I want to apologize to the people of New York for drinking half their river and lowering the water levels; there's probably a few boats stranded out there! But it didn't taste so bad to me; I think it's probably alright ... it's a little on the murky side, to look at it, but it tasted fresh!

This is my first time ever, swimming in the river. I moved to the East Coast from Northern California, about 18 months ago, and I'm not much of a swimmer and I've certainly never been swimming in the river here around Manhattan!

A neighbor of mine is a great guy and a real good athlete, and in a month we're doing a marathon relay swim around Manhattan, 28 miles, so this was a little warm-up, a preview of things to come: my training day for that.

I loved it today! I like things like this because of the other participants: there's a camaraderie about it. You know, I'm not a competitor, I'm a participant. I'm never going to be up in the awards ceremony, but I always finish, and I just like hanging out with the people before and after.

I'm not a good swimmer, and I don't like cold water, but in the middle of the race it occurred to me that I was having a really good time. It was kinda crazy!

Swimming, I'm just ... I look at it like I'm just saving my life! Anytime I'm in any sort of swim, in a triathlon or otherwise, if I come out of the water alive, it's a triumph! I'm a sinker, not a swimmer!

What do people think of me doing this? My wife made sure my insurance premium was paid up and wished me luck.

The great thing is, you know you always make it, so it's so thrilling to see the finish. The start's always nerve wracking, and then you see the finish, and it's like, "Yeah! This was great!" And you forget all the things about how cold it was and how nervous you were and how much of the river you drank and how slow you were, and then you're back next year!