Amy Gubser
===

[00:00:00] Amy: My mantra is

[00:00:01] I can do hard things.

[00:00:04] Very simple, but I usually just take a deep breath. I mutter that to myself under my breath and I just start.

[00:00:11] Cause no one's ever going to criticize you for just trying. and you might learn more out of a failure

[00:00:20] that could build you up for a better success later on. So you have nothing to lose by

[00:00:24] just trying. And I

[00:00:26] feel so lucky that I'm not the

[00:00:27] fastest and I'm not the best at anything that I was able to kind of develop

[00:00:33] that if I just went out and tried it, that's pretty darn good. And if I can accomplish it and see what happens,

[00:00:39] that it's just opened up the world

[00:00:41] to me. 

[00:00:42] So I

[00:00:43] don't set myself up for a disappointment

[00:00:47] cause everything that I accomplish

[00:00:50] there's something to be gained by it.

[00:00:52] sometimes when you meet people. And you hear what they've achieved. It makes you reevaluate what you believe is possible. 

[00:00:58] mark’s AirPods Pro - Find My & FaceTime HD Camera-2: That's exactly the [00:01:00] case. but this week's guest Amy, Gubser an extraordinary 56 year old grandmother. This year became the first man or woman. Everton pleat. The young assisted swim from the golden gate bridge in San Francisco to the fire loan islands. 13 miles stretch of cold. great. 

[00:01:18] White shark infested waters. Off the California coast. What's more remarkable. The Amy only started her Meredith and swimming journey, age 46. This is a fascinating conversation where Amy describes her path from these early morning swims in San Francisco's. 

[00:01:36] Bay. Through increasingly are just challenges, including crossing the treacherous north channel between Scotland and Ireland. Crazy. Amy shares her insights into the physical and mental preparations required for ultra marathon swimming. From nutrition strategies to managing the understandable fear of great white sharks and jellyfish swarms. [00:02:00] Beyond her swimming achievements, Amy discusses how her work as a nurse has informed her mental toughness, the importance of breaking down age-related stereotypes and our mission to inspire others, especially women to pursue ambitious goals at any age.

[00:02:14] Without coming swims planned for Scotland deep and mysterious Loch ness. 

[00:02:19] Amy is proof that human potential really knows no bounds when matched with determination. Careful preparation and our simple mantra. I can do hard things. 

[00:02:30] Emmy stories and inspiring reminder that it's never too late. Pursue extraordinary achievements. Note to self now over to Amy. 

[00:02:40] Mark: Amy, welcome to the Impossible Network.

[00:02:42] Amy: Thank you. It's an honor to be

[00:02:44] here. 

[00:02:44] Mark: It's great to finally be doing a podcast in person again after all this time. It's been too long. So here we are sitting in San Francisco. Shout out Uh, to Rob, who runs the agency, and, uh, Mucho, for letting us use his boardroom.

[00:02:59] we're going to come [00:03:00] in to have some good conversations around your unbelievable, extraordinary exploits that we're definitely going to come in and talk about in detail. But first, let's start with the first big question. Who are you as a human

[00:03:14] being? 

[00:03:14] Amy: I love that question because it's so deep and 

[00:03:17] broad.

[00:03:18] I like to

[00:03:20] think 

[00:03:21] that I'm a 

[00:03:21] compassionate, 

[00:03:23] empathic,

[00:03:25] holistic, 

[00:03:27] appreciative, grateful human

[00:03:29] being. And what really gives 

[00:03:32] me 

[00:03:32] a

[00:03:32] lot of purpose

[00:03:34] is to help support others to achieve their

[00:03:38] goals

[00:03:39] and to push 

[00:03:40] them beyond

[00:03:41] what they think is

[00:03:41] possible. 

[00:03:43] Not only just as

[00:03:44] a 

[00:03:44] parent, but I've done this

[00:03:45] with 

[00:03:46] numerous friends 

[00:03:48] and family members.

[00:03:50] I 

[00:03:50] think that that's what I 

[00:03:52] would, um, 

[00:03:53] love to explain that encompasses who I am. 

[00:03:57] Mark: When 

[00:03:57] do you think you came to that realization about who you [00:04:00] are as a person, as a human

[00:04:01] being? You know, as a bit encapsulation where where, you've described a lot of people who come to the podcast struggle with it. They tend to default to what they do and where they've come from rather than.

[00:04:14] who they are in terms of a deep unpeeling of their character.

[00:04:19] Amy: I 

[00:04:19] think it's so 

[00:04:20] easy to resort to 

[00:04:22] defining 

[00:04:23] yourself by what you do.

[00:04:25] But 

[00:04:25] you 

[00:04:25] have to really 

[00:04:26] peel 

[00:04:26] that 

[00:04:26] back and look into the center. 

[00:04:29] And

[00:04:30] I 

[00:04:30] think 

[00:04:31] the reason I'm able

[00:04:32] to kind of define that 

[00:04:34] is because

[00:04:35] I come from a place

[00:04:36] of trying to like appreciate people 

[00:04:39] from the inside

[00:04:40] out. 

[00:04:41] And 

[00:04:42] then I look at myself

[00:04:43] the 

[00:04:43] same

[00:04:43] way. 

[00:04:43] I don't, I don't

[00:04:44] use 

[00:04:45] any 

[00:04:45] material

[00:04:45] judgments, 

[00:04:46] but 

[00:04:47] I think that

[00:04:49] my profession

[00:04:50] has

[00:04:50] helped

[00:04:51] define some of that empathy and some of that,

[00:04:55] Ability to kind of sense what others

[00:04:57] need.

[00:04:57] So it kind of helps 

[00:04:59] with 

[00:04:59] that [00:05:00] aspect of it.

[00:05:00] I think

[00:05:01] my family has given 

[00:05:02] me

[00:05:03] patience, struggle with

[00:05:05] sometimes. 

[00:05:06] And they've given me a lot 

[00:05:08] of ability to kind of look at

[00:05:10] other things, but to really look at

[00:05:12] myself 

[00:05:13] is

[00:05:13] really important to set as

[00:05:16] an example because I want to look at others

[00:05:18] and have 

[00:05:18] them

[00:05:18] see themselves in a deeper sense of

[00:05:20] way. 

[00:05:21] Mark: Okay. Well, the second big question is who or what made you, you mentioned your parents but maybe so if you could reflect on your childhood and growing up and how that your worldview developed.

[00:05:35] And obviously we're going to come in and talk about the extraordinary feats you've achieved through your swimming, but take it back to those early days. 

[00:05:45] Amy: Well, 

[00:05:46] I come from a 

[00:05:47] very humble beginning and 

[00:05:50] kind of,

[00:05:50] a 

[00:05:51] one 

[00:05:51] that 

[00:05:52] was 

[00:05:52] a 

[00:05:52] little bit challenging 

[00:05:54] to 

[00:05:54] the stereotype 

[00:05:55] of the time. My mom, 

[00:05:57] decided to divorce my 

[00:05:59] dad when I [00:06:00] was seven years old. 

[00:06:02] And this is in the 

[00:06:02] early 1970s 

[00:06:04] in 

[00:06:04] America. That wasn't, 

[00:06:05] Mark: unusual. 

[00:06:06] Amy: that was unusual. 

[00:06:08] I 

[00:06:08] was in the Midwest, which 

[00:06:09] is even more 

[00:06:10] deeper. And so

[00:06:13] the one thing that was the most amazing thing that I gained from that experience was

[00:06:19] that my mom prioritized

[00:06:21] herself 

[00:06:22] and her happiness and knew that she would be a better parent. if 

[00:06:27] she 

[00:06:27] chose 

[00:06:28] to

[00:06:28] separate. And 

[00:06:29] not only 

[00:06:30] did she do 

[00:06:30] that, but 

[00:06:31] she moved us across the country out to California when I was 10. sister and

[00:06:38] myself. And so 

[00:06:40] our 

[00:06:40] whole 

[00:06:41] family relocated 

[00:06:42] to Southern

[00:06:43] California because she wanted to give 

[00:06:45] us an opportunity 

[00:06:46] and

[00:06:46] a fresh start. Because 

[00:06:48] courageous and Exactly. 

[00:06:52] Mark: What was 

[00:06:52] her, what 

[00:06:53] was her

[00:06:53] profession? 

[00:06:54] Amy: She worked 

[00:06:55] for the 

[00:06:56] airlines. 

[00:06:56] So we did have the 

[00:06:57] ability to fly

[00:06:58] back

[00:06:58] and forth to

[00:06:59] see [00:07:00] family, 

[00:07:00] which made it

[00:07:01] accessible.

[00:07:02] But, you 

[00:07:03] know,

[00:07:03] I think the most 

[00:07:05] important thing

[00:07:06] that really we gained out of

[00:07:08] that was my 

[00:07:09] mom 

[00:07:09] was

[00:07:09] kind 

[00:07:10] of

[00:07:10] a bold and 

[00:07:11] strong

[00:07:11] woman, 

[00:07:12] so

[00:07:13] that 

[00:07:14] gives 

[00:07:14] me a lot of 

[00:07:15] power and strength.

[00:07:16] Mm-Hmm. and example.

[00:07:17] Mark: What were your feelings at the time when that happened? What was your emotional reaction to it?

[00:07:24] Amy: Well, 

[00:07:25] to the divorce, I mean, it was 

[00:07:26] odd

[00:07:27] because 

[00:07:28] it 

[00:07:28] was 

[00:07:28] still 

[00:07:29] kind of in 

[00:07:29] that 

[00:07:29] era where, 

[00:07:30] oh, 

[00:07:31] your parents are divorced. 

[00:07:33] And 

[00:07:33] so

[00:07:35] I surrounded myself by people who didn't talk about 

[00:07:37] it. And

[00:07:38] actually, 

[00:07:39] There 

[00:07:40] were 

[00:07:40] a couple 

[00:07:40] friends

[00:07:41] that I went to grade

[00:07:42] school with that found themselves in 

[00:07:44] the

[00:07:44] same

[00:07:44] situation. and we kind of

[00:07:46] clustered together 

[00:07:47] and 

[00:07:48] we're friend friends together And

[00:07:51] It 

[00:07:52] helped 

[00:07:52] so

[00:07:52] we had 

[00:07:54] someone 

[00:07:54] to talk

[00:07:55] to

[00:07:55] and knew how 

[00:07:56] to support one 

[00:07:57] another. 

[00:07:57] Like, you know, 

[00:07:58] if 

[00:07:58] they 

[00:07:58] forgot their lunch [00:08:00] because

[00:08:01] there was just so 

[00:08:01] much 

[00:08:02] going on in the morning to get them out the door.

[00:08:04] I just 

[00:08:04] shared 

[00:08:05] and we 

[00:08:06] just kind of 

[00:08:06] worked 

[00:08:06] together 

[00:08:07] like 

[00:08:07] that. And it wasn't a big deal.

[00:08:11] And 

[00:08:11] then when 

[00:08:12] we 

[00:08:12] moved 

[00:08:12] out to

[00:08:12] California,

[00:08:14] I 

[00:08:14] mean, 

[00:08:14] we were

[00:08:14] latchkey kids 

[00:08:16] and 

[00:08:16] we had 

[00:08:16] the 

[00:08:16] beach a 

[00:08:17] couple blocks 

[00:08:17] away, so I 

[00:08:18] just 

[00:08:18] grew up on the beach. 

[00:08:19] It was 

[00:08:19] fabulous. 

[00:08:20] So 

[00:08:20] I 

[00:08:21] didn't think anything 

[00:08:21] Mark: where was it? 

[00:08:22] Amy: Down in 

[00:08:23] Southern 

[00:08:23] California. 

[00:08:25] 

[00:08:25] Amy: We lived first in 

[00:08:26] Playa del Rey

[00:08:27] and 

[00:08:27] then 

[00:08:27] we moved 

[00:08:28] to El

[00:08:28] Segundo, 

[00:08:29] and 

[00:08:29] and then moved 

[00:08:30] to Palos Verdes when 

[00:08:31] my mom got remarried. 

[00:08:33] So I 

[00:08:33] always had the beach within 

[00:08:34] a 

[00:08:34] bike distance away. 

[00:08:36] It was fabulous.

[00:08:37] I was

[00:08:37] very autonomous 

[00:08:38] and 

[00:08:39] Mark: A great sense of freedom. 

[00:08:41] Amy: Yeah, 

[00:08:42] You can't grow 

[00:08:42] up like that anymore. 

[00:08:44] I think 

[00:08:44] it 

[00:08:44] was a little 

[00:08:45] bit 

[00:08:45] much 

[00:08:45] then, but it was a little safer. 

[00:08:47] So it 

[00:08:48] was good. 

[00:08:49] Mark: Yeah. I had a 

[00:08:49] Amy: in an early age.

[00:08:51] Mark: You say that, but sharks in the, 

[00:08:54] in 

[00:08:54] the water.

[00:08:55] Amy: Well, 

[00:08:56] yeah, there 

[00:08:56] is that. 

[00:08:57] And there's 

[00:08:57] also 

[00:08:58] rip currents. 

[00:08:59] You know, 

[00:08:59] [00:09:00] I befriended 

[00:09:00] all the lifeguards, 

[00:09:01] which 

[00:09:01] is hilarious because 

[00:09:03] they 

[00:09:03] became 

[00:09:03] my co partners 

[00:09:04] and 

[00:09:04] co workers later on 

[00:09:05] because I 

[00:09:06] came 

[00:09:06] in 

[00:09:06] L.

[00:09:06] A. County lifeguard 

[00:09:07] and a 

[00:09:08] few 

[00:09:08] of

[00:09:08] the 

[00:09:08] lifeguards remembered me 

[00:09:09] hiding underneath their tower 

[00:09:11] and 

[00:09:11] putting 

[00:09:11] all my 

[00:09:12] stuff

[00:09:13] and just going boogie boarding or swimming all

[00:09:15] day and -

[00:09:15] Mark: so. What was that show in the, was it the 80s or- 90s? Baywatch. Baywatch, 

[00:09:20] Amy: yeah, I 

[00:09:23] can say honestly 

[00:09:25] that 

[00:09:26] was my childhood, so yeah. 

[00:09:29] Mark: Amazing. I can imagine growing up in the midwest.

[00:09:33] The world view you would felt there would be very different from a world view from a divorcee, child of a divorced couple, coming, being brought up in California. Did you see yourself as an outsider when you were growing up here, or different to the other kids? Aside from the, being a divorced parent's

[00:09:53] kid. 

[00:09:54] Amy: No, I, I 

[00:09:55] didn't. 

[00:09:56] I really felt

[00:09:57] California 

[00:09:58] embraced a lot 

[00:09:59] of 

[00:09:59] [00:10:00] diversity

[00:10:01] and 

[00:10:02] I felt freer

[00:10:03] being

[00:10:04] here in California 

[00:10:05] than 

[00:10:05] I 

[00:10:05] would 

[00:10:05] have ever 

[00:10:06] been able 

[00:10:08] to be 

[00:10:08] in 

[00:10:08] the Midwest. 

[00:10:10] I 

[00:10:10] mean, 

[00:10:10] my mom

[00:10:12] had a 

[00:10:12] group of 

[00:10:13] co workers 

[00:10:14] and some of 

[00:10:14] them would 

[00:10:15] babysit

[00:10:15] us 

[00:10:16] And that 

[00:10:17] was when 

[00:10:18] I 

[00:10:18] first 

[00:10:18] had 

[00:10:18] the first 

[00:10:19] gay

[00:10:19] couple

[00:10:20] babysit us in the 70s. I mean, one would sew me 

[00:10:23] clothes and

[00:10:24] teach 

[00:10:25] me 

[00:10:25] how 

[00:10:25] to sew and cook 

[00:10:26] and the other one would take us

[00:10:28] on bike rides 

[00:10:28] into the 

[00:10:29] beach. And I mean, I 

[00:10:30] feel 

[00:10:31] so 

[00:10:31] lucky 

[00:10:31] because 

[00:10:32] honestly, 

[00:10:33] like 

[00:10:34] I

[00:10:34] formed no preconceived notions. They cared about us. They babysat my sister and I,

[00:10:40] and I 

[00:10:41] feel so lucky that I had that as a great

[00:10:44] example because I never had to form a

[00:10:46] stereotype later on in life. 

[00:10:48] Mark: So that early experience of being a lifeguard at that point before going to university, and I believe you went to university in Michigan, what were those early [00:11:00] ambitions?

[00:11:00] Amy: Oh my gosh. well, I 

[00:11:02] was a big 

[00:11:03] swimmer back then, 

[00:11:04] and 

[00:11:04] so 

[00:11:05] lifeguarding on the

[00:11:05] ocean 

[00:11:06] Mark: Big swimmer back 

[00:11:07] then? 

[00:11:07] Yeah.

[00:11:09] Nothing's changed, has it? 

[00:11:11] Amy: there wasn't open water

[00:11:12] swimming

[00:11:13] to the same

[00:11:13] level. 

[00:11:14] so that's 

[00:11:14] just 

[00:11:14] a 

[00:11:14] whole 

[00:11:15] other 

[00:11:15] realm 

[00:11:15] that's 

[00:11:16] developed 

[00:11:16] since, but 

[00:11:18] I was a 

[00:11:18] ranked

[00:11:20] age group

[00:11:20] swimmer, and I did get a scholarship to 

[00:11:23] university 

[00:11:23] of Michigan, 

[00:11:24] But being a junior lifeguard, my whole childhood, 

[00:11:29] the natural evolution was to be an ocean

[00:11:31] lifeguard.

[00:11:32] And back when I passed the County lifeguard

[00:11:35] test, 

[00:11:36] it 

[00:11:36] wasn't. 

[00:11:38] like stratified 

[00:11:39] for diversity

[00:11:40] or affirmative action in any way shape or

[00:11:43] form. And there were very few female

[00:11:46] lifeguards 

[00:11:47] and it was on the beginning.

[00:11:48] Oh, really?

[00:11:49] Mark: That's surprising.

[00:11:50] Amy: no, you 

[00:11:52] had 

[00:11:52] to be 

[00:11:53] X 

[00:11:53] number, 

[00:11:53] like, 

[00:11:54] they 

[00:11:54] would give you 

[00:11:54] a 

[00:11:54] popsicle 

[00:11:55] stick 

[00:11:56] when 

[00:11:56] you finished.

