Day 179 - 1st February 2011

Today was a mad day in London; with a 4 hour meeting between 10am-2pm, followed by a dash across town to another meeting from 2.30pm - 4.00pm. Hence no time for my morning sea swim. However, at 8.30pm I met Big Bob at Falmer and we did a really decent 60 minute power swim. Afterwards we met Fiona in the coffee shop and the lecture began! As usual she was spot on with her points and there is no way I can possibly argue with a lady who not only is a fantastic swimmer, but also a successful channel swimmer (and there are truly not many of those in the world). Her point to me was that I now have less than a whole season to train before my July swim and unless I start racking up the pool hours my body simply won’t be able to deal with the endurance of the channel. There are two issues with a swim of this nature, one is the mental endurance and the other is the physical. Now whilst I do get nervous and worried about the swim, ultimately I know that mentally I can do it. However, on the physical side it is simply a case that unless I can get my muscles to get used to the long distance of swimming I will end up tearing them in the first few hours and then it could be game over. Hence the importance of relentless pool swimming until such times as the sea temperature raises to at least 11 degrees (which will probably be May time). The other physical area is of course my eating, or lack of it. I need to eat within 20 minutes of finishing my swim, no matter the time of day or night, otherwise I am not feeding my muscles or putting back the calories I have used up; which can be as much as 1000 calories an hour. I know I have mentioned this so many times in my blog since I started, but I am now really starting to understand the importance of this and it really is time for me to get a grip on this; I mean for goodness sake how hard is it to eat a chicken sandwich and a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream; most people would think they’ve gone to heaven! The other thing Fiona said, and yes she did say a lot to me, was that the morning sea swimming at this stage is not helping me. The extreme cold is simply putting a strain on my muscles and I am far better having an hour in the pool than 20 minutes in the sea (until it warms up of course). Once again she is spot on and I always deep down knew this, but at heart I am now a sea swimmer and the thought of not doing this is upsetting in the extreme. So I think a balance is needed, where perhaps I limit my morning sea swims to just twice a week and have pool swims three-four times a week.

Anyhow, apart from one issue which I need to address, I am most certainly now stepping up to the mark and will be in the pool as needed. Tomorrow I will be doing a 3 hour pool swim before work and I will be doing two power swims and one distance swim every week, then just two sea swims to compliment it and keep my head in order. The issue I need to address however, is super serious; the chest pain I get after each pool swim! It is to do with the chemicals they use in the pool which sit above the water and are breathed in. Whenever I do a pool swim I end up with a terrible cold in my nose, however way worse than that is the pain in my chest; as if the top of my lungs have been burnt. It is a very serious issue for me and if truth be told it is the real reason I have been avoiding the pool. I have therefore decided that Thursday I will use their outside pool only; being outside it means that the chemicals float away and are not breathed in. I am hoping that this will do the job and will enable me to swim without the damage being caused (last night I was in pain all evening with it). Being outside will be a lot colder of course, but I am a sea swimmer and there is no way it is anywhere near as cold as that. If that doesn’t do the job I will have to find a different pool, maybe a salt water one!

Fiona, if you are reading this, please do not worry as I am fully on board and as ever you are absolutely right and without You and Bob I would be no-where near where I am today; I owe you two so much and I will not let you down I promise xxx