Still reeling from yesterday's swim and more importantly the impact we seem to be having on land. 

For Michelle and I this started so simply:  January 1, 2005 we met, and I was told that her family swims alot too.  We should have a lot in common.

I believe if we find a way to passionately pursue what we love amazing things can happen.

From UPenn to Monterey Bay, The Aquarium and National Marine Sanctuary...we are looking forward to many more years of making this kind of feeling part of every single day.

Bummed to see some of our crew and my sister take off today:  Tony, Babs and Kacey.  At the same time the last few days have connected us in ways that will leave us talking about this experience for years to come.

Happy for a final night to chill with Pamela and a whole extra day with Pat.

More details soon, but for now thank you all for the incredible support and encouragement.

24 hours from now we hit the water.

Late yesterday I learned that our friends in the Ocean City Swim Club are working to get 25 people to hit the water at 7 am, EST to connect with us as we take on 25 miles at 4 AM, PST.

Getting up early again this morning, Michelel and I took a quick trip to the Santa Cruz Harbor to see what it looks like at 4 am.  Something about seeing things in advance removes a bit of the stress from the unknown.  Sharing the quiet moment with Michelle connects us.

Someone should launch a campaign to permanently remove the word "Solo" from the description of any marathon swim event. 

Alone I would not have the strength or ability to get much further than the breakers.  With peers, community, friends and family I am able to pursue things that I could not imagine accomplishing solo.

With partners such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, National Marine Sanctuaries and BLUE Ocean Film Festival that group of peers and friends can grow exponentially. 

Here is the amazing part of all this.  Every community, every peer and every friend gets to tap into that same source of strength and support. 

Whether you are thinking about taking your first swim in Monterey or thinking about swimming across Tahoe, I invite you to connect.

We love this stuff and it means more the larger the community becomes.

Paula Cole has a song, "Me" containing a line that goes something like this,

"I am not the person who is singing...I am the silent one inside."

You all should know:

• I am the one who was rescued from the bottom of a county club pool at the age of 9 when the local bully pulled a kickboard away from me.
• I am the one who cried at 11 when my swim coach made me swim the 200 freestyle.  I was certain I would have to climb out early.
• I am the one whose non-athlete parents questioned me about my choice to train for triathlons in 1984.
• I am the one who swam at Rice University for two years...I was beaten by EVERYONE in the conference, and my first competitive 500 took over 6:00.
• I am the one who still has fear flashes about heading into the ocean...especially oceans that I know contain schools of jellies that will test my resolve and physiology.
• I am the one who jumped into the Melbourne Marathon with a Rotary host father in 1982 and proceeded to finish in over 5 hours.  Those five hours became my life changing, epiphany moment.

Do you remember what it was like the moment you realized you don't know what you don't know?

I do, and somewhere during that discovery process I decided that I did not care too much about how I looked to others as I worked to fill that knowledge and skill base.

I am doing things at 44 that I never would have even imagined at 15, 25 or even 35.  Now I am in love with the fact that there are years ahead of me to discover and do even more.

We need passionate people around us...

I am not the leader in that initiative.
I am the one who was inspired.

My nephew and I...the next swimmer to come from below the Mason-Dixon line?


We can all be "Next," and I think that is what our family, friends and community need.

Update from Minutes Ago: Patti was forced out after 4.5 hours having endured dozens of jellyfish stings.  She too has a purpose much greater than one swim.  Read more below, and take a minute to find her.

Patti:  www.ikeepswimming.com />
The following is posted on my website:
I WISH HER GREAT WATER AND FRIENDLY WILDLIFE !
GOOD LUCK PATTI BAUERNFEIND
ATTEMPTING TO SWIM MONTEREY BAY THIS MORNING, SATURDAY, AUG 21
"What the world needs is people who have come alive." What the oceans need are people to "Get In" and get involved.
I want to see more people in the water, and through the work I do on both coasts with some amazing partners I would like nothing more than to be constantly bumping heads with new, open water swimmers.
TRACK PATTI'S PROGRESS & READ MORE

Cindy Cleveland was the first to swim Monterey Bay in 1980.
My Father-in-Law was the first to swim the Farallones in 1967.
Patti, I and many of you have one thing in common we are in the group that can be “Next.”
20,000 ran the NY City Marathon last year, and there are inspiring stories linked to every runner.  We may hear about a handful, and those should inspire and open the door to creating new personal experiences in others.

To further all our shared passions of inspiring and educating the world about the the Monterey Bay Aquarium, National Marine Sanctuaries and BLUE we should all be very worried if we have not created opportunities for their to be millions of “Next.”

It's is never to late to find your passion, and "Next" can be a great place to be.

Click for Video:

I love the "Good Times" in Santa Cruz, the weekly paper unafraid to dig into any topics while uniquely capturing the vibe of this amazing area.  They also show a incredible ability to understate the obvious while using a picture to speak a thousand words.

Last night I got the chance to attend the final planning meeting for the BLUE Ocean Film Festival, and this is an event that can not be understated.  In fact, after listening to CEO Debbie Kinder describe the films and seminars jammed into the festivals 5 days I don't believe anyone can over state the significance of the event.  I am just thrilled to be playing a small part in creating a realtime story to highlight the ocean. 

Even if you can't attend any of the Festival I encourage you to check out the schedule on their website and find a way to see some of the highlighted films.

