Whatever's Comfortable...ICE Swimmers

At the time of writing we have officially entered Winter having just left behind the vibrant and wonderful colours of Autumn.
 
I am probably one of the few that enjoy the long nights and short days which give us such refreshing cold winters.
 
Did you know that the earth is actually farthest from the sun in July and is closest to the sun at the beginning of January, so there's absolutely no reason not to continue swimming in the sea....is there?

 

 

The average surface temperature of the English Channel in Winter will be 45° F (7° C)  from the summer highs of  61° F (16° C) therefore once again I have decided to continue swimming in the English Channel during the autumn and winter months at three locations along the Kent coast; Hythe, Dover and St Margaret's at Cliffe.
 
I especially like Hythe as it allows me to swim safely by the shore amongst the breaking water, some how I believe this is giving me the opportunity to experience and navigate the swells that I will encounter in the channel...plus its bloody good fun!

St.Margaret's at Cliffe is interesting as you can only really swim at
high tide due to the chalk rocks and swimming here past the old haunts and home of Ian Fleming perhaps gives you an insight into where Fleming drew his inspiration from for James Bond...although I very much doubt you would have had the famous sight of Ursula Andress or Daniel Craig emerging from the shallows if he had seen me in my speedo's first?

 

 

With no wet suit and just the Speedo's, I am currently swimming a maximum of 15 minutes in the Channel, quickly returning to the shore to dry and put on my winter thermals to avoid hypothermia. Finishing off with a visit to the local kiosk for a hot chocolate and a fruit tea cake?
 
Despite everything, the sea always appears warmer than the land and sometimes I feel like staying in longer!

In addition to my sea swimming I am training hard in the pool, preferring to opt for Hythe pool and more recently Dover.
 
I am swimming twice a week. These sessions range between 1-2 hrs where I work on improving the efficiency of my stroke and speed. 

I  also meet with my swim coach, Tanya Harding, once every two weeks at St.Margaret's at Cliffe Holiday Park to measure my development and work on my technique and stamina.
 
As my swim date draws closer we are just starting to discuss crewing, feeds and contracts to secure observers and boats...we are now at the business end! 
 
I am currently working on consistently achieving 32-34 lengths within 15 minute intervals, either using front crawl or breast stroke (strangely I am nearly as quick using my breaststroke!)
 
In addition, I am also following a training schedule provided by my fellow Channel aspirant, Sophie Tills;

1 HOUR SESSIONS

Warm up

400m Free

200m Kick

100m Free – building every length, so the last one is the fastest

Main Set

8 x 50m – max effort @ 1 min or a set time

4 x 25 m – IM order + 15 secs
 

4 x 50m – odds – Free, Evens – Back

 

6 x 100m – Free + 20 secs rest in between

Swim down

200m or until session ends

 

1 ½ hr Sessions

Warm up

400m easy - Free

4 x 100m - evens – kick, Odds – pull

8 x 25m – Free – fast + 15

Main

8 x 50m IM order + 30 secs

4 x 200m – as 100m IM

                                    100m Free on a set time of 5 mins??
 

200m – Kick

Swim down

200m

Total

2600m

 

 

Please remember, whilst I am swimming the English Channel on the 28th August next year this is the first of many challenges that I will be undertaking to raise over £1m to help the UK’s four leading cancer centre’s & to support children and young people with terminal illness and conditions.

 

Please would you be kind enough to support me by donating, following and sharing my journey and adventure

 

@letsraiseamillion      facebook.com/letsraiseamilliontogether

 

www.letsraiseamilliontogether.blogspot.com

 

 

                                           Please donate... WHATEVER'S COMFORTABLE

 

 

 

Finally in October's blog I wrote about the amazing Fearless Felix and now we have the real Danny Ocean who is making Ocean's 7.......

 

Ocean's Seven is a group of 7 long distance swims scattered across the globe: Irish Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar. It has only been completed by one person ever: on Saturday July 14th 2012, Mr Redmond from Ballydehob, Co. Cork, Ireland became the first person to complete the Ocean 7's Challenge when he successfully crossed the Tsugaru Strait in Japan. Adam Walker will be the next...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I urge you to follow Indesit National Account Manager....Adam Walker...and just check out the jelly fish sting? 

 

 

Well done Adam

The Real Skyfall...

Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you are - Felix Baumgartner

This month Fearless Felix set the world record for skydiving an estimated 24 miles, reaching an estimated speed of 834 mph or Mach 1.24  ...the real life SKYFALL. 

Felix along with the many people that are fighting cancer or terminal illnesses obviously lead extraordinary lives and once again reminded me of the importance of not wasting the talent and opportunities that you are given in life.
   
By completing my 'bucket list' of challenges I hope in some small way that I can help to enhance the lives of those with shorter lives and help to support other ordinary people and their families.

When over 23,500 children and young people across the UK are unlikely to reach adulthood, wouldn't it be time well spent if we can keep families together that little bit longer so they too can witness 'extraordinary' feats such as Fearless Felix.

Last month I did promise to update my blog earlier with details of my winter training schedule, once again I failed miserably however you can follow my progress on twitter @letsraiseamillion or visit my facebook page by following the link on my blog. 

This month I want to focus on the great work of the charities that I am supporting and specifically two of these charities; The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity and Together for Short Lives.

As you know I am hoping to raise over £1million pounds for my chosen charities before the end of 2015.

These are the four leading cancer centres in the UK, the Christie, Clatterbridge,the Royal Marsden and Weston Park Hospital and Together for Short Lives the charity that supports all children and young people living with terminal or life threatening illness.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity

The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity is the only charity raising money to directly benefit the patients of the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre- the leading cancer centre for Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and the Isle of Man.



Coincidentally,  I just happen to be a huge Liverpool F.C. fan, there are only two gods on my office wall, there were three until Owen decided to sign for ..............??? 





The Clatterbridge needs to raise £1.4m each year to provide outstanding cancer care to around 27,000 patients. The money that we raise together will help them provide the most up to date treatment, support vital research, treat patients with world class equipment and provide life-changing support services that would otherwise be unavailable.


Just last year, amongst other projects, they have funded:

-       The refurbishment of the Mould Room

-       A wide range of research projects for ground-breaking cancer treatments

-       Gym equipment to help in the rehabilitation of our younger patients in the Teenage and Young Adult Ward

-       6 immobilisation ‘wing-boards’ for lung cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy

-       Speech and language therapist to help patients experiencing communication and swallowing difficulties following treatment

 

By supporting my challenges we can help the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity help change the lives of people like Katie.

 

Katie was just four years old when she became so lethargic and poorly her parents knew something was wrong. Katie was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Over the exhausting and worrying times ahead Katie had to undergo radiotherapy treatment, which due to her age, had to be given under general anaesthetic. This made an already difficult experience even more traumatic for Katie and her family.

Thankfully, Katie has now made a full recovery and is a typical energetic and happy nine year old girl.

 

Katie’s mum, Jeanette says “We’re so grateful for fantastic care and support we received from everyone at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. They made a harrowing experience so much easier and I have no doubt that we wouldn’t have Katie here today if it wasn’t them; we can’t thank them enough and urge everyone to donate what they can this Christmas.”  

 

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is the only charity directly raising funds for Clatterbridge cancer patients across their region
 

Help me to help them to offer the most up to date treatment, vital research, world class equipment and life-changing support services by donating today.

 

You may also be interested in finding out more by visiting their web-site  www.clatterbridgecc.org.uk or take a look at their events and activities;

Continuing our Bond theme why not book your table at the Clatterbridge Bond Ball

Join them at their Bond Ball for an evening of fabulous food, live entertainment and dancing until late at Luytens Crypt in Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

 

 

Write a Will Month

November is their annual Write a Will Month, local solicitors will waive their fee for a simple Will in return for a £100 donation – visit their website to find a participating solicitor near you

 

Together for Short Lives

Together for Short Lives are the UK voice for children and young people who are not expected to live to reach adulthood. They are there to ensure that families have the best quality care and support wherever they live and for long as they need it. The money that we will raise together will help directly help fund children with life-limiting and life threatening conditions and their families.

There are over 49,000 babies, children and young people in the UK living with life-threatening and terminal conditions.  
 

Hearing the news that your child has a health condition that is life-threatening and may shorten their life is devastating. Caring for a child - often 24 hours a day, seven days a week – can place families under enormous emotional, physical and financial strain.  Relationships can suffer; careers may have to be abandoned; well brothers and sisters can feel left out; and normal family activities become almost impossible.
  

