I’ve always thought that Antarctica will be the most physically difficult expedition of all our 7 10DL expeditions. Until now I never had a structured way of thinking about how to measure “difficulty”. From a energy expenditure perspective, Antarctica will be the hardest. Here’s how I performed my calculations. 

1. The first step is to breakdown the activities of 10DL. The 10 Degrees Latitude is an expedition series that consists of 5 sports. Those being:

• Cycling 
• Open water swimming
• Kite assisted skiing cross country
• Hiking cross country
• Kayaking

2. The second step is to assume that calorie count is a proxy for “effort”. It’s possible to make a caloric estimate for each expedition assuming the athlete is 190 pounds and that each activity consumes a predictable amount of calories per hour at high exertion. Using this method we can figure out which of the 10DL expeditions is “hardest”, by virtue of the caloric expenditure required to complete it. The source for the calorie count information is here.

3. The third and last step is to type all this into Excel. The results show that the caloric expenditure ranges from the lowest of 57,500 calories in 10DL Australia to 138,000 calories in 10DL Antarctica. It’s not surprising that Antarctica is one of the hardest, and that calorie estimate doesn’t even take into the account the cold temperature, which will consume even more calories as our bodies try to keep warm. Below is the model I used.

The mental side of the “difficulty” equation is much more difficult to measure. I don’t have a measure for that.

Last night I swam in black glass. We jumped into the San Francisco Bay ocean water after dark. It was so darn peaceful as the light of the Ghirardelli Chocholate Factory shone across the black glassy water. These are the nights that can make any workday worth living. It was a wonderful cold water training swim. My buddy Dave joined us for the apres-swim sauna then we all went back to a French place and talked about adventures past and adventures future. These are the days worth remembering.

Adam has been training these days too in Denver, where the temperatures have dropped down at night to the 40s, so I suspect most of his training has been on the Wilier cycles (shameless plug, sorry, but we love these guys).

Hope everyone’s training is going awesome. Take care.

14 hours 23 minutes

We made it! Everyone helped! It was awesome!

It was a gorgeous day for a swim from England to France. The middle map pretty well tells the story of our relay swim across the English Channel. We started the morning off strong on Shakespeare Beach and finished the day cold and weary just as the sun was dipping below the ocean horizon. Aches, pains, cold, and sea sickness took their toll, but they all disappeared as I walked up on the shores of France. Stay tuned for a longer trip log with more color. For now we are working through all these wonderfully supportive emails from loved ones and sponsors. Thanks for your warm vibes, we felt them in the cold channel!

A shout-out to Suunto, especially our friend Martin Schamboeck, Sports Marketing Manager. Adam swam with a T6 and Neal swam with a Core. Whether we’re defending presidents (as Adam has) or climbing Everest (as Neal has), Suunto is on our wrists. They also have this really cool software that we used during our bike rides to chart heart rate, speed and distance.

• Perth to Edinburg
• 60 miles
• 3000 feet climbed
• 1 huge bridge
• 1500 sheep

Our blog today will come in the form of 3 videos.  We’re too tired to blog.  Short version…Ride today was scheduled to be 40 miles.  Arrived at Edinburgh bridge (5 miles to hotel) at 2 PM.  Arrived at hotel just after 4 PM.  We saw a lot of Edinburgh.  It’s a beautiful city.  I would have rather seen it on foot.

Tomorrow is a rest day in the capital city of Edinburgh.  We’re looking forward to it.

A shout-out to Bellwether Clothing Line, especially the awesome and honest Barry Smith, Marketing Director. The weather here is extremely temperamental. Just today we went from cold (50′s) to rain to warm (70′s). The gear has been fantastic. The chamois technology is layered and padded perfectly (FYI: chamois = butt pad) and the jerseys have awesome finishing touches like rubber gussets on the sleeves and waist to keep it from slipping. It’s gorgeous stuff, and it’s all we wear.

