Before And After In The Catalina Channel

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Jen Schumacher of Irvine, California swam a 9 hour 2 minute crossing of the Catalina Channel this month. She was kind enough to take before-and-after photos of herself before spending 9 hours in the Pacific Ocean.

Before plunging in the night seas off of California, Schumacher radiated a positive glow of health, albeit, it appears, with slight apprehension.

After the swim, her joy was evident as her radiance continued to shine, but her skin tone obviously changed as can be seen in the photos above.

The body naturally swells from prolonged exposure to salt water. As a result, many marathon swimmers' bodies appear bloated when they exit the water. There is a physiological phenomenon called third spacing that causes the body to appear waterlogged or swollen.

This third spacing can be caused by a loss of electrolytes. In turn, this results in extracellular fluids going out of the blood vessels and into the skin tissue that normally is not perfused with fluids.

Third spacing occurs in the brain, lungs, abdomen and extremities when fluid is trapped in the interstitial spaces - and its effect becomes more noticeable with an increase in water salinity and the duration of exposure.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Top Times At Tahoe

Among 126 relays and 13 soloists at this year's Trans Tahoe Relay, women had 3 of the 5 fastest times in the 11.5-mile race in 62-64˚F (16.6-17.7˚C) water.

The Trans Tahoe Relay of the top 5 men and women are as follows:

1. Jen Schumacher in 4 hours 27 minutes 32 seconds (swimming at a 23:16 per mile pace)
2. Emily Evans in 4:48:17 (25:04/mile)
3. Stephanie Moore in 4:50:30 (25:16/mile)
4. Audrey Ryder in 5:47:57 (30:15/mile)
5. Kate Howell in 6:14:07 (32:32/mile)

1. Kurt Baron in 4:25:19 (23:04/mile)
2. Gvietze Reuter in 4:51:36 (25:21/mile)
3. John Ennis in 5:07:18 (26:43/mile)
4. Dan Schumacher in 5:13:47 (27:17/mile)
5. Thomas Vilhauer in 5:32:18 (28:54/mile)

GPS image shows the actual course taken by Jen Schumacher who will be doing a charity swim across the Catalina Channel this week. The line down the middle indicates the border between the states of California and Nevada.

A Thoughtful Passion For The Open Water

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.

Documentation of a Channel Crossing

Christopher Roberts, a 37-year-old MIT engineer living in Orange County, became the 157th person to successfully cross the Catalina Channel.





Like many channel swimmers, Roberts had to overcome less-than-desirable conditions and had to face swimming at night before swimming in the beauty of the morning.

For the benefit of others who will attempt the Catalina Channel in the future, Roberts and his experienced crew of Jim Fitzpatrick, Ahelee Osborn, John Steed, Jen Schumacher, Lynn Kubasek, Ron Roberts, Jordon Roberts, Jan Roberts and Dave Clark, documented his effort in a wonderful, easy-to-appreciate visual manner. Roberts's effort across the Catalina Channel can be seen here.

Roberts' blog carefully documents in order his night start, the beauty of the early morning hours, the mind-numbing miles in the deep and his unprecedented arrival on the rocky California coast.

Congratulations to Roberts and his visual documentation of his successful channel crossing.

All photos from Roberts' site.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association