What will you do over the next 6 hrs?

Wow What A Week - Since I launched this blogspot 8 days ago I have received just over 1,000 visits, with close to 40% of visitors making a donation to support my chosen charities. To see people from as far afield as Russia and the USA  prepared to support individuals and families in the U.K. is just simply fantastic!!

A massive THANK YOU goes out to everyone that has donated and kindly offered their support.

I must also say a big thank you especially to my niece Lauren who text me this week to say;
"You are very inspiring and I am proud to be your niece"

....Aside from the massive benefits that any monies raised would bring to individuals and families, I had never really thought about what impact my activities would have on others? I have never believed that you could motivate somebody, I believe that comes from within, but I have always believed that you could inspire people, I'm glad that my efforts may also inspire others? 

What will you do over the next 6 hours?

Last Saturday, 14th July, I entered the water at 06.00 hrs (oops 06.15hrs..I was late!!) to join fellow English Channel aspirant  Lewis Young in Dover Harbour to complete our 6 hr qualifying swim. Thanks Lewis for the early start, I've never known a 17 year old who wanted to get up that early before?

As a Channel Swimmer you must complete a 6hr swim in cold water, 60F (15.6 c) or less and get it rectified before you make any attempt to swim the English Channel.

Just to make absolutely sure my coach,( yes Tanya again www.doverlifeguard.co.uk and www.cpsf.co.uk ), is taking us to swim Lake Windermere in the Lake District at the end of this month to do a 10 hr qualifying swim...at this rate I might just do a 'two-way' swim...I think not?  

Anyhow, back to the 6hr qualifying swim? I have tended to suffer cramp within the 1st hour of my swims so I have ensured that I have upped my fluid intake the days before these big swims and have eaten well.

My pre swim meal constitutes of porridge, eggs on toast, toast and marmite, a banana, eccles cake, a cup of tea and plenty of water at least 1 hr before I swim, followed by sucking on ginger as I drive to the harbour to combat seasickness and then eating another banana 5 minutes before I swim?

Checking into the 'Beachside Lodge' and with my support team, Alison and Sarah, I  confirm my feed patterns, once after the first 2 hrs and then every hour and I quickly grease up my neck, armpits and between my legs to avoid the inevitable friction burns ( I learnt the hard way that its best to always shave before swimming??) 

Due to my late entry into the water, I only glimpsed Lewis at feed times and once in 5 hours of swimming in open water, ( I always worry about Lewis because he appears to have hypothermia in the first 10 minutes but he won't need long to swim the channel, he swims with the elegance and the speed of a dolphin... me by comparison..I can only liken myself to an oil tanker...heavy and slow!!)

The 1st two hours of the swim was very tedious and seemed to take forever. The water was warm and thankfully no cramp but everything and everyone was still asleep.The sky was grey, no seagulls flying and no shore side activity aside from the support team watching through binoculars from the 'Beachside Lodge' tent that was flapping in the wind and an inquisitive seal that swam underneath me and popped up alongside to say good morning (about an hour later that same seal chased a swimmer out of the water as he tried to get in...perhaps he left me alone because he could see the resemblance lol)?

Eventually Dover awakened and a cruise ship entered the harbour about 08.00 a.m. which set me off thinking about where it had been or was going, but at least it killed another 30 Min's? At 09.00 a.m. I was joined by the other channel swimmers...I took some great delight knowing that I was already 3 hrs into my session and these swimmers had 4 or 6 hrs to do..the benefits of  starting early..thanks Lewis?  






Hourly feed times were great, Maxim, chocolate..more chocolate,  more maxim and bananas ... I emerged successful, fed and watered at 12.15 hrs after 6 hrs of swimming ....surprisingly I was not that cold or nor did I have any aches and  I even gave a little jig of joy at the end!





Lewis had already completed his swim and was now sitting in the car waiting for his mum, Well done Lewis - you can do it?

I must give another big thank you to the staff at the 'Beachside Lodge' for their support and for feeding me.

Once they had packed away the tent and departed I sat on the beach enjoying the delights of my sandwich box and flask; chicken soup, sausage rolls, egg sandwiches and best of all my much treasured 'Real Lancashire Eccles Cake' the main stay of my channel swim diet www.lancashireecclescakes.co.uk

As for this week, swimming was cancelled due to the Olympic Torch relay and I have not been running as I have had visitors from Holland, my good friends Twan van Brussel and Annerie. So I took them to my local library......

A week off is perhaps a good thing!
   

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