Families can feel isolated and need care, support and information.  Sadly many families struggle to get the care they need, when and where they need it When time is precious, we believe that nothing should get in the way of the very best care and support for every child and their family. Families need help now and Together for Short Lives is here to support them.  
 

From the moment of diagnosis families can find support through our helpline, parent guides, and on line information and resources helping them to get the best care for their child and support for their family. We also work with children’s hospice services, doctors and nurses through education, training and research to make sure that care is of the highest standard.  
 

By getting involved with my fundraising efforts through Together for Life, your support will help touch the lives of seriously ill children in every community of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Together we can make it possible for every family to have the care and support they need for every step of their journey – no matter how short.
 

 

New Film... Now is Good

 

A new film Now is Good launched last month which tells the story of Tessa, a seventeen year-old with Leukaemia who has months to live.  She takes on the challenge of fast-forwarding her adolescence and makes a bucket list of 10 things to do. Together for Short Lives have been working with Marie Curie and a group of young people with life-threatening conditions, to look at the barriers that exist which prevent them from making the most of life.

 

 A young woman named Amy Claire has done a radio interview for Women’s hour to tell her own story including her own bucket list.  In the interview Amy Claire talks about living with her life-limiting condition and also about her bucket list.


Click here to listen to Amy Claire: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qlvb

You may also be interested in finding out more by visiting their web-site  www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk its worth getting your teeth into!!

 

Please help me to enhance the lives of others and these charities wonderful work through supporting my fundraising efforts by making a donation via the ' DONATION BUTTON' found on my home page.

 

 

Thank you & A Happy Halloween

 

Peter

 

 

 

   

 

Great White spotted in the English Channel

 

 

It's been a 'Sorry September' on the swimming front as I have struggled to balance  work with training and training with injury.

Fundraising for my nominated charities has also been hampered - I was amused by a tweet I received @letsraiseamillion from one of the charities that I am supporting which said - 'boo to work, yeah to fundraising'!  

'Boo to work' - if only?

If your interested in maritime activities you may be interested to view our latest work. We are working in partnership with the National Maritime Training Centre, Gravesend to develop and co-ordinate training and employability solutions for the maritime sector. Totally unrelated to my channel swim attempt but doing the swim does help to overcome some of the barriers faced within the sector. For some people there's golf for doing business and for me theres swimming the channel?

www.nwkcollege.ac.uk/services-for-businesses/national-maritime-training-centre.aspx
 

With the sea temperatures at their warmest, I feel somewhat robbed of the 'warm water' reward that I had earned for the previous 145 hours of open water swimming I had amassed since the season began in May.

Nevertheless, I have continued to train every week, increased my running to four 5 mile runs and swim one x 1 hour speed swim sessions a week whilst choosing to vary my swim locations along the Kent coast, often swimming at times in the shadow of the nuclear power stations at Dungeness!

Sadly this morning saw the last open water session of the season at Dover Harbour with around a dozen swimmers taking the final plunge. Today I chose to swim, then rest, swim and then rest again.

For me I wanted to absorb the sights and sounds of the harbour for the last time this season, watching the ferries turn, the windsurfers fall and the last cruise liner getting ready to sail.

As I observed the final swimmers depart over the heights of the White Cliffs like a flock of migrating swallows, I turned to look beyond the harbour walls to France, visualised what will be required of me next year and blessed the water before looking up at the never faltering Union Jack flag that has watched over me constantly as I overcame the seasons challenges.

Ironically as I left the water for the final time, my old friend ' SFOR' the common seal popped up behind me as to wave me goodbye - yes it can only happen to me? I was joined by SFOR  (S for Seal) on three occassions this year - trust me you had to be there?  












Although it may have been a 'Sorry September' for me, one amazing Australian sparked rumours that a Great White Shark had been spotted in the Channel. Which only further supports my fathers claim that 'Sharks' are now found in the English Channel?

To-date my father is the only person to tell me that I won't successfully complete my swim of the channel believing that I am too old and will be eaten by a shark before I reach France but I still love him?

On the 8th September, Australian Trent Grimsey swam the English Channel in a New World Record of 6hrs 55mins - unbelievable. Trent was one of the few Australian's to depart these shores with gold this year - White Gold!!



Great White Shark

Well done Trent and to everyone that attempted to swim the English Channel this year - You can view an updated list of all successful swimmers and relay teams by visiting www.dover.uk.com




Meanwhile I would like to welcome both my brother and sister in law to the 'Mr Green' support team. Steve and Heather, some of Yorkshires finest, will be joining my coach Tanya and Sezen as part of my channel support crew for next years attempt - what have they let themselves in for?