[00:11:57] and if you had a number on it, 

[00:11:58] you qualified [00:12:00] to 

[00:12:00] be

[00:12:00] trained 

[00:12:01] as a notion lifeguard.

[00:12:02] and 

[00:12:03] Mark: so 

[00:12:04] it 

[00:12:04] was 

[00:12:04] an 

[00:12:04] honor 

[00:12:04] and a privilege. Was that, do you think, because of

[00:12:07] So a misconception or preconceived ideas about the difference in terms of physicality and sexes and ability to swim and survive in a strong ocean current. 

[00:12:18] Yeah. 

[00:12:19] Amy: And 

[00:12:19] they 

[00:12:19] purposely did the 

[00:12:20] Mark: test

[00:12:21] in

[00:12:21] Amy: early spring 

[00:12:22] Mark: where there would be

[00:12:23] Amy: ginormous

[00:12:24] surf, 

[00:12:25] cold

[00:12:25] water. 

[00:12:26] And 

[00:12:26] Mark: I 

[00:12:27] think 

[00:12:27] it 

[00:12:27] suited the men 

[00:12:28] a 

[00:12:28] little 

[00:12:28] bit better, 

[00:12:30] but

[00:12:31] Amy: I 

[00:12:31] feel grateful

[00:12:32] because

[00:12:32] that 

[00:12:33] wasn't 

[00:12:34] Mark: something 

[00:12:34] that 

[00:12:35] Amy: offset 

[00:12:35] my 

[00:12:35] abilities. 

[00:12:37] Mark: And in fact, I kind of thrived in that. 

[00:12:39] So

[00:12:41] Amy: I was 

[00:12:41] able to 

[00:12:42] help

[00:12:43] Mark: kind of 

[00:12:44] Amy: the stereotypes and 

[00:12:46] Mark: myths that

[00:12:46] were preconceived 

[00:12:48] Amy: of 

[00:12:48] Mark: that 

[00:12:49] Amy: kind of

[00:12:50] old Good old boys

[00:12:52] network of 

[00:12:53] the 

[00:12:53] Mark: lifeguards 

[00:12:53] and 

[00:12:54] I 

[00:12:55] 

[00:12:55] Amy: a 

[00:12:55] Mark: lot 

[00:12:55] of respect 

[00:12:56] Amy: as 

[00:12:56] an 

[00:12:56] ocean 

[00:12:56] lifeguard. 

[00:12:57] I mean, 

[00:12:58] That's where

[00:12:58] Greg 

[00:12:58] and 

[00:12:58] I 

[00:12:58] met,

[00:12:59] [00:13:00] and we actually met in

[00:13:01] June 

[00:13:01] Mark: Gardens way back when and then Lifegarden next to 

[00:13:04] Amy: another 

[00:13:05] Mark: as 

[00:13:05] Amy: got 

[00:13:06] Mark: stationed 

[00:13:07] in Hermosa

[00:13:08] Beach next

[00:13:08] Amy: each other in the 

[00:13:09] Towers, 

[00:13:09] Mark: and 

[00:13:10] here 

[00:13:10] we are.

[00:13:11] Amy: but 

[00:13:12] you know 

[00:13:12] it's, 

[00:13:13] Mark: it 

[00:13:14] Amy: really

[00:13:14] a 

[00:13:14] Mark: good

[00:13:14] time 

[00:13:15] to 

[00:13:15] kind 

[00:13:16] of 

[00:13:16] be 

[00:13:16] involved

[00:13:17] in 

[00:13:17] that 

[00:13:18] program, so I feel really fortunate.

[00:13:21] Any defining sort of mentors or teachers that were instrumental in those early 

[00:13:26] formative years? 

[00:13:28] Amy: Yeah, the 

[00:13:29] women, we kind of gathered together and banded,

[00:13:33] uh, kind of a good network

[00:13:35] to help support one another. Cause, you know, sometimes we weren't felt welcome. 

[00:13:39] Mark: But I had 

[00:13:40] Amy: Shannon Cardavy, who was one of my,

[00:13:44] instructors who was my boss.

[00:13:46] Mark: She was 

[00:13:47] Amy: permanent lifeguard. And I had Cindy 

[00:13:49] Mark: Cleveland, 

[00:13:50] who 

[00:13:50] Amy: actually 

[00:13:52] has her,

[00:13:54] she 

[00:13:54] was 

[00:13:54] one of 

[00:13:54] the 

[00:13:54] premier 

[00:13:55] and 

[00:13:56] early 

[00:13:57] ocean 

[00:13:57] water

[00:13:59] [00:14:00] ultra 

[00:14:00] marathon swimmers. And 

[00:14:02] she 

[00:14:02] was 

[00:14:02] also one of 

[00:14:03] my 

[00:14:03] bosses. 

[00:14:04] Mark: And 

[00:14:04] so I 

[00:14:05] Amy: so well

[00:14:05] and 

[00:14:06] supported 

[00:14:06] around

[00:14:07] kind

[00:14:07] of 

[00:14:08] Mark: just evolving as a 

[00:14:10] Amy: water person

[00:14:12] and 

[00:14:13] Mark: like understanding the water. They always made sure that

[00:14:15] we 

[00:14:15] were 

[00:14:16] supported and,

[00:14:17] and, 

[00:14:18] and like 

[00:14:18] really

[00:14:19] trained 

[00:14:20] so 

[00:14:20] that we were 

[00:14:21] capable. 

[00:14:22] So 

[00:14:22] it was really a pretty incredible time.

[00:14:26] Any 

[00:14:26] other sort of defining experiences or moments that you think were instrumental in setting you on the path that you've been on?

[00:14:34] You know,

[00:14:35] Amy: I 

[00:14:36] take,

[00:14:37] I'm pretty mindful.

[00:14:38] So even a small experience that I have, I

[00:14:42] kind of pocket it back into

[00:14:44] my 

[00:14:45] deep pockets of

[00:14:46] my 

[00:14:47] brain and my being, and I 

[00:14:50] can pull meaning out of it. 

[00:14:52] I 

[00:14:52] would say honestly, 

[00:14:54] having the 

[00:14:55] profession that I have 

[00:14:56] being 

[00:14:56] a nurse. 

[00:14:57] probably 

[00:14:58] refined

[00:14:59] my

[00:14:59] [00:15:00] craft 

[00:15:01] of 

[00:15:01] being 

[00:15:01] able to 

[00:15:04] compartmentalize

[00:15:06] Portions 

[00:15:07] of what I need 

[00:15:07] to 

[00:15:08] approach so I don't get

[00:15:09] overwhelmed 

[00:15:10] because 

[00:15:11] you know, I might be taking care 

[00:15:13] of 

[00:15:13] a 

[00:15:13] patient 

[00:15:13] that 

[00:15:13] we are 

[00:15:14] fighting 

[00:15:14] so 

[00:15:14] hard to save 

[00:15:15] their 

[00:15:15] life 

[00:15:16] And that's 

[00:15:17] so 

[00:15:17] intense. 

[00:15:18] Yet I leave that room once they're 

[00:15:20] stabilized 

[00:15:21] and I 

[00:15:21] go to my next patient.

[00:15:24] And guess what? They're 

[00:15:25] making the transition on 

[00:15:26] the 

[00:15:26] way 

[00:15:26] out, and I've got to be there mentally, and 

[00:15:30] physically to help 

[00:15:31] that 

[00:15:31] family adjust to

[00:15:32] that. 

[00:15:34] And then,

[00:15:36] I might get assigned another 

[00:15:37] patient that's being admitted to the hospital with a completely unexpected

[00:15:41] tragedy. And I have to be there to greet that 

[00:15:45] family 

[00:15:46] emotionally, 

[00:15:47] mentally, and physically, as well as take care of that

[00:15:49] patient. 

[00:15:50] that might be unstable. And so to be able to do all of that

[00:15:54] within my shift

[00:15:55] time and Be 

[00:15:57] able 

[00:15:57] to 

[00:15:58] kind of ground it

[00:15:59] move 

[00:15:59] to [00:16:00] the 

[00:16:00] next 

[00:16:00] one without 

[00:16:01] carrying 

[00:16:01] over 

[00:16:02] or being 

[00:16:03] callous 

[00:16:05] Is really a

[00:16:06] craft and that 

[00:16:07] I think

[00:16:08] having all the years behind me as a

[00:16:11] professional 

[00:16:11] nurse

[00:16:12] has really allowed 

[00:16:14] me and

[00:16:15] to kind of 

[00:16:15] cultivate 

[00:16:16] that skill.

[00:16:17] I think that's 

[00:16:19] single handedly the

[00:16:20] best prep 

[00:16:21] for this 

[00:16:22] because when I 

[00:16:23] was a swimmer in

[00:16:24] college, 

[00:16:25] I 

[00:16:25] left 

[00:16:25] that 

[00:16:26] pool with a lot

[00:16:27] of unfinished 

[00:16:29] And 

[00:16:29] I had 

[00:16:29] a coach never 

[00:16:31] accomplished what I 

[00:16:33] was 

[00:16:33] projected 

[00:16:33] to swim 

[00:16:34] and

[00:16:34] accomplish. 

[00:16:36] and

[00:16:36] I didn't meet the

[00:16:37] goals that I had set for myself. And 

[00:16:39] that was

[00:16:40] extremely

[00:16:40] frustrating. 

[00:16:41] And I had a 

[00:16:42] coach

[00:16:42] who 

[00:16:43] was, had 

[00:16:44] a 

[00:16:44] master's 

[00:16:45] degree in exercise physiology and 

[00:16:47] could 

[00:16:47] see 

[00:16:47] that 

[00:16:48] I 

[00:16:48] was a very

[00:16:48] unique 

[00:16:50] athlete.

[00:16:51] and 

[00:16:52] tried 

[00:16:52] to train 

[00:16:53] me 

[00:16:53] to push me

[00:16:54] in an 

[00:16:54] athletic

[00:16:55] sense. But what he missed

[00:16:57] was the ability to support me mentally and

[00:16:59] [00:17:00] emotionally. 

[00:17:00] And it was during that

[00:17:02] late eighties, early nineties, where

[00:17:04] you got to just tough it

[00:17:05] out.

[00:17:06] Like, you know, you were weak if

[00:17:08] you needed support or you were weak

[00:17:10] if you 

[00:17:11] couldn't 

[00:17:12] handle the pressure 

[00:17:13] of 

[00:17:14] training 

[00:17:15] or 

[00:17:15] the 

[00:17:15] competition and I 

[00:17:16] think that I would have been much 

[00:17:18] better supported 

[00:17:19] knowing

[00:17:19] what we know 

[00:17:20] now. 

[00:17:20] But 

[00:17:21] my coach,

[00:17:22] to this day, loves

[00:17:25] that 

[00:17:25] Mark: I 

[00:17:25] Amy: back into 

[00:17:26] Mark: swimming and he just laughs he 

[00:17:27] said see

[00:17:28] I told 

[00:17:29] there 

[00:17:29] you 

[00:17:29] are.

[00:17:30] Easy 

[00:17:30] to 

[00:17:30] say now. Easy to say now. So you when you went to Michigan University was that for nursing or was it for some medical related

[00:17:38] course? 

[00:17:39] I went there 

[00:17:39] with kind 

[00:17:40] of 

[00:17:40] Amy: open slate. 

[00:17:41] I 

[00:17:41] didn't 

[00:17:41] know 

[00:17:41] what 

[00:17:42] I 

[00:17:42] wanted to do. 

[00:17:43] Mark: Yet, 

[00:17:44] if 

[00:17:44] you 

[00:17:44] look 

[00:17:44] at 

[00:17:44] all 

[00:17:44] my

[00:17:45] pictures 

[00:17:45] when 

[00:17:45] I was 

[00:17:46] a

[00:17:46] young 

[00:17:46] child, 

[00:17:47] I 

[00:17:47] was always a 

[00:17:48] nurse for 

[00:17:48] Halloween.

[00:17:49] And my

[00:17:50] aunt 

[00:17:50] was 

[00:17:50] a nurse, and 

[00:17:51] I 

[00:17:51] always 

[00:17:51] Amy: emulated 

[00:17:51] her, so 

[00:17:52] I 

[00:17:53] should 

[00:17:53] have 

[00:17:53] Mark: known 

[00:17:53] this. 

[00:17:54] And, 

[00:17:55] ironically, 

[00:17:56] the 

[00:17:56] only

[00:17:57] degree I couldn't get 

[00:17:59] Amy: at University of [00:18:00] Michigan was nursing, 

[00:18:01] Mark: because 

[00:18:02] Amy: they do clinic hours

[00:18:04] in the hospital 

[00:18:05] and 

[00:18:05] Mark: we traveled 

[00:18:07] during the time that we would have clinic hours 

[00:18:09] Amy: and we couldn't

[00:18:09] make 

[00:18:10] those 

[00:18:10] Mark: up 

[00:18:11] Amy: So I was 

[00:18:11] Mark: told

[00:18:13] Amy: that's the only 

[00:18:13] Mark: degree that's 

[00:18:15] Amy: difficult 

[00:18:15] to achieve with 

[00:18:16] Mark: our 

[00:18:17] travel schedule 

[00:18:18] Amy: So they recommended 

[00:18:19] Mark: I didn't 

[00:18:21] Amy: nursing 

[00:18:22] So I 

[00:18:22] Mark: ended up getting my degree in 

[00:18:23] exercise

[00:18:24] physiology 

[00:18:25] and went right into nursing school

[00:18:27] after 

[00:18:27] that 

[00:18:28] So, I mean, it was 

[00:18:29] a good

[00:18:29] bridge feel grateful

[00:18:31] Just a question and the way you describe yourself as a human being, you've got, I, I mean, I,

[00:18:39] I

[00:18:39] empathize, I can sort of, I can sense your description of the experience you have when you're swimming and the mental approach to it, as I was a track and field athlete and although you can, you swim in teams and when you swim in teams and you're in swim meets It's an individual pursuit and it takes a certain mental fortitude [00:19:00] regardless of the event to the discipline to keep the training up day after day after day, month after month after month.

[00:19:07] And you're very inner focused and there's an inner dialogue about what you're doing physically and the mental focus to, one, believe what doesn't seem possible is possible with training and discipline and dedication.

[00:19:24] But 

[00:19:24] at the same time, 

[00:19:25] you, you have to put in the hours and you're, it is, as I say, it's a very sort of singular process. individual pursuit where the thought of others doesn't really occur to you because you're not on a football team, you're not on a hockey team, you're not on a rugby team where you have to think about the guy or the girl or the person next to you.

[00:19:48] Nursing,

[00:19:49] however, completely different sort of mindset and the way you describe that seems quite alien from the sort of the discipline of swimming. Where do they meet for you? Where's the, [00:20:00] where is there a crossover and where does that? Those 

[00:20:03] Amy: two, because it almost 

[00:20:04] feels 

[00:20:04] Mark: like there's 

[00:20:05] two sides to

[00:20:05] you. 

[00:20:07] Yeah, 

[00:20:07] I definitely think it, 

[00:20:08] Amy: it

[00:20:09] expands my wheelhouse and definitely

[00:20:12] pushes. 

[00:20:13] I 

[00:20:13] think 

[00:20:14] where they intersect is

[00:20:17] no, 

[00:20:17] it, when 

[00:20:18] you're training

[00:20:19] as an 

[00:20:19] individual 

[00:20:20] athlete, 

[00:20:21] like

[00:20:21] they're, 

[00:20:22] if 

[00:20:22] you really 

[00:20:23] think 

[00:20:23] about 

[00:20:23] it, 

[00:20:23] like 

[00:20:24] when 

[00:20:24] you're 

[00:20:24] swimming 

[00:20:24] in the pool and 

[00:20:25] you're 

[00:20:25] swimming 

[00:20:25] pool events,

[00:20:27] You're 

[00:20:27] training thousands of hours for 

[00:20:29] a minute

[00:20:30] Swim.

[00:20:31] like, 

[00:20:32] it's unbelievable the amount of investment

[00:20:34] that you 

[00:20:34] do 

[00:20:35] At 

[00:20:35] least with 

[00:20:36] the open

[00:20:36] water 

[00:20:37] and 

[00:20:37] for these longer

[00:20:38] ultra

[00:20:38] marathons 

[00:20:39] you're 

[00:20:39] training a lot 

[00:20:40] of

[00:20:40] hours 

[00:20:41] to 

[00:20:41] swim 

[00:20:41] a lot 

[00:20:41] of 

[00:20:42] hours

[00:20:42] So 

[00:20:42] it kind 

[00:20:42] of almost makes a little bit 

[00:20:43] better 

[00:20:44] investment in that

[00:20:45] sense. 

[00:20:47] But 

[00:20:47] being a 

[00:20:48] nurse

[00:20:49] has taught me a little bit more about

[00:20:52] my

[00:20:53] and strength and

[00:20:55] ability to

[00:20:56] kind of keep myself calm under 

[00:20:59] the most stressful

[00:20:59] [00:21:00] situations. 

[00:21:01] And that 

[00:21:02] is that tie over. 

[00:21:03] Because a lot 

[00:21:04] of 

[00:21:04] times 

[00:21:05] when 

[00:21:05] you're doing these 

[00:21:06] big 

[00:21:06] events, 

[00:21:07] you know, it's 

[00:21:08] going to 

[00:21:08] be 

[00:21:08] big,

[00:21:09] you 

[00:21:09] know 

[00:21:09] it's going to be 

[00:21:10] a 

[00:21:10] little bit 

[00:21:11] painful, 

[00:21:12] but 

[00:21:13] you 

[00:21:13] have to learn how 

[00:21:14] to not 

[00:21:14] mind. that 

[00:21:16] it

[00:21:16] is 

[00:21:16] going 

[00:21:16] to

[00:21:17] be. 

