Day 159 – New Years Eve 2010

New Years Eve and my last swim of 2010. From my standing start as a non swimmer back in April I have now swum 159 days, have covered who knows how many miles, have swum in various conditions ranging from calm as a cucumber to raging torrents and from scorching 20 degrees to freezing 3.5 degrees. I have spent hours in the sea and probably a lot more hours in the pool, I have spent numerous hours running to the gym and numerous hours running away from food. I have made so many new friends and have experienced so many new emotions. I have had what can only be described as a life changing year! I wonder how next year will top this, but then I think about the actual swimming of the channel and that certainly ups the game!

Today was a much nicer start as there was no fog, no wind and no rain; simply a cold but bright morning. I was at the Arch and in the water by 7.30am and swam my usual Pier sign and back. Little Bob, Mike, David and Martina were in and did their short swims and then the lovely Fiona turned up just as I was emerging 'James Bond' like from the ocean (I wish!). Of course Fiona being Fiona, she went out to the silver ball and back; but I think even she found that tough as when she came back in she did look a little shaky. In these temperatures you really have to be so careful because you can jump in and get swimming, feeling all up for it and strong, but literally within a couple of minutes the cold can take over and you find your energy is sapped within seconds and your body is starting to slow right down. You can all of a sudden turn to shore and realise you are a few hundred metres out and completely wasted, but somehow you have got to get in even faster than usual as every second out there drains you further. All that aside, the effects you feel afterwards when you are back in the Arch is incredible; you literally can feel like you’ve conquered the unconquerable (is that a word?). Today, despite the cold and the pain in my hands and feet, I absolutely loved every second of the swim. I came out of the sea all buzzed up and if my feet had allowed I would have skipped up the pebbles.

Back in Arch it was great to see a fuller room; Kevin, David, Little Bob, Mike, Evo, Martina, Paul and of course he who can’t be named. The conversations were somewhat eclectic as usual; even with the question from Kevin about whether water floats, which then was debated with gusto by all. You just gotta love it.

Tonight the Starr family are heading to Bristol to stay with friends for New Year, hence no New Year day swim for me. However, Sunday morning, being the 2nd January I will be firmly back in the sea and then it’s full on thereafter.

Happy New Year to you All

Swimming day 158 - 30th December 2010

Another "weather" day much like yesterday; fog, mist, light rain - just as one loves and expects in the winter! I had a bit of a rush on this morning as it was a disturbed night and it made me over sleep, which is something I never ever do. Last night at about 1am Asher called us as he had wet the bed (something he has been doing on and off for a while now). So it was a change of sheets, change of PJs and then a short negotiation about him staying in his room or sleeping in ours; of course he won and we had the pleasure of Mr SnoreAlot next to us for the rest of the night. Then at 3am the door opens and in comes Jesse, straight over to me, jumping onto the bed and spending the next two hours wriggling and worming all over me until I am almost on the floor. Then 5am taking him back to his bed (luckily Mia slept through all this) and at last returning to mine; Asher still of course snoring like a gruffalo!

So when I next awoke it was a very late 7.20am! This meant a mad dash, a quick dress, a jump into the car, a rush to the Arch and in the sea by 7.40am; not bad eh!!

The sea itself was fairly calm, with just a few large waves at the shore, one which grabbed me and turned me over as I was coming back out, charming!! I only spent about 6-7 minutes in the sea this morning, but it was long enough to wake me up! The temperature reading was 5.2 degrees, so not as bone chilling as last week (in the words of Little Bob), but still cold enough to chill.

Tomorrow is New Years Eve, so soon it'll be back to the start of another year and the start of some very hard physical training for me; I am ready for it now though.

As for the rest of today, it'll be a sad one I think. A very dear and old friend of mine lost his Father over Christmas, he was a similar age to my Father when I lost him four years ago. Today is the funeral, which will be very sad for his family, but also no doubt will bring back some tough memories for me as it was the same time of year that I lost Dad. I guess this is what life is all about; learning to deal with loss and be able to understand that life just has to carry on regardless and we simply have to learn to remember and focus on all the good stuff that we shared and not focus on the sadness of our loss. All that aside I still desparatly miss Dad every day!

Swimming day 157

Back to work at last, although isn't it funny how one is desperate to get back to work after a few days at home with the kids and now that the day is here all I want to do is be at home with the kids again. Funny old thing life.

I was at the Arch at 7.30am, barely able to find the door due to the fog and misty rain, but there it was as solid and forboding as ever. The air temperature had risen to a whopping 8 degrees, but the sea itself felt colder to me today; although the thermomenter showed it had had a slight increase. There was very little movement in the sea, either from the tide or the swimmers, and apart from a few waves at shore it was fairly still. Also, and at last, the tide was in, so a nice quick entry instead of a painful walk out. Only Little Bob, Mike and Evo joined me at 7.30am, so after about 2 minutes they were all back at the Arch and I was mid sea on my own. I swam once again to the end of the Pier sign and then headed back in. Part way back I heard a fairly loud growl and gurgle sound; my heart skipped about four beats and I found myself swimming to shore at speed! By the time I reached the shore and stood shivering on the pebbles my heart was racing like a formula one car! Of course in reality I heard nothing and of course in this temperature the only fish around would be the size of a half eaten cocktail sausage; it was clearly my mind playing tricks! Sometimes when you are out in the ocean on your own and you're tired from too much festive feeding your mind plays nasty tricks and takes you to the land of make believe; and not a particulary nice land it is. You end up imagining all sorts of scary things are hovering under you in the darkness of the sea and before you know it you are hearing non existant sounds and believing that you are swimming over huge sea monsters and about to be dragged into some black hole . Then all of a sudden your hands hit the pebbles & sand and you realise in fact you are all alone and the sea is nothing but a large cold bath; your heart however takes a while to settle back down and as you are sitting at work typing this out you start to feel a tad foolish - believe me I do!
I guess at least I got to start the day with an adrenaline boost!

Swimming day 156 – 28th December 2010

Yesterday is gone long live today!! I’ve no idea why I as in a foul mood yesterday, but today is a new day and a new attitude. Whatever happens today I shall turn it into a smile and shall be nice to be around; this is my bank holiday promise (I hope!!!).

The weather today was much like yesterday, apart from the added joy of some rain. Actually the rain had warmed up the air, so the temperature was probably around 5 degrees, which is a huge increase compared to the last few days. The sea temperature was probably the same as it has been, although it felt a little warmer, probably because of the waves. There was very little tidal movement today, but the waves were quite big. In fact a few of the waves were big enough to give you a cool roller coaster ride up and down. I swam out just to the end of the Brighton Pier sign and back again (back again being an important part of any swim!!). There were fewer of us today; just Little Bob, David, Evo and Martina and “he who can’t be named” plus Paul and Leo as we were leaving.

My morning swims are fantastic in so much that they really set you up for the day and of course keep you accustomed to the temperature; however one really can’t consider it training in any respect. I am now getting to that point where I desperately need to start training again. I know it’s only been a few days since I was last at the gym, but it’s been well over a month since I last did a “big” pool swim and probably a couple of weeks since I did a tough gym session. Today is the last Christmas bank holiday and then it’s New Year and the last of the holidays. I literally can’t wait to start the New Year, get back to work and get myself back into the Pool and the Gym. Come on clock get turning!!!

Day 155 - 27th December 2010

Swimming day 155 – 27^th December 2010

Christmas is over and the New Year blues are starting to set in already! I love Christmas, always have, but I've always disliked New Year. I find the whole "looking back" and "planning resolutions" to be most frustrating and time wasting! When christmas day is done I want to simply get on with life, get back to work and see what the next 12 months bring; I certainly don't want to be "reflecting" on the past or planning the future. And another thing; get the tree down please!! Surely once boxing day is done the tree can come down (ours came down last night in fact!), I certainly don't want to be going to work in january and seeing christmas trees all alioght in the peoples windows!!!

Strop finished and please accept my apologies if any offence caused!!!

Having skipped swimming Christmas day I also ended up skipping it boxing day; although most of the day I felt bad about that. The thing was that the three kiddies jumped in our bed at about 6.30am and cuddled up to us; Jesse basically clung to my kneck and was not letting go. Funny though how missing swimming when I had it preplanned in my head still brings on the guilt’s. Snuggling with Jesse though is a treat not to be missed.

This morning however, which is a bank holiday (as is tomorrow), I was very ready to get back to the beach and in the sea; even the pain of the cold isn’t putting me off; in fact it may be the feeling of the extreme cold that has become the drug and is making me miss it; odd! This morning at 8am I was at the Arch wondering if I was going to swim alone, when the door swung open and in came Little Bob; soon followed by David, Paul & Martina. Gotta love this place, nothing keeps us away it seems. The sea was very busy with “herds of white horses charging around” (gotta love these corny descriptions!) and the temperature was probably the same as the last few days, around 3.5 degrees. The air temp was up a bit to around 3 degrees and there very little wind, so all in all a tad easier than Christmas Eve in terms of coldness. The swim itself though was simply a case of wave after wave hitting you plus a strong tidal pull to the West, so not really much swimming going on. I’m not sure how long we stayed out there, but I would hazard a guess at around 5-6 minutes – certainly not long enough.

