8 Bridges Hudson River Swim: the first 66.3 miles (Stage 1-4)
- leslieabigailhamil
- Sep 16, 2022
- 15 min read
Prologue:
It’s taken a while to get all of this down on paper because 8 Bridges was an epic, adrenaline filled adventure that I feel like I’m still processing. For the past couple years I had this series on a pedestal, constantly questioning if I really did have what it took to complete all 7 of these swims consecutively. The entire journey was challenging physically and mentally, but not exactly in all the ways I expected. The Hudson has been a venue of personal growth for me, the lessons I’ve learned there have applied to so many aspects of my life, and I organized fundraisers around this swim for Swim for Charlie and Riverkeeper in order to give back to it. The week after completing these 7 stages, I took ample notes, knowing I wanted to write the entire story and now I feel ready to fill in the blanks and compose it all.
Something that I think has helped me in processing and getting through the post-monster-event blues was completing the Rose Pitonof swim on 8/13. Going under the Verrazano Bridge again on the way to Coney Island was emotional for me, I was able to reflect on how insane the end of that week felt, while also swimming onward, past that bridge, knowing that my experience on the Hudson is one I’ll never forget but that many great things are in the future too! But for now let’s talk about the past:
“At the time of registration can you fully commit to the events you signed up for: A) I can commit to the events I signed up for at this time; B) I can NOT commit to the events I signed up for at this time.”
That last question on the app threw me when I was about to submit my 8 bridges registration in January. I knew I wanted to commit. On one hand, I was recovering from a wrist surgery I had in November. At that point I could swim about an hour without pain. Also, am I crazy? I’d also signed up for 5 other swims for the season by this point in January. On the other hand, I have a job that is flexible for now, and next year I’m getting married and will be busy with that.
I selected the “commit” answer and from then on I worked and worked. I worked with Red Tide, the coaches on deck pushed me and my teammates encouraged me. I worked with my hand surgeon and physical therapists, doing home exercises and massage every day. I worked with my chiropracter when the yards were brutal on my shoulders. I worked on my mental game and reframing my self talk with Jen Schumacher who helped me immensely. I worked on my day to day training with coach Charlotte Brynn, who turned my plan from good to great. So much had to happen for me to even make it to the Rip Van Winkle bridge at the beginning of stage 1 and I am beyond honored to have this team behind me. It’s been said before but I know for sure that marathon swimming is NOT an individual sport. And this is just the “before” team. I have a lot to say about the amazing “during” team in the next 7 blog entires.
Stage 1: Stay Relaxed
Rip Van Winkle Bridge to Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge
Day one. It was finally here, and I had more excitement than nerves. I’d done this one before in 2020, and at the time it was my longest swim ever at 5.5 hours. Today it was my “warmup.” Swimming this much has made me keep a running list in my head of “things I thought I’d never say a few years ago” and “5 hour warmup” definitely makes the list.
Ed and Janine drove David Blanke, the other 7 stager, and I to the start from the Kingston Rhinecliffe bridge. David is a strong swimmer from Texas and is training to swim Tahoe and 20 Bridges. I was really happy he’d also chosen to take this journey, it felt good to know that someone was sharing the water with me.
After loading on the boat and driving to the bridge, I was ready to get going. The air temp was in the low 50’s and the wind was blowing hard at our backs. Yan, my fiancé and forever crewmate, zinc’d me up and I was ready to go, but turns out we had 15 minutes before splash so I stood there dancing to stay warm, unable to cover myself with anything so my zinc wouldn’t come off. “this is the coldest I’ll be all week” I thought. True. The water was toasty at 72.
Rip Van Winkle Bridge - this isn't as much of a smile as it is me gritting my teeth from the wind. Brrrrr!
I was so happy to get going! In the beginning, Alex commented that my stroke count was all over the place which actually made sense to me. I felt like I was driving with 2 feet- 1 on the gas and the other on the brake. I had a lot of adrenaline but also knew I needed to keep it relaxed as this was day 1 of 7. It was tough to get into a rhythm, but that was ok with me, I was still able to enjoy the scenery and tired to remember landmarks from 2 years ago.
