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!!!

Day 120 - Monday 25th October

A different blog from me today as only a small part written by me, the rest written by Fiona!!

From Me – After 3 days without swimming I was back in the sea today. Bloomin cold!! 7.15am, Bob, Simon and I went around the pier. Probably 10-11 degrees only, very very calm and a beautiful sky. The moon was bright on one side and the sun on the other, extraordinary. The coldness lasted for most of the swim, after about 15 minutes you do get used it. The worst is getting in as your skin instantly shouts at you and then the next worst is getting out, especially my feet, which pretty much hurt walking up the beach and then went numb! This afternoon I will do a 90 minutes gym session. Having had 3 days off completely from any exercise meant that I was getting to the point of “needing” to do something again by this morning.


This from Fiona by email to me - here goes... Okay Mr!!! Iv just read your Blog!! Absolutely NO WAY do you miss your 5hour this week unless you paralyzed or Kim tells you other wise!! Just because you had mind weakness!!-even a BIGGER reason to get back in and do it. I'm just off to falmer to knock out a 2 hour swim before i see Kim. Yesterday i swam to the west pier and back then round the pier twice on my own, in 11degrees. Seriously we need to talk, tittering around the pier with Bob in the mornings is not going to get you across the channel. I can understand that you love to have that time at the Arches in the mornings but its a waste of time, Yes if you then went off to the pool for a 3hour I would approve but you don't!! Plus if you work already very strained muscle in cold water you will do damage beyond repair, you can certainly kiss goodbye to your dream. Speak to Kim! Iv done it all!! but in the early part of my training, I had a further 2 years to get it right-you only have a few months so LISTEN TO ME

My fault I guess for keeping such an honest blog!

Seriously though; how lucky am I to have someone who cares so much on my side; no way I can fail with that kind of support.

Day 119 – 20th October 2010

A mixed day swimming today. On one hand it was fantastic, on another not so good.

I did my Wednesday big pool swim today; 6.40am till 11.40am. The same as last week I did a 5 hour swim, but rather than the 414 lengths I did last week, I did a whopping 444 lengths today in the same time; so that’s 30 more lengths than last week. A total swim of 444 lengths, or 11100 metres, or 11.1 kilometres or 6.87 miles. So physically it was really good and I could have physically kept going to 6 hours without a problem.

However, today was mentally very hard indeed; the exact opposite of last week. Last week I couldn’t have physically done any more but mentally I was very strong and could have kept going. This week I was physically very strong, but mentally very tired. I did the silly thing of keep looking at the clock every 15 minutes. This made each hour go so slowly that at every hour I just wanted to stop and go to work! To say I’m annoyed with myself about this is an understatement. I know that it’s good that I still did my 5 hours despite this, but I am really beating myself up about it as mentally I should easily be able to do 6 hours and beyond. I do have a lot on at the moment and I have been a little drained with my Crones, but that is just all excuses and I’m annoyed I made it so hard on myself!

As for the swim itself, it was a quiet one at Falmer today, in fact throughout the whole 5 hours I probably only saw 10-15 people in total; the last couple of weeks I saw double that every hour. Not having Fiona there today made it a bit boring for me, but I did have the company of the super swimmer triathlete Jo for about 45 minutes; boy she can swim fast; it’s amazing to watch her glide through the water, a beautiful thing to see, she just glides at a super speed.

I’ll finish this week with morning sea swims and hopefully one gym session, but I think next week I might skip my big Wednesday swim, just for one week, get myself refreshed and start anew the week after with a better head on me!

Day 118 – 19th October 2010

Feeling a lot better today; an early night did the trick, which it usually does.
Was at the beach a bit later today than yesterday; hitting the water at 6.50am. I was on my own again, although Paul, Soweichi and Damien were somewhere in there as well, as their clothes were already at the Arches when I turned up.

The air temperature this morning was about 8 degrees and the sea was cold; I would guess at around 12 degrees maybe; although it was warmer than yesterday for definite. Also unlike yesterday which was extremely calm, there were definitely some waves and tide today; nothing extreme, but waves nevertheless. After yesterday I wanted to push myself a bit more so I did twice around the pier, beach to beach to beach. Coming back around the second time I started to feel the cold, especially in my arms and feet. I think it’s not going to be long before I can only do once around the pier. Today it took me around 40 minutes, maybe 45; soon it will only be a 20 minute swim. Tomorrow back in the pool for 5 hours; funnily enough quite looking forward to it.