Having got home I found the kids all up and running about and being extremely annoying! To say that they received too many presents for Christmas is an understatement and it seems the more a kid gets the worse they behave. Next year we may be suggesting they share some with kids who get less than them; certainly won't do them any harm that's for sure. Having now spent the last hour basically telling them off non stop and threatening to take away their new toys I am desperately ready to visit my new friend the sea and submerge myself in her peace and quiet! Tomorrow I plan to stay in the water for longer, all day would be good! Also bring on wednesday and a return to work. Having got through Christmas with relative ease I am now finding myself becoming a New Year grump; this is not good!!

I think a long swim followed by a large whisky would do the job; but unfortunately I only have two hopes of that, Bob Hope and No Hope!!

I'll be nicer tomorrow I promise!

Swimming day 154 - Christmas Eve 2010

This morning was my last swim before Christmas, but I do expect to be swimming Boxing day. I have been “humming and haring” about swimming tomorrow, especially as my morning friends will be there at 8am (before the once a year swimmers at 11am) , but Sharon feels it wouldn’t be fair to our kiddies to drag them to the beach at 8am in the cold when all they will want to do is see what Santa has brought them (Nintendo DS for Asher, A Choo Choo for Jessie and a Pepper Pig for Mia - luckily they can't read my blog!!). I guess considering they are still so young she is quite right, and personally there is no way I am going to leave them Christmas morning, not even for 5 minutes.

The sea today was around the same as yesterday (3.5 degrees); it may even have been a little lower, perhaps 3.4 or 3.3. However added to this was a chill wind that was blowing from the West and this made it feel seriously colder; really chilling down to the bone. Then added to that was the fact that the sea once again just couldn’t be bothered to get close to the beach and as such we had the long painful walk out to a swimming depth; Chinese torture comes to mind! Big Bob wasn’t there as he is now away for Christmas, however Little Bob (really got to find a better name for him as it doesn’t sound flattering – suggestions welcome please!) was there along with Damien, Mike, Soweichi, David, Bella, Martine and Charlotte ; so a decent turnout. As it was Christmas Eve I thought I’d make the extra effort and as such swam out past the middle of the pier, around the buoy (which is about two thirds out) and then back in. Damien and Soweichi did the same; we were the three freezketeers.

I guess we were out for about 14 minutes and by the time I got back my hands and feet were really hurting; I really should get some gloves to swim in like the others have as they didn’t look in anywhere as much pain as I was in.
I know it all sounds a bit mad and begs the question “why”, but the feeling of accomplishment, along with the incredible scenery around you at that time of the morning and the comradeship at the Arch makes the whole thing more than worthwhile.

Now I’m nearing the end of this year it’s really interesting to look back over my blog from the first day back in April to now and to see how far I’ve come on this journey and all the new friends I’ve made along the way; I truly believe friends for life. It won’t be long before my channel swim is upon me, which is quite daunting, but for now I’ll sit back over Christmas, raise a large scotch to my Dad up there and just enjoy my accomplishments so far.
Happy Christmas Tiny Tim, Little Bob and one and all. !!!

Day 153 December 2010

Coldest ever swim so far for me; a chilling 3.5 degrees in the sea and 1 degree in the air.

Being 23rd December there was Christmas spirits at the Arch, with homemade flapjack and homemade mince pies for everyone; both of which went down well after the swim. It was also great to see Fiona back with us as I havn’t seen her for about a month; of course Fiona being Fiona meant that she went straight back in, did the longest swim out of all of us and then did some butterfly back; gotta love her.

The sea was once again very calm, although it was also a low tide, which was a real pain (literally). It meant a painful long walk out to get to a swimming depth, which by the time you reached it you were already cold enough to go straight back in. I swam about 7 minutes I guess, but that was enough for me. Today it was so cold that my left hand wrist really ached. I broke this wrist about 15 years ago and it never healed (that was how I found out I had osteoporosis), and whilst it never gives me any problems, the cold clearly got into it today and after about 5 minutes it really started to ache – I guess 3.5 degrees is cold enough to really get right into your bones. Apparently back in 1999 the temperature in the sea got as low as 1.9 degrees; I almost can’t even imagine that!

Christmas eve tomorrow, how exciting!!

Day 152 – 22nd December 2010

Just three days until Christmas and still we are swimming. This morning we were Big & Little Bob, David, Paul, Bella, Lindy, Evo, Martine and “the one “ we are not allowed to mention! Mike was also there but couldn’t swim as he was suffering from a bad nose bleed – apparently it just came on suddenly; but the question should be “was he pushed or did he fall!

The air temp was up to around 2 degrees, but the sea felt somewhat colder than yesterday; I would guess at around 4.7 degrees. The sea itself did not deliver the expected waves; instead it was extremely calm and cold, with a shroud of mist floating just a few feet above the water. I swam out to near the silver ball and then turned right around and swam back in; hands hurting all the way. By the time I hit the shore everyone was back in the Arches getting changed, with the exception of Big Bob who it seems is the hardest of us all. I guess I did about 7-8 minutes and he did around 10 minutes. The one nice surprise was that “the one we can’t mention” gave us all a signed certificate that proudly boasts we are members of the 40 club; this is very much a temperature thing (below 40 degrees centigrade) rather than an age thing as I doubt Little Bob & Bog Bob could even remember their fortieth years as they were so long ago!! (sorry chaps I couldn’t resist).

Just two more swimming days before Christmas, last one being Christmas Eve as I don’t want to swim Christmas day as it’s my time with the kiddies and also I don’t fancy sharing “MY SEA” with all those once a year dippers – I think I may be becoming territorial and possessive about my sea now!!

Day 151 – 21st December 2010

No snow this morning, but quite icy under foot. The air temp was up to around 2 degrees and the sea was up to almost 5 degrees; still extremely cold but not as bad as yesterday.

This morning I swam out rather than along; just going out beyond the Brighton Pier sign. There was a slightly weird feel in the air this morning, just floating out in the sea it felt almost atmospheric, like something was about to happen; it’s hard to describe. The sky was quite grey and it looked like snow clouds on the horizon, although no snow is forecasted. It was very still, although there were large swells at the shore; quite a strange unexplainable feel in the air. Apparently there is some very large movement way out in the Channel, so perhaps some surfing waves are heading into shore for tomorrow??

They reckon at the Arches that if one checked the records you would find that this December is the coldest in the sea for many decades, perhaps on record. Typical my first winter in the sea and it’s like a scene from “the day after tomorrow” !

Well back at the office, it seems my atmospheric experience has substance; with today being the first total lunar eclipse in 3 years and the first eclipse corresponding to the winter solstice in 372 years. Amazing!

Day 150 – 20th December 2010

I got “sleeted” this morning!

It snowed all weekend, so once again we have icy roads, pretty roofs and a traditional Christmas feel just like we used to get was I was a kid. Unlike last year, however, the roads are totally useable, so as long as you go slow you can get about no problem, which meant that no excuses available this morning for my swim. Walking down the beach in my trunks it was a somewhat odd feeling to be hit from all sides with sleet. It felt like thousands of ice cold needles tapping at your skin, which oddly enough was not overly offensive; although I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was enjoyable. The water was 4.1 degrees, which in centigrade is below 40 (I believe it is 39.5 or something) and the air temperature registered -2, so all in all a cold one. I swam to the donut and back, which took about 5-6 minutes and by the time I got back to the Arches my hands were seriously hurting. After a quick shower and warm up I went with Bob and Mike to the Red Roaster for a frothy cappuccino and chat and then over to the office to start the wind down for Christmas.

Sometimes the morning swim can make you feel a little tired, but most days, like today, it readies you for day ahead and makes you feel ready to take on the world. For those willing to bear a little pain, I would wholly recommend it!

Day 149 – 17th December 2010

All four today; sea, gym, pool & unpopular!