[00:21:17] And you also 

[00:21:18] have to learn the 

[00:21:19] duration 

[00:21:20] may 

[00:21:21] not be 

[00:21:21] definable 

[00:21:22] or 

[00:21:22] you might 

[00:21:22] not be able to 

[00:21:23] see 

[00:21:23] that 

[00:21:23] light

[00:21:24] yet 

[00:21:24] at the 

[00:21:25] end of 

[00:21:25] the

[00:21:25] tunnel 

[00:21:26] And 

[00:21:27] I 

[00:21:27] think nursing has

[00:21:29] pushed me 

[00:21:30] to kind of know

[00:21:31] that

[00:21:32] sometimes you don't get out of that

[00:21:35] gray 

[00:21:36] zone for a 

[00:21:36] long time because you 

[00:21:38] have a very 

[00:21:38] unstable 

[00:21:39] patient and you might 

[00:21:40] be 

[00:21:40] at 

[00:21:40] that

[00:21:40] bedside 

[00:21:41] and 

[00:21:41] you 

[00:21:42] might have 

[00:21:42] to

[00:21:43] Take 

[00:21:43] a 

[00:21:43] moment 

[00:21:44] to go to the bathroom 

[00:21:45] and you 

[00:21:45] cannot

[00:21:45] go 

[00:21:46] and 

[00:21:46] you have 

[00:21:47] to 

[00:21:47] figure 

[00:21:47] out 

[00:21:47] how 

[00:21:48] to 

[00:21:48] like 

[00:21:49] mentally

[00:21:50] figure 

[00:21:51] out 

[00:21:51] how to strategize

[00:21:52] to be 

[00:21:53] able to ask for help to 

[00:21:54] go

[00:21:55] Take care of yourself and your

[00:21:56] needs, but 

[00:21:57] it's not on 

[00:21:58] your own

[00:21:59] time.

[00:21:59] [00:22:00] And I think these ultra marathons, a lot of it's not

[00:22:02] on your own time. 

[00:22:04] It's a lot longer 

[00:22:05] than 

[00:22:05] you

[00:22:05] really

[00:22:06] can 

[00:22:06] appreciate 

[00:22:07] before 

[00:22:07] you

[00:22:07] start. 

[00:22:08] And there's so many variables that come 

[00:22:10] into 

[00:22:10] play 

[00:22:11] that 

[00:22:11] can influence 

[00:22:12] how the

[00:22:13] swim

[00:22:13] goes 

[00:22:14] and you have to be 

[00:22:15] able to pivot.

[00:22:16] So 

[00:22:16] I 

[00:22:16] think 

[00:22:17] that's 

[00:22:17] where

[00:22:17] nursing also 

[00:22:18] brings

[00:22:19] the 

[00:22:19] intersect.

[00:22:20] is you have 

[00:22:20] to 

[00:22:20] be able 

[00:22:21] to pivot

[00:22:21] on a

[00:22:21] second. 

[00:22:23] you 

[00:22:23] have to 

[00:22:23] change your 

[00:22:24] focus and your 

[00:22:25] goal 

[00:22:26] minute to 

[00:22:26] minute 

[00:22:26] sometimes. And that's 

[00:22:28] also 

[00:22:29] what 

[00:22:29] happens in these big swims. 

[00:22:31] Mark: I started this podcast, initially interviewing people before it even went, became a podcast. It was just, I was making videos in New York, uh, because I was meeting some really, what I called extraordinary 

[00:22:44] people 

[00:22:44] doing extraordinary things.

[00:22:46] And they were all doing, 

[00:22:48] Things like marathon, 

[00:22:50] uh, well, rowing across great expanses of water, people with Parkinson's running, cycling and climbing their way across America, [00:23:00] youngest kid to climb up Everest, and just doing extraordinary things, but all for some form of social good. So I had this idea to create this thing called the Impossible Network.

[00:23:08] Ordinary people doing extraordinary things for social good. It sort of evolved once I started the podcast into something very different, it was just I wanted to explore people's journey and again recently it's evolved into honing in on these three questions I ask is who are you as a human being, what or who made you you and then what are you working to achieve before you shuffle off this mortal coil.

[00:23:29] Well you have done

[00:23:33] something that's akin to why I started by being an ordinary person But done some extraordinary things and you have a very strong sense of social good in terms of what you do as a nurse.

[00:23:47] But what you did and how you came onto my radar was through, again, and serendipity has played a great part in this podcast as well, because I like to explore the impact of serendipity.

[00:23:57] It was through sitting in a restaurant with 

[00:23:59] [00:24:00] my 

[00:24:00] colleague Sam, 

[00:24:01] here in Larkspur, and I and someone you work with happened to be sitting next to us and we got talking about you and she went oh, I work with Amy. I was like wow, what a chance. So this is completely,

[00:24:14] uh, sort of screwing up with my mind because it's a bit of the old Impossible Network, the new, the serendipity, it's all mixed in together.

[00:24:22] So I want to talk about this extraordinary thing that brought you onto my radar, which was this, this epic swim. that had never been done before from San Francisco 

[00:24:36] Bay, I suppose you'd say. Golden Gate Bridge. Golden Gate Bridge, to the Farallon Islands, which most people have never heard of, but are about 29, 

[00:24:42] 30 

[00:24:43] miles off the coast of California.

[00:24:46] It's a lot off the radar of a lot of people, 

[00:24:48] yeah. But, but, the, probably the most intense and, uh, breeding grounds of great white sharks 

[00:24:57] on 

[00:24:58] the planet. 

[00:24:58] Yeah. And you [00:25:00] swam there. Yeah. Without 

[00:25:01] a 

[00:25:01] cage.

[00:25:03] And did it. And

[00:25:04] no wetsuit. And no wetsuit. I mean that is just,

[00:25:09] mentally for me, I go,

[00:25:10] oh my goodness, I, I just can't even conceive of the mental fortitude and the strength of will and the courage to take on such a challenge and achieve it.

[00:25:22] The only person ever. Not woman. man, woman, any, no one has ever done it. 

[00:25:29] Any 

[00:25:29] human being to have done it. It is utterly extraordinary. So when I ask that question, what are you working to achieve? You go, you know what?

[00:25:36] Work's done. 

[00:25:37] Amy: Work's done. You can

[00:25:38] Mark: You can quite 

[00:25:39] happily 

[00:25:39] say, yeah, I've done everything I need to do. Tick that box.

[00:25:43] But 

[00:25:44] I'd 

[00:25:44] love you 

[00:25:44] to talk about 

[00:25:45] that journey to that 

[00:25:48] moment and having left Michigan. Ambitions unrealized. As you said, to have rediscovered swimming, but not in a way that most [00:26:00] people rediscover sport after many years and get into senior sort of competition. To have taken on marathon swimming of that scale is quite extraordinary. So 

[00:26:12] maybe you could just talk about that journey back into it and what led you to suddenly going, I am going to take on this challenge that no one else has ever done and believe that it's possible. Because one of the things as well, it's funny I got cycling a lot round here and I pass this sign every time I cycle round China Camp

[00:26:33] in San Rafael and it's, I don't know if it's a church, but it's near the, the city, the, the civic center.

[00:26:39] And it says, everything is possible when you believe. Which I genuinely, given that it's an impossible network, and people I interview have done extraordinary things, obviously, you have to believe. So talk about what led you to that point and that journey. 

[00:26:52] That's my 

[00:26:53] convoluted sort

[00:26:53] of 

[00:26:54] Amy: question. Yeah, 

[00:26:54] no, Actually, I 

[00:26:56] have a

[00:26:57] very 

[00:26:58] specific 

[00:26:58] starting 

[00:26:59] point. 

[00:27:00] [00:27:00] So 

[00:27:00] I 

[00:27:01] was 

[00:27:01] out of the 

[00:27:01] water 

[00:27:02] raising 

[00:27:02] family,

[00:27:03] profession. 

[00:27:04] married, 

[00:27:05] you know, just 

[00:27:05] living 

[00:27:06] life.

[00:27:07] And 

[00:27:08] February, 10 years ago, 

[00:27:11] so this was 2014,

[00:27:14] 

[00:27:14] Amy: a friend 

[00:27:15] of mine, we'd 

[00:27:16] gone out to dinner 

[00:27:18] and 

[00:27:18] he's a 

[00:27:18] very 

[00:27:18] close

[00:27:19] friend.

[00:27:20] He 

[00:27:20] swims in San Francisco 

[00:27:22] Bay 

[00:27:22] and 

[00:27:22] he, um, 

[00:27:24] kind of egged me on and challenged He said, Hey, why don't you join me 

[00:27:29] for a swim 

[00:27:30] tomorrow?

[00:27:31] Of course it's February, 

[00:27:32] so

[00:27:32] it's really cold without a wetsuit. San Francisco

[00:27:36] Bay. 

[00:27:37] I came up with, I

[00:27:38] can't tell you the countless number of excuses to not

[00:27:41] join him. And he 

[00:27:42] just kept 

[00:27:43] calling 

[00:27:43] me out. 

[00:27:44] He's like, you're so full of shit. 

[00:27:45] You're so 

[00:27:46] like,

[00:27:47] come on, 

[00:27:48] you can do 

[00:27:49] this.

[00:27:49] And 

[00:27:50] I

[00:27:50] didn't

[00:27:51] think 

[00:27:51] it was humanly 

[00:27:52] possible that 

[00:27:52] I could. 

[00:27:53] So,

[00:27:54] I,

[00:27:57] I agreed to meet him

[00:27:58] 7 o'clock in the morning the next [00:28:00] morning on the

[00:28:00] Saturday. 

[00:28:01] And 

[00:28:02] we met 

[00:28:02] at the 

[00:28:03] South 

[00:28:03] End

[00:28:03] Rowing Club down 

[00:28:04] in San Francisco. So 

[00:28:05] he 

[00:28:06] met 

[00:28:06] me at 

[00:28:06] the 

[00:28:06] door. 

[00:28:08] Before I had even gone to meet

[00:28:10] him, I

[00:28:10] had, rummaged 

[00:28:12] through 

[00:28:12] my 

[00:28:13] Collection 

[00:28:14] my husband 

[00:28:15] had a thermal,

[00:28:16] you know cap 

[00:28:17] that 

[00:28:17] I could wear 

[00:28:17] on 

[00:28:18] my head 

[00:28:19] We were 

[00:28:19] looking 

[00:28:19] for 

[00:28:19] my gloves and 

[00:28:21] booties 

[00:28:22] to 

[00:28:22] wear because I 

[00:28:22] couldn't 

[00:28:23] wear 

[00:28:23] a 

[00:28:23] wetsuit 

[00:28:24] So I 

[00:28:24] was trying 

[00:28:24] to 

[00:28:24] figure 

[00:28:24] of all 

[00:28:25] these other 

[00:28:25] things, 

[00:28:26] but I just know that I can't swim with that stuff 

[00:28:28] So

[00:28:30] I 

[00:28:30] took 

[00:28:30] the thermal cap, 

[00:28:31] I 

[00:28:31] had 

[00:28:31] my swimsuit, 

[00:28:32] I 

[00:28:32] dusted off 

[00:28:33] my goggles from 24 years ago. 

[00:28:36] I mean, 

[00:28:36] I 

[00:28:36] couldn't see 

[00:28:37] in 

[00:28:37] them 

[00:28:37] because they were so old, 

[00:28:39] but 

[00:28:39] I was able to use them. And 

[00:28:42] I met him 

[00:28:43] there, 

[00:28:44] we 

[00:28:44] got 

[00:28:44] ready to swim,

[00:28:45] we put our stuff in the lockers, 

[00:28:47] locked out to the

[00:28:48] beach, and my toes touched that icy water. It was 52 degrees.

[00:28:54] And

[00:28:55] Overwhelmed me like I started

[00:28:57] getting tears in my eyes. 

[00:28:59] [00:29:00] And watching

[00:29:01] him. He literally just left the beach and left me standing there

[00:29:05] with tears in my 

[00:29:06] Mark: And he had no wetsuit on? 

[00:29:08] Amy: No, what's he done? He just 

[00:29:09] marched 

[00:29:09] right in the water. 

[00:29:10] Mark: and I was paralyzed 

[00:29:14] Amy: was

[00:29:15] stuck 

[00:29:15] Mark: at that moment 

[00:29:16] Amy: and I didn't know 

[00:29:17] Mark: what to do because I 

[00:29:18] couldn't 

[00:29:18] feel. Just your 

[00:29:19] Amy: out Just 

[00:29:19] my

[00:29:19] feet in the water. 

[00:29:21] and I knew I had to get my body in the water 

[00:29:23] Mark: the 

[00:29:25] Amy: Yes, 

[00:29:25] it was 

[00:29:26] sunny. 

[00:29:27] but the warmth from the air, it was a crisp morning, so it wasn't

[00:29:31] warm. It was, 

[00:29:32] there was no clouds in the sky, but it, there was definitely, it 

[00:29:36] was chilly. 

[00:29:37] So, 

[00:29:38] not see your breath

[00:29:39] chilly, but, but chilly enough, because seven in the morning 

[00:29:42] is still pretty early.

[00:29:43] So, 

[00:29:45] was

[00:29:45] paralyzed, tears are welling up in my eyes, and I started walking a little

[00:29:49] bit further, 

[00:29:50] and his friend, Noticed that I was having a

[00:29:53] hard time and just actually 

[00:29:54] stood 

[00:29:54] there and stayed

[00:29:55] with me. 

[00:29:56] And 

[00:29:56] we just kind of 

[00:29:56] creeped in the 

[00:29:57] water, a little bit deeper, a little bit deeper.[00:30:00] 

[00:30:00] and then I

[00:30:02] kind of pushed off and I lost my breath immediately 'cause if you've ever gotten in cold water, you cannot breathe.

[00:30:08] It takes your breath away.

[00:30:10] And I hadn't had a chance to really acclimate because I've never done this before and I didn't know 

[00:30:15] what to do. 

[00:30:16] So 

[00:30:16] now 

[00:30:17] I'm 

[00:30:18] crying 

[00:30:19] and 

[00:30:19] I 

[00:30:19] can't 

[00:30:20] breathe, 

[00:30:20] So 

[00:30:20] I'm 

[00:30:20] starting

[00:30:21] to panic 

[00:30:22] And 

[00:30:23] it 

[00:30:23] overwhelmed me and

[00:30:24] I just was 

[00:30:25] trying 

[00:30:25] to figure 

[00:30:25] out what 

[00:30:26] to do.

[00:30:26] And 

[00:30:26] my.

[00:30:27] friends, I was, I was, kind of just treading water, like dog 

[00:30:31] paddling.

[00:30:32] And my friend's friend looked at me, I don't even 

[00:30:35] know his name to this day, but I could picture 

[00:30:37] him 

[00:30:37] so 

[00:30:38] clearly in my

[00:30:38] eyes. 

[00:30:39] He 

[00:30:40] looked 

[00:30:40] me right 

[00:30:40] in the eye. 

[00:30:41] And he 

[00:30:41] said, put

[00:30:41] your face in 

[00:30:41] the 

[00:30:42] water 

[00:30:42] and 

[00:30:42] start 

[00:30:42] to

[00:30:43] swim. 

[00:30:44] And I 

[00:30:44] was so 

[00:30:44] shocked, but 

[00:30:45] I

[00:30:45] needed

[00:30:45] that clear

[00:30:46] direction. 

[00:30:47] So I did. I put my face in the water and I started to swim.

[00:30:50] Well.

[00:30:51] Even though I hadn't been

[00:30:52] in 

[00:30:52] the water for 24 years, I'm still 

[00:30:54] pretty 

[00:30:54] decent 

[00:30:55] swimmer.

[00:30:56] I mean, I've, 

[00:30:56] you know

[00:30:56] fooled 

[00:30:57] around 

[00:30:57] a little 

[00:30:57] bit 

[00:30:57] and I 

[00:30:58] know I'm 

[00:30:58] a

[00:30:58] decent 

[00:30:59] swimmer. [00:31:00] 

[00:31:00] I 

[00:31:00] ended 

[00:31:00] up 

[00:31:00] catching up to my friend Robert who had 

[00:31:02] no idea I 

[00:31:03] had 

[00:31:03] this 

[00:31:03] panic

[00:31:03] attack

[00:31:04] and 

[00:31:04] Had 

[00:31:05] no idea 

[00:31:05] that 

[00:31:05] I

[00:31:06] needed 

[00:31:06] any 

[00:31:06] assistance.

[00:31:08] And he 

[00:31:08] looks 

[00:31:09] at 

[00:31:09] me calmly 

[00:31:09] says oh there you 

[00:31:10] are

[00:31:12] And I didn't tell him that I had 

[00:31:14] this horrible experience on 

[00:31:15] the beach.

[00:31:16] You But 

[00:31:17] he said, are you doing okay? And I'm like, yeah, I'm okay. And so he swam a 

[00:31:20] little bit further 

[00:31:21] and all of a sudden my body

[00:31:23] started

[00:31:23] getting warm and every cell in my body became

[00:31:26] alive 

[00:31:27] And it was 

[00:31:28] an adrenaline

[00:31:29] endorphin rush that I'd not experienced

[00:31:31] before. and so we finished our swim 

[00:31:35] and I went home 

[00:31:36] and 

[00:31:36] Greg 

[00:31:36] is just 

[00:31:37] waiting

[00:31:38] to hear how this

[00:31:39] went because he was like so

[00:31:42] surprised I agreed to go. 

[00:31:44] and I walk in

[00:31:45] and

[00:31:46] he's smiling and 

[00:31:47] I said

[00:31:49] I loved it 

[00:31:50] and he couldn't 

[00:31:50] believe 

[00:31:51] it 

[00:31:51] and 

[00:31:51] I 

[00:31:51] said 

[00:31:51] could 

[00:31:51] I 

[00:31:52] bribe 

[00:31:52] you 

[00:31:52] with 

[00:31:52] getting 

[00:31:53] a Ghirardelli's chocolate sundae 

[00:31:54] if you

[00:31:55] watch 

[00:31:55] me 

[00:31:55] swim 

[00:31:56] tomorrow because I knew Robert

[00:31:57] wasn't going to

[00:31:58] be there and 

[00:31:59] I [00:32:00] don't know anybody

[00:32:00] Mark: there.

[00:32:00] And you wanted to do it again?

[00:32:02] Amy: it again? And I wanted to do it again. I went the very next

[00:32:04] day. 

[00:32:05] Mark: how long did it take you to acclimatize once you had that that shock and once you got your head in the water?

[00:32:11] Amy: Yeah, it took me 15 minutes. 

