 On 20 August, 2011, I swam the English Channel (England to France) in 11:31.07. I swam to shore at 3:36 pm (England time). My swim was 28 land miles (24 nautical miles). Thank you to my fabulous crew (Noah, Lynn, Cheryl, Karen, and Captain Andy and co-captain Andy). We had take-away pizza and ice cream. The next day, I met Channel swimmers and hopefuls and signed the wall at the White Horse Pub in Dover, to make it official.
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Jenny Birmelin's English Channel Swim, August 20, 2011.
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 In the small cabin, there is a stove for hot coffee or tea. |
 This is the back of the Louise Jane, where the crew will spend most of their day during the swim. |
Welcome to my website and blog, covering my journey to swim the English Channel in August 2011. Thank you for taking an interest in my endeavors. Please consider donating to my swim under the Support tab. Thank you.
Since I was a little girl, living a "bathing suit-flip-flop" pool life during the summers, I told my mom that I would someday get married in a white Speedo since I was not the dress type. I put on my bathing suit for swim practice in the morning and took it off past dark, when the swim club closed for the day. My first bathing suit I was proud of was red with Snoopy dog houses and rainbows. There have been hundreds of swimsuits since Snoopy. When I put on my suit, it's like going to work for most people. Only, it usually leaves me more energized and healthier in the long run.
I met my husband at a Michigan Masters Swim Meet in 2003. He proposed in 2005 and surprised me with a white Speedo. We were married on Lake Huron in 2006. I got to wear the white Speedo for the beach rehearsal. Around the same time, I also fell in love with something else. Open water swimming. It took a while to become comfortable looking at sea creatures and waiting for the unknown to make itself known. It took a few near hypothermic swims, and a little bit of swimming off course to rattle my bones. Then, it happened. Landmarks around the lake that I always looked at, were no longer objects, but rather, destinations. Last September I looked out into Tawas Bay/Lake Huron, and saw the US Gypsum docks a few miles north and south. I started wondering how many miles I was from my new goals. My supportive husband hopped on a jet ski with a walkie talkie, and idled next to me for a few hours until I reached the Marina. He talked me through my fears of swimming close to the gigantic docks. We celebrated that swim with a hot shower and hot pizza, all the while I wondered, "How far is a swim to the lighthouse?"
Hooked.
A year has passed and I'm still tested by each and every swim. Every swim is unique and presents its own challenges. My April Alcatraz & Golden Gate charity swims with the Foundation for Aquatic Safety & Training with over 50 kids were thrilling. Every single age group swimmer (ages 8+) swam from the Rock to Aquatic Park. After the Golden Gate Bridge swim, I learned I needed motion sickness medication while waiting on a boat for an hour in a steady rain. Bob Roper taught us about the ebb and flow, slackwater and perfect timing. Swimming to the US Gypsum "crib" in June wasn't as scary as I thought, despite the buried wires and planks I swam over. Swimming to the Tawas Point Lighthouse in June after the fish fly hatch was a story in itself. Aborting a swim on July 4 morning, from the Lighthouse to the Gypsum "crib" due to seasickness was a learning experience. I learned I needed Dramamine during the wavy swims and I was sick of gels. I knew something felt wrong and called it quits. I pushed my back to the limit, even after an MRI in March said I had L5-S1 facet arthritis. For months, I stopped doing flip turns at the doctor's request, and with the help of tremendous physical therapists and techs, I strengthened my core, and mind. I knew I couldn't swim as much as I had been. I began to strengthen my core, to help support my back. I had my first cortisone injection, less than three days before my 6.2-mile swim at the USMS 10k Open Water National Championship in Noblesville, Indiana, July 17. I was in agony in the ~85-degree water but toughed it out. In mid-August, I decided to join a group of men on a swim adventure across Lake St. Clair. I was hoping to maybe swim 8-9 miles after my final cortisone injection. The terrific group and wonderful cause inspired me to want to complete the swim (www.swimmingstclair.com). After eight hours and forty minutes of mental focus and freestyle, we reached the Grosse Pt. Yacht Club, 14.21 miles, from the starting point near Harsens Island. That was my first experience with what the body goes through around the fifth or sixth hour of swimming, when your body exhausts its carbohydrate reserves and you hit a low point. The high point was nearing the yacht club and seeing my husband and friend cheering from the breakwall. My loving family and friends are the greatest supporters, even my 93-year-old "Irongranny," who gets very worried about my long swims. Next up: another year of cold showers, cold swims, fundraising, and lots of pool laps over the winter.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
Since I was a little girl, living a "bathing suit-flip-flop" pool life during the summers, I told my mom that I would someday get married in a white Speedo since I was not the dress type. I put on my bathing suit for swim practice in the morning and took it off past dark, when the swim club closed for the day. My first bathing suit I was proud of was red with Snoopy dog houses and rainbows. There have been hundreds of swimsuits since Snoopy. When I put on my suit, it's like going to work for most people. Only, it usually leaves me more energized and healthier in the long run.