Sea – Got to the Arches at 7am and as usual it was empty, however, within 10 minutes the boys and girls were there. The air temp was a chilling -3 and the pebbles had completly frozen. Even the pebbles that are on the slope leading down to the sea were completely frozen solid. Even David, our old man of the sea, said he had not seen that before. The sea itself was bloomin cold, probably circa 4.5 degrees and there were waves; chilling indeed. It also didn’t help that a sloppy shave left me with a huge cut under my chin that the salt water really took a liking to! Bob and I swam to the end of the groin, but for some reason I found myself heading out rather than along and very quickly was a few hundred metres out amonst the waves. Usually this would be normal and in fact not even a second thought, however I was freezing and it made my heart skip a beat to see how far out I had gone. I did get a little panicked as I knew I could only be out for so long before I simply couldn’t move enough to swim in, so with head down and bracing myself I swam as hard as I could to shore. As it turns out it only took a minute or so to get back in, so it was clearly not a problem, but once again it shows you that you just have to be so careful as it really can be dangerous. Coming out and heading back to the Arches, which was only around 8 minutes after I had gone in I was very happy to be drying myself off and wearing my superman wooly hat; superman however, I clearly am not! I guess every now and again a bit of the old fear is not a terrible thing as it does ground you and make you recognise the safety factor of this sport and the importance of making sure you are not being overly gungho. One thing to mention today was the sky; it was incredibly clear. There were loads of clouds about, but they all seemed to be on the horizon rather than in the sky; it really looked like huge mountaing range at the end of the sea; really amazing.


Gym – 1.30pm I had an hour with Ross at the Gym. Once again he pushed me on lower body and core work. This element of training is completely new to me so it is rather painful afterwards. Hopefully after a few sessions it’ll stop hurting and we can get down to increasing the reps and the weights. Maybe one day soon I will even have nicely formed legs rather than twiglets holding me up.


Pool – After my hour with Ross I did an hour in the pool. Just slow lengths back and forth, forth and back etc etc etc. The pool was very quiet, just one lady in the slow lane and me in the fast lane so it was rather relaxing and easy. Next week I’ll ramp up the hours, but it was nice after a hard gym session to unwind with an hour in a warm pool.


Unpopular – I must be unpopular at the Arches, even though I thought everyone loved me! Hey ho!! I just heard that they have the BSC Christmas Meal tonight in Brighton; both the Sea and the Pool swimmers. Considering its 4pm and I only found out because Gillian asked what time I was going, I guess my good sense of humour and striking good looks were just too much for people to have around the table!!

Day 148 – 16th December 2010

Had a night of number crunching for work; which meant a lot of brain drain into the wee hours plus one or two rather large JD’s on ice. A true athlete would have shrugged this off and headed straight to the beach for the daily ice bath, but being just a wannabe rather than a true athlete, I ended up skipping the ice and went for the warm pool instead! I did a 90 minute pool swim at Esporta, in what was probably 28 degree water (I think that alone was a shock to the system) and then got to work by 7.50am all warm and with nothing hurting (except muscles of course). It was good to do some pool lengths as my long distance swimming has suffered in recent weeks and I desperately need to get back to my 5 hours and beyond (I sound like Buzz Lightyear now!). Tomorrow I’m in the pool again and also at the gym being trained, so all in all it will have meant a decent weeks training at various levels. Diary permitting I am going to try a 4 hour pool swim next week and perhaps a 2 hour as well; but it will be diary permitting.

I just had a text from Bob to say that “waves” had returned this morning; waves and ice temperatures, blimey that must have hurt; maybe the pool isn’t so bad after all!!

Today at work we have our CHOCS [Children Helping Other Children Smile] meeting with some of our charities, some of our business supporters, some of our schools and some new interested parties. Darren has basically put this together and has worked so hard I am really proud of all he is achieving (hopefully that doesn’t sound patronising). CHOCS is such a big part of the Starr Trust going forward as its head of development he is putting so much time and thought into it that it is really starting to take amazing shape. I have no doubt at all that CHOCS will soon be on the lips of every school in Sussex. If you get a chance why not log onto www.starrtrust.com and visit the CHOCS page; it’s really very exciting and inspirational to see what is being developed here.

Day 147 – 15th December 2010

Having arrived at the Arches slightly earlier than the others I decided to go in straight away rather that have the old agonising anticipation waiting game; or AWG as I refer to it loudly when talking to myself between the car and Arches. I figure walking to the beach in the dark in the middle of winter allows me the eccentricity of talking to myself! The air temperature was around 1 degrees, the sea temperature (as told to me later on was around 4.5 degrees) and the sea was once again flat. I got changed, popped on my swimming socks and headed down to the sea; this time with swimming gloves also at the ready. I could see a lone swimmer already in there and assumed (correctly) this was Soweichi, as he is always in there before anyone. He was basically finishing his swim, just coming back from the silver ball, so I decided to follow his line out and then back; which I basically did as quickly as I could, just in time to follow him up the beach. The water, obviously, was extremely cold, and this was no relief to the aching in my legs that was a result of Ross (my new trainer) putting me through my paces last night at the gym plus an hour pool swim afterwards. By the time I came out of the sea, probably around 10 minutes after I got in, I was extremely cold, but not as cold as after my 13 minutes swims with Bob; those extra few minutes make a huge difference it seems. After my shower all my usual friends turned up ready for their swim and whilst it was a shame not to swim with them, I was very pleased to be drying out and warming up. Tomorrow I am aiming for a pool swim in the morning rather than the sea, however, dependent on how I feel in terms of aching from the gym, I may end up just doing a sea swim; we shall see!! As for the gym, my next session is Friday and I am sure Ross will be cranking it up again; which all in all is a good thing, even though my 41 year old bones may think otherwise!

Day 146 - 14th December 2010

No flat tyres and no dramas, apart from Jesse getting me up at 1.55am to kiss his finger better!! Therefore, no reason to not get down the Arches and take a dip in the sea. The air temperature was slightly warmer at around 3 degrees and the sea was registering at 4 degrees – so still crazy cold, but slightly (only slightly) up on last week. Bob and I swam 13 minutes, which was donut to the pier and back. 13 minutes in these temperatures just in your trunks (although I also had swimming socks on) is pretty good going. For me having a few days out and the hospital last week made it an extra challenge for me – Bob said I had “grit” or at least I think he said that!! This afternoon after work I’m seeing my new trainer at Esporta for my first new gym session; quite looking forward to it actually.

Day 145 – 13th December 2010

A rather odd start to today; certainly not what I had planned! At 2am Asher was up, having wet his bed, which meant Sharon and I having to find him clean PJs and fresh bedding; of course by 2.30am he was back fast asleep and we were lying there fast awake! I eventually dropped off about 5am and was then woken by my alarm at 6.00am; charming! Then followed a slow getting up and getting ready for my morning dip; only to find that Sharon’s car had a completely flat tyre; joy oh joy on a Monday morning. Unfortunately as I failed my rocket science degree I couldn’t change the tyre on the Chrysler and had to await the AA. Apparently even after 20 years experience in tyre changing the AA man felt he also needed a science degree to do the job; why do car manufacturers make it so hard to change a tyre? I can’t imagine what would have happened if Sharon had been out with the kids and this would have happened. Anyhow, the morning dip was clearly not destined today; so here I am all nice and dry and warm at the new offices at 8am and ready for the day ahead; all dramas hopefully now completed for the day.

Tonight after work I am going to head to Falmer and do my first pool swim for about 3weeks. I’m just going to do an hour to get myself back into it. Then later in the week I’m going to do 2 gym sessions with my new trainer, plus I’m going to attempt a 3 hr and 2 hr pool swim. This week I’m back in the game and then it’s exercise city all the way (allowing of course for some Christmas spirit in between!)

Day 144 – 10th December 2010

An early bird today. I had a 7.30am Network meeting at the Brighton Chamber of Commerce and then a dash to the office as we are also moving today (after 12 years at the same offices). So I ventured into the sea at 6.45am for my first ever freezing cold solo swim! The Arches was dark and uninviting this morning and after sitting there at 6.15am for about 10 minutes I gave up on the talking myself out of it and took the plunge (so to speak). As it was both freezing cold and extremely dark I stayed very close to the water’s edge and simply did the groin to pier swim that Bob and I have been doing of late. The hardest thing for me was actually trying to unlock the Arches when I got back, my fingers simply not wanting to respond to the signals my brain was trying to tell them. Either that or my fingers were well up to the job but my brain was frozen and forget to send the message down; either way it was certainly character building at 6.30am! After a very very quick shower and change I was back in the car and heading over to the meeting. Having got there half an hour early I was able to thaw out and make myself presentable. My task at the meeting was to address a number of local businesses and tell them about the Starr Trust and to answer some rather odd questions; for instance “if my charity was an animal what would it be” ? I think that the meeting went well and in truth the questions made it a bit more focused and certainly added a lightness to the event. Afterwards I met a number of really interesting people and then left Micala there to carry on the Trust talk and I headed back to work to get involved with the move.

Moving offices, especially two offices, was quite a daunting task, but the organisation that my team brought to it was astounding and by the end of the day we were settled in and everything was working; a miracle indeed.