[00:32:14] Mark: To

[00:32:15] acclimatize. 

[00:32:15] Amy: It just it 

[00:32:16] just takes a little while for 

[00:32:17] you 

[00:32:17] to warm up your body. So as you start

[00:32:19] swimming, 

[00:32:20] the 

[00:32:20] first few minutes 

[00:32:21] you can still 

[00:32:21] feel the 

[00:32:22] icy feeling on your 

[00:32:23] body. 

[00:32:24] And 

[00:32:24] then 

[00:32:24] as 

[00:32:24] you get moving 

[00:32:25] your 

[00:32:25] body starts to warm up 

[00:32:27] cause you're using your

[00:32:27] muscles.

[00:32:28] So about 15 minutes and then 

[00:32:30] all of a sudden that rush. came over me. 

[00:32:33] Mark: did you swim that day? 

[00:32:34] Amy: Just

[00:32:35] 25, 30 minutes, 

[00:32:36] like not 

[00:32:37] too 

[00:32:37] long. 

[00:32:38] And 

[00:32:39] each 

[00:32:39] day 

[00:32:40] I 

[00:32:40] would 

[00:32:40] go out, I'd go out 

[00:32:41] about 

[00:32:41] the 

[00:32:41] same

[00:32:41] distance 

[00:32:42] and I, 

[00:32:42] I 

[00:32:43] didn't know 

[00:32:43] anybody, but 

[00:32:44] I 

[00:32:44] Mark: joined 

[00:32:44] And every day, the Same

[00:32:45] experience. 

[00:32:46] Amy: Same experience. 

[00:32:47] Mark: minutes of abject

[00:32:49] pain. 

[00:32:51] Amy: Yeah. 

[00:32:51] And then it became less

[00:32:52] And less until all of a sudden that endorphin

[00:32:54] rush happened and your body warmed 

[00:32:56] up. So 

[00:32:57] I knew 

[00:32:57] I 

[00:32:57] was

[00:32:58] doing 

[00:32:58] that. 

[00:32:59] There's 

[00:32:59] [00:33:00] someone that 

[00:33:00] at 

[00:33:01] my club says,

[00:33:01] it's, 

[00:33:02] 

[00:33:02] Amy: a 

[00:33:02] hundred 

[00:33:03] strokes to, 

[00:33:04] to 

[00:33:04] fabulous. 

[00:33:05] So, you know, it takes a little while, so you can get 

[00:33:07] it

[00:33:07] down 

[00:33:07] to that 

[00:33:08] short of period.

[00:33:09] And, you know, I just started meeting people and then I realized I was

[00:33:13] actually kind of good at swimming. 

[00:33:15] And

[00:33:17] I started building my

[00:33:18] community 

[00:33:19] and then I started getting invited 

[00:33:21] to do 

[00:33:21] swims 

[00:33:21] with 

[00:33:21] people, 

[00:33:22] and 

[00:33:22] my first 

[00:33:23] big 

[00:33:24] big 

[00:33:24] swim was Gibraltar,

[00:33:26] so swam from Spain to Africa,

[00:33:29] did the 

[00:33:29] Gibraltar Straits. 

[00:33:29] Mark: far is that? 

[00:33:31] Amy: It's eight and

[00:33:32] a 

[00:33:33] miles. it's not a very 

[00:33:35] wide

[00:33:36] distance,

[00:33:37] but it's the largest shipping

[00:33:39] port 

[00:33:40] and channel. we were constantly 

[00:33:42] dodging

[00:33:43] tanker ships, and our captain was in

[00:33:47] You know, communication with all the ships coming and going. 

[00:33:51] And we're also 

[00:33:52] in, he's 

[00:33:53] there on the phone with the Moroccan 

[00:33:56] Coast 

[00:33:56] Guard.

[00:33:57] And so, yeah, it was a [00:34:00] really fabulous experience. It was a beautiful

[00:34:03] swim and It went really 

[00:34:04] well. 

[00:34:06] Mark: So why 

[00:34:06] did 

[00:34:06] you pick that 

[00:34:07] one as 

[00:34:07] your first solo?

[00:34:08] Amy: I didn't, I just got invited and I'm like,

[00:34:10] yes, I'm going. and so we made it happen and it wasn't too long of a distance. I thought it was definitely something I could achieve. Oh, 

[00:34:18] Greg 

[00:34:19] loved 

[00:34:19] it. 

[00:34:19] He 

[00:34:19] was so excited 

[00:34:20] to. I 

[00:34:23] think not. 

[00:34:24] I mean, the thing that's history behind 

[00:34:27] the 

[00:34:27] context is Greg's dad was one 

[00:34:30] of 

[00:34:30] the first 

[00:34:30] Ironman 

[00:34:31] triathletes. And Greg 

[00:34:33] also 

[00:34:34] used to 

[00:34:35] paddle for 

[00:34:35] the original 

[00:34:36] swimmers 

[00:34:37] that like were cutting

[00:34:38] you know, like 

[00:34:40] and forging the course of, 

[00:34:41] you know, of 

[00:34:42] this 

[00:34:42] ultra 

[00:34:43] marathon 

[00:34:43] swimming 

[00:34:44] back 

[00:34:44] in the 

[00:34:44] early

[00:34:45] 80s. So 

[00:34:46] he 

[00:34:46] has 

[00:34:46] context 

[00:34:47] around 

[00:34:47] it. 

[00:34:48] So, 

[00:34:49] he 

[00:34:49] wasn't too worried about

[00:34:50] me. 

[00:34:51] he 

[00:34:51] was 

[00:34:52] more 

[00:34:52] excited

[00:34:52] and 

[00:34:54] encouraged 

[00:34:54] that 

[00:34:54] I 

[00:34:54] liked 

[00:34:55] it, 

[00:34:55] but a little bit cautious because some of the swims are big. 

[00:34:59] Mark: [00:35:00] So 

[00:35:00] at 

[00:35:00] that 

[00:35:00] point, 

[00:35:01] you, you were just going out every day here in San Francisco Bay down by Fisherman's Wharf and just swimming out and training.

[00:35:10] Once you'd done that Gibraltar swim, what was the next? Did you then set yourself some new goal around what you wanted to achieve? Rather than there's a lot of people who would just do it. And I know, I know people that do sort of, sort of cold water or long distance swimming, but they just do it to keep fit and they just 

[00:35:27] love it. Obviously 

[00:35:28] for the same reason that you loved it, the endorphin release

[00:35:31] impact, but not to actually take on, audacious records or, or, or 

[00:35:37] goals 

[00:35:38] that have never been achieved before by any human. 

[00:35:40] Amy: Yeah.

[00:35:42] I think I was more inspired by the people that I was building with my community 

[00:35:47] of 

[00:35:47] swimmers 

[00:35:48] because 

[00:35:48] they 

[00:35:48] all 

[00:35:49] had 

[00:35:49] goals.

[00:35:49] So, 

[00:35:50] and they all were doing really 

[00:35:51] interesting 

[00:35:52] swims. So it was really kind of inspiring

[00:35:54] for

[00:35:55] me. 

[00:35:56] Uh, the next goal that I set

[00:35:58] was

[00:35:59] It's Lake [00:36:00] Tahoe, it's here,

[00:36:02] local, It's you know, it seemed like a very manageable

[00:36:06] distance. 

[00:36:07] It was more of the

[00:36:08] typical standard crossing

[00:36:10] lengths because 

[00:36:12] it's 

[00:36:12] similar 

[00:36:12] to the English Channel, like 

[00:36:14] in distance. 

[00:36:15] And most people 

[00:36:16] use the English channel 

[00:36:18] Mark: channel 22 miles. 

[00:36:19] Amy: Yeah, it's 22 miles.

[00:36:21] correct, 

[00:36:21] But 

[00:36:22] you know, 

[00:36:22] with 

[00:36:22] the 

[00:36:22] English 

[00:36:23] channel, 

[00:36:23] you 

[00:36:23] go

[00:36:23] with 

[00:36:23] the 

[00:36:23] current. So. 

[00:36:24] Most people 

[00:36:25] swim 

[00:36:26] for 

[00:36:26] more 

[00:36:26] than that, 

[00:36:26] but 

[00:36:26] you 

[00:36:27] only

[00:36:27] get 

[00:36:27] credit 

[00:36:27] for

[00:36:27] 22. 

[00:36:29] So that's kind of a traditional

[00:36:31] length of 

[00:36:32] a, of 

[00:36:32] a typical channel

[00:36:33] crossing.

[00:36:34] So 

[00:36:34] I thought, 

[00:36:35] well, 

[00:36:35] let 

[00:36:35] me see how 

[00:36:35] that 

[00:36:36] goes. 

[00:36:37] Oh, I learned a lot on that one That one was a really tough one. I, didn't, It's 

[00:36:42] fresh water 

[00:36:43] and 

[00:36:43] it's at altitude. 

[00:36:44] So, 

[00:36:44] two things I kind of didn't 

[00:36:46] really appreciate 

[00:36:47] to

[00:36:47] the 

[00:36:47] same 

[00:36:48] capabilities that 

[00:36:48] I 

[00:36:48] have now. 

[00:36:50] So 

[00:36:50] that was a 

[00:36:50] really 

[00:36:50] good 

[00:36:50] learning experience. 

[00:36:52] I finished the swim. 

[00:36:54] And 

[00:36:54] it was very hard, but after that I knew 

[00:36:58] I 

[00:36:58] was 

[00:36:58] capable 

[00:36:58] of doing 

[00:36:59] things. .

[00:36:59] [00:37:00] .And 

[00:37:00] I 

[00:37:00] just 

[00:37:00] learned more 

[00:37:01] of what worked better

[00:37:02] for

[00:37:02] me to train 

[00:37:03] and what was easier for me

[00:37:05] to. look at as far

[00:37:07] as

[00:37:08] things that I was good at.

[00:37:10] So 

[00:37:11] I started strategizing 

[00:37:12] at 

[00:37:12] that 

[00:37:13] point 

[00:37:13] for 

[00:37:13] bigger swims.

[00:37:15] and the 

[00:37:16] one that 

[00:37:16] I really 

[00:37:16] wanted 

[00:37:17] to 

[00:37:17] do 

[00:37:17] and 

[00:37:18] was very 

[00:37:18] exciting 

[00:37:19] for me would 

[00:37:20] be the North 

[00:37:20] channel 

[00:37:21] between 

[00:37:21] Ireland 

[00:37:22] and Scotland

[00:37:23] Because 

[00:37:24] that 

[00:37:25] was 22 miles. That's That's the Irish Sea, yeah. 

[00:37:28] Mark: Between Dublin 

[00:37:30] and. 

[00:37:31] Amy: It's from Donaghadee, which is on the coast, outside of

[00:37:35] Belfast, 

[00:37:36] actually, in Northern Ireland. 

[00:37:37] And, and then across 

[00:37:39] to the 

[00:37:40] Scottish shores. you try to aim for

[00:37:43] Port Patrick.

[00:37:44] Mark: Near Stone Row. 

[00:37:46] Amy: Correct. But you can, anywhere along that

[00:37:48] coastline. it's a very unfriendly 

[00:37:50] coastline. 

[00:37:52] Mark: oh my 

[00:37:52] goodness, this is just 

[00:37:53] freaking me 

[00:37:54] out. 

[00:37:54] I've 

[00:37:54] been on a ferry. 

[00:37:55] Yeah. A number 

[00:37:56] of times. A ferry 

[00:37:57] from Stranraer 

[00:37:58] Amy: to there, to 

[00:37:58] Belfast.[00:38:00] 

[00:38:00] I 

[00:38:00] know 

[00:38:01] how 

[00:38:01] rough it is. Yeah. 

[00:38:03] Even 

[00:38:03] in summertime.

[00:38:05] swam Yeah.

[00:38:06] I 

[00:38:06] swam that. And 

[00:38:07] that one 

[00:38:08] was, Like, 

[00:38:08] speaks 

[00:38:09] to me. Like, 

[00:38:09] most 

[00:38:09] people ask me, why 

[00:38:10] don't 

[00:38:11] you 

[00:38:11] do 

[00:38:11] the 

[00:38:11] English channel? And 

[00:38:12] I kind of don't

[00:38:13] want to. because I 

[00:38:14] feel 

[00:38:15] that 

[00:38:15] It's It's overdone

[00:38:16] and 

[00:38:17] 

[00:38:17] you set yourself the 

[00:38:18] Mark: challenge, not the English channel, but to do the

[00:38:21] Northern channel. 

[00:38:21] Amy: Yeah, because at 

[00:38:22] the time that 

[00:38:23] I started 

[00:38:24] looking at 

[00:38:25] it, 

[00:38:25] less 

[00:38:25] than 

[00:38:26] 40 

[00:38:26] people had accomplished 

[00:38:27] that 

[00:38:28] swim.

[00:38:29] And

[00:38:30] it 

[00:38:30] took 

[00:38:31] me 

[00:38:32] two 

[00:38:32] more years 

[00:38:33] to be 

[00:38:33] brave

[00:38:33] enough 

[00:38:34] to 

[00:38:34] sign 

[00:38:34] up 

[00:38:35] to 

[00:38:35] do 

[00:38:35] it.

[00:38:36] And when 

[00:38:37] I accomplished 

[00:38:38] it, 

[00:38:39] that 

[00:38:39] was 

[00:38:40] the

[00:38:40] biggest success. 

[00:38:41] I 

[00:38:41] was 

[00:38:41] so 

[00:38:42] proud. 

[00:38:42] And I 

[00:38:43] was the

[00:38:43] 18th woman to 

[00:38:44] finish 

[00:38:45] that swim 

[00:38:46] and 

[00:38:46] the 

[00:38:46] 63rd 

[00:38:47] person 

[00:38:48] to 

[00:38:48] accomplish 

[00:38:48] that swim.

[00:38:50] And 

[00:38:51] more 

[00:38:51] people 

[00:38:52] have 

[00:38:52] hiked Everest. More people 

[00:38:54] have 

[00:38:54] it. hiked 

[00:38:55] all 

[00:38:55] the peaks. 

[00:38:56] and I 

[00:38:58] that 

[00:38:58] was considered 

[00:38:59] to 

[00:38:59] be 

[00:38:59] the 

[00:38:59] [00:39:00] hardest 

[00:39:00] channel 

[00:39:01] swim of 

[00:39:01] the ocean seven,

[00:39:02] which 

[00:39:03] is a list that was comprised 

[00:39:05] by 

[00:39:06] Steve Molitona's. it's an 

[00:39:08] honorable 

[00:39:09] list. of 

[00:39:10] swims 

[00:39:11] Mark: then? So the English Channel, the Northern 

[00:39:13] Amy: Correct Gibraltar. 

[00:39:15] Cook Straits. 

[00:39:17] Mark: Oh, New Zealand. 

[00:39:18] Amy: yeah, yeah, 

[00:39:19] Saguaro 

[00:39:20] in 

[00:39:20] Japan.

[00:39:22] And 

[00:39:22] then

[00:39:23] Catalina 

[00:39:24] and

[00:39:25] Molokai.

[00:39:26] Catalina's 

[00:39:27] down south in 

[00:39:28] Southern

[00:39:28] California. That's also 

[00:39:30] 22 miles. 

[00:39:31] And 

[00:39:31] Molokai 

[00:39:31] is 

[00:39:32] a little 

[00:39:32] bit 

[00:39:32] longer. 

[00:39:33] So Molokai 

[00:39:33] to 

[00:39:33] Oahu. 

[00:39:34] On Hawaii. 

[00:39:36] That one's a little bit longer. I want 

[00:39:38] to say that's 24 miles, 

[00:39:39] 25 

[00:39:40] miles. I'm like, No

[00:39:42] I 

[00:39:42] have 

[00:39:43] several 

[00:39:43] friends that 

[00:39:44] have accomplished 

[00:39:44] that 

[00:39:44] ocean 

[00:39:45] seven list, 

[00:39:46] but 

[00:39:46] I'd 

[00:39:47] have to 

[00:39:47] do 

[00:39:47] the English Channel and it's just not 

[00:39:48] on my radar. So 

[00:39:50] that 

[00:39:50] list is not

[00:39:51] necessarily

[00:39:52] my list I like, 

[00:39:54] Other

[00:39:54] weird 

[00:39:54] Mark: Yeah, 

[00:39:55] okay then. So before we get into talking about the shark [00:40:00] infested, jellyfish infested Farallon swim,

[00:40:03] What 

[00:40:03] other ones have 

[00:40:04] you, have you taken on and

[00:40:06] accomplished? 

[00:40:07] Amy: So 

[00:40:08] here locally I've done round trip Angel Island, which is considered 

[00:40:12] to be 

[00:40:12] a 

[00:40:12] tactically 

[00:40:13] difficult 

[00:40:14] challenge 

[00:40:15] because 

[00:40:15] you've got cross cross currents and you have to cross the shipping lanes four times. 

[00:40:20] So that one's a really hard one to execute. 

[00:40:23] Did 

[00:40:24] that one. 

[00:40:24] I 

[00:40:25] did 

[00:40:25] Monterey Bay.

[00:40:26] Mark: from where?

[00:40:28] Amy: You 

[00:40:28] leave 

[00:40:28] the 

[00:40:28] beach 

[00:40:29] right 

[00:40:29] at,

[00:40:30] you know, 

[00:40:30] Aquatic Park Fisherman's Wharf. area. 

[00:40:32] and then you go out around Angel Island and back and back to the same beach. So that's really hard to nail. 

[00:40:38] Mark: Angel Island, the one that's south of Tiburon. 

[00:40:40] Oh, wow. 

[00:40:41] Amy: It's 

[00:40:42] a large 

[00:40:42] island, 

[00:40:43] so you've got to go out around the whole thing and come back, 

[00:40:45] so it's a pretty good one.

[00:40:47] Mark: Just, as a side on that I mean, anyone that comes to San Francisco, naturally the, the, one of the sights to see is Alcatraz and the famous story that no one ever escaped Alcatraz.

[00:40:57] Amy: Exactly. they say 

[00:40:58] Mark: what someone might have [00:41:00] escaped and they had 

[00:41:00] to swim, they said that chance 

[00:41:02] of the swimming 

[00:41:03] from 

[00:41:03] Alcatraz 

[00:41:04] and going, you could 

[00:41:05] do 

[00:41:05] that in 

[00:41:05] your 

[00:41:05] sleep. 