I met my husband at a Michigan Masters Swim Meet in 2003. He proposed in 2005 and surprised me with a white Speedo. We were married on Lake Huron in 2006. I got to wear the white Speedo for the beach rehearsal. Around the same time, I also fell in love with something else. Open water swimming. It took a while to become comfortable looking at sea creatures and waiting for the unknown to make itself known. It took a few near hypothermic swims, and a little bit of swimming off course to rattle my bones. Then, it happened. Landmarks around the lake that I always looked at, were no longer objects, but rather, destinations. Last September I looked out into Tawas Bay/Lake Huron, and saw the US Gypsum docks a few miles north and south. I started wondering how many miles I was from my new goals. My supportive husband hopped on a jet ski with a walkie talkie, and idled next to me for a few hours until I reached the Marina. He talked me through my fears of swimming close to the gigantic docks. We celebrated that swim with a hot shower and hot pizza, all the while I wondered, "How far is a swim to the lighthouse?"
Hooked.
A year has passed and I'm still tested by each and every swim. Every swim is unique and presents its own challenges. My April Alcatraz & Golden Gate charity swims with the Foundation for Aquatic Safety & Training with over 50 kids were thrilling. Every single age group swimmer (ages 8+) swam from the Rock to Aquatic Park. After the Golden Gate Bridge swim, I learned I needed motion sickness medication while waiting on a boat for an hour in a steady rain. Bob Roper taught us about the ebb and flow, slackwater and perfect timing. Swimming to the US Gypsum "crib" in June wasn't as scary as I thought, despite the buried wires and planks I swam over. Swimming to the Tawas Point Lighthouse in June after the fish fly hatch was a story in itself. Aborting a swim on July 4 morning, from the Lighthouse to the Gypsum "crib" due to seasickness was a learning experience. I learned I needed Dramamine during the wavy swims and I was sick of gels. I knew something felt wrong and called it quits. I pushed my back to the limit, even after an MRI in March said I had L5-S1 facet arthritis. For months, I stopped doing flip turns at the doctor's request, and with the help of tremendous physical therapists and techs, I strengthened my core, and mind. I knew I couldn't swim as much as I had been. I began to strengthen my core, to help support my back. I had my first cortisone injection, less than three days before my 6.2-mile swim at the USMS 10k Open Water National Championship in Noblesville, Indiana, July 17. I was in agony in the ~85-degree water but toughed it out. In mid-August, I decided to join a group of men on a swim adventure across Lake St. Clair. I was hoping to maybe swim 8-9 miles after my final cortisone injection. The terrific group and wonderful cause inspired me to want to complete the swim (www.swimmingstclair.com). After eight hours and forty minutes of mental focus and freestyle, we reached the Grosse Pt. Yacht Club, 14.21 miles, from the starting point near Harsens Island. That was my first experience with what the body goes through around the fifth or sixth hour of swimming, when your body exhausts its carbohydrate reserves and you hit a low point. The high point was nearing the yacht club and seeing my husband and friend cheering from the breakwall. My loving family and friends are the greatest supporters, even my 93-year-old "Irongranny," who gets very worried about my long swims. Next up: another year of cold showers, cold swims, fundraising, and lots of pool laps over the winter.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
My secret weaponNinety-four years young, my "Iron Granny"
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Lake Huron Swim, May 15
First Lake Huron swim was Sunday, May 15, 2011. The water was 47 degrees F and the air was 48 degrees F, winds out of the NNE 20-40 mph. These waves, which continued for two days straight, were some of the largest I've seen in a few years.
Winter 2011 Cross Training
 JD & Sophie, Lake Huron, January 2011. Video Clips
Our dog is not a stay on-the-dock dog. She trains with me. And keeps up!
My supportive husband entertains himself while jet skiing alongside me during a Memorial Day 2010 swim in
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Workouts from the Weeks
July 18 -LCM
21 x 400
[8,400m]
June 27 -LCM
500 warm up
2 x [1 x 500, 2 x 400, 3 x 300, 4 x 200, 6 x 100]
800 (50 kick on back, 50 backstroke)
[8,500m]
May 17 -SCM
4 x 800, 4 x 600, 4 x 400, 4 x 200, 1 x 400 kick [8.400m]
May 3 - SCM
500 free, 400 stroke, 300 pull, 200 kick, 100 free
6 x 200 @ 3:15
10 x 100 Kick w/ fins @ 1:40 (odds: on back, evens: on side)
300 pull
6 x 200 @ 3:15
10 x 100 Kick w/ fins @ 1:40 (odds: on back, evens: on side)
6 x 200 @ 3:15
100 easy
[7,500m]
May 1 - LCM
12 x 1000, 200 easy
[12,200m]
April 24 - SCM
30 x 300 every 6th back with fins @ 5:00
[9,000m]
April 3 - SCM
6 x 800
6 x 600
6 x 400
6 x 200
6 x 100 (12,600m)
March 1
a.m. - SCM
9 x 200 (SKIPS)
p.m. - SCM
300 swim, 200 kick, 100 pull
15 x 100 (3 @ 1:45, 3 @ 1:40, 3 @ 1:35, 3 @ 1:30, 3 @1:25)
100 easy
1 x 1000 freestyle
12 x 50 (3 @ 1:00, 3 @ :55, 3 @ :50, 3 @ :45)
1 x 1000 streestyle
4 x 100 Kick
[day 7,000m]
February 23, 2011 -SCM
a.m.