It was on that day 1 I learned that even though I’d done some of these before, each stage would be completely different than I’d anticipated or experienced. David Barra had told us in the safety briefing that there was one point in the swim where we’d turn around a bend and it might be a little windy. I have absolutely no recollection of this bend from 2020, much less that there’s also a lighthouse there (Saugerties Lighthouse). It was an unexpected little segment, the tailwind was so strong that it felt like it was submerging me into the water. We hid behind a rock to feed and it took a lot of energy to avoid being beached in the shallows. Other than that, the day was smooth sailing all the way.
The Saugerties Lighthouse and the unexpected turn
I also didn’t remember being able to see the bridge for as long as I did, and as I got closer, it took some self control to not step on the gas and swim faster. I’m a back end swimmer and I cant help but pick up the pace when I know I’m only a couple feeds away from the end. Instead I focused on the warm sun and all of the nature around me. Towards the end, David Barra launched a kayak from Charles Rider park and paddled against the current to fly down to the bridge with us. I appreciated the extra company! That was also a theme throughout the week – now that 8B wasn’t in the mass start kind of format, I felt hyper aware of and happy for any company we had – whether that was a 1 stage swimmer, my tandem buddies, an observer who popped in for a couple days, or ICC kayakers who followed us down to the GW.
This bridge here is further than it appears.
Day 2: don’t doubt yourself
Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge to Mid Hudson Bridge
It was time to rest and get ready for Stage 2 – the one I was most nervous about. I had trouble falling asleep that night and Yan had to talk me off the ledge – naturally he already had a half asleep speech prepared for me when I woke him up at 10:30PM about why I shouldn’t worry and even if I do, I’ve banked so much sleep that a little less going into this day is totally fine. He’s the best, but you all already knew that.
Why all the nerves for day 2? It’s early in the scheme of things, so I knew I wasn’t going to be too tired going into it. But at 19.8 miles with a short current window, I knew I was going to have to move it! Also looking at previous results, it seemed like this one claimed almost as many DNFers as the notorious beast, stage 5, so I knew it was no joke. As Janine, my observer and master documenter/photographer for the day said on the boat, “you’re not nervous, you just have a healthy respect for it.” Even though the window and currents were challenging we had a beautiful day for it and looking back the whole week, this was my favorite stage.
On day 2, David and I had a single stager with us, Chris. Chris is a strong long distance runner and triathlete who is taking the plunge into marathon swimming this year. Even though he’s new to the sport, he’s signed up for a bunch of swims this season which I admire because he clearly has the type of crazy it takes to be in this sport! I know in past years the 8B crowd was usually larger so I was happy to have the camaraderie of Chris, David and all of our support teams.
I started out fast, and with a different mental tactic than I’ve had for these swims before – I normally think about how close I am to the bridge in front of me, but this time I focused on how quickly I could make the bridge behind me disappear. Reframing it this way was helpful, but after a while when I couldn’t see either bridge and the brisk pace I had became tougher, I began to have doubts I was going to hold it. I asked Alex “is this a good pace?” and he said “yes,” I said “I don’t know if I can hold it the whole way” to which he said “just do it as long as you can.” I regretted saying that almost immediately because I knew I could keep it up, I just needed to get my brain into the same gear as my body.
Incredibly calm at the beginning - but I did not feel calm!
Another aspect that didn’t really affect me before mentally, but started to while I was swimming was the finish – the Mid Hudson Bridge. Earlier this year while looking for wedding venues, we stumbled upon The Grandview which overlooks the Mid Hudson and immediately knew it was “the place.” Yan and I are tying the knot there next September! I thought “its also special because it’s the starting point of my first marathon swim ever, stage 3” but what I didn’t think of was that it’s also the end of this tough stage…and that there’s no way I’ll be sitting at our wedding reception, looking at the river, and going “damn, I wish I had made it under that bridge.” And that thought caused me to rally.
My feeds also helped with that rally. After a few vomiting incidents at SCAR a couple months prior, I moved away from Gu gels in favor of Huma gels – the first ingredient listed is chia seeds. I’d purchased a variety pack and they ended up being a lifesaver, much more digestible than gu. There are so many good flavors and since I’d only tried 1 or 2 kinds prior to 8 Bridges, I found myself looking forward to feeds and wondering “how will mango taste? Or coffee?” Alex gave me a gel and I told him “I shouldn’t have said that about the pace, I can do this.” And I dialed it in with Yan and Janine cheering me on from the boat.
