Day 185 - Wednesday 9th February 2011

NEWSFLASH
BBC film at Brighton Swimming Club

Yes it’s true, we were star’s for the morning. Actually not quite star’s as they will probably only use a couple of minutes of the footage, but still it made for a more interesting swim than usual.

I got to the Arch at 7.15am and found it busier than it has been for some months; probable around 10 chaps and 5 women. Fiona had told us that the BBC were filming us so it did generate interest and made the Arch more lively, which in turn made it a great atmosphere down there. They filmed us changing in the Arch and walking out and down the beach a couple of times. Then in the sea we all went; whilst one cameraman stayed on the edge and the other came into the sea; they of course had on full body suits whilst we were in our usual “less is more” outfits. We all stayed in for about 10 minutes or so, which for some (Little Bob and his crew) was a lot longer than usual. After everyone headed back up to the Arch for showers and changing, four of us (Fiona, Bob, Angus and I) stayed in our swim stuff and headed back down the beach for some more shooting. We ended up waiting around for at least another 10-15 minutes before they wanted us to go back in and swim again, by which time we were all starting to shiver somewhat and not far of wanting to go back and change. However, hardy bunch as we are, we stayed the course and swam again for another 5 minutes. By the time we were heading back up the beach for the final time the cold had really settled in; particularly in my feet which were now completely numb yet still painfully uncomfortable. Now sitting in my nice comfortable office nursing a hot chocolate at 10am I am still not fully warmed up and my feet are only just starting to return to life. The sea temperature showed at 6.3 degrees, which was probably accurate, however, the first time we went in it felt a lot colder than that, especially on my face; interestingly the second time we went in, despite my having been hanging around for a while, the water felt a lot more comfortable. I guess one would call this acclimatization; or perhaps one would simple call it no sense no feeling !

Food – Nothing before the swim, but as soon as I got to the office I scoffed down two hot crumpets with honey followed by a sugary jam donut left over from someones birthday yesterday – clearly I needed sugar! I will also definitely have lunch and dinner today; I am seriously trying hard now to up my food intake. Yesterday before my 90 min pool swim at 5.45am I had two pieces of toast, then after the swim I had two crumpets, then for lunch I had a chicken salad and then at night, after my gym session, I had gammon, potatoes and cauliflower followed by two alpro yogurts. Can’t do much better than that!!

No more swimming for me today, although I do intend to use my VASA trainer again tonight. I used it for the first time last night and managed to do two 5 minute sessions. I know this does not sound like a lot, but it was jolly hard work and only my first time. I reckon once I’ve been using it for a few weeks, even if I just do a few minutes everyday, I will soon be up to 30-40 minutes at a time. I have to say it’s a really great resource to have at home!