Day 85 – 1st September 2010

Maxim is the feed I will be using when doing all distance training and also when I swim the channel. It’s basically a loaded carb supplement that comes in powder and gel form; I will be using the gel today. A lot of people say it makes them feel very sick as it contains a lot of electrolytes and can upset the gut, however most marathon swimmers and long distance athletes of various disciplines use it. So if they can then so can I!

A 7am start for a 2 hr + swim with Fiona. I was awake basically all night thinking and worrying about the swim, which was really frustrating. It’s funny because I have done a number of long swims, 3 hr and 4 ½ hours ones included, therefore to be worrying about a 2 hr swim was nuts! The problem I think was that since my shoulder & groin injury I have not done any swims over an hour and whilst my swimming technique is way better and my my fitness much improved, I have had doubts creeping in to my mind on my ability. The mind can be a very disturbing thing to have in your head sometime! Due to sleep and worry, my stomach played up this morning and that of course affected my crohns; giving me fairly bad pains and toilet issues (nice!). So breakfast was a no go, but I did manage half a banana (Fiona will not be happy!). Also I was a little achy in my shoulders as last night I spent 90 minutes in the gym and then did an hour of pool swimming.

We went in dead on 7am and the sea was 95% calm and the tide not too strong. The air temp was low at around 13 degrees and the water felt the coldest it had for some time; my lack of food this morning and lack of sleep probably contributed to me feeling cold. There were 4 of us to begin with; Fiona, Bob, Leo and Me; Leo brought along the camera and took some fab photos along the way. We swam at a very decent pace from the Brighton Pier to the West Pier, tying up the maxim ad Fiona’s lucozade to a buoy on the way. We reached the Red Buoy at the end of the West Pier in amazing time, stopped for a couple of photos (Leo being my photographer bless his heart) and then we motored back to the Brighton Pier, heading once around it and back to our buoy. At this point Bob and Leo headed in to the beach as they had had enough and I settled down to my gourmet maxim whilst Fiona had her fill of lucozade. At this point I would happily have swum in with Bob, but Fiona of course would not allow that! She was still angry with me for not eating breakfast, so no way she was going to let me off the hook now – she even threatened to tell Kim and Mark!! So off we went back to the West Pier. My arm stroke was flagging a little for about 10 minutes, but then all of a sudden I was back to full speed. The maxim, which to be honest was easy to take and tasted fine, must have kicked in. We motored back to the West Pier, then straight around the red buoy and back to the Brighton Pier, taking in the furthest buoy by the Pier and then back to my feeding buoy and then back in. Total swim around 2hr 20 mins, feeling cold but very pleased to have dealt with my demons and the maxim and feeling like I could have gone again.

Darren, my brother-in-law, was waiting for us when we got back and he chatted to Fiona and did a taped interview for my website.

A great day all in all once my mind settled in of course.