I was definitely getting tired by the end and was trying to distract myself with stupid things so that the push would hurt less. I loved how rural the course was, with the exception of some lighthouses, little boathouses, and some expensive looking waterfront properties. Yesterday Yan made the point that all these houses have backyards on steep slopes and how the heck do they trim their grass so I used some mental capacity to admire them and brainstorm a contraption that could give them an efficient mow. I also began to think how many strokes I’d take over the course of this week, but that calculation quickly devolved into song: ‘five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred swim strokes. How do you measure, measure a swim?” I was thankful when I could see the bridge and when I asked them if they thought I had 3 feeds left, both Janine and Alex agreed only 2. Good, because I couldn’t deal with my rendition of Rent in my head for another 1.5 hours. I was tired, but I was also really enjoying this stage and my strange inner dialogue.
Some of the lawns in question - seems like a challenge to me
Bridges in sight, Rent soundtrack in my head
Coming in between the footbridge and the mid Hudson bridge – aka the home stretch, I was relieved. I admired the city of Poughkeepsie from the shore. I even jokingly yelled at Yan between strokes “we can still get married here!” It was such a satisfying finish, made even better by Sebastian, my stage 3 swim buddy waiting for me at Shadows Marina followed by a nice round of drinks up at the restaurant with the whole crew there. Although the week was far from over, I was feeling some relief after enjoying the stage I thought I’d dread, and knowing that day 3 was going to be a nostalgic treat.
Between the Bridges!
Day 3: take some time to appreciate it all
Mid Hudson Bridge to Newburgh Beacon Bridge
There’s something really special about swimming bridge to bridge to bridge. It’s a kind of comforting Déjà vu, as if the Hudson is saying “welcome back, let’s start where you left off yesterday, all you have to do today is swim.” I was still riding the high from a great day 2 and now felt like I was getting into the swing of things.
My post swim routine was falling into place: lunch ASAP, drop everything and mix feeds as soon as we got back to our hotel/apartment, dinner a couple hours later, lots of ice around 8, and bed by 9:30.
This was my first day of tandems. Going into 8 Bridges, I’d anticipated the field wouldn’t be as large in years past but I still wanted the company, camaraderie, and bonding that happens on marathon events like these, so I thought it would be best to call in my own ringers. I had my tandem buddies planned out for 4 stages – 3,5,6, and 7, and I paid their swim fee, instead asking them to donate the amount they would have paid to Swim for Charlie – more on that later (day 6).
My first buddy of the week was Sebastian. Sebastian has been resisting the whole marathon swim thing since before I joined Red Tide in 2019. Shockingly, he’s never even raced a 10k! He’s a great pool sprinter and is constantly motivating others to get up and race, and he told me his main reason he’s never gone for the longer stuff is because he’s nervous he’ll get sucked in…and all I have to say after day 3 is….welcome!!
No matter what, this day was bound to be fun. I have so many great memories of Stage 3 2019, my first marathon swim ever, and getting to share it with Sebastian as his first marathon swim was going to make it extra special.
Ready to go!
At the start, David Blanke motored up a couple miles north of the Mid Hudson to knock out his stage GPS style but we had a little time before splash. I spent a couple quiet moments looking at the bridge and remembering how nervous I was just 3 years ago to do this stage, contrasting it with how I felt in that moment – calm, comfortable, prepared. It’s easy to forget how far I’ve come in such a short time but when I remember, I can’t help but be proud of how hard I’ve worked and grateful to everyone who taught and supported me along the way. Grateful was definitely the theme of the day.
It took about 500 strokes to shake the tightness and really get going. I could tell Sebastian had some jitters at the beginning but he settled in quickly and kept a strong pace. Throughout the week, I felt more focused when I had company in the form of another swimmer in the water. I had to be aware of where I was in relation to Michael and Alex everyday, but adding one more person into the mix required me to stay exactly in the present to avoid any collisions and to make sure they’re with me. Alex was on my right side and Michael was on the left, sandwiching us in. The time in between each feed seemed much shorter with my newfound awareness.
Around the middle, I could tell Sebastian was simultaneously in pain and having fun. He had a lot of pep at each feed break and took a bit to get going after each which was perfect for me, I did some backstroke in his honor to stretch out. I kept thinking back to how much fun I had that first time I did this swim and hoping he felt the same. I was also reflecting how much fun the week had been so far, how lucky I am to have found this sport and met all of these awesome people, and that I get to share the experience with others is icing on the cake. It’s easy to be thankful when you’re surrounded by so much beauty, and after all this was the course that really started this whole adventure for me.