Day 143 – 9th December 2010

Another cold one today; in fact even though the sea was probably around the same 3.5c it felt a fair bit colder. It could have been because of the air temperature as that was around -2 this morning. Another joy of this morning was that the sea had decided to be a little lazy and hadn’t quite come up to the beach; some call it a low tide, but personally I think it’s just lazy! It meant that there we were having to walk slowly out, probably a good 1000 metres, before it was actually deep enough to swim without hitting your hands on the bottom. A walk through 3 degree water in -2 air before you actually submerge yourself in the ice water really does add to the fun!

Tomorrow I’m moving office (make that both offices and after almost 20 years!); so I’m going to have to miss my swim in the morning as simply just too much to do.In fact I actually have a 7.30am meeting before I get to the office to help with the move. Even with the freezing cold and painful swim, I actually would prefer the swim than the move, but like the swim, once it’s done it will be very satisfying.

Day 142 - 8th December 2010

Another record today for me; 3.5 degrees in the sea, my coldest ever yet. Actually everyone down the Arches said it was their coldest and unusual for this early in December. The air temperature was slightly up at 1 degree, so that certainly made a difference. Usual crowd in for a minute or two, with Bob and I doing a decent 11 minute swim from groin to pier and back. My hands obviously were frozen and painful, but my feet were not too bad as I had my swimming socks on. As for my body, in all honesty it was ok. I think that the stones on the beach felt the cold more than me as they were frozen solid in some places; almost as if they were laid as a road. 3.5 degrees and yet we still swam; nice!

I’m going to finish this week just in the sea and then next week it will be back to the pool as well plus the gym; in fact tonight I’m meeting my new trainer Ross at Esporta to plan the diary for the next 6 months; which is well overdue.

Day 141 - 6th December 2010

Today is wasn't the weather that stopped me, it wasn't a bad cold , it wasn't even the pressures of work or home; nope today it was the Crones! That is the Crones disease not the old crones!

Actually to be truthful it was the preventative side rather than the illness. Today was my annual check up, which involved all day Sunday being really uncomfortable and energy sapping, followed by a day [Monday] of colonoscopy at the Nuffield under anaesthetic. It also meant nothing at all to eat from 6pm Saturday night to 6.30pm Monday evening (basically right now); with my current weight loss being a problem anyway a 48 hour abstinence was not overly helpful. Normally two days not eating is not a problem for me, but when you know you are not allowed to eat it makes you very hungry! I guess it's lucky that Christmas is on the way as that will mean lots of food and chocolate, including my Mums cheesecake & trifle to fatten me up!

All went well with the tests which is always a relief and now I'm done and fit for another year. So tomorrow, assuming I can get some energy back I'll have a sea dip, but I'm not gonna be able to get back to my 5 hr pool and gyms until next week as I need to get my energy levels back up.

Yesterday, 5th Dec, was the anniversary of my Dad's passing, can't believe it's 4 years. Dad, the Trust, The Swim and me swimming in the snow is all for you mate. Wish you were here in body, but I know you're here in spirit. I'll have a large whisky for you tomorrow when I'm allowed!

Hey ho, it's all just part of life's interesting tapestry !

Day 140 – 3rd December 2010

After yesterdays car trouble (or could just call it wimping out of course) I got up at 6am lively as a leopard in chase of it’s lunch and hurtled out the door, into the sunlight and straight to the beach for a 5 hour swim!

Or not!!!!

Actually I stumbled out of bed at about 6.45am, looked at the clock and thought flipping heck, slowly got dressed without enthusiasm and climbed into my car with trepidation and slowly pulled out of the drive onto a very snowy icy road. After picking up Bob on the way (the mad fool was walking from Ovingdean to Brighton for his swim – he’s way nuttier than I) we got to the Arches about 7.20am and along with Little Bob, Lindy, David, Mike, Fiona, Soweiche and Bella we headed down the beach. Even though Monday was snowing when we went in, today was actually my first experience of walking down the beach in my speedoes with snow up past my ankles. The sea itself was very calm and it was a high tide, which meant no painful walking out. Also it was literally as clear as glass; you could see straight through to the bottom. So in we all went, no hesitation because we are hard, and swimming took place. I guess I was in for about 8-9 minutes, others a lot les and a couple a few more. Fiona, of course, swam all the way to the silver ball and back, but then she is wonder woman. In terms of “pain”, the sensations on my legs, arms and body was like thousands of little pin pricks, but that’s ok for a short swim. My face was surprisingly OK, my feet were fine (I sensibly wore swimming socks today), however my hands once again felt it the most. I might wear swimming gloves next week as wearing both gloves and socks will allow me to stay in longer. Walking back up the beach with my socks on and having only stayed in for under 10 minutes I actually felt OK, unlike Mondays experience.

The air temperature was around -5 and the sea I would guess was probably sub 6 degrees. So the sea is clearly warmer than the air, however, being in the sea with just trunks on definitely feels colder than standing on the beach. I wonder when getting out if one simply considers the mixture of being in a cold sea and standing in the cold air is actually the calculation of both rather than just the chill of the lowest? Either way for me coming out of the sea all wet made the walk to the Arches a dam sight colder than the dry walk down! All in all it was a good swim; no reason at all for me to have felt nervous about it this morning.

Hopefully I’ll be able to pop some pictures of today on this page next week as Lindy kindly took some snaps and hopefully will email them to me next week.

Day 139 - 2nd December 2010

What a wimp!

In all seriousness I would definitely have gone swimming today, no doubt in my mind at all. In fact it is now 8.22am and the guilt and annoyance that I didn’t go is already setting in. The fact is that so much white stuff fell overnight (and is still falling) that my car may as well have a carrot on its front as it has more snow on it than a snowman. So whilst I would have gone swimming, it would have been daft to have walked 90 minutes to the beach, swam for 1 minute, then walked a further 60 minutes to work with the shivers. However I did take a phone call from Bob, who informed me that he had Gillian’s truck, so he made it to the front, joined a group of others who lived close by and they went in for just under 1 minute. He said that his toes still hurt from our 15 minute swim yesterday so a minute was plenty; a very tough guy. Astounding effort and puts me to shame!!! However for me it was the walk back to the office after swimming that made it a no go - pneumonia is not to be encouraged in an athlete in training!!

So my sole exercise for the day will have to be 60 minute walk to work and 90 min walk home. Can’t even get to the gym and then some gentle weights tonight from the warmth of my home. Can’t wait until I move back to Hill Drive and get my training pool and gym back; seriously how cool will that be! As it is I shall return to the beach and gym ASAP, car and snow dependent!!

Day 138 – 1st December 2010

Back from my travels to New York and returned to blasted snow! Sorry to be a grump but snow and I just don’t get on! To name a few reasons; it’s disruptive to work, it’s cold, it’s disruptive to work, it’s cold, it’s disruptive to work ........

A little about New York, not to rub it in at all, but just so I can look back over this and re-enjoy the experience! Sharon and I became adults for a few days; no children meant no children talk and no “Daddy can we or Mummy can we or arggggggg”. Love them and certainly missed them, but getting to talk to Sharon without interruption was a “neat experience” (NY talk). We shopped until we dropped (literally), we ice skated in Central Park, we saw Wicked (best musical ever) in Times Square and we saw Michael Buble in concert at Madison Sq Garden; sitting just 3 rows back from the stage! Oh yes and not forgetting we did eat in between!!

We got back Tuesday midday after a decent 9 hour flight, all ready to get back to normal life. We were met head on with a true English winter; snow everywhere and minus 1 degrees. For the first time ever in my life this had a brand new meaning and horror; it is called Swimming. Putting it out of my mind I went about the usual unpacking and time with kids and then bed, but the morning came around exceptionally fast unfortunately.

Down at the Arches there were less than usual, however, my usual friends (Bob x 2, David, Soweichi, Paul, Mike, Bella) were there. They all went in, I think they did a quick in and out. Big Bob and I went for a proper swim. The beach was completly white and the snow was still dopping down from above; the sea was very calm; luring us into it’s claws (claws being the operative word if you see our hands afterwards). We went straight in without hesitation and swam along the coast to the donut at the first groin, then turned and swam back to the pier and then turned back to the donut. I bailed out half way back to the donut, but Bob being the man, finished the swim. I think we must have done 14 minutes (him 15 minutes) before we trudged back up the beach. To say my feet and hands hurt was truly an understatement, I really thought they could snap off. Just getting my flipflops back on was so difficult that I ended up on the beach on my bottom as I couldn’t stand and slip them on (Bob did exactly the same a minute later!). Jumping into a very hot shower was clearly silly as I very quickly felt sick and had to squat down; it only lasted about 30 seconds, but it wasn’t very nice. I guess my blood pressure must have dropped in the sea very quickly and then the hot shower raised it very quickly. Need to definitely be careful of that! Tomorrow I will go back again, although for the first time since I started I really am not looking forward to it. I think I may just do 10 minutes max tomorrow as I don't want to overdo it, plus I have to somehow get through the snow and up to London by late morning.

