According to Nyad, the worst thing wasn't the sharks or the storms, but tiny, thin jellyfish stingers, "And I'm out there in this vast, wide ocean, and I'm covered in a suit, and panty hose over my head, and you're telling me a piece of hair finds me out there? And stings me badly? Sends you into chills, and paroxysms? Um, it took a lot of the joy out of it, I have to tell you."
Nyad, who turned 63 Wednesday, says she is in better shape now than when she was 20, and is proud of her efforts.