1300m loosen
p.m.
2 x 500 warm-up
10 x 300 @ 4:45
100 easy
10 x 150 backstroke @ 2:30
200 easy
[day 7,100m]
February 13, 2011 -SCM
33 x 300s free
1 x 100 easy [10,000m] ~ 3 hrs
February 8, 2011 -SCM
500 warm up, 250 choice, 5 x 50s (easy, medium, fast, medium, easy)
6 x 200s @ 3:20
6 x 200s @ 3:15
6 x 200s @ 3:10
6 x 200s @ 3:05
3 x 200s recovery @ 3:15 [6,300m]
January 23, 2011 -SCM
a.m.
3 x 500 warmup (#1 alternate 100 fr/100 stroke drill, #2 breathe 3,5,7,5,3 by 100, #3 100 fly, free,back,free, back)
2 x 400 free (2nd half faster than first)
4 x 200 free
8 x 100 free
100 easy [4,000m]
p.m.
2 x 300 warm up
8 x 75 (back/free/back)
1 x 100 free, 1 x 200 IM, 1 x 100 free
4 x 100 (50 back/50 free)
1 x 100 free, 1 x 200 IM, 1 x 100 free
6 x 100 IM
1 x 100 free, 1 x 200 IM, 1 x 100 free
4 x 100 Kick
1 x 200 easy [4,000m]
January 18, 2011 -SCM
a.m.
10 x 300m, 10 x 200m (100 moderate/100 cruise), 10 x 100m @ 1:40 base[6,000m]
January 1, 2011 -SCY
111 x 50s on :50 to ring in 2011 [5,550 yds]
November 24, 2010 -SCM
500 warm up
1000, 900, 800, 700, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100
400 easy [6,400m]
November 21 -SCM
3 x [1 x 400, 2 x 300, 3 x 200, 4 x 100]
200 easy [6,200m, just under two hours]
November 4 -SCM (a.m. stretch cords/shoulder & back PT, p.m. swim SCM followed by another hour of shoulder PT)
400 warm up
400 kick
100 IM, 150 free (IM intervals increase, free swims stay 1:40 pace)
100 IM, 200 free
100 IM, 250 free
100 IM, 300 free
100 IM, 350 free
100 IM, 400 free
100 IM, 450 free
400 easy [4,000m]
October 26 -SCM (a.m. elliptical/stretch cords/core, p.m. swim
10 x 400 freestyle
12 x 25s kick (easy, build, fast)
200 easy [4,500m]
October 23 a.m. (SCY)
400 warm up
8 x 50 kick
8 x 50 (drill/swim)
1 x 25, 1 x 50, 1 x 75, 1 x 100 (:40,1:00, 1:15, 1:25)
2 x 25, 2 x 50, 2 x 75, 2 x 100 (:35, :55, 1:20, 1:30)
3 x 25, 3 x 50, 3 x 75, 3 x 100 (:30, :50, 1:25, 1:35)
4 x 25, 4 x 50, 4 x 75, 4 x 100 (:25, :45, 1:30, 1:40)
400 easy [4,100]
October 20 (SCM)
400 warm up
16 x 50 on 1:00 (25 drill/25swim)
8 x 25 sculling
3 x 100 (50fly/50bk)
200 IM
3 x 100 (50 bk/50br)
200 IM
3 x 100 (50 br/50 fr)
200 IM
400 cool down [3,300m]
October 19 (a.m. elliptical/stretch cords/core, p.m. swim SCM)
400 warm up
1 x 800 free, 1 x 400 free
1 x 800 free, 2 x 200 free
1 x 800 free, 4 x 100 free
400 cool down [4,400m]
21 x 400
[8,400m]
June 27 -LCM
500 warm up
2 x [1 x 500, 2 x 400, 3 x 300, 4 x 200, 6 x 100]
800 (50 kick on back, 50 backstroke)
[8,500m]
May 17 -SCM
4 x 800, 4 x 600, 4 x 400, 4 x 200, 1 x 400 kick [8.400m]
May 3 - SCM
500 free, 400 stroke, 300 pull, 200 kick, 100 free
6 x 200 @ 3:15
10 x 100 Kick w/ fins @ 1:40 (odds: on back, evens: on side)
300 pull
6 x 200 @ 3:15
10 x 100 Kick w/ fins @ 1:40 (odds: on back, evens: on side)
6 x 200 @ 3:15
100 easy
[7,500m]
May 1 - LCM
12 x 1000, 200 easy
[12,200m]
April 24 - SCM
30 x 300 every 6th back with fins @ 5:00
[9,000m]
April 3 - SCM
6 x 800
6 x 600
6 x 400
6 x 200
6 x 100 (12,600m)
March 1
a.m. - SCM
9 x 200 (SKIPS)
p.m. - SCM
300 swim, 200 kick, 100 pull
15 x 100 (3 @ 1:45, 3 @ 1:40, 3 @ 1:35, 3 @ 1:30, 3 @1:25)
100 easy
1 x 1000 freestyle
12 x 50 (3 @ 1:00, 3 @ :55, 3 @ :50, 3 @ :45)
1 x 1000 streestyle
4 x 100 Kick
[day 7,000m]
February 23, 2011 -SCM
a.m.