I was there for less than 48 hours, and Neal and I spent a good deal of that time training. We got in two decent swims on Saturday, and then we both participated in an open-water “race” put on by the Dolphin Club. We had to check in for the race by 6:00, which meant that the alarm clock went off at about 4:30! We took a boat from the club to the San Francisco Bay bridge, and once dropped off, it was an all-out sprint back to the club. The front group was ultra-competitive, with the winning swimmer completing the 2 ½ mile course in under 40 minutes (current assisted). Neal wasn’t too far behind at around 45 minutes, and I straggled in about 3-4 minutes after that. Many thanks to all of the volunteers who rowed beside us making this event as safe and as fun as possible.

We took a few minutes to bring our core temperatures back up to human levels, and then bee-lined for the airport. It was a fast and furious weekend, but all-in-all a great time!

	Wind Direction (WDIR):	SSW ( 210 deg true )
	Wind Speed (WSPD):	15.9 kts
	Wave Height (WVHT):	3.3 ft
	Air Temperature (ATMP):	50.2 °F
	Water Temperature (WTMP):	50.2 °F
	Wind Chill (CHILL):	44.2 °F

[UPDATE] Another online service provides a color map of sea temperatures.

Special thanks for Mark Robson (fellow blogger and Channel aspirant) for clueing us in on the NOAA website and the color map.

[Special section for history nerds] Valley Forge was the site where General Washington stationed 12,000 soldiers during the winter of 1777. The Confederates had already captured Philadelphia and the soldiers were there to protect the rest of Pennsylvania. The winter of 1777 was reportedly wicked cold, and 2,000 soldiers died of exposure and pneumonia that winter. The park service lets the fields grow fallow so we can imagine all the tents and the thousands of men who were stationed there. Seeing it now is beautiful, but I’m guessing (based on the number of deaths) that back then it probably was a real crummy place to be.

He who wants to find the sea should take a river for his guide.

We are training in the Schuylkill River! We’ve done it 3 of last 4 days. Today we swam for 80 minutes. And after doing those miles we plan to swim more and more. Here’s why we love it…

• It’s cold. Cold is important for us to acclimatize our bodies. The water temps in the Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River has been 58-64F, which is pretty close to the water temps that we’ll see in the English Channel which is 56-58F. So far the cold is treating us well and only our toes are cold during the swim.
• It’s beautiful. And a fun change of pace from the pool. Keeping the mind busy lets us forget about our shoulders and biceps.
• It’s clean. Despite popular belief it’s a very clean river. The Philadelphia Department of Water has a website with daily coliform/bacteria counts, water flow, and water temp. These three together form a proxy for water quality. Nothing instills confidence that the river is safe like that big green banner on the Rivercast website!

The green banner means the water is safe.

From behind the camera the river is idealistically beautiful! Up close there tends to be more duck weed and gunk. But we still like it.

As part of my acclimitization I swam in the 45-degree Atlantic Ocean this weekend. You see, my two good friends Rick and Carla live smack-dab on the ocean, so my training was a great excuse to visit and spend some time with them in their home. I was the only swimmer on the beach and the fisherman thought I was bonkers. Truth be told, with the wetsuit it wasn’t all that bad. My core stayed warm and my cognition was clear (cold water sometimes prevents us humans from thinking straight). Here are some pictures of me and my good friends.

Next weekend I will try the same swims without the wetsuit — such swims have been done by our friend (Mark Robson) for several weeks. He is also training for the English Channel swim.

It’s all lined up and we couldn’t be happier. Thank you all for your feedback and anecdotes relating your experience with your pilots. The one thing we learned from all of you is that all of the pilots are great. We did not get a single negative story about a pilot. Even those of you who had unsuccessful attempts, had nothing but the best to say about your pilot.

For our readers not familiar with this segment of the universe, the Channel piloting world is very small. There is only a handful of folks that do this, and they’ve been doing it forever. A couple of them are 2nd generation pilots. It’s an everybody-knows-everybody community, and most of them have close personal friendships with those they have taken across the Channel. The pilot also serves as a motivator and a coach. They know how to keep a swimmer motivated for 14 hours of pain and cold. They now how to manage nutrition, and they know how to spot and prevent hypothermia. They try to help alleviate all of the external factors that can affect the crossing. Now all you have to do is swim!

