The water is getting cold!

Now that it is December, the water temperatures are dropping in Phoenix. The lakes are in the 50's and the swimmers are donning their wetsuits. Xterrawetsuits is Jacee's preferred wetsuit. If you decide to order a wetsuit from Xterrawetsuits. The suits are slick and fast! Co-Jacee will get you a discount.

This past weekend Jacee was swimming at the La Jolla Cove with her favorite swim partners. She had her new 11-year-old friend with her on Sunday. They seemed to enjoy the swim and came out of the water fairly cool. After swimming, the delicious clam chowder warmed up the little bodies, they were just fine.

The days adventure was wonderful swimming with the dolphins again. The five to six foot swells creating excitement for both of them, as the stayed in the water body surfing through the big waves, after their swim. The screams of delight with each new wave came through and the challenge was standing in the waves. It was not happening this day. They will keep trying though, isn't that the fun part?

June 2011

June was an exciting swimming month for Jacee. She had some great events in the pool.The good news is that she spent five great days in La Jolla preparing for the Pier to Cove Race. The first day was readjusting to open water which took Jacee about five minutes. She really enjoys ocean swimming! It is a challenge and the kelp was plentiful. She had a few passes over the kelp and went to see the Sea Lion Cave.

The next day she and four other swimmers did the practice swim from the pier to the cove. What an enjoyable time staying clear of the kelp since one of her swim partners wanted to stay clear. The water was a warm 64 degrees the sun broke through the clouds as they completed the days swim.

Saturday was the pier to cove race. The surf was up coming into the cove. There were many friends ready to swim. The race was exciting and Tom the best kayaker, Thank you! The results placed Jacee 22nd overall and 6th in female division. Wow, the fastest female is 19 years old came in just over 36 minutes. Jacee completed the race with a 42:53. What an awesome swim! Thank you, La Jolla Cove Swim Club for all you do!

Sunday, Jacee completed her pool races and headed back to the cove for another day of ocean swimming the surf was up. She spent time with Doug

Alcatraz

It has been a bit since there has been a post. Life has been very busy for Jacee. She has swum from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco for the fifth time. It is an exciting time for Jacee as she continues with the Metropolita Youth Symphony musical career and swimming. Jacee has been working hard in school, she is at the top of her class.

On September 21, 2010 Jacee swam her first three mile open ocean swim. It was an awesome experience for her. Here is the link to the article. http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/blog/2010/09/29/11-year-old-swimming-standout/

Enjoy the story. Erin did a superb job swimming and writing.

Jacee also has another article challenging others to swim from Alcatraz.

Article: https://www.allyouneedforhappiness.com/issues/2009nov/index.html#/36/

As you see even though the blog has been slow in posting Jacee is still getting stronger everyday!

Stay strong, see the challenge, live the dream!

Jacee's Mom

Stronger Than Ever in the Open Water

It has been awhile but, Jacee is back. She is stronger than ever in the open water. Jacee has been doing very well in the pool and is excited at what the next year will bring. Her desire is to have every person who is reading this decide to get going in their favorite area of exercise.

Jacee has been enjoying the open water series here in Arizona. She placed first in her age group in the 4K open water series for 2009. Her fastest time in the water was 1:26:13 translated to English is One hour, twenty-six minutes and thirteen seconds. This swim is beating the Ironman cutoff by more than 45 minutes. What an awesome swim.

In June, Jacee raced the Scripps Pier to La Jolla Cove swim doing an awesome job against a strong current. Her finish time was 66:56. She had a great spirit the entire way joking with her kayaker about the ten strokes he was asking her to swim. She loves the ability to reach the goals she has set and thanks all of those individuals involved in enabling her to achieve her goals. Each of you knows who you are and if you don’t it’s probably you!

Thanks Coach Joe for encouraging Jacee to chase her dreams! All of you are so precious and encouraging to Jacee, in this great plan that she has to achieve her goals. For the behind the scenes people that have helped get to the goal of the swims themselves. Jacee is looking forward to doing many more swims and can’t wait for the next event.

Finally, Jacee was on the cover of a magazine called Scottsdale Health. Here is the link to the four page article there are some great pictures, also.

https://www.allyouneedforhappiness.com/issues/2009nov/index.html#/36/

And the open water blogspot link below.

http://10kswim.blogspot.com/2009/11/all-bundled-up-and-ready-to-go.html

Take Care until the next blog and keep swimming even if it is just 25 yards!

How Jacee Started Training for Alcatraz

Jacee has been swimming competitively since age five. She first heard about the swim from Alcatraz in May 2006. She joined the Swim Neptune team in November. Immediately she decided she wanted to do the Alcatraz 2007 Swim once it was presented. One of Jacee's best character traits is that once she puts her mind to something she is determined to carry it through.

To get started with the training, Jacee entered in the unheated pool at the Foothills Training Center in Glendale, AZ. Shortly after going around she changed her mind about wanting to swim in cold water. She came to me and I asked her to keep her feet in the water while I explained to her that if she got out, her dream of swimming from Alcatraz would have to wait for another year. She took a moment to ponder that, then, with another parent's help, got back in the water and started swimming. Jacee then informed me that she would have to do this swim on her own and that she would get her face in the water when she could. Right then I realized that the swim had nothing to do with me; I was just her chauffeur.

As the training progressed, Jacee made and kept the commitment to swim 2 hours per day for 3-4 days per week. After a while, she entered her first lake swim at Bartlett Lake. Even with her initial hesitation, she completed the swim. On the ride home, shivering over hot drinks and hand warmers, she decided she wanted to do it again. After the second lake swim she was sold. In order to continue her preparation, Jacee continued cold water swimming for 20-30 minutes per practice. She swim a mile in each practice and maintained a regular practice and meets.

At the third lake swim, Jacee quickly became friends with “Grandma” Kathleen. She finally felt confident enough to start having fun in the water and enjoying the swim. With her new found strength and confidence, she adapted to the water and her hands and feet no longer hurt. Soft slippers helped her to walk after her feet hurt from exposure to the cold.

By the time April 2007 rolled around, it was getting too warm in Arizona for cold water swims at the lake. There was still a month left before the Jacee's Alcatraz swim in May, but there was concern that Jacee would not be able to adapt to the cold water. The solution was to have her sit in an inflatable swimming pool surrounded by 10-20 pounds of ice for a half hour.

Next: Jacee goes to Alcatraz!

All About Jacee

Let me introduce you to a remarkable young lady: Jacee.

Jacee has accomplished more at nine-years-old than most people do in an entire lifetime. She is a champion swimmer who has set records in her age group. She is one of the top triathletes in her class. Even more remarkable, she has played the violin since the age of three and is a candidate for acceptance into the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.

Above all, Jacee wants to make a difference in the lives of other children, both locally and around the world. She wants to use her visibility as a champion swimmer to draw attention to the issue of drowning prevention in Phoenix. Not only is she concerned about local issues, but she wants to use her visibility as a champion swimmer to raise money to expand educational opportunities and for children's clinics in other countries.

I'm Carol, Jacee's mom. People ask me if it is easy to raise such a focused child. My answer: it has it's challenges -- but it is fun. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. God has blessed me and charged me with the task of raising Jacee in a way that will allow her to express her gifts and talents to the fullest. I am amazed to think of what she will accomplish in the next few years as she grows to adolescence and eventually adulthood.

I started this blog to tell Jacee's story and to help her achieve her goals. As time goes on, I can't wait to tell you more about all the remarkable things Jacee is doing. Stay tuned!