Day 117 – 18th October 2010

Another early Monday morning. I was at the beach at about 6.20am, earlier that last Monday, because today we are off to see Asher at school in his class and I needed to be home by 7.30am. I got to the Arches and was the first one there, not even Paul & Soweichi yet. I wandered down to the beach, straight into the water (naturally cold and very dark!), swam just passed the helter skelter (which is by the end of the pier), pretty much ran out of energy, swam back, trudged up the beach, passed Paul & Soweichi who were just going in, slumped into the shower for a couple of minutes and now at home feeling a little better and about to leave to take Asher to school. The coldest part of today was actually the walk up the beach. I forgot my flip flops and as such walking up the beach on bare feet after my swim was really painful; not because of the sharp stones, but because of the extreme cold of the stones – I even had to stop a couple of times! As I was leaving the arches at about 7am Bob came in looking his usual cool and fit self; gotta hope I look that good at 55!

Those that live with Crones disease will understand when I say last night and this morning was a lot like taking Picolax. If you’ve ever had a Colonoscopy (which I have once a year) then you will know about having to take Picolax the day before. Basically it cleans you out so that they can see clearly inside you; the effect of course if a massive lack of energy as your body is pretty much stripped of everything. If you’ve never had Picolax then count yourself lucky as its bloomin horrible. Living with Crones disease feels pretty much like having Picolax on a regular basis, sometimes a few days every week your body gives up everything your storing and leaves you pretty energyless. Last night was not a great night for that and whilst getting out of bed was hard in itself, this morning was pretty much a repeat of last night. So I ended up at the beach slightly anaemic looking and without much energy; luckily no-one was there to see me looking 10 years older! Having had this now for 20 years I am of course totally used to it so it really isn’t a problem and I am so not looking for any sympathy at all, absolutely none required, I just wanted my blog to reflect each day as it really is as against some fairy tale being acted out. I remain hopeful that come my Channel swim day the weather is really good and my Crones is behaving; it would be rather annoying if the weather was good and my Crones was bad. However, each day is a different day and I remain absolutely positive that every day like today simply empowers me and prepares me even more for my swim day. Being able to still get into the sea at 6.20am in the dark & cold and alone really does show me I am strong enough to do this (even if a little mad – maybe the madness helps!). Hopefully this afternoon by the end of work my energy will return and I can at least get to the gym for an hour and have a decent workout with the weights, then tomorrow I’ll get Bob to join me on a twice around the pier adventure. For now though it’s off to Asher’s school and then onto the office for what will have to be an easy day, as running around is quite out of the question!

Day 116 –15th October 2010

Dark and Spooky out there at 6.30am!!

Actually is was really quite nice to be all alone at Dusk at the end of the pier. I had an early morning meeting today so I went swimming at 6.30am this morning; hence I was on my own. Paul and Soweichi were already out (they are early the fish), but I didn’t see them until I was coming back in. At 6.30am is was still very dark, but with the sun just trying to wake up it meant it was not pitch black, much more dusk than dark. The temperature was maybe a little better than yesterday, my thigh burns didn’t hurt and my face was only cold for a few minutes. I swam very leisurely around the pier and then when I came back through, near to the helter skelter, I just treaded water for about 15 minutes, watching the sun come up and Brighton start to come alive. I then left my goggles raised on my forhead and did a really nice gentle breast stroke all the way back to shore. I hardly ever breaststroke, but it really does let you watch what’s going on around you, which was really nice today.

A lovely reflective start to a Friday; which after my running and long swims this week was a really nice change.

Day 115 –14th October 2010

After yesterdays mammoth swim in the pool it was quite nice to wake up this morning and realise I only needed to do a short slow swim today; albeit a cold one.

The air temperature was about 10 degrees, which was lower than it has been recently and the sea was probably down to around 13 degrees; which is colder than it sounds. Getting in was fine, a simple jump straight in and get swimming; the sea was very flat and hardly any movement, so an easy swim in terms of pace if not temperature.