[00:41:06] Amy: Well, 

[00:41:06] yesterday I swam to and from Alcatraz with 

[00:41:09] a friend 

[00:41:09] of mine that 

[00:41:09] flew 

[00:41:10] in 

[00:41:10] from Singapore 

[00:41:11] and 

[00:41:11] we 

[00:41:11] had a 

[00:41:11] great swim. 

[00:41:12] So 

[00:41:13] it's 

[00:41:13] very 

[00:41:13] manageable, 

[00:41:15] but I go all over the world.

[00:41:17] and I tell people I've done these swims and they're like, but have you done Alcatraz? 

[00:41:22] Everywhere, everyone 

[00:41:23] always 

[00:41:23] asks.

[00:41:24] So it's our joke

[00:41:26] in the open water swim community. Well, it is our warmup, but 

[00:41:29] we 

[00:41:29] don't 

[00:41:30] under appreciate the 

[00:41:31] currents 

[00:41:31] cause they 

[00:41:31] are 

[00:41:32] really 

[00:41:32] um, They're 

[00:41:33] very 

[00:41:33] strong. 

[00:41:34] It's 

[00:41:34] not to 

[00:41:34] be underappreciated, but 

[00:41:36] it's just hilarious because the distance of Alcatraz is 1. 2 miles. Yeah, From beach, from the rock to the beach. 

[00:41:44] So it's not very far. And but most people have this folklore that has been built 

[00:41:50] up and generated from 

[00:41:52] media and from 

[00:41:53] just 

[00:41:54] Kind of the hype of it 

[00:41:55] that 

[00:41:56] it's 

[00:41:56] the 

[00:41:56] most 

[00:41:57] unmanageable 

[00:41:58] water.

[00:41:58] So

[00:41:59] yeah. [00:42:00] 

[00:42:00] So that's why it's funny like you've been to the Northern

[00:42:02] Irish Sea. and 

[00:42:04] you've seen how rough it is. Oh 

[00:42:05] Mark: Oh yeah. Yeah. 

[00:42:06] Amy: I could tell people 

[00:42:07] yeah, I 

[00:42:07] just 

[00:42:07] swam 

[00:42:07] that, 

[00:42:08] and they'll 

[00:42:08] be 

[00:42:08] like, oh, 

[00:42:09] Oh, 

[00:42:09] but 

[00:42:09] have you 

[00:42:09] swam Elga 

[00:42:10] trucks? Yeah. . We Just 

[00:42:12] laughed. It's kind 

[00:42:13] of

[00:42:13] funny. 

[00:42:14] Mark: Well, the 

[00:42:15] other one 

[00:42:15] as 

[00:42:15] well, 

[00:42:15] that I've got a friend that swam it, shout out to Simon Hill, who used to work with me at McCann he 

[00:42:24] swam

[00:42:24] Manhattan Island. And that one, which is another one to sort of tick off the

[00:42:28] list, and I believe you 

[00:42:29] did 

[00:42:30] Amy: I did that, yeah. 

[00:42:31] Mark: But 

[00:42:31] in slightly different circumstances. 

[00:42:33] So I think he had experience.

[00:42:35] Well, 

[00:42:36] that you, I 

[00:42:36] believe 

[00:42:36] you

[00:42:37] were quite ill 

[00:42:38] Amy: I 

[00:42:38] was. Our swim 

[00:42:39] was 

[00:42:39] at night. 

[00:42:41] which 

[00:42:41] I 

[00:42:41] was really 

[00:42:42] excited 

[00:42:42] about.

[00:42:42] It 

[00:42:42] was 

[00:42:42] the first 

[00:42:43] night 

[00:42:43] swims, 

[00:42:43] they

[00:42:44] executed, But 

[00:42:46] I had the luxury of swimming the day after a rainstorm. 

[00:42:49] And, 

[00:42:49] you know the, you 

[00:42:50] know, what the adage is, 

[00:42:52] you don't want to 

[00:42:52] be anywhere 

[00:42:52] near 

[00:42:53] that 

[00:42:53] water 

[00:42:53] after a rainstorm. So 

[00:42:55] I 

[00:42:55] just 

[00:42:55] knew

[00:42:57] Could 

[00:42:58] not swallow 

[00:42:58] the 

[00:42:59] water. So 

[00:42:59] [00:43:00] I dive in

[00:43:01] and 

[00:43:01] the 

[00:43:01] first 

[00:43:02] wave 

[00:43:02] that 

[00:43:02] hit 

[00:43:02] me 

[00:43:02] I swallowed 

[00:43:03] and 

[00:43:03] I'm 

[00:43:03] like, Oh, 

[00:43:04] jeez 

[00:43:05] And 

[00:43:06] an 

[00:43:06] hour 

[00:43:06] and a 

[00:43:06] half 

[00:43:06] later 

[00:43:07] I 

[00:43:07] was 

[00:43:07] throwing 

[00:43:07] up 

[00:43:08] and 

[00:43:08] I was swimming 

[00:43:08] with 

[00:43:09] a 

[00:43:09] friend 

[00:43:09] of mine who I 

[00:43:09] trained

[00:43:10] with. 

[00:43:10] and typically we swim 

[00:43:12] perfectly 

[00:43:13] in unison. 

[00:43:13] And

[00:43:14] I She 

[00:43:15] was 

[00:43:16] wondering 

[00:43:16] where I was. 

[00:43:16] And 

[00:43:17] she looked back 

[00:43:17] and she's 

[00:43:18] watching 

[00:43:18] me 

[00:43:18] hurl,

[00:43:19] actively, 

[00:43:20] vomiting,

[00:43:22] And 

[00:43:22] she just shook her head. She goes, okay, it's going to be 

[00:43:25] a long one. But the way they strategize that swim, 

[00:43:28] that 

[00:43:28] a Doritos 

[00:43:29] bag can 

[00:43:29] make it 

[00:43:30] around 

[00:43:30] the 

[00:43:30] island, 

[00:43:31] you 

[00:43:31] know, with challenging the currents that direction, like we 

[00:43:33] really 

[00:43:34] didn't 

[00:43:34] have 

[00:43:34] a 

[00:43:34] lot 

[00:43:34] of 

[00:43:35] obstacles. 

[00:43:36] We just had to swim fast enough to make the current. And we were swimming at the exact speed that we needed to, despite me being ill. And the only thing that I used 

[00:43:45] to feed on 

[00:43:46] because 

[00:43:46] I 

[00:43:46] was so 

[00:43:47] ill 

[00:43:47] was 

[00:43:47] Coca 

[00:43:48] Cola. 

[00:43:48] Like 

[00:43:49] literally

[00:43:50] Just 

[00:43:50] drank 

[00:43:50] Coca 

[00:43:51] Cola for eight 

[00:43:51] hours.

[00:43:54] And 

[00:43:54] I 

[00:43:54] made it 

[00:43:55] so

[00:43:56] there's 

[00:43:56] a 

[00:43:57] testimony 

[00:43:57] there. 

[00:43:58] But 

[00:43:58] you know, 

[00:43:59] Mark: that's,

[00:43:59] [00:44:00] incredible. 

[00:44:00] Amy: I 

[00:44:00] was 

[00:44:00] really happy 

[00:44:01] to do 

[00:44:01] this one at night. 

[00:44:02] Mark: interest Where do you leave from in 

[00:44:03] Manhattan? 

[00:44:04] Amy: at, the the the tip of it.

[00:44:08] There's a marina that we pulled out of kind of in the financial district area.

[00:44:13] and 

[00:44:13] then 

[00:44:13] we jumped 

[00:44:13] off 

[00:44:14] of

[00:44:15] to say pier

[00:44:16] 41? No, no, no. I don't remember the name of the pier.

[00:44:19] Mark: So you went north, you didn't go south, round and up the East River. You went up the

[00:44:24] Hudson. 

[00:44:25] Amy: No, we came back down around the Hudson. 

[00:44:27] Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:44:28] Mark: that the, the, the, 

[00:44:30] Amy: we went around the tip, exactly. 

[00:44:32] Exactly,

[00:44:33] Yeah, 

[00:44:33] Battery Park. 

[00:44:34] So 

[00:44:34] right, 

[00:44:35] right 

[00:44:35] before 

[00:44:35] where 

[00:44:35] the 

[00:44:36] ferries 

[00:44:36] leave

[00:44:36] from, 

[00:44:37] we jumped 

[00:44:38] at the 

[00:44:38] pier right 

[00:44:39] there. 

[00:44:40] Yeah, 

[00:44:40] so because we had to 

[00:44:40] hold up for 

[00:44:41] one 

[00:44:41] of the ferries.

[00:44:42] Then we zipped around 

[00:44:43] that 

[00:44:43] island, 

[00:44:44] went 

[00:44:45] up 

[00:44:45] the 

[00:44:45] East 

[00:44:45] River. 

[00:44:46] Mark: You Just 

[00:44:46] kind of Zipped 

[00:44:47] around. 

[00:44:47] Amy: Yeah, we kind of zipped around and then went under, I

[00:44:50] think, isn't that the George Washington?

[00:44:52] Or, no, the George Washington was the last 

[00:44:54] Mark: No, because you 

[00:44:54] go up, 

[00:44:55] you 

[00:44:55] go under 

[00:44:56] the Brooklyn Bridge. 

[00:44:57] Amy: That's 

[00:44:57] right, Brooklyn 

[00:44:58] was first. 

[00:44:58] Mark: Williamsburg. And then [00:45:00] under

[00:45:00] the Queens. 

[00:45:01] Amy: Yeah, 

[00:45:01] the 

[00:45:01] event is 

[00:45:02] called 20

[00:45:02] Bridges. 

[00:45:03] And 

[00:45:04] I 

[00:45:04] don't 

[00:45:04] obviously 

[00:45:05] know which bridge 

[00:45:05] I 

[00:45:05] did when, 

[00:45:06] but 

[00:45:06] you 

[00:45:06] know,

[00:45:07] it was 

[00:45:07] absolutely 

[00:45:08] fabulous.

[00:45:09] I 

[00:45:09] think the 

[00:45:09] weirdest 

[00:45:10] water 

[00:45:10] was the 

[00:45:10] Harlem. 

[00:45:12] Yeah, because 

[00:45:12] it 

[00:45:12] was 

[00:45:13] a 

[00:45:13] channel. 

[00:45:13] It 

[00:45:13] was like really 

[00:45:14] not very wide, and

[00:45:18] I'm 

[00:45:18] glad 

[00:45:18] I 

[00:45:18] didn't 

[00:45:18] see what

[00:45:19] I 

[00:45:20] Yeah. a lot of industry 

[00:45:22] Mark: of industry. Ugh, oh Well, But I you sort of led me on to the next question, which was, I mean, when you're taking on any 

[00:45:31] physical 

[00:45:32] challenge, whether it be 

[00:45:35] running 

[00:45:36] or Ironman or cycling, nutrition and diet play a massive part in it.

[00:45:42] Coca Cola, fine, okay, on one occasion, but how do you prepare for this and how do you in the in the preparation and the training that you have to do, how do you balance your diet and how do you sort of ensure that you've got enough intake before 

[00:45:56] and 

[00:45:56] then how do you when you're taking on 

[00:45:57] a 

[00:45:59] challenge that 

[00:45:59] might be [00:46:00] in excess of 

[00:46:01] 10, 11 hours, 

[00:46:02] how do you keep 

[00:46:03] hydrated 

[00:46:04] and what 

[00:46:04] do you 

[00:46:04] eat? 

[00:46:05] Amy: Yeah, that 

[00:46:06] is 

[00:46:06] the 

[00:46:07] question 

[00:46:07] of 

[00:46:07] the century. 

[00:46:08] I think 

[00:46:09] the,

[00:46:09] if 

[00:46:10] one individual could nail it

[00:46:12] and it applied 

[00:46:13] to everybody 

[00:46:14] equally 

[00:46:15] and 

[00:46:15] it 

[00:46:15] supported them, 

[00:46:17] they 

[00:46:17] would 

[00:46:17] be 

[00:46:17] a 

[00:46:17] millionaire, 

[00:46:18] like

[00:46:19] hands 

[00:46:19] down. 

[00:46:20] There are so many different products out there. If you ever walk into any of those fitness stores 

[00:46:25] that have nutrition, there is 

[00:46:28] a shelf and a huge area of

[00:46:31] product because the bottom line is,

[00:46:35] is,

[00:46:36] as an athlete and especially as an endurance athlete, you have to know what your 

[00:46:41] innate 

[00:46:41] metabolism 

[00:46:42] is.

[00:46:43] What 

[00:46:43] works for me 

[00:46:44] will not necessarily 

[00:46:45] work

[00:46:45] for

[00:46:46] my 

[00:46:46] husband, 

[00:46:46] Greg, 

[00:46:47] or for you

[00:46:49] for 

[00:46:49] you, 

[00:46:49] Sam, 

[00:46:50] like

[00:46:50] it's, 

[00:46:51] your body is just built differently and has a different

[00:46:55] pace. So you have to be able to balance the hydration, the nutrition, the [00:47:00] carbohydrate and the prolonging of that

[00:47:03] so that you have enough energy

[00:47:04] for the event 

[00:47:05] without building up 

[00:47:06] lactic

[00:47:07] acid or 

[00:47:09] at 

[00:47:09] least being able to 

[00:47:09] mitigate 

[00:47:10] the lactic acid. So 

[00:47:11] it's not 

[00:47:11] going to 

[00:47:11] stop 

[00:47:12] you. 

[00:47:12] So

[00:47:13] it takes 

[00:47:14] during 

[00:47:14] those 

[00:47:15] big 

[00:47:15] long training 

[00:47:16] swims, 

[00:47:16] that's 

[00:47:16] where 

[00:47:16] you 

[00:47:16] practice

[00:47:17] your

[00:47:17] nutrition And you just hope 

[00:47:19] that 

[00:47:19] it, 

[00:47:20] it

[00:47:20] works. 

[00:47:21] And 

[00:47:22] I've 

[00:47:23] been 

[00:47:23] on swims where 

[00:47:24] I 

[00:47:24] thought 

[00:47:25] I 

[00:47:25] had 

[00:47:25] my 

[00:47:25] nutrition nailed 

[00:47:26] and 

[00:47:26] you 

[00:47:26] get on the swim, like the one 

[00:47:28] in 

[00:47:28] Brown, 

[00:47:28] Manhattan, and 

[00:47:29] I 

[00:47:29] threw up the whole way.

[00:47:30] Like 

[00:47:30] I had 

[00:47:31] not 

[00:47:31] expected 

[00:47:32] that. 

[00:47:33] So 

[00:47:33] you 

[00:47:33] always 

[00:47:33] have 

[00:47:33] to 

[00:47:33] have 

[00:47:33] a 

[00:47:33] backup plan.

[00:47:35] And 

[00:47:36] so the bottom line is

[00:47:38] The product that necessarily works for me might not work for the other individual.

[00:47:42] But the whole goal is is to have trialed it 

[00:47:46] enough to know that it should work. And then

[00:47:49] the second 

[00:47:51] best Asset is your

[00:47:52] crew. 

[00:47:54] Because if something happens 

[00:47:56] and you're not tolerating it, they need to 

[00:47:58] know 

[00:47:59] what 

[00:47:59] to 

[00:47:59] do to 

[00:47:59] get you[00:48:00] 

[00:48:00] out 

[00:48:00] of 

[00:48:00] it 

[00:48:01] So I've been on many swims.

[00:48:02] I love crewing. I learned more about swimming more about 

[00:48:07] Nutrition

[00:48:08] by crewing for others 

[00:48:10] and I've adapted a 

[00:48:11] few

[00:48:11] items 

[00:48:12] and 

[00:48:12] into 

[00:48:12] my 

[00:48:13] repertoire

[00:48:14] But being able to save somebody and recoup them and get them through 

[00:48:18] that 

[00:48:18] phase

[00:48:19] That's where you learn the most.

[00:48:22] Mark: mean, what do you take on when you're in the water? Because you're not getting out the water into the boat. You're actually sort of treading water and having to drink and consume some to

[00:48:32] replenish your calories. 

[00:48:33] Amy: Exactly. They throw you a bottle attached to a string of your

[00:48:37] nutrition. 

[00:48:38] So 

[00:48:39] on the 

[00:48:39] Farallon 

[00:48:40] swim, 

[00:48:41] I, 

[00:48:42] Used this product called CarboPro, which is out of 

[00:48:46] they don't no longer make it, so I have this coveted 

[00:48:48] supply that I'm 

[00:48:50] judiciously 

[00:48:50] like

[00:48:51] like portioning out for my next year or so, to like, to discover the next for me 

[00:48:58] Mixed 

[00:48:58] with 

[00:48:59] chicken 

[00:48:59] bone [00:49:00] broth. So I had 

[00:49:00] protein 

[00:49:01] and 

[00:49:02] it 

[00:49:02] wasn't, 

[00:49:03] So I could have that cold or hot. I 

[00:49:06] prefer not to heat my feeds up until it's necessary

[00:49:09] and 

[00:49:09] So 

[00:49:10] then it just tasted like hot soup when I had it warmed, 

[00:49:12] which 

[00:49:12] was great. 

[00:49:14] Then 

[00:49:14] I also just drink 

[00:49:15] regular water

[00:49:16] in 

[00:49:16] between. 

[00:49:18] I did make mashed potatoes

[00:49:21] and 

[00:49:22] they were a little bit looser, Like, I made 

[00:49:23] them 

[00:49:23] with 

[00:49:23] a 

[00:49:24] little 

[00:49:24] bit more 

[00:49:24] butter 

[00:49:24] and 

[00:49:25] loosened 

[00:49:25] it 

[00:49:25] up.

[00:49:25] Like 

[00:49:26] they 

[00:49:26] were 

[00:49:26] the instant 

[00:49:27] ones 

[00:49:27] so 

[00:49:27] that 

[00:49:27] they're 

[00:49:27] thinner 

[00:49:28] and 

[00:49:28] in

[00:49:28] nature. 

[00:49:30] And then I

[00:49:31] also had peaches with the syrup, 

[00:49:34] which cut

[00:49:35] the taste. 