Over the next two weeks I will post my planned winter training schedule along with various blogs on the charities and great causes that I am supporting but for now here's a few pictures from this seasons swims.

Thanks everyone for your continued support and please keep spreading the word and help me raise over a million pounds for charity.

      



 

    

Last Man Standing

 

It's exactly one year today that I am scheduled to swim the English Channel.

This evening I find myself sitting on my balcony reflecting upon today's weather, looking at the full moon and checking the new Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation web-site, www.cspf.co.uk  to see what today's wind temperature, wind speed and wind direction was in the Channel, as I try to visualise next years swim?

I'm not sure what purpose these thought processes serve and I guess to many they are pretty pointless but to me the main battle to swim the channel will be won in the mind? 

Since I embarked on this journey, I have never once doubted my ability to swim the English Channel neither have I ever visualised failure. I must have successfully swam the channel every day for the last two years. 
    

Since successfully swimming Lake Windermere earlier this month, it has taken me a good two weeks to fully recover. My biggest area of complaint from the swim was the soreness around my eyes from wearing goggles for 12 hrs &15 mins. A friend of mine has suggested that I should sleep with my goggles on from now on to get used to them...thanks Paul I best buy a water bed too!! 

Despite the English Channel waters now being at their warmest I have only just returned to the sea, preferring to maintain my fitness by focusing on my running, putting in 5 x sessions a week across the beautiful  AONB Kent countryside that surrounds my home http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/aonb.html

However I resumed serious training last Sunday and focused on improving my 'speed and catch' for a 1hr 30m session rather than gather 'hours under my belt for time spent in the water'.

With the channel swim season drawing to a close at the end of September the number of swimmers training in Dover Harbour is diminishing.

Around 30 swimmers, made up of soloist and relay teams, still await to make the crossing  like newly hatched 'Loggerhead sea turtles'!

With a plethora of international arrivals, the beaches of Dover Harbour has taken on a distinct colourful flavour with swimmers arriving from Malaysia, USA, Italy and Turkey.( One day I am going to work out the gross added value that channel swimming must contribute to the local economy?). 

Upon taking a breather in the sea on Sunday, I was amused by a Turkish swimmer who stopped to encourage me to carry on swimming as the water was very cold. I asked them how long they had been in the sea, their response was " 34 mins"...tesekkurederim?


Meanwhile amongst the euphoria of a magnificent Olympics games, unashamedly hijacked by Politicians and the Royal's to strengthen the bond with the common man, listening to a wailing Paul McCartney and watching an LSD induced closing ceremony, the past few weeks has also seen my training partners Lewis Young and Sophie Tills make valiant solo attempts to swim the channel.

With Lewis making a successful crossing in a highly impressive 12hrs & 52mins and Sophie  returning another a day to try again, I also acted as an observer for soloist, Mark Workman, who returned three days later to complete a successful swim in 20hrs 16 mins.

Observing Mark on his 1st attempt gave me some invaluable experience for when its my turn?

Well done to Lewis, Sophie and Mark you are all gold medallist's.

 

I am now the 'Last Man Standing' and with a year to go I am on the home run.

I would just like to say thank you to all those that continue to donate and support me with special thanks to Folkestone printers of Copy Link http://copy-link.co.uk 
and Silkworm Studios http://silkwormstudios.wordpress.com  for providing the posters and charity labels for my charity tins and Monkey Hair Maidstone
http://www.monkeyhair.co.uk  for being the 1st to promote my charity tins. 



I am also seeking other distribution points and if you would be willing to erect my poster to support me in raising money for my nominated charities or collect monies on my behalf please email on peterjamesgreen@gmail.com

Once again thanks everyone.  


  

       

"Hello Peter Lad"

It was with great sadness to learn of the death of Irish swimmer, Paraic Casey (45) who died whilst attempting a solo crossing of the English Channel on the 22nd July 2012, my deepest sympathies go to Paraic's family. 

Paraic was raising monies for two charities, The Society of St Vincent de Paul and Marymount Hospice in Cork.

Whilst I did not know Paraic personally, £1,000 from the monies raised through 'Let's Raise A Million Together' will be donated to his chosen charities. 