The plan was once around the pier, but Bob was clearly feeling on good form, so he suggested (and of course I have to say ok) we swim around to the beach on the other side and then back around again through the pier under the cafe and back. Basically one and a half times around; which in this temperature was not far of the most I would want to do. The only pain for me was my inner thighs. Yesterday during my swim I used a pool buoy for the last 2 hours; this is basically a float that you grip between your thighs and which keeps your legs from kicking. It is a good aid for upper body work and also for me it helps me with my balance in the water. However, can you imagine swimming in a pool for 2 hours with a float between your thighs? Basically my inner thighs are red raw, which last night in bed was really painful. Getting into a freezing salty sea this morning – ahhhhhhhhh! Boy did that sting! After showering I smothered the area with Savlon, which also stung somewhat, but hopefully it’ll calm down soon, otherwise I’ll be walking like a cowboy all day!!

Day 114 – 13th October 2010

My plan today was to do a 4 hour pool swim like last week. This was certainly my plan, but not all plans go as planned!! I’m just teasing! I actually did a 5 hour swim!! That was my longest swim ever; in fact my longest non stop exercise ever!

I got into the pool at 6.40am and finished at exactly 11.40am; the only breaks were on the hour to have my maxim from the bottle, which took maybe 2 minutes each time. The total number of lengths was 414, which equates to 10350 metres, which equates to around 6.431 miles or 10.35 kilometres. Not bad going, especially considering the boredom factor of swimming in a pool non stop.

Fiona joined me for the middle 3 hours and also I chatted a little to some Triathletes and some other regular swimmers; all who may have been faster than me but none who could stay that distance; so they tell me!

I had planned a 4 hour, which I thought would be hard after my 18k run on Monday, but when I got to the 4 hour point I felt I could easily do another hour; which really is a great achievement for me so early on. I am sure I will ache tomorrow, but for now I am feeling OK and settled in to a Hot Salt Beef Bagle and an Apple Danish – gotta try to put back some of the 3040 calories I apparently used up!

Tomorrow I think I shall do a nice gentle swim around the pier, no rushing, no real distance, just a nice 30 minute swim in the sea.

Very proud of myself. Grinning like a Cheshire cat!

Day 113 –12th October 2010

How did you wake up this morning? Was it by putting your face straight into a bowl of ice and holding it there for 10 minutes until all the colour and warmth was gone and the pain subsided enough to enable you to breath again? No? Very sensible then! Myself on the other hand pretty much did just that! The sea was extremely calm today, hardly any movement at all, which made for a fantastic swim in terms of effort, however, getting in was COOOOLLLLLDDD. It probably didn’t help that I shaved at 6am and as such my face was already rather sensitive, so when I got in the sea and put my face in, it really did hurt. It took almost 10 minutes before it started to feel comfortable and I could relax into the swim.

After I warmed up the swim was actually really nice and easy. The sun was coming up over the marina, which was just stunning and the sky was very royal blue and the sea itself was so clear that coming back under the pier I could easily see a huge fishing net that was suspended across the pier about 5 meteres down and maybe 100 metres across; the fact that the net was empty makes me believe that the fish may have noticed it as well!!

Tomorrow no sea for me as I’ll be in the pool for 4 hours; boring certainly, but a lot warmer!

No Swim Today - 11th October 2010

Not a swimming day today!

Went to a 50th birthday at the Grand Hotel last night and didn’t get back home to bed until after 1am. Getting up for swimming at 6.30am was therefore not an option! I did see Kim at 8am, as I wanted to make sure I was all fit and ready for my 4 hr swim, this coming Wednesday. After an hour of Vulcan finger presses into my neck, groin and legs I felt like I’d swum ten times around the pier! Kim suggested she needs a 5 hour session with a rolling pin to get me into shape; mmmm... tempting but I don’t think so!

After work I felt guilty about not doing any exercise today so went for a little run instead. Ended up doing 18.21 kilometers in 97 minutes, including some fairly steep hills. Not bad for a little after work run I think.