[00:49:36] Of the salt 

[00:49:37] while I

[00:49:37] swam. 

[00:49:38] So 

[00:49:38] that 

[00:49:38] was 

[00:49:38] a brilliant. 

[00:49:39] I 

[00:49:39] loved That 

[00:49:39] one. That was like 

[00:49:40] a 

[00:49:40] delicious treat

[00:49:43] Sometimes 

[00:49:43] I'll have 

[00:49:44] some chocolate 

[00:49:45] of some 

[00:49:45] sort

[00:49:47] and, 

[00:49:47] you 

[00:49:47] know, 

[00:49:48] have 

[00:49:48] that 

[00:49:48] on that 

[00:49:48] on 

[00:49:49] the 

[00:49:49] swim. 

[00:49:50] What I didn't expect was

[00:49:53] how cold the water got. so when they started heating my feeds, that was 

[00:49:57] brilliant

[00:49:57] But 

[00:49:58] what they 

[00:49:59] also 

[00:49:59] did [00:50:00] was a friend of mine always 

[00:50:00] brings 

[00:50:01] hot 

[00:50:01] chocolate 

[00:50:01] and

[00:50:02] she started giving that to me

[00:50:04] on my feed. During my nutrition breaks, and that 

[00:50:07] was brilliant. I

[00:50:08] love that 

[00:50:09] And the other thing they sent out is they put two hot bottles. 

[00:50:13] One 

[00:50:13] was 

[00:50:13] just 

[00:50:13] of 

[00:50:13] water 

[00:50:14] that 

[00:50:14] I could either drink if I wanted to but 

[00:50:16] I 

[00:50:16] poured it 

[00:50:16] on 

[00:50:17] my hands and 

[00:50:17] on 

[00:50:17] the 

[00:50:18] back 

[00:50:18] of 

[00:50:18] my 

[00:50:18] neck 

[00:50:19] so 

[00:50:19] it 

[00:50:19] kind 

[00:50:19] of 

[00:50:19] just 

[00:50:20] warmed 

[00:50:20] me 

[00:50:20] for 

[00:50:20] a moment 

[00:50:22] And 

[00:50:22] that 

[00:50:22] was

[00:50:22] brilliant.

[00:50:23] So 

[00:50:24] that 

[00:50:24] was 

[00:50:24] what 

[00:50:24] I fed 

[00:50:25] on 

[00:50:25] for

[00:50:25] the ferulons. 

[00:50:26] Oh, 

[00:50:27] and I 

[00:50:27] had one 

[00:50:27] granola 

[00:50:27] bar I was and I wanted to chew something because most of the time 

[00:50:31] you don't have time to chew You just got to keep going 

[00:50:34] Mark: I mean, every swim is different, but 

[00:50:37] do you have, is 

[00:50:37] there 

[00:50:37] some 

[00:50:38] sort of 

[00:50:38] signal inside you that you go, right, I need my nutrition now?

[00:50:41] Is there a trigger to that? Is it just fatigue? Or do you start to feel the buildup of lactic

[00:50:46] acid? 

[00:50:47] Amy: You know,

[00:50:48] you try to stay ahead of that because 

[00:50:50] if you feel 

[00:50:51] that it's already too late.

[00:50:53] So 

[00:50:54] kind of the typical feeding pan, um, plan.

[00:50:57] Is 

[00:50:57] just 

[00:50:58] on 

[00:50:58] a 

[00:50:58] time 

[00:50:58] cycle. 

[00:50:59] So [00:51:00] 

[00:51:00] I usually swim 

[00:51:00] the first

[00:51:01] hour and

[00:51:02] then 

[00:51:02] every 

[00:51:02] 30 

[00:51:02] minutes after 

[00:51:03] that. 

[00:51:04] Now 

[00:51:04] I 

[00:51:04] might 

[00:51:04] only 

[00:51:05] take 

[00:51:05] between

[00:51:05] two 

[00:51:05] to 

[00:51:06] four 

[00:51:06] ounces 

[00:51:06] of 

[00:51:06] something, 

[00:51:07] so 

[00:51:07] it's not a lot.

[00:51:08] So 

[00:51:08] I 

[00:51:09] could 

[00:51:09] kind 

[00:51:09] of just 

[00:51:09] give myself just enough for my 

[00:51:11] body 

[00:51:11] to 

[00:51:11] be 

[00:51:11] able to

[00:51:11] metabolize, 

[00:51:13] but 

[00:51:13] not 

[00:51:13] too 

[00:51:13] much 

[00:51:13] that 

[00:51:14] has 

[00:51:14] to 

[00:51:14] like slosh 

[00:51:14] around in 

[00:51:15] my stomach, 

[00:51:16] but 

[00:51:17] Staying 

[00:51:17] ahead of that 

[00:51:18] lactic 

[00:51:18] acid 

[00:51:19] because 

[00:51:20] at around 

[00:51:20] hour 

[00:51:21] eight, 

[00:51:22] that's 

[00:51:22] typically 

[00:51:23] when

[00:51:23] most people switch from aerobic capacity and they start to their anaerobic. Yeah. And 

[00:51:30] they 

[00:51:30] usually 

[00:51:30] get 

[00:51:31] really grumpy.

[00:51:32] It's just 

[00:51:33] a natural 

[00:51:33] thing 

[00:51:33] that 

[00:51:34] happens. 

[00:51:35] And you're also building the lactic 

[00:51:37] acid. 

[00:51:37] So you might 

[00:51:37] be 

[00:51:37] more sore.

[00:51:38] So balancing when you could use medications like Tylenol or, uh, Advil, 

[00:51:45] Naproxen, 

[00:51:46] you 

[00:51:46] know, something for an anti

[00:51:47] inflammatory, those are really key

[00:51:50] to get through that. Also, caffeine

[00:51:51] can really 

[00:51:51] help when somebody's grumpy. that, one's a 

[00:51:54] magic little one 

[00:51:56] Mark: I mean, the, the far alarm was what, 17

[00:51:59] [00:52:00] hours,

[00:52:00] Amy: Yeah, 17, just over 17 hours, yeah. 

[00:52:02] Mark: is a long time to be in the water. I mean, 

[00:52:05] what's, is that the longest 

[00:52:06] swim in terms of, uh, duration? 

[00:52:08] Amy: No. 

[00:52:09] I

[00:52:10] Monterey Bay and Santa Monica Bay were about the same 

[00:52:14] distance 

[00:52:14] and about the same time, 

[00:52:16] so. 

[00:52:17] I 

[00:52:17] feel like I 

[00:52:18] I 

[00:52:18] knew that I could do that for that length of time. 

[00:52:20] I 

[00:52:20] have 

[00:52:21] friends 

[00:52:21] that 

[00:52:21] have 

[00:52:21] swam 

[00:52:22] for 

[00:52:22] longer 

[00:52:23] than 

[00:52:23] 24

[00:52:23] hours 

[00:52:24] and they call it the 24 hour club. I don't think that I'm there. Like, that's their wheelhouse, but I think I'm just shy of that. 

[00:52:32] I don't 

[00:52:34] really 

[00:52:34] think that 

[00:52:34] I would want to push 

[00:52:35] past 

[00:52:36] that 

[00:52:36] And 

[00:52:36] I've 

[00:52:36] known,

[00:52:37] one 

[00:52:37] of 

[00:52:38] my 

[00:52:38] favorite

[00:52:38] people 

[00:52:39] on this 

[00:52:39] earth is Sarah Thomas. She swam four back to back 

[00:52:42] English channels,

[00:52:44] and it was like 84 hours. it was ridiculous, 

[00:52:47] like unbelievable, 

[00:52:48] superhuman. 

[00:52:49] Mark: what was it, Diane, Diane

[00:52:51] Nyad. was

[00:52:52] Amy: Nyad. Diana 

[00:52:52] Nyad, 

[00:52:53] yes.

[00:52:53] What 

[00:52:53] Mark: the length of her

[00:52:54] swim 

[00:52:55] Amy: hers? was, 

[00:52:56] I think 80 miles, or 80, between 80 and 100 miles. It's a long [00:53:00] distance. 

[00:53:00] that would 

[00:53:00] be 

[00:53:01] quite 

[00:53:01] a 

[00:53:01] few hours as 

[00:53:02] well. 

[00:53:02] Oh yeah, 

[00:53:02] Hers 

[00:53:03] was 

[00:53:03] definitely, 

[00:53:03] I

[00:53:03] think 40 some odd hours, something like

[00:53:06] that, yeah.

[00:53:07] And I just don't know how people

[00:53:08] can do that, 

[00:53:09] like, 

[00:53:10] that's superhuman, honestly.

[00:53:12] Mark: Well, I,

[00:53:14] don't think it's all relative, isn't it? So, so 

[00:53:18] let's talk about that experience.

[00:53:22] You 

[00:53:22] knew,

[00:53:23] what 

[00:53:23] was 

[00:53:23] it that 

[00:53:24] made 

[00:53:24] you go, right, I'm 

[00:53:24] going 

[00:53:24] to 

[00:53:24] be, I'm going to do this. I believe I can do it. 

[00:53:28] I believe 

[00:53:29] it's possible. 

[00:53:30] Amy: Well, it's kind of an obsession.

[00:53:33] We live 

[00:53:33] very close

[00:53:34] to

[00:53:34] the beach 

[00:53:35] and we are always watching water 

[00:53:37] and 

[00:53:39] Always looking at the

[00:53:39] water and when you see those islands peak out 

[00:53:43] on the

[00:53:44] horizon because it's not every day that they show themselves

[00:53:48] But when you 

[00:53:48] see them, they're kind of creepy and

[00:53:50] odd And I read the

[00:53:53] book devil's teeth and I kind of became obsessively 

[00:53:57] kind 

[00:53:58] of 

[00:53:58] inspired by those islands.

[00:53:59] [00:54:00] I thought they were kind of creepy

[00:54:02] And I I would joke with my husband. I'm like, you know, 

[00:54:05] I could swim 

[00:54:06] there. and 

[00:54:06] He 

[00:54:06] would

[00:54:06] laugh. 

[00:54:07] Ha ha. 

[00:54:07] ha. That's 

[00:54:08] funny.

[00:54:08] Yeah, 

[00:54:08] I 

[00:54:09] bet 

[00:54:09] you 

[00:54:09] could. I know 

[00:54:10] you could. 

[00:54:11] And 

[00:54:12] as 

[00:54:13] that 

[00:54:13] joking started

[00:54:16] turning into a strategy that my husband was really hopeful, hoping 

[00:54:20] to talk me out of,

[00:54:23] it 

[00:54:24] was 

[00:54:24] a few 

[00:54:24] years 

[00:54:25] in 

[00:54:25] the making 

[00:54:25] that 

[00:54:25] it 

[00:54:26] started

[00:54:27] that 

[00:54:27] I 

[00:54:27] could 

[00:54:28] strategize to 

[00:54:28] plan for this. 

[00:54:29] But 

[00:54:29] before 

[00:54:30] I 

[00:54:30] could 

[00:54:30] even 

[00:54:30] do 

[00:54:30] that, 

[00:54:31] I 

[00:54:31] had 

[00:54:31] to 

[00:54:31] swim 

[00:54:31] the 

[00:54:31] North 

[00:54:32] Channel, 

[00:54:32] Monterey 

[00:54:33] Bay, 

[00:54:33] Santa 

[00:54:33] Monica 

[00:54:34] Bay,

[00:54:34] So 

[00:54:34] I 

[00:54:34] knew that 

[00:54:35] I had

[00:54:35] the cold and the distance, 

[00:54:36] so I had to build 

[00:54:37] up to it. 

[00:54:38] So 

[00:54:38] once 

[00:54:38] I 

[00:54:38] finished 

[00:54:39] all those swims and I was joking about it, he knew I was 

[00:54:41] serious. 

[00:54:42] Mark: Were 

[00:54:42] you 

[00:54:42] telling your 

[00:54:43] colleagues that you train with as well about this

[00:54:45] ambition? 

[00:54:46] Amy: Some, 

[00:54:47] some 

[00:54:47] knew. 

[00:54:48] Mark: And 

[00:54:48] did they think you were nuts? 

[00:54:50] Amy: Oh, 

[00:54:50] absolutely. 

[00:54:51] But 

[00:54:51] we're 

[00:54:52] the 

[00:54:52] type 

[00:54:52] of nuts.

[00:54:53] that 

[00:54:53] you 

[00:54:53] say, 

[00:54:54] well, 

[00:54:54] let's 

[00:54:54] do this. 

[00:54:55] And 

[00:54:55] they're 

[00:54:55] like, that's absolutely 

[00:54:56] crazy. 

[00:54:57] So 

[00:54:57] what time 

[00:54:57] are we showing up? 

[00:54:58] So, [00:55:00] so I don't know if they're the most realistic influencers because they'll encourage my crazy. And my husband was really trying to talk me out of it.

[00:55:08] because it's scary. 

[00:55:10] Mark: Your kids must have

[00:55:11] also been a bit 

[00:55:12] Amy: They were a little freaked out too. Yeah. I'm not going to lie.

[00:55:15] Yeah. Yeah. And 

[00:55:16] I mean, that's why

[00:55:17] it 

[00:55:17] went viral that 

[00:55:19] I'm 

[00:55:19] the 

[00:55:19] grandmother, that's why, because 

[00:55:21] I 

[00:55:21] have a 

[00:55:22] lot 

[00:55:22] in 

[00:55:23] my family 

[00:55:23] that 

[00:55:24] would 

[00:55:24] be

[00:55:26] like suffering a big loss if that didn't go well.

[00:55:29] So I had a lot at 

[00:55:30] stake to accomplish this one. 

[00:55:34] Mark: So for people that don't know, why is it I mean, I think people think about great white sharks, in terms of South Africa, Australia, don't really associate San Francisco as being the major breeding ground of great whites.

[00:55:54] I mean, what level are we talking here of great whites in terms of the 

[00:55:58] risk level? [00:56:00] 

[00:56:00] Amy: Well, they refer to.

[00:56:03] the Red

[00:56:03] Triangle

[00:56:04] in 

[00:56:04] the San Francisco Bay Area. So the Farallones

[00:56:07] to Bodega Bay down to 

[00:56:09] Santa Cruz area. 

[00:56:11] And 

[00:56:12] statistically, 

[00:56:13] that's the highest number of sharks that they've seen. I mean, they filmed shark Week 

[00:56:16] out 

[00:56:17] at the Farallons. So 

[00:56:18] they know, 

[00:56:19] and they've been doing, 

[00:56:20] Mark: that there was

[00:56:20] a film called Jaws 

[00:56:21] Amy: Oh, that too.

[00:56:22] But

[00:56:23] I think that was actually on the East coast, which actually 

[00:56:26] has 

[00:56:26] a resurgence of like

[00:56:28] a 

[00:56:28] significant great white population. 

[00:56:30] I think just 

[00:56:31] in general, humans do not 

[00:56:33] want to be prey. 

[00:56:34] We

[00:56:35] like to be the hunter. We don't like to be hunted. So I think, 

[00:56:38] like 

[00:56:38] bears and cougars

[00:56:41] and 

[00:56:42] great 

[00:56:42] whites are terrifying to

[00:56:44] most humans. 

[00:56:45] because it's something that's hunting 

[00:56:46] us. 

[00:56:49] Mark: how did you 

[00:56:49] confront 

[00:56:51] that?

[00:56:52] Because 

[00:56:52] it must have 

[00:56:53] been a

[00:56:54] thought at 

[00:56:54] the 

[00:56:54] forefront 

[00:56:55] of your mind. 

[00:56:56] I 

[00:56:56] mean, leaving aside jellyfish 

[00:56:58] that are gonna sting you, 

[00:56:59] You're 

[00:56:59] not 

[00:56:59] wearing a [00:57:00] wetsuit, you're not in a cage. No.

[00:57:03] And it, was it

[00:57:03] daytime

[00:57:04] or nighttime? 

[00:57:05] Amy: I 

[00:57:05] started in at three in the morning. So it was dark.

[00:57:09] Yeah. 

[00:57:11] You 

[00:57:11] know,

[00:57:13] You can't accomplish the swim. It's a, if it's in the front of your brain. 

[00:57:16] you have to put it back in the back 

[00:57:18] And 

[00:57:19] I had to just know that 

[00:57:22] I

[00:57:22] had. 

[00:57:24] What 

[00:57:24] are the statistics of swimmers in this area being hit by a shark?

[00:57:28] Very low.

[00:57:30] I mean, 

[00:57:30] it 

[00:57:30] has 

[00:57:30] happened and it's been documented, 

[00:57:32] but I 

[00:57:33] Mark: they haven't gone swimming at the breeding ground. 

[00:57:35] Amy: That's true. I did 

[00:57:36] talk

[00:57:37] to the shark specialists in 

[00:57:38] the 

[00:57:38] area. 

[00:57:39] they gave 

[00:57:41] me a time window 

[00:57:42] where 

[00:57:42] there 

[00:57:42] was 

[00:57:42] less 

[00:57:43] sharks 

[00:57:43] at the island. Now there's resident sharks at the island, 

[00:57:48] but.

[00:57:49] the

[00:57:49] migratory pattern of the sharks, 

[00:57:52] typically between 

[00:57:54] March Through the end of July beginning of August time, 

[00:57:59] there 

[00:57:59] are [00:58:00] less

[00:58:00] sharks. So that was my window I had to work with. 

[00:58:03] and 

[00:58:03] I 

[00:58:04] had to kind 

[00:58:04] of 

[00:58:04] weigh

[00:58:06] Do 

[00:58:06] I want 

[00:58:07] less 

[00:58:07] sharks, colder water, 

[00:58:09] or

[00:58:10] warmer 

[00:58:10] water and 

[00:58:11] possibility 

[00:58:11] of 

[00:58:11] more 

[00:58:12] sharks? And 

[00:58:12] I 

[00:58:12] opted for the colder water and less Sharks. So 

[00:58:15] I 

[00:58:16] was trying 

[00:58:16] to 

[00:58:16] be 

[00:58:17] reasonable 

[00:58:18] about

[00:58:19] understanding 

[00:58:20] and appreciating 

[00:58:21] the 

[00:58:22] the wildlife.

