Chesapeake Bay Swim a few times.  While the Maryland swim is a longer distance, the conditions of Sharkfest are supposed to be much more challenging.  The water temperature is expected to be in the upper 50s, the chop is much heavier and the currents are stronger in San Francisco Bay.  Never mind about the sharks.  As I've told my family, as long as I'm a little faster than the slowest swimmer I should be fine!



After the swim Donna and I are going to do some sightseeing.  The old Alcatraz prison, Muir Forest, Sausalito and wine country.  That should be a good reward for an hour or so of swimming.

I've been training pretty hard this year to prepare.  I swim in a Master's program and try to work out in the pool three nights a week.  10,000 yards a week is a good week.  Last June I swam the Chesapeake Bay swim and vowed I'd never do another big open-water swim.  The conditions were the toughest I had ever experienced--the air temperature was in the 90s and the water was about 85, and the currents in the channel were ridiculous--but I wasn't in very good shape, either.  So when the opportunity to do Alcatraz came up (which means after Donna consented after lots of pleading and begging), I determined to really push myself to get in shape. 

This week I'll miss at least a couple swims then next week I'll be at the beach, so while I'll be in the water I won't be doing hard-core workouts.  Then I'll have a couple weeks to do an intense final set of workouts before the July 28 swim.  Wish me luck!

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