Tomorrow back to the sea at 7am and a gym session in the evening and then Wednesday my 4 hr swim in the pool. Hopefully with my lovely ladies joining me at the end again! Gotta keep the hope alive!!

Day 112 - 8th October 2010

Two swims today; 7.15am and 7.45pm.

Morning 7.15 am - Bob, Bella and I swam once around the pier in a very calm sea. The tide was seriously low so we had to walk out about a quarter of the pier; boy that was chilly! To make it an interesting swim we went under the pier and then swam clockwise around, straight against the tide. A very decent swim, but certainly a challenge as the tide was really strong.
Coming around the head of the pier felt like a real struggle. Even coming into shore, which is usually the easier bit, was a fight as well. A good morning exercise.

Evening 7.45pm - 12 of us went for an evening swim around the pier. Bob, Bella, Fiona, Leo, Midge and others not so well known to me! It was great!!! The water was warmer than this morning, but because you couldn't see the sea you didn't know if it was wavey or not. As it turned out it wasn't overly wavey, but there were some waves that surprised you. We all wore light bands around our wrists; a couple had head lights as well. For safety we agreed to stay together, but of course in the dark you really feel all alone as you can't see anyone. We all met up at the head of the pier and treaded water for about 10- minutes to take photos and enjoy the amazing lights of the pier and the city far away from us. Then a big swim back around and under the pier and back to the beach. Because I couldn't see anyone I felt a few times that everyone else had already got back and I was the slowest struggling to get back, but of course everytime I stopped and looked around I saw some in front, some with me and some way behind. The darkness really does throw you in the sense that you feel all alone even when you're surrounded. It really was an amazing experience and one that so few get to ever experience; real Disney stuff! When we got back and changed, Fiona called the coastguard to report that we were all back and safe, good result as losing someone would have been a bummer! Then off to the pub for a drink and a look at the pics Leo and I took. What a great nights experience as well as being another training exercise to boot.

Day 111 – 7th October 2010

After yesterdays long pool swim it was really nice to get back into the only real swimming pool that deserves my love; the Brighton Sea! It was very calm today, which after the last few days was a welcome surprise. Bob and I set off at 7am, just before anyone else got to the Arches, and just did a once around the Pier and then to the groin and then in. The temperature is still dropping, albeit slowly at the moment. My face and legs hurt in the cold for about the first 10 minutes before I got used to it, probably down to 4 hours in a warm pool yesterday. Even though it was calm out there, the tide was very strong pulling to the East (the Marina) and this meant that going around the head of the pier we flew, but coming back around and under the pier meant we had to swim hard. To describe the swim in the easiest way I guess I would say it felt like a “sticky” swim. By this I mean that even though I was swimming strongly I felt like the sea was trying to hold us in place; not a bad thing as it does mean you have to work it. Funny thing was that at different times both Bob and I were hit in the body by a fish; not the same one I assume, unless it was a fish who has the hump with us disturbing it’s sleep!

When we came out we saw our friends, Fiona, Bella, Bob etc; so tomorrow we may go a little later (just 10 minutes) as we miss the company!

What was really good today was that the last time I did over 4 hrs swimming I was out of action for about 3 weeks, however, this time I had no problems at all and this morning I hardly ached and had no problem getting into the sea getting on with the job at hand.

Apparently Friday is going to be nice as well, so we are hopefully back on for our night swim tomorrow... Perfect!!

Day 110 – 6th October 2010

Now that was a serious swim!

6.30am – 10.30am; 4 hrs non stop in the Pool at Falmer. That was my longest Pool swim to date and I’m really proud of myself that I did it.

The first hour really seemed to drag, in fact the first 10 minutes felt like a hour. However, the next 3 hours went by quickly. Fiona came along about 7ish and jumped in the lane next to me and then swam the rest of the time with me, which was great as it meant I had someone telling me when I needed to adjust my stroke or breath differently as well as letting me know when to feed; she’s such a fantastic support to me, I really am amazingly lucky to have her.

