Jen Schumacher, a 23-year-old graduate student from Fullerton, California, is an enthusiastic long-distance swimmer with a three-prong passion for the sport.Firstly, regarding her academic side, Jen is writing her masters thesis on a phenomenological study on the subjective experiences of channel swimmers.
In a series of upcoming interviews with marathon swimmers who have completed a minimum of a 20-mile (36K) swim at least once over the past two years, Jen hopes to gain a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of channel swimmers. She is currently recruiting such individuals who are willing to share their recollections for academic research.
For more information, contact Jen's website directly.
Secondly, in preparation for her Catalina Channel solo swim this summer, Jen carefully maps out her ocean training swims using a Garmin Forerunner 305. For use in the ocean, Jen takes off the watch straps and puts the Garmin Forerunner 305 in a waterproof bag.
She places it under her swim cap on the back of her head, so the GPS device it faces the sky for the best satellite signal. She uses Ascent software on a Macintosh so she can overlay her swimming route on Google Earth. Her latest training swim is noted above.
Lastly, Jen's solo Catalina Channel swim is a benefit for the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the world's oceans, waves and beaches with over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.