Catch my breath....

The last three weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind as I have attempted to balance an ever increasing workload with a training visit to Lake Windermere and grab some quality 'family time' in the Yorkshire Dales.

My son Jack Green, also made his Olympic debut. Well done to Jack and those around him...you made it happen.

I'm am so very proud of Jack for everything he has achieved and I am also proud of everyone that is working tirelessly to support me as I prepare for the challenges ahead.

I now have a face book page and you can follow me on twitter. Follow the links on this blog and I guess 'like me'?

Since achieving the 6 hr qualifying milestone in Dover on the 14th July, I  have continued to undertake 5 & 6 hr swims before departing for Lake Windermere.

Before I write about this experience, I wanted to share with you the 'bizarreness' of training to swim the English Channel.

With July temperatures reaching 36.5C (97.3F) here's a picture of Sophie Tills (18) recovering from one of her training swims before she jumps into her sleeping bag and is driven home to Medway by her mother Debs?

If you happen to have seen a woman in a sleeping bag being driven up the A2/M2 dont worry, it was our channel swimmer Sophie?

Sophie along with Lewis Young (17) will be both attempting solo swims of the English Channel sometime this weekend or early next week (wk com: 12th August) .

Sophie and Lewis have been my training partners this year, well, we share a cup of maxim every now and then!

Remember to look out for their results they both deserve every success and when they finish Sophie is looking for a job, so please drop me a line if anyone can help Sophie ?
  

"Hello Peter Lad"

Psychologically, I really wanted to complete a 7 hr swim before I embarked on my 10 hr attempt of the lake but I could never make a Saturday swim session...so 4 hours of the unknown it was to be?

Having arrived in Yorkshire at the beginning of the week, Sezen and I headed for Lake Windermere on the 1st of August on a grey and wet morning to rendezvous with my coach Tanya and fellow swimmers Sophie and Lewis who had swam the previous day.

Lake Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, with a maximum length of 11.23 miles (18.08km)  and width of 0.93 miles (1.49 km) with depths up to 219 ft (66.76m) .

With the support crew of Sezen, Tanya and Lewis ready, I entered the lake at 09.00hrs
and proceeded to swim behind the wooden rowing boat.

I must admit is was all quite surreal. With a large audience of breakfast diners stopping to wave me off I entered the weedy shallows of the lake quite surprised by its warmth and swam through moored yachts until I reached open water.


I had never swam in a lake before and I soon realised that the lack of salt meant that I would have to swim harder to maintain my stroke and keep buoyant, the lake soon exposed a number of flaws in my stroke that will need to be radically addressed over the winter months?

The strong cross winds encountered throughout the swim did not bother me, there is simply no comparison to the coastal winds I have had to endure this year in the channel but as I started to lose heat from those areas exposed to the elements, the last 2 hours of my swim were sometimes cold.

Even the swallowing of the fresh water was quite refreshing, although overtime my throat and tongue would end up swelling just as it would at sea? 


Swimming alongside such a beautiful landscape and viewing the many majestic houses that line the banks of the lake and being entertained by sailing boats, windsurfers and tourists made the lake a hive of activity and it certainly beat swimming in Dover harbour!

Strangely enough I never saw one fish? 

There was I happily waving to passersby as I swam front crawl on my merrily way?

So why was I even swimming Lake Windermere?

I understand from Tanya, that the rules for those wanting to swim the English Channel changed (largely forced by swimmers I must add), that anyone completing a 6 hr qualifying swim in the relevant water temperature is permitted to attempt a cross channel swim, this was reduced from the old ruling of 10 hrs. 

As part of our training, Tanya requires all of her swimmers to complete a 10 hr swim to enhance their chances of success, she is absolutely 'spot on'.

10 hrs of open water swimming tells you and your support crew a lot about yourself - Please note swimmers that we are not all experts or natural and it will not take you 6 hrs to swim the Channel?

Don't make the same mistake I did thinking you can turn up and buy a ticket and go?

 

Feeding...

I was fed after the first two hours of my swim, this was then repeated ever hour for 5 hours and then my feeds were increased to every 30 mins as I started to push and feel the pain barriers.

I found feeding from a blue plastic cup extremely difficult, I forgot my feeding routine (swimming on my back) and I gradually became more irritable with the crew as they appeared to row away from me, leaving me to hold a cup in the middle of the lake?