As for the boredom factor, which is the real challenge of a long pool swim, it wasn’t as bad as I had envisaged. Throughout the whole 4 hours I only had the lane to myself for maybe a combined half an hour; the rest of the time I had one or two people in the lane with me, as well as people in the lane next to me. It was interesting to see so many people come and go and for me to still be there plodding along. You had the “quick” and “strong swimmers”, you had the “technically bad swimmers” (all of a sudden I know the good from the bad!), you had the slow swimmers and you had swimmers of all sizes; some in for 5 minutes and some in for 30 minutes; but only me in for 4 hours! I think I enjoyed the last 15 minutes the most from the perspective of company as I was joined in my lane by two very fit young ladies in their early 20’s and wearing very tight swimming costumes; of course at that point I may have sped up a tad; boys will be boys!

After the swim I came to the office to do a days work, but to be honest my head was a little floaty and my breathing a bit uncomfortable; perhaps the effects of the chlorine or the shallow breathing one does whilst swimming. Apart from that though at the moment I am feeling strong and surprisingly not too achy.

The food intake was a bowl of rice crispies at 6.10am, then a small bottle of water mixed with maxim every hour during the swim, then a protein shake and a health bar after the swim and now I’m about to have a chicken salad sandwich (and maybe, only maybe, a cake of some kind!!).

With regards to distance today, I have brought this very cool watch that is motion sensitive and counts your lengths, stroke rate, time etc; super cool. It told me I did 324 lengths of 25 metres each, which means I swam 8100 meter, which is about 5.003 miles, or 8.1 kilometres.

Tomorrow, hopefully not too achy, I’ll do a sea swim in the morning; but just a short one. Apparently today there were 10 foot waves in the sea and hardly anyone could get in; that would be a cool playground for the morning after today.

Day 109 - 5th October 2010

Sitting in the car by the pier, 6.30am; dark and raining. Sea looks choppy, but not crazy. Good gym session last night, but feeling it a tad this morning in my arms. No point putting it off anymore!

8.30am and now at the office. That was a great swim! It’s so deceptive looking at the sea from the top road. It was actually really choppy out there; in fact it took me three attempts to just get in; each attempt showering me from above with cold foamy water; that woke me up! Bob and I swam around the pier, taking it slowly and controlled. It was amazing from the end of the pier just bobbing up and down and watching the huge walls of water heading to shore, it really is a sight to behold.

It must have been a big sea as a number of the usual crowd decided not to even go in, I think that they got a big scared on Sunday and it has hit their confidence a bit; I also guess it must have picked up whilst we were out there. The good thing about today was that whilst it was rough, there wasn’t much of a tidal pull, so we could battle the waves but not have to also fight the tide...Good fun.

Day 108 – 4th October 2010

An easy once around the pier with Bob and Bella this morning. After a crazy dangerous weekend sea, today was strangely calm and silent. Temperature probably 13 degrees ish and air temp around 10 degrees.

On Sunday, 14 of the club did a Marina to pier swim; only 13 actually got in and apparently only 4 made it back, the others getting washed ashore earlier. Even superwoman Fiona was apparently washed ashore! In her own words “it felt like Poseidon had picked me up slapped me several times and then thrown me onto the shore; that will teach me to have more respect for his territory”. I was going to go as well but I took the kids to the pool instead, which I’m pleased about as I would have battled it out and potentially really hurt myself.

Fund raising for the swim at last started and already over £5k. Got a long way to go, but a great start.

Off to gym this afternoon; first time since 10 days off gym, looking forward to it. Before all that however, a session right now with my physioterrorist Kim at 8.30am and an hour of being beaten up... Nice!

Day 107 –1st October 2010

I actually slept last night; I reckon I slept about 6 hours – longest sleep I’ve had in years. I think the Wed/Thurs Dover trip tired me out, which was great as it meant I actually slept for a decent amount of time for a change.

No actual swimming today; a day of play just trying to break into the sea! The waves were very high near the beach and only the foolhardy (apparently a couple, of course are!) would attempt the pier. Part of me wanted to go in and around the pier “because” of the conditions, but I am still not 100% with my groin strain and I have to be sensible to a degree; especially as next week I am going to try two 4 hour back to back swims in the pool.

It’s also not looking likely we will do the night swim as the winds are fierce and it is expected to be about 35mph tonight.

Sometimes, despite ones best intentions, the weather retains control!