2013 Fundraiser

Emily von Jentzen is an Ultra Marathon Swimmer who completes lengthy endurance swims to raise money for children with special medical conditions.


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Thursday, September 4, 2014

Final thoughts-pre swim

Boy has it been a whirlwind week!  Today was pretty much go, go, go all day.  We are ready to go with a few minor things to take care of in the morning.  I have been surprisingly calm today…probably because I had so much to do it was a distraction from nerves.  As the day wore on and I felt tired here and there I commended myself for the decision of a later start time.  Tomorrow's 9 am start time is MUCH more pleasant than my prior swim starts of 3:30 am and 4 am.

Last minute adjustments to crew and technology snafus all seemed to work out.  The course is plotted on our brand new "Montana" GPS, thanks to Sportsman for the great last minute deal on that.

Since I am already a bit late on getting to bed….I'm going to have to write out my extensive thank you list in the morning, however here are the "mile sponsors" so far….and note, you can still be a mile sponsor once the swim has started….reach out to our support crew and get a donation in and we will get you on the list.

Miles 1-5 go to the Price family for their donation of time and their wonderful house boat The Abraham
Mile 6-Beach Haven Press
Miles 7 & 8 Stahlberg and Sutherland
Mile 9 Walmart of Kalispell
Mile 10 Exhaust Works
Miles 11 & 12 Sportsman
Mile 13 Beach Haven Press
Mile 14-19 Jesco
Miles 20-33 OPEN FOR SPONSORSHIP
Mile 34: Plumbing, Inc.
Miles 36-60: OPEN for SPONSORSHIP
Miles 61-62: The Raven

And a few more details….for those hungry for more information.  I am following the Marathon Swimming Federation rules, for those of you unfamiliar with them this means:

1) I am not wearing a wetsuit, just a regular swim suit
2) Just wearing one latex cap (a special one designed by Miss Bella)
3) I will not touch the boat for the duration of the swim
4) I will not be touched by any person for the duration of the swim
5) Swim begins when I enter the water on my own, and it ends when I exit the water on my own
6) I declare the use of one "nonstandard, nonperformance enhancing" piece of equipment, specifically, Finis Hydro Trackers.  These devices track a swimmers course, but information is not viewable until uploaded to a computer.

Food is all packed, cameras, GPS devices and cell phones are charging.  Now its off to bed…its like Christmas.  :)

Follow my progress on my website (www.enduringwaves.com) where there will be a live GPS tracker, on this blog and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emily-von-Jentzen/252078214804908

~Emily

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Nerves

Anyone who does long distance events, swimming or otherwise, is lying if they tell you they don't get nervous.  For me the nerves come in waves (see what I did there…:) ).   Generally my nerves are usually related to thoughts of panic like "I totally forgot about….."  There have been a few of those moments in the past few days.  Luckily, I have an amazing group of people, scattered ALL over, helping me put out these little fires.

I have been so thankful for all of my helpers who are taking care of problems as they arise, listening to my venting when some plans are not working out as I had hoped, and keeping me on track for the task at hand.  It is surprisingly complicated to organize jumping in the water and swimming for 24-36 hours straight.

I think my dogs are more nervous than I am.  With the packing efforts taking over my kitchen and living room, they must be thinking I am about to embark on a VERY long trip and since their dog dishes or dog beds haven't been packed they assume they are being left behind!  Little do they know…I won't be away from them long and then we will have a 2 week long snugglefest on the couch while I recovery.  :)

We've ALMOST got the crew finalized.  Feeling like we won't have enough people is always the most nerve racking part for me….but it does always seem to work out.

Tomorrow is my last day of work before my swim, then I have all Thursday to get my last minute things done like packing my nutrition.  

Its about time for me to get to bed….lots to do tomorrow.

~Emily