The temperature I believe was about 6 degrees in the water and -1 in the air; so far the coldest for me ever.

Utter madness!!!

Day 137 – 25th November 2010

Air temp - 1 degree and light snow forecast! Sea temp- dam cold!

I didn’t sea swim yesterday as I had a London meeting at 8am, so I had to leave Brighton at 6.30am. Big meeting about the growth of Seico Group, I talked for 4 hours nonstop, more tiring than swimming! did manage a 90minute pool swim and a 40 minute gym sessions after work though, so I still got some exercise endorphins in to keep that guilt at bay.

This morning the sea was extremely calm and a low tide, which of course meant a cold walk until it was deep enough to swim, and boy could I feel the cold in my feel and my face, really painful by the end of the swim. My body seems to be fine, it basically my feet when I come out and my face when I go in; I’ll try to find a better swimming hat I think and maybe some swimming socks. Bob, Paul Smith (Swim UK Ltd) and I did an around the pier swim, which in terms of calm water was easier than an easy thing, however, in terms of cold it was a challenge. It took Bob and I about 22 minutes to get back; Paul, I think was a few minutes afterwards, but he was very weighed down by swimming socks and gloves. He said afterwards, which is a very good point, that the gloves & hats certainly provide the warmth, but if they slow you down it means you are in the sea longer and therefore get colder; interesting point in terms of using them or not.

By the time we got back to the Arches my feet and hands really hurt quite a lot and it took a hot shower to get them back to acceptable levels again; my feet in fact were still hurting for a good hour after I got back to the office. After we were all dressed we decided to guess the sea temperature; Paul said under 9 degrees, I think Bob guessed somewhere under 10 degrees and I specifically said 9.2 degrees. Seconds later Fiona came in from her swim, having not heard us talking about temperature, and proudly announced that her watch said the temperature in the sea today was ..........Take a guess .........





9.2 degrees!

Mission Impossible - News - Heart - Sussex

Mission Impossible - News - Heart - Sussex

Day 136 – 23rd November 2010

After yesterdays less than happy start, I was feeling much better when I got up this morning. Not 100%, but certainly a good 80%. When you hit your 40’s, 80% is not so bad! Oh my god I sound like an old man of 55!!!!!

This morning it was Shoreham Port day. After picking up Darren and Emily (from our Africa charity) at 7.30am we headed to Shoreham Port where we met up with Rodney Lunn, the CEO plus his team & a number of our other charity partners and some local businesses that support us and also some local press. The point of today was a PR exercise for the Port and also a fantastic opportunity for us to put together a DVD, courtesy of See That, of the Starr Trust to use for promoting our Swim4Smiles campaign. It was so amazing to see so many people turn up there at 7.30am just to see me take a dip in the harbour in my trunks; or maybe it was the free bacon sandwiches and coffee on offer? Mmmmm, which one could it have been?

After some chatting and filming I undressed and popped into my trunks and then we all headed off through the port to the harbour; surreal to say the very least! With everyone standing on the dock in anticipation I climbed down the ladder from a tug boat and took the plunge. The temperature was certainly warmer than the sea, probably around 12 degrees, so that was pleasant, however, the taste was somewhat diesly! I did a short swim from the dock to a waiting tug boat and back again, probably no more than 200 meters in all, and then climbed out to rapturous applause – I have to say I found it rather odd that people were clapping me for a 200 metre relatively warm swim; but hey ho one has to take the applause when one can!! What was particularly nice was that at least 4 people, two from the Port, told me that they thought my swimming technique was “fantastic” and that I simply glided through the water; considering that I only started swimming properly in April that was super nice to hear. Another great PR day for the Trust and the Challenge; everyday seems to get more exciting.

Day 135 – 22nd November 2010

Sea 9.8 degrees. A big drop from over 11 degrees last week. Air 6 degrees.

Not a fab start to the day. Woke up feeling sick and stayed in the bathroom for 20 minutes thinking I was going to be ill, wasn’t though. Got to the beach at 7am; the sea very very calm, hardly a ripple, although I swear it looked colder than usual if that is possible. An amazing sight this morning though was the starlings, there were three pockets of them, maybe a 100 in each, doing these amazing dances around the pier; it looked like a spell cast by a great wizard; incredible.

My usual friends were in the Arches; Two Bobs, David, Lindy, Paul, Soweichi, Simon; all keen and ready to go. We headed to the sea and all did our usual; some tiptoeing in, some staying close to the edge and some, Simon, Bob & I, taking the plunge and just going for it. It was Cold with a capital C! After a few hundred metres my sickness came back on and I had to stop swimming and just float for a couple of minutes until it subsided. Somehow floating in 10 degree water for a few minutes seemed to do the job and I was able to slowly breaststroke back in to shore. All in all not my greatest swimming experience so far!

After warming up I headed to the office and had my first meeting of the day with Southern Water's Head of Charity Fundraising, Kevin Buck MBE; a really great guy and full of enthusiasm. Despite my feeling unwell and not performing to my usual standard, I think that the meeting went really well; Darren and Micala sat in on the meeting and that certainly made my life easier. Kevin seemed very keen to work with us, especially with Swim4Smiles and also our CHOCS programme; so a very exciting meeting indeed.

After this meeting I headed home at full speed and just made the bathroom in time and then spent the rest of the day and night in bed feeling not so good! This is the first time I’ve been sick for ages, well over a year – I hate being sick!!!

Day 134 - 19th November 2010

7am and the first of two sea swims today. The second was at 10am when Fiona, Bob and I went back to meet Richard Lindfield (friend and local radio news reader) who is going to make a film blog for the Argus on my channel training.

Swim number 1 - It was around 4 degrees in the air at 7am this morning and it really made for a cold wake up call. The sea was back to be calm, which meant we could actually get in and have a swim, although the cold in the air and water made for what I can only describe as a “character building “ start to the day. We swam to the silver ball along the pier, then over to the donut on the groin and then traversed back to where we’d left our flip flops. All in all about 20 minutes I guess. I’m not sure yet how long we’ll be in at 10am, but if it’s much more than another 20 minutes I think I might be cold for the rest of the day!

Swim number 2 – Being back at the Arches at 10am and back into my Speedos seemed somewhat strange; I had barely thawed out from the first one and here I was again ready for another freezing! Saying all that, it was so sunny and gorgeous by this time, that it was a pleasure to be back down there. We met with Richard and two young lads he is training and they set up their camera and interviewed us individually, then filmed us in and out of the sea. It caused a slight stir on the promenade as people stopped to watch the three crazies in their swimming costumes; some people even came over and asked us if we “are really” going to go in the ocean (they were American, so it was all very British to them!). The interviews and swim lasted around half an hour and was good fun. Hopefully it’ll be available to watch over the weekend and then I can link it to my blog for all to see.

Aside from the two swims this morning, there was great discussion/debate in the Arches on my use of the word Pilchards in my blog (see blog dated day 132) – this rowdy discussion was led by Little Bob (you need to make up your own minds on which bits of him are little – I am sure this line will start another debate!); he was clearly the ring leader in the attack on my verse, however, he was soon joined by all those who felt 'pilchards' was just not a kind word to describe my fellow BSC members. On the drive back from the Arches to work I gave this matter some thought to see if I could think of a better word to describe grown men & women lying flat together on the beach being washed over by freezing mountains of water. I considered “brave” as an alternative, I considered “wondrous” as a description I even thought of words such as “heroic”, “extraordinary”, “phenomenal” & “astounding”, but after much thought and internal deliberation I just kept bringing back to my mind the picture frozen there of grown men and woman lying next to each other on the beach and all I could see in my minds eye were Pilchards! But we should not forget the value of Pilchards should we? They are rich in so many things; vitamin, calcium, protein to name just a few. Also it should be remembered that in my prose I could have referred to us all as Sprats or Plankton!! So to Bob and all his cohorts perhaps after all you should slapping me on the back and thanking me for the kindness shown in my description; food for thought my friends, food for thought!!!

Day 133 - 18th November 2010

Another choppy day, but at least I managed to get in!

Nothing really like yesterday, however still a very strong pull as well as large waves on shore. After much thought I decided to just go for it and launched myself in through a big wave and kept my arms going until I cleared the breakers and was out into the deep. Bob and Midgie were not so sure and were heading for the girlie beach, but decided to stay and watch me as they were a bit worried about me! Bless em; I was really fine though. Then from nowhere Big Paul Smith came lumbering down the beach, straight passed them and hurled himself in, joining me in seconds. I think this was the driving force that made Bob throw caution to the wind, then suddenly I was not alone ; one became three! Midgie stayed on shore as I guess she was the one with a tad more sense!