Eventually I tired of the taste of maxim, feeding the fishes (if there were any) on hour 9?


Surprisingly I had no appetite for milky ways, jelly babies or any delight and was only forced to eat chocolate on the insistence of the crew, which was a new chocolate bar called 'cardboard'?

Having (ONLY) previously swam a maximum of 6 hrs, I had now entered uncharted territory, from holiday swimmer to 'Enduroman'.

Due to a pulled neck muscle earlier in the week I was suffering from cramping spasm's in my calf from as early as the 2nd hour which remained with me until the end and then from around hour 8 I had cramp in my right arm until the finish, some 4hrs later (yes work it out??).

Swimming with one arm was a new experience for me but I think my swimmers log will show that I swam even better?

The support team worked miracles to patch me up with maxim and cardboard.

Where's my head...?


Mentally my 'toys came out the pram' on hour 8.

The trigger point was being shouted at by the crew to @~?$%ng kick my legs and swim harder to avoid the oncoming car ferry between Windermere and Far Sawrey.The ferry has a rising chain in the water that it follows and we were directly above it?

I remember looking up and seeing this huge car ferry baring down on me... that was too close for comfort? I must remember to thank the Captain for slowing down?

I spent the next hour sharing my thoughts with my coach and the crew, this was duly noted in the swimmers log probably under the heading ...'What an arsehole'... despite apologising I am still embarrassed by my outburst..but this was the equivalent of me hitting the 'runners wall' and exactly why we do 10 hr swims?

Beyond this point, I felt spent and I know I was just swimming with my arms with my legs floating underneath, just like a prawn!

It took a long time for me to refocus mentally...but I did?

Aside from refocusing on land marks that appeared to never come (this is often mentioned by many channel swimmers when trying to land in France) and concentrating on my swim stroke, my thoughts centred around 3 things;

1. Nothing Great is Easy
2. Its just another hour
3. Those that are Iess fortunate than me and how I could raise more money for them

Having Sezen as part of the crew helped as it kept me in check with reality and for some unknown reason I found myself repeating three words spoken to me earlier in the week by my mother's Yorkshire neighbour David.

I met David to thank him for his kind donation and was greeted in a fine and broad Yorkshire accent by the words "Hello Peter Lad".

It just never went away, "Hello Peter Lad".."Hello Peter Lad".. "Hello Peter Lad" imagine repeating that for 12hr 15mins?

Yes, I emerged 'Blue and triumphant, with leg cramp and bulging eyes' from the waters of Ambleside, some12hrs 15mins later and some 2 hours longer than the scheduled 10 hr swim.

My coach Tanya had wanted me to reach a specific goal and point (although I think it was more down to the speed of my swim if I am honest?).

Sezen later told me that she had noticed that I had gone blue around hour 10 and asked Tanya, who indeed confirmed that I was blue?

Being cheered on in the home straight by my fantastic support crew of Tanya, Sezen and Lewis they were joined from people emerging from their houses and the pub shouting and applauding my effort.

One woman shouted "This is fantastic, its better than watching the Olympics and he's better than Michael Phelps", really kind words but the difference is that Phelps gets a medal and I get a week of pain? Phelps, if your reading this 'nothing great is easy ' and put your hand in your pocket and sponsor me. 

Swimming the lakes was certainly an experience. I came here a year ahead of schedule and I left with a number of improvements to be made.

 

End of swim report will read: 

Improvements need to be made before next years channel attempt.

I have demonstrated that I have the mental resilience to complete an endurance swim and I can cope with the time spent in the water, there is absolutely no doubt I will successfully swim the channel but at what cost?

I need to improve my swimming stroke and improve my 'catch' to increase my efficiency and speed.

I will address this throughout the winter and I will return to the lake again next year to measure my progress before I embark on my channel swim.

For the remainder of the open water season I will now work on time trials and improving my speed within Dover harbour.

Meanwhile I also need to further improve my nutrition levels and correct those niggling muscle spasm's that I keep encountering. 

If anybody knows of a good nutritionist that could give me some free advice it would be really appreciated.

I am also looking for a good sports therapist to iron out those niggling muscle problems. I am happy to donate my body for free to any sports therapist that requires a body to work on to complete their studies (Kent area only).Please email me if you can help.

Please remember 'Lets Raise a Million to Keep Families Together Longer' and make a donation today, I am only asking for £1 or more.