So here’s what we got…

Adam: Dave Whyte (Ocean Breeze)

Neal: Chris Osmond (Seafarer)

Our swim dates are 7 – 19 July. This block now gives us a target to start the first cycling leg of the expedition in the last part of June.

Here is one particular email that stood out to us from a well-seasoned open-water swimmer. It was so good we had to post it for every one to benefit. It’s well worth your time to read it to the end.

Email Excerpt.

***********************************************************************
ADAM & NEAL –
Fascinating project! I’m sure you’re having a blast coordinating your efforts and travel plans. You’ve certainly captured my imagination with all the possibilities….

Here’s one swimmer’s thought about escort pilots in the English Channel: IT BARELY MATTERS WHO YOU CHOOSE.

ANY of the certified English Channel pilots will steer you across. You could swim it a dozen times, under each one of them, and discover the
success of your crossing relies… upon you.

It’s up to you to be the successful swimmer. If you’ve trained properly, acclimated to cold water, learned to consume enough fuel while treading water, learned how to keep that fuel in your stomach while floating in a horizontal position, and built your open water endurance, you’ll be able to swim the English Channel. No matter which certified pilot you select. In fact, they’ll be thrilled to have 2 swimmers who’ve done the arduous — but necessary — training. Their job becomes relatively simple: Pick the right day and guide the swimmer from point A to B.

Therefore a “successful swim” relies 100% on the swimmer’s shoulders. Literally and figuratively. Likewise, a swimmer who doesn’t make it must take a look in the mirror. There is NO ONE else to blame.

Your pilot’s fee goes toward their knowledge of negotiating the currents and choosing the proper day to make an attempt. The tidal currents are strong, but your pilot will account for this as s/he guides you. Again, any of the dozen English Channel pilots are fully capable. They are well-trained and experienced in handling swimmers in the open water. With negotiating the shipping lanes. And knowing when to “pull” a swimmer.

Swimmers don’t make it across for 5 reasons. Illness (nausea), Injury (shoulder – cramps), Hypothermia (core body temp drops leading to
confusion), Exhaustion, and a collapse of mental fortitute. In other words, THEY QUIT.

***
I encourage you to pursue your dreams. I think they’re magnificent. So place that deposit with one of the Dover pilots – NOW. Actually you’ll need two pilots for two swimmers. Or one pilot escorting you on separate days. Then, for the next 6 months, don’t think about your pilot(s) — not even once.

Instead, focus on these 5 marathon swim training essentials. I trust you know how to train for a multi-day 1200-mile cycle… I am clueless
there. But I know a few things about how to prepare for a long swim:

PACE– It’s imperative you swim your first mile at the same speed as your final mile. Your pilot steers based upon a steady pace. If it deteriorates, so does your chance at success. Like a triathlon, your goal is to conserve your energy! The currents near France are the worst. You’ll need to muster even more effort to succeed in those final miles. MANY swimmers don’t and fail.

COLD– Hypothermia is a very serious issue in the English Channel and official crossings are without a wetsuit. It is REQUIRED you swim non-stop for at least 6 hours in 60-degree water well in advance of your attempt. There is no skipping this “test swim”. It is for your safety!
Some marathon swimmers “grow” additional layers of insulation by over-eating. This could become a challenge, considering you’re training
for a long-distance cycle and marathon swim. Still, try to carry as much excess weight as you can tolerate. Skinny swimmers usually don’t make it, unless they’re super-fast. To avoid hypothermia, you’ll need to train months in frigid waters. Eventually, your body acclimates and protects against painful & potentially deadly drops in core body temperatures. The warmest the Channel becomes is 64 degrees (Late August). The cold days are 58 degrees (early July & October).

FUEL– Marathon swimming brings a unique challenge for fueling. Not only are you tossed on the waves but a swimmer’s body position causes your stomach & mouth to be on the same horizontal plane. It’s very simple for the fuels you pour “down” your mouth to travel back the WRONG direction. Vomiting is commonplace. Therefore, your fuel must taste decent both directions. Find an endurance fuel drink. Train on it as if your life depended upon it. Like a triathlon, an English Channel swim is as much an eating competition as an athletic event.