[00:58:24] so I'm not going to 

[00:58:25] lie. 

[00:58:25] Did

[00:58:26] I couldn't see

[00:58:27] anything now.

[00:58:30] I 

[00:58:30] will tell you 

[00:58:31] that I think that was the

[00:58:33] best 

[00:58:34] for 

[00:58:34] me 

[00:58:34] to 

[00:58:34] have 

[00:58:35] like 

[00:58:35] a 

[00:58:35] sensory deprivation. I 

[00:58:36] had 

[00:58:37] a 

[00:58:37] bubble 

[00:58:37] of 

[00:58:37] fog 

[00:58:38] around me,

[00:58:39] which 

[00:58:39] actually 

[00:58:40] prevented 

[00:58:40] too 

[00:58:40] much wind, which was 

[00:58:41] great. 

[00:58:42] But literally a hundred meters in any which direction was the only visibility we had. And I 

[00:58:48] was on a big fishing

[00:58:48] trawler. so I was like, Everybody radar

[00:58:51] can see 

[00:58:52] him 

[00:58:52] and 

[00:58:52] he 

[00:58:52] could 

[00:58:52] see 

[00:58:52] everybody on 

[00:58:53] radar. 

[00:58:54] So

[00:58:54] we

[00:58:54] are safe, 

[00:58:55] but 

[00:58:56] we 

[00:58:56] couldn't 

[00:58:56] see 

[00:58:57] anything 

[00:58:57] and 

[00:58:59] there 

[00:58:59] was red 

[00:58:59] [00:59:00] tide in the water, 

[00:59:00] So 

[00:59:00] I 

[00:59:00] couldn't 

[00:59:01] see 

[00:59:01] anything 

[00:59:01] past my fingertips. Now. have been 

[00:59:04] on a 

[00:59:04] round 

[00:59:04] trip. 

[00:59:05] relay 

[00:59:06] Red 

[00:59:06] tide is an algae in the water and 

[00:59:10] it

[00:59:11] Makes 

[00:59:11] the water 

[00:59:12] kind 

[00:59:12] of a

[00:59:12] murky brown 

[00:59:14] So the visibility is

[00:59:15] completely skewed 

[00:59:16] But 

[00:59:17] I have 

[00:59:18] been on a relay to and from the Farallons before 

[00:59:21] And I just remember I could

[00:59:22] see into 

[00:59:22] infinity

[00:59:23] Like in this crystal blue water. And I was kind of expecting 

[00:59:27] that, 

[00:59:27] but what I got

[00:59:28] was

[00:59:29] nothing 

[00:59:30] And I think that was actually better, because then I didn't have to have an imagination of what was that shadow, or 

[00:59:36] did I, was that, 

[00:59:37] you 

[00:59:37] know, 

[00:59:38] I 

[00:59:39] didn't have to go 

[00:59:39] there.

[00:59:40] And 

[00:59:40] what 

[00:59:40] about 

[00:59:41] jellyfish?

[00:59:42] they're a, they're a bugger. They, they're the nastiest, 

[00:59:45] most

[00:59:46] realistic

[00:59:47] obstacle to most of these big swims 

[00:59:49] are 

[00:59:49] the Jellyfish. my 

[00:59:52] Monterey Bay, 

[00:59:53] I 

[00:59:53] got 

[00:59:54] stung 

[00:59:54] probably 

[00:59:55] a 

[00:59:55] thousand 

[00:59:55] times, 

[00:59:56] and 

[00:59:56] I 

[00:59:56] swam 

[00:59:56] through 

[00:59:56] miles 

[00:59:57] and 

[00:59:57] miles 

[00:59:57] of 

[00:59:58] thick 

[00:59:58] jellies 

[00:59:58] where 

[00:59:59] I couldn't [01:00:00] even, 

[01:00:00] It 

[01:00:01] was 

[01:00:01] like swimming 

[01:00:01] in 

[01:00:01] jello. It 

[01:00:02] was that bad and that thick. I was, 

[01:00:04] Oh 

[01:00:05] yeah, 

[01:00:05] head to toe. 

[01:00:07] Mark: did you, do you become sort of um, anesthetized to

[01:00:10] it, or do they 

[01:00:11] continue? 

[01:00:11] Amy: I took allergy medicine to kind of quell it and I was really swollen after the swim. I didn't have any respiratory issues but 

[01:00:19] the 

[01:00:20] only 

[01:00:20] thing 

[01:00:20] I 

[01:00:20] kept thinking to myself was 

[01:00:21] this 

[01:00:22] is 

[01:00:22] absolutely 

[01:00:22] horrible but 

[01:00:23] I'm not 

[01:00:24] going to do 

[01:00:24] this again 

[01:00:25] so I 

[01:00:25] better 

[01:00:25] just finish 

[01:00:25] it. 

[01:00:26] So I 

[01:00:27] did.

[01:00:28] So 

[01:00:28] I 

[01:00:28] did, 

[01:00:30] And 

[01:00:30] when I was swimming on 

[01:00:31] the Farallons, there 

[01:00:32] was waves of where there were jellies, but it 

[01:00:34] was certainly not to that same level. 

[01:00:37] Oh yeah, 

[01:00:38] I 

[01:00:38] had to peel them 

[01:00:39] off 

[01:00:39] my face 

[01:00:39] because you 

[01:00:40] couldn't see them coming at you and 

[01:00:42] they 

[01:00:43] were that brown 

[01:00:44] water 

[01:00:44] and 

[01:00:44] they're a brown colored 

[01:00:45] jellyfish. You 

[01:00:46] don't 

[01:00:46] see 

[01:00:46] them.

[01:00:47] And so 

[01:00:47] I 

[01:00:47] just would peel it and 

[01:00:48] throw 

[01:00:49] it 

[01:00:50] off 

[01:00:50] my face.

[01:00:51] Yeah, and so my arms got stung and you know they wrap around you a little bit.

[01:00:57] It kind of sucked. [01:01:00] And

[01:01:01] Mark: And the stinging doesn't put you into like a, it's the anaphylactic

[01:01:05] shock or anything like that. 

[01:01:06] Amy: I am very lucky that I don't react to them.

[01:01:09] to that level, but I have several friends that are very reactive to jellyfish. So we have a strategy with

[01:01:14] medicines. So the red tide is an algae, which I was reacting

[01:01:19] to a little bit, but I used allergy medicine balanced with

[01:01:22] another

[01:01:23] H2 blocker that

[01:01:25] people take that helped potentiate and

[01:01:28] it helped balance me.

[01:01:29] So I was fine. 

[01:01:31] Mark: What 

[01:01:32] do you think you've learned about

[01:01:33] yourself over these mammoth marathon swims that you've

[01:01:37] done? 

[01:01:37] Amy: Then I'm a pretty tough cookie. 

[01:01:39] Mark: it's been 10 years you've been doing this.

[01:01:42] Amy: Yeah, I know. That's not very long, really, in the overall scheme of

[01:01:45] things. 

[01:01:46] Mark: Have your family observed a difference in you?

[01:01:49] Amy: I would say, yeah. I mean, I think they knew that I'm a pretty strong and reliable and solid person, but now it's just at amp 10.[01:02:00] 

[01:02:01] or maybe 11.

[01:02:01] 11. 

[01:02:03] Mark: And so what about your, I mean, your grand, you said you're a grandmother. Mm-Hmm. . I mean, how do you think, I mean, you talked, going back to the beginning in terms of who you are as a human being.

[01:02:14] I mean, it's not many grandchildren look at their grandmother and could say, yeah, my grandmother swam, across the, the Irish Sea from Scotland to Ireland or, uh, through shark infested waters. I mean, it's a. pretty heroic, superhuman sort of task. What impact do you think that has going to have on their life experience?

[01:02:36] And what influence or impact do you think it's going to have on them? Or would you like to hope it's going to have on

[01:02:41] them? 

[01:02:41] Amy: Well, really what I

[01:02:43] hope is that they're proud of it, that they know that anything is possible, especially if you work hard toward

[01:02:51] it and that

[01:02:54] Don't let age

[01:02:55] or anything stop you from accomplishing your goals.[01:03:00] 

[01:03:00] And just to say that they got a badass grandma

[01:03:04] is pretty darn cool.

[01:03:07] I like that one the best. 

[01:03:09] Mark: If you don't challenge your husband to something like get out there and

[01:03:11] do something as well.

[01:03:12] Amy: You know he'll join me for a swim

[01:03:14] every now and then, but you know, we have our separate like interests, but they're all water focused.

[01:03:20] So it's kind of nice. So when we go on vacation, we both can

[01:03:23] enjoy, he can surf, I can swim. it works 

[01:03:26] well. 

[01:03:28] Mark: Have you been surprised by the the limits, the physical and mental limits that you've got

[01:03:35] Amy: when 

[01:03:35] Mark: you set out to

[01:03:37] do this? 

[01:03:38] Amy: I think I'm pretty

[01:03:39] surprised by my mental aptitude for sure. I

[01:03:45] didn't underappreciate it before, but now seeing and helping crew on a lot of swims and seeing a lot of other

[01:03:53] swimmers and a lot of friends that I've met across the

[01:03:56] world. I think I

[01:03:59] [01:04:00] definitely Am in a different

[01:04:01] category than a lot of them, but I do surround

[01:04:04] myself by liked minds.

[01:04:06] So our crazy

[01:04:08] is

[01:04:09] kind of equally appreciated and is

[01:04:11] supported And we help one another kind of define that and kind of keep that

[01:04:17] that edge because I think it's a real attribute

[01:04:21] physically, Yeah, I'm totally surprised because I'm 56 now.

[01:04:27] I am not necessarily what one would define of as an elite

[01:04:32] appearing

[01:04:33] athlete And

[01:04:35] I could blow your mind if I'm in the water and i'm not

[01:04:38] fast either. I'm a solid

[01:04:40] swimmer and that's also,

[01:04:42] you know, a mind blower

[01:04:43] because people will be like, wow, and you can keep going. And I'm like, yep.

[01:04:49] And I'm a strong

[01:04:50] swimmer, but I really

[01:04:52] think that I would love

[01:04:55] surprising people. That's my favorite

[01:04:58] thing. 

[01:04:58] Mark: I interviewed [01:05:00] um, um, an English woman who's an artist in um, called Shantel Martin.

[01:05:04] And she does black and white line drawings and she's just done all of Times Square, with her line drawings. And she's based on this this idea of you are you. And asking the question, who are you? And Shantal's amazing sort of character.

[01:05:21] And, and she's done loads of collaborations with brands and this. But the one when I interviewed her. She gave me this wonderful quote that I've, I've, I've, I've published it a few times.

[01:05:32] She talks about the way I think about life is I get into this rowing boat and I row out into the middle of a lake and I row and I row and I row. And around me these ripples go out to the side of the lake. When I sit in the middle of the lake, they start to come back again. But the more of the ripples I not row, the more ripples come back to me. So that's the way I think about the impact in life. So you were talking there, I was just thinking.

[01:05:57] You're having a ripple effect, not just on your children, your [01:06:00] grandchildren, your near family, it's probably on the people around you, it's the other swimmers, it's your colleagues, it's your patients, maybe people do start to reconsider what's possible and believe things that may have been perceived to be beyond their capabilities to inspire people through the ripple effect that you're having.

[01:06:23] Which I think is really interesting. So what would you say now at 56 years old and continuing with this, what other ambitions have you got for your swimming and the challenges that lie

[01:06:37] ahead? 

[01:06:38] Amy: Well first and foremost, I, I get a lot of satisfaction of inspiring others and that

[01:06:46] right there is so fulfilling.

[01:06:51] And I want that ripple effect to

[01:06:53] keep going and that's where I get my most

[01:06:56] pleasure is just seeing that come back and seeing how [01:07:00] that does impact people. I love that.

[01:07:02] As far as my personal goals,

[01:07:06] I have a year and a half left

[01:07:08] to work. I'm going to finish out my profession, but as far as swimming goes,

[01:07:13] the next two swims that are on my radar and kind of in my wheelhouse and striking like distance is the Strait of Juan de

[01:07:24] Fuca, which is between the northern part of

[01:07:26] Washington, between Port

[01:07:28] Townsend and Victoria Island.

[01:07:32] And the reason I want to do that is I have a brother who lives in

[01:07:36] Vancouver and he looks down the

[01:07:38] Strait, but right now he's with stage four pancreatic And if I could do that

[01:07:46] to

[01:07:46] honor him, You know, he has to fight

[01:07:48] every day,

[01:07:49] but That might be a few hours worth of difficulty for me, but

[01:07:54] he could literally watch down the street and know I'm doing it.

[01:07:58] And that to

[01:07:58] me is [01:08:00] a personal triumph that I'm When do you think you'll do that? Oh, I've been looking for

[01:08:15] a I want to see what it looks like. I'm going to have to 

[01:08:18] Mark: come 

[01:08:18] along and witness that.

[01:08:19] Yes! Yes! Can you 

[01:08:21] let 

[01:08:21] Amy: us 

[01:08:23] know when that will be?

[01:08:24] Yeah, that's going to be probably August 2026 and so we're strategizing for that right now. 

[01:08:32] Mark: Scotland in August. Okay, Because 

[01:08:34] Speaker 2: have to make it time 

[01:08:35] That sounds 

[01:08:36] great. 

[01:08:37] Amy: Yeah, longer hours.

[01:08:38] Because that lake, they say, is a really hard one, it's cold, it's long

[01:08:43] distance, but they all,

[01:08:46] because of

[01:08:46] the peat, you know, lake bed, it's a black water.

[01:08:51] And so all the swimmers that swim it say they felt their soul being sucked out. And I think that just sounds so intriguing,

[01:08:59] and [01:09:00] I just want to do it.

[01:09:01] Mark: Wow. I think that's one to go and do a little documentary on. 

[01:09:05] Amy: Maybe 

[01:09:06] Mark: I have to do 

[01:09:06] Speaker 2: that,

[01:09:07] right, 

[01:09:07] Mark: Sam? Put that, put that, in the show 

[01:09:09] notes. 

[01:09:10] Speaker 2: More without that Yeah. Well, 

[01:09:13] not 

[01:09:14] Speaker 3: No, I'm not going to swim. I

[01:09:16] might 

[01:09:17] Amy: get you in for a dip. though. I can be quite influential, you know. 

[01:09:22] Mark: worries 

[01:09:24] me. 

[01:09:25] I was telling Elaine, she said, Don't you have any 

[01:09:28] ideas about 

[01:09:28] getting into that San Francisco Bay?

[01:09:30] I put my toes 

[01:09:31] in 

[01:09:31] there, I 

[01:09:32] was like, Are you kidding? I'm not a, 

[01:09:34] um, Hof.

[01:09:35] Speaker 2: Well, it does help,

[01:09:38] Mark: I did I did infuse someone yesterday.

[01:09:40] Noam 

[01:09:41] Saghi, who's a Israeli psychotherapist turned, uh, functional health expert, and he's built 

[01:09:48] this business in 

[01:09:49] London called VidaV and what they look at is how to create personalized individual health. Based on biomarkers of 4D body scan and [01:10:00] the three treatments they give you is called breathe, freeze and squeeze.

[01:10:04] So you go in this ionization chamber where they throw out all these negative ions to offset the positive ions we get bombarded with being in cities. You put in a cryotherapy chamber to minus 190 that shots the system for four minutes and then puts you into a squeeze thing which is a NASA technology to get the blood flow Uh, to flush out all the toxins and I've been in the cryotherapy chamber in Austin quite a few times and I love it.

[01:10:33] But getting into cold 

[01:10:34] water,

[01:10:34] Speaker 2: I think you would be surprised. 

[01:10:37] Amy: Mark, we gotta try. I think, I think I can get you,

[01:10:42] honestly. And it's just, it takes your breath away. But you know, like in that cryo chamber, you've already done even colder, you know, it just, it really, afterwards your body is just, 

[01:10:53] Mark: a wee pair of boots on.

[01:10:54] A wee pair of gloves.

[01:10:55] Amy: that's okay. you can wear you can wear the wee pair of gloves and the wee pair of boots. That's That's 

[01:10:59] Mark: fine. I'm [01:11:00] like, ah, right, can we change the subject please? Let's talk about wine.

[01:11:05] Okay, so, 

[01:11:08] getting 

[01:11:09] towards the End. What 

[01:11:10] would 

[01:11:10] your 

[01:11:11] advice be to anyone? 

[01:11:12] I'm 

[01:11:12] not 

[01:11:12] talking 

[01:11:12] about myself. And 

[01:11:14] I'm not a 

[01:11:14] bad 

[01:11:15] swimmer, I'll just say that.

[01:11:15] I was my school backstroke champion. What would you give your advice be to someone that's considering the first open water swim, apart 

[01:11:23] from don't do 

[01:11:24] it? 

[01:11:24] Amy: You know, honestly, the first thing that I would say to anybody that wants to embark out into open water,

[01:11:31] or as they call it over in Europe, wild swimming, it's,

[01:11:36] You need to educate yourself kind of on what to expect as far as the water that you're going to enter. If you're going into a lake, you know, where are those hazards? Where are the drop offs? Where are things you need to avoid? Safer entrance, safer exits.

[01:11:53] In the San Francisco Bay, learning a little bit about what

[01:11:57] constitutes a safer time [01:12:00] to swim because of the currents, the tides, locations. Where it's safer to choose to swim. because you

[01:12:07] might think that that cute little beach looks great right

[01:12:10] now, but then at a tide going out

[01:12:13] you have to walk across a lot of rocks that might not be so pleasant on the way back. So you have to really

[01:12:19] take the time to kind of know what you're getting into physically first and then

[01:12:25] try to meet somebody to be there with

[01:12:28] you. Cause you know misery always loves company. And the fact that

[01:12:32] The You know, you're together is safer in general. If you're swimming with friends. It just really is a safer option and

[01:12:41] approach things slowly.

[01:12:43] like you do not have to go out and swim a marathon your

[01:12:47] first day like limiting the time to just 10 minutes. The first time you enter a water.

[01:12:53] And then building up from

[01:12:54] there is kind of how you got to do it. You got to do it gentle and slow, Build up your strength your [01:13:00] capability and your comfort in that water And you'd be surprised, but honestly, I've swam all over this world

[01:13:09] and have the most incredible engagement with people that have

[01:13:14] tried different things in different locations. And that's inspiring

[01:13:17] to me,

[01:13:19] but they took the time to really strategize and

[01:13:21] learn at first.

