Catalina Saltwater Swim

OMG!! I can't believe I did want I did in Catalina Island.  So several months back a group of my swim friends mentioned putting together a fun ocean swim in Catalina.  Once I heard it I was totally in.  I love swimming and I wanted to do something to challenge myself.  I swim 3 to 4 days a week so I knew the physical part of the swim I could handle, for me it was all going to be a mental challenge.  With the swim coming up within months/weeks I started getting really nervous and wanted to back out so bad.  I kept trying to come up with excuses, but Jake wouldn't listen.  He told me I was doing it and he and the kids were going to be there to cheer me on.  Jake was so supportive and leading up to it he keep telling me how I had to swim in the ocean at least one before the swim.  Yes I have never really swam in the ocean besides jumping in the waves for fun.  Finally 5 days before the big swim in Catalina one of my friends got me down to La Jolla cove and I did my first ocean swim.  I finished that two mile swim hating it!! I was so scared, the waves were rough that day, and the water was so dark and murky I didn't see any enjoyment in it.  But I told myself I survived this, I can survive Catalina and I never have to go into the ocean again after that.

The day of Catalina I was full of nerves.  I honestly hadn't felt that much anxiety in a lot time, but once I got on the boat to head over I started to relax...thank goodness.  I think being around the amazing positive energy that my swim friends have helped.  The kids were so excited to be on a boat.  They loved ever minute of the ride over and we even saw a whale, which was extra exciting.

Once we got to Catalina we dropped our bags of in the room and all headed to a nice dinner together.

Breakfast of champions before moms big swim.  

Surprisingly the morning of the swim I felt good.  I had been telling myself I was only going to do the two miles loop, but that morning I felt like I could do three no problem.  Having the kids and Jake also made me less nervous and when the whistle blew I was ready to go.  The water temperature couldn't of been better and the water was so clear that I could see everything underneath me.  

I swam in a group with my friends Nicole and Mike.  We stopped for a could minutes at each mile marker.  Got a couple jelly fish stings, but kept swimming on.  In the end I swam 3.3 miles in 1 hour and 25 minutes and surprisingly I enjoyed it the whole time.  When I was swimming in the kids were in the water cheering me on. 

I was pretty proud of myself in the end!

After the swim we hung out on Descano Beach for a while and then took the kids to the jumpy in the middle of the bay. 

That evening we had a wonderful potluck dinner at the host of the swims house to celebrate everyone's hard swim.  We are already planning on making it a yearly event and I plan on beating my time.

Side note:  Madden won a couple mustaches at the local arcade that he had to wear during the trip...haha!