Check them out through the link on www.brucknerchase.com.
/>
...oh, and about that "Understatement"  I hope not too.

First thing you learn as a surfer is that the most dangerous thing in the water is your own board.  To keep from becoming chum in the water you develop a plan:  Cover up when you get rolled, Protect your head and remember the direction you want to go-up and out.

Just like surfers, the thing that threatens the success of most long distance swims is also something I bring with me into the water...my own head, or more specifically the thoughts inside.

I took my first swim back in Monterey Bay late yesterday at Cowles Beach in Santa Cruz.  Water temperature was 64 degrees.  Sun was shining, and the water was clear enough to see the bottom almost 30' below.  The time was 4:00 PM, PST, roughly the time I plan on hitting the beach in Monterey in exactly one week.  Even in perfect conditions on a short training swim I found I have plenty of demons ready to spoil the mood. 

Standing there on the beach in Cowles I can see Monterey 25 miles in the distance, and I can hear the off-shore buoy sounding off with the rise and fall of the waves.  Of course yesterday I was just swimming along the swim buoys no more that 600 yards off-shore...in perspective, that is 1.36% of next Tuesday's swim.

Swimming in and across Monterey Bay is safe when you take the proper precautions and surround yourself with the experience and support that we have for this upcoming swim.  From Coast Guard Permits to Emergency Action Plans and from experienced captains to veteran ocean rescuers I have created a situation in which I can focus on the swim.  To put this in rock climbing turns - I can focus on the next dynamic move because I have the best support available on belay.

So, how do I deal with the scariest threats in the water? 

I let the expert plans and people check me over and point me to the ocean. 

It is not bravado that gets me over the fear, it is trust.

In the final week of preparations for Monterey Bay the physical training is secondary to connecting with the internal drive that brought me here.  Years ago I can remember reading Invictus and being strengthened by a belief that I could discover in myself that same ability to shape my life. 

Funny how a few decades of experience can shape ones perspective.  At 14, I read the poem literally, at 44 I see an even greater power beyond the words.

My head has often been "Bloodied" and "Bowed," and fears are often a regular part of what I do. 

I may be the master of my fate and the captain of my soul, but only because of the people and purpose that surround me.


Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley

From the Ocean City Sentinel

In "No Shortcuts to the Top," mountaineer Ed Viesturs tells his story of climbing the world's 14 highest peaks without supplemental oxygen. An endeavor that took him 18 years. 

What always struck me is Viesturs's commitment to one motto, "Reaching the summit is optional.  Getting down is mandatory."  This from a guy who once turned around 300' from the summit of Everest, and who is one of the most respected high-altitude climbers on the planet.

I have "Failed" countless times in an endurance career that started with a first 10k in 1982.  When you don't grow up on teams or playing sports at school you pretty much have to define a vision of yourself as an athlete based on internal doubts of  "How do I look to others." 
From blown workouts to DNF's I have often dealt with not reaching the goal I had set for myself.  Just like everyone else I have spent hours, days or weeks wondering if I was kidding myself by thinking I was someone who could accomplish or become something bigger than my past.

With over three decades of long, solo training sessions and self-reflection, I now have a clear understanding of where I stand on those questions of "How I look" and "What can I do." 

1) It doesn't matter how I look.
2) It is never too late to become something more.

"You must know that you can swim through every change of tide."  Yogi Tea, Quote on last week's tea bag

Three weeks from today my Monterey Bay Marathon Swim will be over...

Since last year the commitments and goals surrounding the swim have increased ten fold, yet I feel more at peace with the upcoming swim and surrounding obligations than I would have ever expected.  I am driven by a sense of purpose to seize an opportunity to make a difference.  In this final preparation phase I shift my training focus more to my head and less to the body.  After a challenging 15 mile swim a couple of weeks ago, I am physically about as ready as I can ever imagine being.  Maybe I could have logged more mileage, but at 44 and working full time I feel I have pushed through while focusing on maintaining my physical, mental and spiritual health.  For me these swims are a culmination of common goals I share with my wife, friends and community.  To succeed in the water and on land, regardless of what success looks like, I need all those components to be in balance.

How do I deal with disappointments when so many people are expecting a certain outcome?  I focus on the larger goals that are linked more to who I am as opposed to what I have physically done.  Once I leave the beach, the oceans is in control of the conditions and wildlife.  However, I can always control how I feel and react to those conditions.  Sustainable success lies in how I respond internally and externally to setback or triumph. 

FROM THE OCSC NEWSLETTER - SUPPORT THE MONTEREY BAY SWIM
What has become far more important than getting across the bay is the goal of connecting people to the Sanctuary in Monterey and the oceans as a whole.  Our well being and lives depend on the health of the oceans, and marathon swimming is one of the most tangible expressions of a personal, intimate connection to these waters.  Although called a "Solo Swim," this training and event are anything but "Solo."  This past weekend I was supported for over 7 hours by my wife Michelle, Sandy, Tom, JC and Liz in the water, and an even larger community beyond.  These training swims and  Monterey Bay are about more than reaching the other side.  Our primary goal is to share our connection with the ocean in order to encourage others to remember their own.  Please take a minute to read more about why we are hitting the water and what we plan to accomplish.  While you are on the site, please consider supporting us as we work to show how we are all connected to the oceans...www.brucknerchase.com