1300m loosen
p.m.
2 x 500 warm-up
10 x 300 @ 4:45
100 easy
10 x 150 backstroke @ 2:30
200 easy
[day 7,100m]
February 13, 2011 -SCM
33 x 300s free
1 x 100 easy [10,000m] ~ 3 hrs
February 8, 2011 -SCM
500 warm up, 250 choice, 5 x 50s (easy, medium, fast, medium, easy)
6 x 200s @ 3:20
6 x 200s @ 3:15
6 x 200s @ 3:10
6 x 200s @ 3:05
3 x 200s recovery @ 3:15 [6,300m]
January 23, 2011 -SCM
a.m.
3 x 500 warmup (#1 alternate 100 fr/100 stroke drill, #2 breathe 3,5,7,5,3 by 100, #3 100 fly, free,back,free, back)
2 x 400 free (2nd half faster than first)
4 x 200 free
8 x 100 free
100 easy [4,000m]
p.m.
2 x 300 warm up
8 x 75 (back/free/back)
1 x 100 free, 1 x 200 IM, 1 x 100 free
4 x 100 (50 back/50 free)
1 x 100 free, 1 x 200 IM, 1 x 100 free
6 x 100 IM
1 x 100 free, 1 x 200 IM, 1 x 100 free
4 x 100 Kick
1 x 200 easy [4,000m]
January 18, 2011 -SCM
a.m.
10 x 300m, 10 x 200m (100 moderate/100 cruise), 10 x 100m @ 1:40 base[6,000m]
January 1, 2011 -SCY
111 x 50s on :50 to ring in 2011 [5,550 yds]
November 24, 2010 -SCM
500 warm up
1000, 900, 800, 700, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100
400 easy [6,400m]
November 21 -SCM
3 x [1 x 400, 2 x 300, 3 x 200, 4 x 100]
200 easy [6,200m, just under two hours]
November 4 -SCM (a.m. stretch cords/shoulder & back PT, p.m. swim SCM followed by another hour of shoulder PT)
400 warm up
400 kick
100 IM, 150 free (IM intervals increase, free swims stay 1:40 pace)
100 IM, 200 free
100 IM, 250 free
100 IM, 300 free
100 IM, 350 free
100 IM, 400 free
100 IM, 450 free
400 easy [4,000m]
October 26 -SCM (a.m. elliptical/stretch cords/core, p.m. swim
10 x 400 freestyle
12 x 25s kick (easy, build, fast)
200 easy [4,500m]
October 23 a.m. (SCY)
400 warm up
8 x 50 kick
8 x 50 (drill/swim)
1 x 25, 1 x 50, 1 x 75, 1 x 100 (:40,1:00, 1:15, 1:25)
2 x 25, 2 x 50, 2 x 75, 2 x 100 (:35, :55, 1:20, 1:30)
3 x 25, 3 x 50, 3 x 75, 3 x 100 (:30, :50, 1:25, 1:35)
4 x 25, 4 x 50, 4 x 75, 4 x 100 (:25, :45, 1:30, 1:40)
400 easy [4,100]
October 20 (SCM)
400 warm up
16 x 50 on 1:00 (25 drill/25swim)
8 x 25 sculling
3 x 100 (50fly/50bk)
200 IM
3 x 100 (50 bk/50br)
200 IM
3 x 100 (50 br/50 fr)
200 IM
400 cool down [3,300m]
October 19 (a.m. elliptical/stretch cords/core, p.m. swim SCM)
400 warm up
1 x 800 free, 1 x 400 free
1 x 800 free, 2 x 200 free
1 x 800 free, 4 x 100 free
400 cool down [4,400m]