Home Stretch!
Our finish was fabulous. The current was ripping, and in the last hour and a half Sebastian really poured it on and forced me to pick up my pace. “I’m never doing that again” said Sebastian. In my opinion, that’s always a good sign… he’ll be back 😊
On top of a great day, we went to Elisa’s takeouts in Fishkill, this cute little unassuming grill shack Yan and I stumbled upon the year before – fried anything and everything topped with chili, cheese, you name it – and don’t forget your milkshake or ice cream on the side. 100% recommend. And then leftovers for dinner 2 hours later – this is the life.
We earned some chili cheese fries!
Day 4: control what you can
Newburgh Beacon Bridge to Bear Mountain Bridge
I went to sleep excited for 4 but woke up more apathetic and ready to get it done. All that stood in my way from going home for the next 3 stages, sleeping in my own bed, and getting cat cuddles was this stage and I knew distance wise this day also got me over the halfway point. Also, after swimming with Sebastian the day before, going at it “alone” seemed tougher than it had for stage 1 and 2.
Ready to go.... I guess!
I got to the Beacon train station a little early, early enough to get a quick shoulder massage from Michael who was right there camping. This was much needed as the yardage began to catch up with me. “you’re quiet today,” Alex noticed as we loaded up the RHIB. I told him basically what I said in the first paragraph there.
The first 45 minutes were fine. I knew we were going to have southerly winds, and it was a little annoying, but nothing that could stop me from getting in a groove. Physically I felt much better than I thought I would after 50 ish miles in the days before and I was ready to see what the “prettiest stage” looked like as I made my way to the narrower part of the river.
Then everything turned. It was already hazy and cloudy, and the only day I used my clear goggles. But on top of that, the southern breeze turned into 15-20mph winds, twice what was forecasted. Obviously nothing I could control and I tried to stay positive hoping it would pass, but it went on for quite a while.
I felt like I was crawling and churning around like clothes in a washing machine. To me the worst feeling when swimming in chop is when you’re about to place your hand in the water and a little wave comes just in time to throw you off as if to say “NOPE, REJECTED!” Between this happening all the time, the thought of home, getting over the hump, and the fact that everyone who ever speaks about this stage is like “oh, you’ll love it,” I was just really frustrated. The kayaks were getting some serious air, Michael and alex looked like rocks skipping on the surface of the water. I’d seen Bannerman’s Castle from the train on the way up that morning but didn’t catch any glimpses of it from the water, the chop was just that bad. I screamed a little bit underwater. I knew there was nothing I could do but be at the mercy of the chop and not let it victimize me too badly.
The middle part was a lot better. Right as the wind died down to a more manageable speed, a really colorful freight train sped by us and I stopped for a Huma apple cinnamon gel which I learned right then and there is definitely the best flavor, and had some peanut butter a little later. Michael made the point “what targeted audience do they even make large squeeze bottles of peanut butter for?” which was a point I contemplated while swimming, along with trying to count the number of cars on the trains going by (I always lose count).
I didn't see this at all!
The train that boosted my mood.
As we approached West Point, I’ll admit it, this stage is pretty…now that I could actually see past all the waves. The wind was still sort of spitting at us but compared to what we had to do before it was fine. Pretty quickly after that, I could see the bridge and I did what I told myself I wouldn’t do – I majorly tried to pick up the pace. I can’t help it, I get too excited when I see the bridge and it does feel good to finish strong. It had taken self control to not push the end of the past 3 days. All the bridges on the Hudson always look closer than they are but this one is especially deceptive because it’s narrow and all the haze didn’t help our depth perception. I always count strokes when I know I’m close and I told myself not to peek before 300 strokes, but I kept cheating! I do a sort of battle cry when I know I’m close but not quite there, it’s to express a little frustration but it feels like it gives me some energy when I scream a little bit. So GAHHHHHH and I picked up my stroke rate to 57, which is fast for me, I’m normally at 50.
Bridge in sight, time for a battle cry
“You really wanted out of that one!” said Alex as soon as he blew the whistle when I was under the bridge. That I did. It was a tough day on the water for everyone and I was glad it was over. Even then, I enjoyed the misty boat ride back to the Garrison train station. The course looked a lot prettier after I accomplished it, even with all the haze. Rain Day, commence!
Actual footage of what I did on the rain day.
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