I remember looking at my coach and shaking my head thinking this was such a moronic idea! I was so surprised and even embarrassed by my reaction that I vowed never to be so ill prepared and naive again.. attempting to swim the channel is serious sh!!t !!
Today I continue to train hard, be committed and dedicated to achieving my goal driven on by my channel swim coach Tanya Harding, who is also the open water swim coach for Dover Lifeguard Club www.doverlifeguard.co.uk
Over the months Tanya has tirelessly transformed me into some resemblance of an open water swimmer - our training sessions at St.Margaret's Bay Holiday Park swimming pool have been most amusing especially when I have to share a lane? www.park-resorts.com
My first season of swimming included many highlights including increasing my time in open water to 3 hours, swimming at night, swimming with a seal and getting used to suffering from the symptoms of hypothermia. I even bought a larger thermal flask in order to maintain a sensible fluid intake - the importance of not over filling your cup is one of the key lessons that you learn early on?
I also (rather prematurely) participated in a successful relay Channel swim on the 29th of September 2011.
Much like the last boy to be picked for the football team there was I sitting on the beach eating my much loved eccles cake and I was approached to make up the numbers of a channel relay team, later to be known as 'The Guns of Navarone' ,a name derived from the 1961 British-American classic war film - Peck,Niven, Quinn (you had to be there to understand why it was chosen and the fact that our arms smoked like guns - kiss the guns team).
After an aborted 5hr 1st attempt due to 'bad weather, seasick swimmers, interesting swells' we returned four days later to complete our 5 man relay swim in 16 hrs and 25mins landing in France around 01.00 hrs.
The successful team; Shannon Burgess, Alasdair Bruce, Mr Green, Peter Winfield, Johnny Hewlett and coach Tanya Harding.
To remain accustomed to the sea temperatures I decided to continue to train in open water throughout the winter of 2011/2012 and swam every week as sea temperatures fell to a low of approx 5 C - this was more about conditioning my mind than physical benefit (careful now!)
And now we are into the 2012 season and no I did not scream, we are at the business end of channel swimming, gone are the days of 1hr swims. I am currently up to 5 hr sessions perhaps once or twice a weekend and on Saturday the 14th of July I undertake my 6 hr qualifying swim which allows me to attempt to swim the channel..hang on guys..but I don't go until 2013?
Training to swim the channel is very selfish and personal and I thank Sezen for all the support she continues to give..but the house is spotless? xx
On the week commencing the 30th July this year I am heading off to Lake Windermere with two soloist Lewis Young (17) and Sophie Tills (18) to complete their training for an attempt on the English Channel in August this year. We will all complete a 10 hr swim of Lake Windermere.
Strangely enough I have trained with these two youngsters this year but hang on Tanya...shouldn't I be doing this swim next year?
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