Tomorrow I will set off from Catalina Island and swim through the night to the California mainland. Today I completed my last training swim with Gino in Manhattan Beach. He did 6 hours (4 laps) and I joined him for and hour and a half (1 lap). My stroke is feeling smooth and strong and I am so ready to go!
Acupuncture needles in my head and ears!
I have been preparing in many different ways this week including mixing my grease and getting acupuncture. I went to an acupuncturist to protect against seasickness and anxiety leading up to my swim. I have been checking and rechecking all of my gear and feeds, just to make sure that I have everything I need before I get on the boat.
I have 19 bottles that I will prepare so that I can stick to my feeding schedule, where I feed every half hour. With the number of bottles I have, I can make two bags that will last 6 hours each.
I use narrow mouth bottles so that I don’t lose any of my feed!
Since I need 3 bottles every 2 hours (with the 4th feed being an apple sauce), each bag will have 9 bottles and 3 apple sauces and can be switched out when my kayakers switch after 6 hours.
My gear is all packed!
My swim will start on Catalina Island at a place called Doctor’s Cove and will aim finish at Terranea on Palos Verdes. You can follow my progress on my GPS tracker of on Outrider’s Spot tracker!
I want to thank all of the amazing people who have helped me get to this point so far! The list is so long and I am so lucky to have such wonderful teammates, training buddies, friends, and family all helping me achieve my dreams!
Open Water Abby 
Read about your swim from Catalina Island to Palos Verdes on Culver Patch this morning and am very proud of you! I am a Smithie (’93) with a biology degree who lives in Culver City. YOU GO, GIRL!