The swim was rather tough as the sea was very choppy and cold, but we got to around the silver ball before heading back. The swim back was actually a challenge; Bob had a fight with a large wave, Paul got in after about 3 unsuccessful attempts, but as usual the Starr luck stayed with me and my entry missed the big wave and I coasted to shore on a nice mid sized one. Great to get in and have a hard workout. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Now on train to London for a more normal few hours with more normal people; if only they new how my day had started! On the train I had a chance to look over the Trusts proposed 21 children projects that the Channel swim will be sponsoring; I'd swim it for any one of them let alone all of them, all amazing and such worthwhile causes. Hopefully they will be finalised in a couple of weeks and then I'll blog them for you to see.

Day 132 – 17th November 2010

After two very calm days, this morning the wind made a triumphant return. As friends, the wind and the waves really go everywhere together; and boy oh boy were they here together today.

This was yet another first for me; this was the first day we could “not” get into the sea due to the weather. Usually on a day like today we would go onto the “girly” beach; being the one on the East side of the Brighton Pier as it is usually not as mad because the pier blocks a lot of the movement. However today the girly beach was more like a lady with PMT; ANGRY and unforgiving!! There was no way one would attempt to even step near the sea on the that side. So there we were, maybe 8-10 of us, standing on the edge of the sea on our normal beach, just trying to see where/how we could get in. The waves were so big and powerful that just looking at them made you wonder on the madness of going in. After a few attempts by a couple of people it was clear that going in would be very difficult, if not suicidal, but coming out would be potentially bone breaking; I am “not” exaggerating. I’ve been in some very rough seas of late, but really haven’t seen waves as powerful as this before. We did try a few times to get in, making our way almost to the foot of some monsters, and in the process getting soaked by waves much taller than us, but it was just simply too dangerous. You would have thought at that stage we would have all turned around and headed straight back to the warmth of the Arches and dry clothes, but oh no, this is the Brighton Swimming Club, such common sense could never prevail. Instead, like a bunch of eccentric fools, we simply all lied down as close to the edge as we could get and let the waves crash over us! Just how crazy would that have looked from the seafront! We were simply like a line of adult pilchards along the sea shore; crazy, but huge fun. Just lying there and letting the waves go over you was actually extremely hard; not just from the cold water, but from the strength of the pull. You had to literally dig your legs into the stones and push you palms as far down as you could, otherwise you were sent rolling down the beach, being scratched and turned on the Brighton pebbles as you went; which happened a number of times despite your best efforts to hold yourself in place. A lot of fun in a lot of respects as it really made you forget you are an adult with a shoulder full of responsibilities and let you just feel like a kid again; however, once is enough as we were there to swim and swim was what we wanted to do.

Hopefully tomorrow will still have some challenges, but fingers crossed we can get in and out safely. Once again what a difference a day makes!

Day 132 – 16th November 2010

Today was much like yesterday in terms of temperature and conditions, although as usual the actual swim cannot be compared to yesterday as each day is very much governed by so many things, not least one’s own feelings that day. For me today was a much “nicer” swim than yesterday although that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it yesterday as well. Today was very much a colour day; it really is incredible the colours one sees when one is in the sea. The sun was a reddygold, the pier was almost maroon, the sea was kind of milky, the clouds were virtually opaque, the sky was a mixture of light blue and dusk all swirled together; seriously a really poetic colourful morning. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought sea swimming could evoke so many emotions and thoughts just through the colours, quite something.

As for the actual swim itself; Bob and I went around the pier again, keeping a steady pace I think it took us about 26 minutes. In this temperature that is a decent pace; we even stopped briefly a couple of times to chat (only briefly though as you don’t in want to be hanging around in this temperature). It was funny actually because when we stopped around the head of the pier to chat I could still see our breath in the air. The temperature walking down the beach was circa 3 degrees and the temp in the water was probably about 10.5 degrees. Coming out we met Simon on the beach, and the three of us walked back up to the Arch; my feet at this time was so cold that they actually hurt. It seems that I can take the cold OK in my body; my face hurts when I get in but soon warms up, however my feet are the issue. They get really cold very quickly and then start to hurt when we come out of the sea and walk up the beach. Now, some 70 minutes later, I am at the office and my right for (little toe particularly) is still a mixture of being numb and painful. I guess I should consider wearing swimming socks again, but I really want to put that off as long as I can as I really don’t love the feeling of swimming in gloves or socks. There is talk about a wet suit for the winter so we can stay out in the sea longer; but I really am not sure I’ll do that; I really want to stay just in my trunks if I can.

Off to London in a minute for a day of meetings, hopefully my feet will warm up soon. Also I have got this ridiculous swimming cap line around my forehead, it looks weird to say the least! I desperately hope it fades for my first meeting; can you imagine walking into a high powered London meeting with a dent around your head – nice!!!!

Day 131 – 15th November 2010

Boy it felt cold today. The air temperature this morning at 6.30am was around 4 degrees and the sea temp was 10.9 degrees. I know that it is going to get down to half of that pretty soon, but for now this is plenty cold enough thank you.

After a few days craziness, the sea was very calm today. There was a fairly strong current from East to West and then a strong pull back to the beach once you went around the pier and were near the stairs coming back. It was a once around the pier swim with Bob and it probably took us about 25 minutes I guess; the cold does slow you down, but you want to keep moving the whole time because if you stop you really will cool down even more. The cold seems to be OK in my body when I get in; the pain for me is in my face, particularly around my temple – it really is quite painful for a few minutes. After that you pretty much get used to it and then it’s just a cold swim. The walk back up the beach is always hard on the feet and then I found driving to work afterwards I was shivering a little (just a little though). Hopefully we’ll have a couple of clear days like today so that we can get some swimming in, but I think that the waves are due to return later this week. As for the pool; if my cold goes then I’ll do a 5 hr Wednesday as usual, but if my cold persists I may well just stick to the sea and the gym this week and return next week – I really need to get this cold gone now as it’s now in week 4! I will go to the gym after work for an hour as last week I only went once in the week and then also Saturday night. My gym sessions do need to now start increasing. Hopefully Ross from Esporta will deal with that once he’s back from his hols.

On Friday afternoon Micala and I met with Rodney Lunn, the CEO of Shoreham Port. It was a really good meeting as Rodney expressed that as well as making a financial donation to the Swim4Smiles challenge, he is keen for the Port to also support me in terms of PR and events, as well as letting me swim in the Harbour whenever I want. Swimming in the harbour will be good for me as it will be yet another test in terms of swimming style and also it will make some good PR for both the Port and the Starr Trust.

Day 130 – 12th November 2010

So nice to be back in the sea today after two days in the pool; the sea really opens up my airways and lets me breathe again; I might need to take a week away from the pool and see if that helps. We were meant to be filmed today for the Argus, but sickness their end meant it is postponed until next Friday; shame really as the conditions today would have been a good site to behold.

No rain today which was good, but plenty of wind (in the air that is!!). The sea was really rough, so we went in on the girls beach and just played around, although if you had been there you might not consider it playing. It was quite hard to actually swim as the tide was really strong and dragging to the Marina and the waves were just constant and dragging (literally like a clamp on your body) you out to sea. We swam a short distance out, but it felt a little scary as it wasn’t an easy swim to get back in; so we kind of stayed near the shore as much as we could. As for the temperature, it felt like 10 degrees today; my face actually hurt for a couple of minutes.

Whilst I do love these days, I really could do with a calm sea for a few days now so I can do some sprints around the pier and work on my distance and speed. Let’s see what Monday brings.

Another week over, another week of ups and downs (literally) and another week closer to my Channel swim!

Fundraising still has a mountain of way to go, but we are almost at 10% of the fundraising challenge, which is £10,000; I personally think that is amazing in two months.

Day 129 – 11th November 2010

Not having gone to the sea today I can only imagine how big it must have been. The weather this morning was appalling; heavy winds and rain, but today was my second Falmer day. I finished my pool swim as planned for the week and at 9.30am I met with Ross and we completed my assessment; body fat, muscle tone, water balance etc. At this stage none of it means much to me, but he seemed to understand it all, or at least he sounded like he did!! He is now away for 2 weeks and then on his return he will be completing a swimming technique session with me to see how I am doing and will also start me on my new gym plan and eating plan. I get the feeling that this will increase my physical week to yet another level, although I am not sure how that is possible as I seem to be constantly swimming, running and weight lifting – how my muscles aren’t growing I am not sure, but hopefully they’ll get there in time for the swim!!

Tomorrow I’m in the sea at 10am as Richard Lindfield is going to be filming me for the Argus blog; hopefully the sea will be big and they can see the madness that sea swimming in November really is.

After tomorrow I may take a few days off from swimming as I still am really badly stuffed up with a cold, which has now been for about 2 weeks and I really need to shift it as I can hardly breath from my nose at all. I probably shouldn’t go tomorrow, but I have committed to the filming and also I really want to finish this week off with a decent sea swim.