FEED– Different category of the same problem. Swimmers can’t touch the boat and supporters can’t touch the swimmers. So FEEDING becomes a unique problem to marathon swimming. How will your support team deliver your fuel from the boat to water level? Some use rope tied around a bottle. Others use a basket attached to a pole. I have used a fishing pole. My liter bottle, half-filled with fuel, is lowered to water level. As I chug and drift with the currents, the fishing line is free to unfurl. As soon as I finish, I drop my Nalgene bottle in the water and my support member reels her in. Like any endurance event, quickly feeding is essential. The currents are not working in your favor in the English Channel. Every minute wasted while feeding is another 100+ meters of swimming. Over the course of a dozen hours, this becomes a serious disadvantage.

TRAIN– Nearly 1000 swimmers have crossed the English Channel. I suspect they’ve done it 1000 different ways. Find your path. Tailor your days, weeks, months to your school schedule and lifestyle. Make and KEEP your priorities. I am a proponent of swimming the “Channel distance” every single week. I suggest 40,000 meters. In addition, once a month, you’ll want to choose one day to swim non-stop an increasing distance. Starting this month, until a few weeks before your scheduled crossing. Make that final training swim at least 16-miles
straight. Ideally, under similar conditions: cold, open water, escort boat with fuel and feeding device. We’re in November, and I’m guessing you’ll swim July 2008. That requires 4-miles non-stop this month, 6 miles in Dec, 8 in January, 10 Feb, 12 March, 14 April, 16 miles in May. June you’ve started your cycling challenge. July cross the Channel!

Does your February 10-mile training swim become your REQUIRED “test swim”? That’s a brilliant way to double-dip. IF you spend at least 6 hours in 60-degree water. I cannot stress enough: This REQUIRED test swim is for your safety. Hypothermia is likely in the English Channel. Do not discount its effect. It is potentially deadly.

I hope this helps. You’re asking the right questions. You’re obviously smart enough and strong enough to surmount the challenge you’ve laid before you.
**********************************************************************************

Like I said in my previous post about open water swimming, most of our training these days is swimming. I prefer open water swimming. Long distances are easier in lakes than in the pools, and more beautiful. Here are some nice pictures of Mauch Chunk Lake in Jim Thorpe, PA. It’s about 90 minutes north of Philadelphia and in the Pocono foothills. The swimming is getting brisk now that’s it’s almost November. For some reason I can bare it as long as I have an insulated swim cap on. Here are some pictures of our latest swim trip

And my favorite picture. A picture of Jonathan Taqqu using me as a ladder to tie the rope for our leanto shelter.

Most of the questions surround our swim of the English Channel. Here are some interesting facts that we’ve found out.

• 21 miles from England to France, but most do a zigzag path of 26 miles.
• 811 people have swim the English Channel since 1875. This is not a lot of people. By comparison, Mount Everest has been climbed 2049 times
• 6 people died swimming the Channel, zero of which are Americans. I think this number is small given the cold water (see next fact). By comparison, 8 people died on Mount Everest during the 1996 tragedy
• 10% success rate. Is that a lot or a little? You decide
• No sharks – occasional threat of jellyfish and oil spills
• Wetsuits frowned upon – they add too much buoyancy
• 
• 59-62 degrees is the average water temp of the Channel. To be This is warmer than the springtime 52-degree San Francisco Bay water where I’ve been training. Temp map at right.
• 13 hours is the average time to swim the channel
• August is the most popular month to swim the Channel. Here are the percentages of successful channel crossings: 20% in July, 59% in August, 19% in September
• 30 is the median age to swim the Channel. This is pretty cool since Adam will be 31 and I will be 30 when we swim it. I know what ya’ll are thinking — you’re probably thinking this looks a bit like a mid-life crisis thing. Well, it’s not. Because I plan to live to be 100 years old. So it is a quarter-life crisis

Data sources:
http://www.doverlife.co.uk/channelswimming/fatalities.php
http://home2.btconnect.com/critchlow/ChannelSwimDatabase.htm

“It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt, 1910