[01:13:22] Mark: apart from the 

[01:13:22] physical 

[01:13:23] benefits, what do you think the value is of pushing your 

[01:13:26] body 

[01:13:27] to 

[01:13:27] that 

[01:13:28] level 

[01:13:28] for mental health?

[01:13:30] Amy: my gosh, It is so underappreciated, the

[01:13:32] mental health aspect of it. The cold water, first of all, is one of the best things for your mind. It literally chills you out.

[01:13:41] You go into the water

[01:13:43] and your brain can think of nothing and I think it's really

[01:13:46] freeing because we're always spinning in our heads. 

[01:13:50] Mark: So in a way it's a, it's a extreme meditation.

[01:13:53] Amy: and that's exactly what you

[01:13:55] go to when you start getting in that

[01:13:57] rhythmic pattern of when you're swimming [01:14:00] So I think mentally it's so good for that And then it really calms down your emotions too, because if you can have a calm mind You Your emotions will also mirror that.

[01:14:11] So the three benefits of the health and shocking your system with the colder water, they've proven that it has a huge impact. And the salt water in

[01:14:21] general, those ions,

[01:14:23] those

[01:14:24] ions really

[01:14:25] help preserve your ability to keep calm and I think it's really It's been on the increase of popularity

[01:14:36] And I think the Gen Zers are really capturing cold plunging and the Wim Hof and all of these meditative and mental health as being a priority I really appreciate that that they're bringing it to the forefront.

[01:14:51] Mark: On a personal 

[01:14:52] level, 

[01:14:53] what 

[01:14:53] do you

[01:14:53] think has been the most rewarding aspect of your swimming?

[01:14:57] Amy: The most rewarding aspect has [01:15:00] been the connection with people worldwide. I literally met somebody at the

[01:15:04] airport yesterday that I've never physically

[01:15:07] met in person, but the connections that we have and the, the fact that he's an open water

[01:15:12] swimmer, he was joking with

[01:15:15] his colleagues. they're like, you don't

[01:15:16] know

[01:15:16] this person from a psycho killer. And He goes, Oh, I know when you meet another open water person, an open water swimmer.

[01:15:24] who's in this community, you know what you're going to expect. Like I picked him up at the airport. we did a double Alcatraz, which was on his bucket list of things to do. 

[01:15:33] Mark: Might not be psycho killer, but psycho, definitely.

[01:15:37] Amy: Double 

[01:15:38] Mark: Encotras, I mean, come on! 

[01:15:41] Amy: we both had the best time and it was fabulous. And just going anywhere in the world and meeting up with open water swimmers, we know what we're going to get. It's fabulous. 

[01:15:49] Mark: Wow, amazing. You're almost persuading me. misconceptions about marathon

[01:15:56] swimming or older athletes would you like to address?

[01:15:59] Amy: [01:16:00] You know

[01:16:02] I think our society is just built around so many

[01:16:05] stereotypes that anytime somebody can challenge

[01:16:10] Or question someone's mind about that stereotype, I think that's the best

[01:16:15] thing ever. I know that we've only thought our best athletes were in their younger

[01:16:22] twenties. And look in this

[01:16:23] past Olympics. there were several athletes in their thirties, forties had Children like we're blowing

[01:16:29] that stereotype out of the water. as it is in our general athletic population

[01:16:35] And I

[01:16:35] just think that the glass ceiling needs to be broken, and I'm

[01:16:39] so grateful that it's

[01:16:40] being challenged And I am glad to be part

[01:16:43] of that as well. 

[01:16:46] Mark: Um, what's got other What causes or issues would you like to bring to attention through your swimming?

[01:16:53] Amy: You know, I, I have the usual ones of, you know, preserving

[01:16:58] and protecting [01:17:00] clean water

[01:17:01] and, you know, any initiatives that support preservation there.

[01:17:07] I think just in, you know, the cancer research is really dear, near and dear to my heart. I have now two brothers that have

[01:17:13] cancer that are now in their treatment phases and, you know, that's terrifying for me,

[01:17:19] but you know, they learned a lot through the genetic

[01:17:22] testing and what we can accomplish with more research in that area is near and dear to my heart.

[01:17:29] But I just hope in general

[01:17:32] to support any cause that promotes kindness or interaction with

[01:17:38] compassion to one another. If we could be just good humans, I don't even care if it's just One individual just being kind to another one that they normally

[01:17:46] wouldn't have. That to me is a And that's the simplest gesture that hopefully can be everybody can adapt. I would, I would be more excited about

[01:17:57] that than anything 

[01:17:58] Mark: Wish our political [01:18:00] leaders would pay attention to that.

[01:18:02] Anyway, that's a different subject. 

[01:18:03] Yeah

[01:18:04] Speaker 2: exactly. 

[01:18:04] Mark: Who or what inspires you to keep getting up every 

[01:18:07] day getting in the water 

[01:18:08] and keep changing the world for the better?

[01:18:12] Speaker 3: Ah, 

[01:18:13] Amy: God, I've got a lot of people that I use as my inspiration. I mentioned Sarah Thomas, who is a swimmer who did four back to back

[01:18:20] English You know, she's a cancer survivor and she is also one of the

[01:18:25] most kind

[01:18:25] human beings I've ever met. There's another swimmer who was also from my childhood that was

[01:18:31] uh, an idol, Lynn

[01:18:33] Cox. And not many people know about her, but she swam from the Aleutian Islands to

[01:18:40] Russia. During the Cold War in the eighties. And she had to write letters to

[01:18:48] the,

[01:18:48] the government over on the coast where she was going to land. And she had no idea if

[01:18:54] she was going to be welcome on that shore.

[01:18:56] And sure enough, the day that she swam, they were there and [01:19:00] they met her.

[01:19:00] And Because of that

[01:19:02] swim it was the beginning of the

[01:19:04] cooling of the Cold War and I could tell you pivotally if you do your research On that timeline it was what that was a

[01:19:12] pivotal point in breaking down the

[01:19:14] barricades and the barriers that

[01:19:19] So she is so

[01:19:20] underappreciated

[01:19:21] and that is one of those heroes that I have. And guess what? These are both women. Love it.

[01:19:28] So those are my those are my swimming inspirations.

[01:19:31] Mark: We're all human. There are different ways we all have to deal with our own degree of uncertainty, self doubt, fears, whether it be of heights, getting in cold water, sharks, jellyfish. How do you deal with it? 

[01:19:44] Amy: My mantra is

[01:19:48] I can do hard things.

[01:19:50] Very simple, but I usually just take a deep breath. I mutter that to myself under my breath and I just start.

[01:19:59] Cause no one's ever [01:20:00] going to criticize you for just trying. and you might learn more out of a failure

[01:20:07] that could build you up for a better success later on. So you have nothing to lose by

[01:20:11] just trying. And I

[01:20:14] feel so lucky that I'm not the

[01:20:15] fastest and I'm not the best at anything that I was able to kind of develop

[01:20:21] that if I just went out and tried it, that's pretty darn good. And if I can accomplish it and see what happens,

[01:20:27] that it's just opened up the world

[01:20:29] to me. And most of the population is in that

[01:20:33] category. So it's so important to remember

[01:20:37] that if you're not one of the top elite

[01:20:39] elites, you have so much more

[01:20:42] latitude to try and fail. and

[01:20:45] people might not even notice you even tried if you don't share that with them, but your own internal. being will learn no matter what

[01:20:55] experience happens. So I

[01:20:57] don't set myself [01:21:00] up for a disappointment

[01:21:02] cause everything that I accomplish

[01:21:04] there's something to be gained by it. 

[01:21:07] Mark: That's good advice.

[01:21:09] Is there any book that 

[01:21:10] you'd recommend that maybe helped you on your journey?

[01:21:14] Amy: You know,

[01:21:16] I just recently read a book and I think it explained a lot for me Yeah. I take bits and pieces of a lot of books, but the latest book that

[01:21:23] I Just read is called tough broads

[01:21:28] It's by Caroline Paul.

[01:21:31] Just came out and was just published and I just downloaded it, read

[01:21:34] it, and I actually met her last week And I took her for a swim. but Should be I hope she's 

[01:21:42] Mark: doing a season doing a follow up book and you're in it 

[01:21:46] Amy: she reached out to me, she goes, I really wish I would have met you before we finished. But you know, who knows?

[01:21:51] There's another chapter always, ever. You know? So, but What I learned in that book was she backed a lot of the science behind as women

[01:21:59] [01:22:00] aged and how in our middle age and later years

[01:22:05] we're actually more adept and more Set up to succeed with these incredible adventures that we try and in her book. She does everything

[01:22:14] from bird watching to wing walking on an airplane and meeting up with the most incredible

[01:22:21] characters of You know aged in their middle

[01:22:24] 50s 60s up to like 90s And these women are so powerful and

[01:22:30] I just loved it. It resonated

[01:22:33] with my soul and kind of just,

[01:22:36] you know, put a blanket over. That's

[01:22:38] exactly how to tuck in this package right here of what this accomplishment means. 

[01:22:44] Mark: How'd you meet her? 

[01:22:46] Amy: reached out to me. She lives here in San Francisco. She's

[01:22:49] an author. And she reached out to me because

[01:22:53] of

[01:22:53] course, when she said, I just wrote this book, Tough Broads, and you know, you define this role.

[01:22:58] I had to reach [01:23:00] back out. And I, I really enjoy her as an

[01:23:03] individual as well. I

[01:23:05] think we're

[01:23:06] soul sisters in a lot of senses, but it's just, I love meeting powerful women. I think

[01:23:12] it's time that we get a little bit more respect society wise.

[01:23:18] And I just love this attention and this. It's kind of enlightenment. It's nice. 

[01:23:24] Mark: That's wonderful.

[01:23:24] I interviewed another person early on in the,

[01:23:27] podcast. Dr. Merit Moore, who's young, it's probably in her mid thirties now, but,

[01:23:33] she,

[01:23:34] is a, a quantum physicist ballerina and trained as an astronaut.

[01:23:40] Speaker 3: Oh, she is amazing.

[01:23:43] Mark: I mean, and her sister was like head of strategy for the Department of Defence, aged 32. Are you going, what? I mean, what about a Parr family? Yeah. And Merit's incredible and she was featured in a book,

[01:23:54] a cartoon book for young girls all about, and I can't remember what it's called, but it's, I think you'd like it.

[01:23:59] I'll [01:24:00] send it, I'll put it in the show notes

[01:24:01] Speaker 2: and send it to you. Oh, please, please do the merits of ticks that box as far as you're concerned.

[01:24:05] Amy: Oh yeah. I mean, anytime you can give somebody an example of what to aspire to. I think it just really does kind of challenge and break those glass ceilings, which I just. Push those horizons. Love it. Just love it.

[01:24:18] Mark: it. Cool. Is there any simple life hack or behaviour that you've discovered that you think people should be aware of? 

[01:24:26] Amy: I think that the, apart

[01:24:28] Mark: Apart from getting in cold 

[01:24:29] Amy: water every day, 

[01:24:31] I think the biggest thing is if you can

[01:24:36] take a minute to not look at the whole

[01:24:38] thing and break down whatever

[01:24:40] it is, whether it

[01:24:41] be, um, even just a problem in your life.

[01:24:44] If you look at the entirety,

[01:24:46] it's overwhelming and kind of exhausting to imagine, how am I going to get through this? But if you break it

[01:24:52] down in manageable

[01:24:53] pieces, you can accomplish anything. And also, as you're doing that, to take a moment to look [01:25:00] back,

[01:25:01] to see how far you've gone. and to celebrate those accomplishments because that will encourage you to keep going even when that road is steep, even when it's

[01:25:10] straight

[01:25:10] up But you could find that switchback. you could figure it out. And, but if you could just break it down,

[01:25:16] I think that's the most important advice 

[01:25:19] Mark: That's great advice

[01:25:21] Any documentary show movie that's inspired you that you think

[01:25:25] people should watch 

[01:25:27] Amy: Oh, goodness. There's a lot of them. I, I really loved Young Woman in the Sea about Trudy Ederle, the first woman who swam the English

[01:25:36] Channel. I thought that was brilliantly done. It was underappreciated. There's also a movie that was made

[01:25:43] about Mercedes Glintz over a European swimmer. She was from Britain and she swam the North Channel and did a lot of things

[01:25:51] that were kind of under the radar. That movie just came out and

[01:25:54] I can't think of the name of that

[01:25:56] one off the top of my head.

[01:25:58] I don't know. Yeah. I just [01:26:00] I just like anything that has just a good storyline,

[01:26:03] but those are the two that are swimming

[01:26:06] related that I, that just came out literally this year. This was the year of the women. the Diana Naya also came out

[01:26:12] so all three of those came out around the same

[01:26:14] timeframe. And of course, the one from Britain got a lot more attention overseas. Wasn't as popular here in the States, but it's still a brilliant show. love to put that out there. All 

[01:26:25] Speaker 2: right. 

[01:26:25] Mark: We're all about reciprocity connecting others, who are like minded. So if you're open to 

[01:26:32] it 

[01:26:33] and what we call random collisions, really engineer collisions between different guests,

[01:26:38] if you're open to it, we'll do it.

[01:26:40] I definitely think you'd probably need to be connected with someone like Chantel and also with Merit. I think you two would, hit it

[01:26:46] off. So yeah, so we'd like to see if there's serendipity 

[01:26:51] results 

[01:26:52] through some sort of connection. We'll see where it goes. 

[01:26:54] Amy: Yeah, that, that was, cause there was no end in sight. 

[01:26:57] Speaker 2: Like 

[01:26:57] Amy: They had no idea. Yeah, that's [01:27:00] 

[01:27:00] Mark: Well on that, Amy, 

[01:27:02] thank 

[01:27:02] you very 

[01:27:02] much 

[01:27:03] for 

[01:27:03] making the time And 

[01:27:04] the 

[01:27:04] final 

[01:27:05] question 

[01:27:06] for you is who do I interview

[01:27:07] next? 

[01:27:08] Amy: Goodness, I, I have my list. So,

[01:27:11] the first person who's one of my dear friends is Cameron Bellamy.

[01:27:16] He has rowed from Australia to

[01:27:21] Africa. with a team of rowers. He also was

[01:27:25] featured because he rode Antarctica to the South Pole, 

[01:27:30] Speaker 3: And 

[01:27:30] Amy: there's a documentary about him on National

[01:27:32] Geographic. He has done the Ocean's Seven Swims.

[01:27:35] I met him in Gibraltar, and we swam Gibraltar together, And he's one of the dearest people that I know.

[01:27:42] He's just finished his master's in

[01:27:45] quantum physics. 

[01:27:46] Mark: Oh. Well, 

[01:27:47] Speaker 4: okay. 

[01:27:47] Amy: And

[01:27:48] his brother is one of the top models for Ralph Lauren. so he's equally as,

[01:27:54] he's just, an, but he's the most humble man. His father was an incredible

[01:27:58] sailor [01:28:00] and his mother was an equestrian and top of her, like 

[01:28:04] Mark: Talk about in the jeans, eh? 

[01:28:05] Speaker 2: Oh yeah, 

[01:28:06] Amy: completely. And he was a Rhodes Scholar, went to Rhodes road there. I was a rower. So he's an amazing individual and, but he also was working in the stock market cause he did internet security was his profession and actually still is.

[01:28:21] He quit his job from

[01:28:22] Beijing and he got a bicycle and literally cycled from

[01:28:27] Beijing to the tip of India. Yeah, but he's only like in his, like, thirties. 

[01:28:32] He may be, Maybe 

[01:28:34] in his 

[01:28:34] forties now. 

[01:28:35] Mark: making someone feel they've wasted life.

[01:28:37] Oh my 

[01:28:37] gosh, 

[01:28:37] Amy: But he's, he's 

[01:28:38] an incredible person.

[01:28:39] And 

[01:28:39] I have his contact 

[01:28:40] information. 

[01:28:41] Mark: Okay, well let's start with him and see where we get to. It makes me think as you're talking, I don't know if you've read the book Endurance? Endurance. Which, about, 

[01:28:50] obviously, 

[01:28:51] the, uh, the Antarctic and the, and the, and the ship.

[01:28:53] I mean, that's one of the most inspiring, books about the potential, the power of [01:29:00] human endurance. Yeah. To have rowed to South Georgia in a rowing boat, not knowing 

[01:29:06] you're going to survive, and leaving guys 

[01:29:07] in 

[01:29:07] the ice to 

[01:29:08] survive 

[01:29:09] for 

[01:29:09] two 

[01:29:09] years 

[01:29:10] on seal blubber,

[01:29:10] you can't, it's just

[01:29:12] it's I think if there's any, if there's any book I've read, I think that proves 

[01:29:17] the 

[01:29:18] physical endurance of human beings, as 

[01:29:20] well as 

[01:29:20] the mental. 

[01:29:21] You'd 

[01:29:21] have to do that. 

[01:29:22] To share your story.

[01:29:24] It is truly extraordinary. Uh, utterly inspiring. And, yeah, we'll have to, maybe I'll go and run away. Try and get away from the cold water before you drag me in 

[01:29:34] there.

[01:29:36] Speaker 2: You could come 

[01:29:36] up with 

[01:29:36] every excuse in the book. 

[01:29:37] Mark: Yeah, okay. But very much. And um, I look forward to continuing to follow your story as you, uh, take it to Loch Ness.

[01:29:46] And I'm, I aim to 

[01:29:47] be 

[01:29:48] there 

[01:29:48] to witness that 

[01:29:49] Speaker 2: I 

[01:29:49] think that would be 

[01:29:50] awesome. 

[01:29:51] Amy: that would be awesome. 

[01:29:53] Thank 

[01:29:53] you. 

[01:29:54] Mark: Okay, that's all for now, folks. Now here's my ask of you. Please follow this podcast on Apple [01:30:00] or Spotify or whatever player you use. Also, please subscribe to our new random Collisions newsletter. We really are working to build a global community of action takers, action engines of people that really care about the problems that need solving.

[01:30:13] Thank you very much. We'll see you next time.