Yesterday afternoon Darren, Mel & I met with five of the charities that would like us to support them as part of Swim4Smiles; oh my god how emotional was that. It was so inspiring to meet such incredibly dedicated people, but it was so draining to hear such sad stories about children who just need a chance in life; I so admire these people who get down to the work and make such a difference to these children around the world; I would swim the channel twice over for any one of them let alone all of them; there really are some amazing people in the world. This afternoon hopefully will be a big boost for all these charities as I am meeting with the CEO of Shoreham Port as he has expressed that he would like to support the Starr Trust and Swim4Smiles, which is very exciting.

Day 128 – 10th November 2010

The weather must have known I was in the pool today as it decided to stop raining, stop being windy and let the sea have a much needed rest; a perfect day for a sea swim!! Oh well, I was in the pool and that was that!

I did a 3 hour swim today, which being a lot less than my usual 5 hr, meant I was actually thinking it would be rather easy. I am pleased to say that all in all it was rather easy. The first hour, as usual, was quite tough, but once I got through that I found the next two hours to go by in a flash. The pool was quiet generally, allowing me to have my lane to myself for most of the time which was great. I also had my Fiona in the lane next to me, which is always great company. For a change I decided to make each hour different; the first I swam as normal, the second I used a pool buoy , which is a float you keep between your thighs to keep your legs still so you just use your upper body and then the last hour I used hand paddles, which are like solid paddle gloves that you use to pull you through the water and they really work your shoulders. It made it a more interesting swim and by the end of the sessions I could really feel the workout.

Tomorrow I have another 3 hour swim, then followed by a 45 minute assessment by Ross at Esporta; Ross is going to be my new trainer. He is a Tri-Athlete and hopefully will be taking over from Mark on my swimming technique, plus becoming my gym instructor and dealing with my nutrition. It’ll be great having one person doing all this, leaving Fiona to help me in the sea. I’m not sure what the assessment contains, but I doubt it’ll be nice and gentle! Roll on Friday for my dip back in the ocean!

Day 127 - 9th November 2010

Another day very similar to yesterday, although the wind was nowhere as strong. The sea was very wavy indeed, in fact so wavy that Bob and I tried to swim around the pier, but only got as far as the helter skelter, because wave after wave just pushed us back; I think we swam the furthest out of everyone there was this morning. The crowd were the usual suspects, however, this morning Fiona also came down for an early swim which was lovely. We stayed out for around 30 minutes, which was extremely good as it was certainly a strong workout as well as staying acclimatised to the cold – Fiona had a temperature gauge on her and it showed 12.2 degrees, although I thought it seemed warmer than that. Whilst it sounds obvious to say, it is now definitely proving to me that winter sea swimming is so much different from summer sea swimming in so many ways; temperature, waves, tidal, rain, darkness, number of people, length of swim. However, not all these are negative points as it is certainly much more challenging and a lot more fun.

On the home front, the Twins are still not better yet and Jesse in particular is finding having a bed a bit odd. I found him this morning at about 1am in the hallway near the stairs! I scooped him up and brought him to bed with me for an hour and then took him back to his car bed, which luckily he was happy to go back to. It did mean that last night I only had about 3 hours sleep, but that’s OK.

Tomorrow is a pool day, which is a shame as the sea is so much more fun, but as I am doing two 3 hr pool swims this week rather than a single 5 hour I don’t mind so much. 3 hrs sounds quite easy to me these days.

At 11am today I am heading to the Grand Hotel on Brighton seafront as they are presenting me with a fantastic auction prize that the Starr Trust can use as a fundraiser for Swim4Smiles – it is for next summer, a champagne lunch for 8 people on the Grand’s own Yacht sailing around Brighton, followed by an evening meal at Hotel Du Van for 8; I want that prize myself!! Hopefully it’ll go for much more than I could afford; which shouldn’t be hard.

Day 126 - 8th November 2010

Lovely weather to start the week off today. Anyone looking out of their window this morning would not have been surprised to see lashing rain hitting their windows and violent wind throwing leaves and rubbish all around; the clue was in the screaming wind that started at about midnight and was still screaming at 6am. Did that stop me from going for a nice dip in the sea? Did it Eck!

Driving down to the seafront at about 6.45am I did wonder on the sanity of it all and I really didn’t expect many people to be at the Arches. On parking up by the pier who did I see cycling past, almost flying up into the wind? Nope not the wicked witch of the west, although I am sure she was up there somewhere looking out for flying houses, nope, I saw my good friend and fellow crazy, Bob. There was me driving in thinking it was mad, yet he was on his bike! Gotta love that English 'can do' attitude.

Getting into the Arches, already soaked from the rain, we saw three set of clothes for swimmers already in and then we were joined by about another seven. It seems that mad days really do bring out the madness in sea swimmers. By the time we were at the sea itself we were freeing cold from the 6 degree air temperature, crazy wind and lashing rain; upon diving in and through the waves it was fantastic to warm up – the sea must have been a good 13 degrees today; way warmer in the water than on the beach. The sea itself was somewhat odd in so much that despite the conditions around us the waves were not mentally high, although they were extremely constant, and the tide seemed to be having a rest, no real pull left or right. So it was a simply case of swimming in, up and through wave after wave. Simply good fun and good exercise.

Coming out of the sea was cold though because as soon as you came out you were back in the normal world of cold air and rain; but blooming good whilst it lasted. Getting back to the Arches it took me a good minute to just turn the key to open the door as my fingers were so cold; but a warm shower soon sorted that out. Really hoping for another day like this; perhaps without the rain though!

Onto the Starr Trust www.starrtrust.com now; we have sold nearly 250 tickets for the barn dance! Amazing. The venue only holds 300 and that is without the entertainment we have going in; so 250 will completely fill the place up. A fantastic way to get the Trust message out there and get more people following Swim4Smiles and all the good work we are doing.

On the home front; yesterday Sharon and I took down the two cots and built the Twins a bed each. Now all my babies are in proper beds; I guess that means that they are not babies anymore! Where did that time go!!!!!

Day 125 - 5th November 2010

The last time I swam was exactly a week ago, in fact no exercise at all in this time. Whilst I've needed the time off to get better physically, I have found myself feeling mentally weak. Exercise for me seems to not only make me stronger physically but also mentally. Which in my life, with everything that I do, is vital. Therefore, whilst my cold and sore throat persist, I just had to get up early today and get in the sea. It was hard leaving the house this morning as Jessie is not very well and he was in bed with us and he really wanted me to stay; whenever he's unwell he just wants his Dad. The fact that I had to go to work anyway meant that I had to leave some time, but it was still hard hearing him crying for me to stay. I'm sure it only would have lasted a few minutes, but still pulls at your heart.

This week so far, as told to me by Handsome Bob every day by text [thanks Bob] has been very rough day by day. Some days so rough that it has been dangerous and not just not swimmable. Typical that I've missed all the fun! Anyway, back to my swim today.

I got to the Arches at 7am and pretty quickly was joined by about 9 others, a popular place this morning! Coming down the beach and seeing some very big waves meant that everyone, apart from Leo [of course] and Simon, went to the girly beach to have a play. I decided, against Bob's advice, to join Leo and Simon and do an around the pier swim. Jumping straight in without a pause we were faced with waves probably 6 feet and very angry. Swimming to the end of the pier through a very dangerous sea was not so bad, although it wasn't a walk in the park either. Getting around the pier added another dimension, simply trying to avoid being thrown into the pier. I tried as much as possible to follow Leo and Simon's line as they are way better at this than me. Having made it around the head safely I then saw mountains of water everywhere and only could just spot the shore, which looked miles away [only about half a mile in reality]. For a few minutes of swimming back through the crashing waves and the temperatures, it crossed my mind that maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew! But there I was and no way was I going to burden the boys with getting me back, so it was a case of simply putting my head down and fighting through it. It wasn't long before the shore was almost in reach and safety seemed assured.

Of course, in the sea one should take nothing for granted! A huge wave, and I mean really huge, literally swept me up, pulled me under, spun me around and threw me face first onto the shingle. First time that's ever happened to me and somewhat weird and shocking. Quickly getting myself on my feet, I ran up the beach a bit to avoid the following wave, just to see grab Leo and Simon and treat them to a spin! Walking back up the beach with them I was feeling tired and a little scratched up, but also quite full of life! At the Arches I emptied a bag of shingle out of my Speedos before showering, nice. Leo of course through all this still managed to take photos and movies; incredible bloke. Both Leo and Simon were real stars, staying near me the whole swim. I'm lucky to have such good friends so quickly in my time with BSC. All this and it was only just 8am on a Friday - funny old life.

