Here We Go Again

It has come to my attention that I haven’t really written anything on this blog for a while, there is good reason for this, I have had nothing of interest to say. The following may well still be uninteresting but it is time to revive texswims…

Since I last wrote anything on here about actual swimming my attitude to training has completely changed. This year I am deliberately trying to swim less, and enjoy it more. Last year I became obsessed with times and getting overly competitive with myself, this turned out to be an utterly pointless venture. This time I am just swimming for the joy of swimming. 

Back in the sea, and loving it...

I have found a 50 metre outdoor pool, which is a bonus, so have been training outside since January. Unfortunately it is heated to about 23c, but after my local pool decided to heat itself up to about 30c it is far more pleasant. I have also once again started swimming at Dover. This has been far more enjoyable this year, the water has been 9, 10 and 11c the 3 weekends I have gone and I can honestly say I am yet to feel cold. Until I get out of the water of course when I get the shakes, but again these are nothing like last year.

I can now comfortably swim for an hour in 10c water and reckon I could do at least another half hour if I wasn’t terrified of Freda telling me off when I eventually did get out. In short the season has started very well, and confidence is high.

This time round I am fully immersing myself in the mental preparation. Last time it was just an after thought for me, which turned out to be a big mistake. I genuinely think I could not swim another length, but just concentrate on sorting my head out and I’d get across the Channel. I’m not going to put this to the test of course as that would be madness, but I am going to calm the swimming, and myself, down a lot.

One massive thing I have learned since returning to Dover this year is how little some people actually swim, and yet smash the Channel to pieces. I have met 3 people who have all completed Channel swims and yet have never swum further than 3km in a pool. I also know of people that just swam the weekends at Dover and didn’t swim at all in the week, or did very little. I was of the opinion last year that it was necessary to swim 40 – 50km a week to get across, and to get an outstanding time it probably is, but I’m not going for any records, I just want to get across. Time also doesn’t allow me to get in the pool for that long every week, so this choice has almost forced itself upon me.

I still aim to get around 20km a week, but don’t hate myself if I don’t achieve it. I will probably beast myself in June for a few weeks, then really calm down in July ready for the big day. I'm also taking a leaf out of Ange's book and fully embracing support swimmers, something I was quite dismissive of last year, determined to get across without anyone ever getting in with me. I literally have no idea why I felt like this. It's a hard enough challenge, no need to try and make it harder still.

Jackie Cobell (right). One of the many legends on the beach. My eyebrows don't always look like this...

I had the pleasure of meeting Jackie Cobell last weekend in Dover. If ever there was a person who should give motivational speeches she is it. She just completely removed any nonsense about the Channel, and just said get on with it. Many people have said this to me before, but when it comes from a lady who swam for nearly 29 hours it really hits home. 

She also gave me an excellent excuse for why I didn't get across last time - being too intelligent. Apparently if you're intelligent you think all the time and thus eventually get negative thoughts, Jackie said she just didn't think anything for her whole swim. So this is what I'm doing from now on, you'll notice the posts on here get less and less literate until it's just swearing and Rihanna song titles, then I will be ready. 

Unfortunately most of, if not all, the people on Dover beach are far more intelligent than me so this theory may have to be scrapped. So my excuse for last year remains: I was a baby.

Anyway there’s nothing really dramatic to put on here yet, and that will be the way it stays for the season. Dramas were for last year, this year is for a text book crossing from start to finish.

Although Royal mail did lose my Channel medical, so I have had to do that again, that was relatively dramatic…