In the afternoon I was at Esporta and chatting to Ross, one of their top trainers, and he said that he would like to get Esporta to support as well as putting up the Swim 4 Smiles display. Also our Barn Dance is almost sold out. Plus Southern Water and Shoreham Port have agreed to support Swim 4 Smiles. Another plus, Darren my brother in law, has just returned from the Middle East having visited two of our projects and he came back absolutely elated by what we are achieving there.

I think that's enough for today. Friday 5th November has truly been an explosive day of fireworks for The Starr Trust. Fabulous!

No Swimming today – 1st November 2010

While the French argue (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-11664240) the merits of banning channel swimming and the CSA and others fight the good swimming corner, I shall take a few days rest. All this arguing just wears one out!!

I still don’t seem to have shaken off this bad cold that took hold after my 5 hour swim last Wednesday; it’s really unlike me to have a cold for 5 days, usually 2 days and it’s gone. I guess I’ve never before gone into the sea day after day with a cold; that could be why! Also over the weekend I developed a bad chest cough that left me with an awful rasping cough that even sent the Halloween ghouls into hiding. So after much guilt and asking the approval of Sharon, Fiona, Bob (any ayone else would I could get to offer me solace) I have decided to take a few days to get myself better.

The intention is to take this week off from all training and then start fresh and anew next week, but we shall see. If I start to feel refreshed and better then I’ll get back to it midweek; the key will be if the guilt of not training outweighs the guilt of training whilst unwell.

Day 124 – 29th October 2010

This morning was simply Fun with very capital F. It was at least 25% rougher than yesterday and although swimming around the pier was clearly doable, it would have been a lot of work and possible worry rather than fun. The best way of describing it so you can get the picture is to picture a heard of white horses in groups of four or five bearing down on you.

From the moment we put our feet in the sea we were literally swamped by the waves. The wind and the tide were going from east to west, which meant that the pull was away from the pier to the west pier. Having got in and swum a couple of hundred meters out we then literally were either climbing up huge swells and going over them or grabbing as much breath as possible and going under them. Because the water was so busy it raised the temperature a lot; I would guess by a good 2 degrees. Apart from Bob and I there was also Little Bob, Mike and Lindy; all also having a play; Lindy losing her goggles to a big wave almost at the start of our swim. After about 20 minutes, when it was just us, Bob and I came back to the beach ready to go in, but couldn’t resist going back in the sea for another 10minutes. Seriously, it really was that much fun.

On a “training” note, a day like today is actually really important to me. First of all when you are swimming in these conditions you have to put on bursts of speed to fight through the waves and avoid them spinning you under or throwing you onto the beach or the groins. This is fantastic for the shoulders and legs as sometimes you get three or four “mountains” of water hurtling at you at in succession and you really have to put on the speed. Secondly, and probably more importantly, this is the best training ground for learning to cope in severe conditions and for getting yourself in a position where you respect the sea but are not frightened of it; or at least if you are frightened you are able to control the fear and keep your head calm and stay controlled. When I get into the channel, even though the waves may be a lot higher than today, I will feel completely able to deal with them simply because of having days like today to play in. It’s certainly not for the faint hearted, but when you get into it and realise your capabilities then you literally yearn for days like today.

Day 123 - 28th October 2010

After yesterdays swim I would usually have dreaded going today or even not gone. But this morning I was ok with going ; I think that because I knew I was only going to do whatever I fancied doing it meant I had no pressure of performance and could just go for fun. That's naturally assuming You and I agree that going into a 10 degree rough sea at 7am is to be considered fun!

A nice atmosphere at the Arch this morning; Big Bob, Little Bob, Paul, Soweichi, Evo, Martina, David; all very jolly and a nice bunch to start the day with. Bob and I swam to the end of the pier, a strong swim as the waves were fairly constant and there were some real big ones thrown in for extra measure. The swim back to shore was another battle, with the tide dragging us right up to the groin by the pier, it was extremely hard to beach away from the groin, but we managed it, just! Bob, clearly not ready for the warmth of the Arches, decided we should go back in and play some more; so after another 10 minutes of wave battling we headed back to the safety of the Arches and warm showers.

After yesterdays swim I found my shoulders were quite stiff on the swim back, but it was a lot of fun all the same, apart from the freezing feet walking back up the beach; what a strange hobby!

Day 122 – 27th October 2010

Wednesday today, therefore my pool day. Of course I was going to skip the pool today, but after my telling off from Fiona (see last two days blogs!) I clearly had no choice but to just do it!

Last night I had one of my no sleep at all nights; I basically lay there from 11pm until 5.45am simply planning how I was not going to go to the pool; then at 6am I was up, dressed and heading for the car. Considering I was really not wanting to go, I was pleased with myself that ultimately I did go and I did complete the swim.

As it is half term the pool was much busier than last week. The early slot was still relatively quiet, from 6.30 until 9.30, but after that it picked up and at one point my lane was so busy I found myself having to walk for a bit; which forced me into the fast lane with Fiona and speedy Triathlete Jo. It was great having Fiona back in the pool with me and she did around 4 hrs, which was fantastic. Also I have a few pool friends now and most were there on and off. My aim was 5 hours again, however, due to circumstances I climbed out after 4hrs 45mins! I shall explain!!! Basically my lane, the middle lane, ended up being very crowed with breast strokers (that’s a swimming term by the way!) and after finding myself being held back for about 3 lengths I decided I hate to get into the fast lane. Soon after that Fiona and Jo left, but I was joined by a lady (although I am being generous calling her that) and a man in their later years. The lady (still hurts to call her that) swam like she probably drives; basically right across the middle of the lane. If that wasn’t bad enough, as soon as she got level with me she stuck her hand right in my face to stop me, basically slapping me in the face, and then giving me a look to say that I was crossing over the middle! In fact I was so far to the left my arm was scratching the wall just to avoid her and yet she still managed to swim into me! Swimming passed her twice more it took all my restrain not to wack her back and tell her to stay in her half; but I thought old lady bashing may not be appropriate. Now the man; very good at staying in his half of the lane, but slower than a very slow thing on a slow day in slowsville. He was doing a kind of half breast stroke, half doggy paddle half walk kind of thing! Usually I would have spoken to the life guard and asked them to move both of these people to the appropriate lane as they should not have been in the training lanes, but it was already 11.20am and I had been swimming almost 5 hours and I just thought it was time for me to move on! I should point out I am in now way casting dispersions on elderly swimmers, in fact I probably saw about a dozen swimmers in their 70’s today who were incredibly fast and quite beautiful to watch, but boy oh boy another 10 minutes with those two and I may have been locked up by the gendarme!!

Having completed almost 5 hours I was pleased that I went, very much getting my mind back to where it should be. My shoulders were very tired though, actually they were tired after about 2 hours, so tomorrow I shall join Bob and the Arches team on the beach at 7am for a very very cold dip in what is likely to be a wavy fun thrilled dip. That should sort out any aches I’ve got.

Day 121 – Tuesday 26th October 2010

Another cold start to the day. Air temp warmer at 10 degrees, sea probably the same. Very wavy out there, in fact so much so that no one went around the pier. I went to the end of the pier, but my goggles kept steaming up so much I turned back and joined the boys playing in the waves; Bob, Paul, Sowechi, David etc. We stayed out for just over half an hour, by which time everything (and I mean everything) was numb! From a “fun” point of view it was great, cold but great wave playing. From a breakfast point of view it was just too much sea water for my liking! Everytime my goggles steamed up I took them off to clean them and was subsequently hit in the face by a very cold wave and ended up swallowing half of it! This was the first time since I have been swimming that I started to gag; in future the mouth will be saying firmly shut I think.

After swimming I had a meeting with Dan Flanagan from Cobb PR (www.cobbpr.com). Dan has extremely kindly agreed to help the Starr Trust with digital marketing; something we really need to start pushing. It’s all very well me writing a blog, but without people reading it, it remains just a record for me. The importance of people reading my blog is so great because it is through this that we can get out the message of the Trust (www.starrtrust.com) and all the amazing Smiles we can bring to children around the world. Dan you truly are the Man; thanks so much (no pressure on you then!).

Finally, I know I shouldn’t and I am sure Fiona will now be “really” angry with me, but I had to let you see the really funny email she sent me last night after the telling off she gave me in the morning!!

From Fiona - Oh dear you've quoted me on your blog!!!!!!!!! bad grammar and all..........I've been kicking butt all day I’m ashamed to say. It started with poor Pete then you, on to Falmer were I verbally abused a poor little swimmer who clearly was in the wrong lane!! I spent the next 10mins apologizing to her and reassuring her that I was a menopausal monster, and that I would be better in the morning. I'm now safely locked behind doors at home!! which is where I will stay until the morning. It is now safe to go out!!!! Public enemy no 1 x

Sorry Fiona it was just too good for me not to post!!!