Day 273 - Tuesday 14th June

Whilst waiting for my relay to be confirmed I am continuing to train and the last 2 days have seen me back in the sea and in the gym.

Yesterday the sea seemed to have the hump more than I even did! It was so rough out there that we ended up having to go in via the girly beach rather than our own. This morning, however, it was the complete opposite; the sea was so flat and still that it was a simple case of just walking in and swimming out; it’s amazing how two consecutive days can be so very different; one literally a dangerous raging torrent and the next a calm baby like quality. In fact I guess one could say that the sea has the same quality’s as a two year old – one minute all sunshine and light and the next as if the devil has taken control – I speak from experience!!

After work last night I did an exhausting 2 hr gym session followed by a 10k run. The need in me to clear my mind is very great at the moment.

As I have mentioned earlier this week , I will continue to pursue my challenge of swimming the channel by changing my solo swim to a relay swim and moving it to later in the season (August-September). The challenge of a relay channel swim remains huge and trying to have the CSA and my Pilot change this for me at such short notice is a huge challenge in itself; as is trying to raise a team of swimmers who can complete this mission with me; very character building stuff. However, I have also decided that it will be an added challenge to complete a second swim by swimming 21 miles and more ALONG the Channel over a week as a solo rather than across it; swimming the waters between Brighton Marina and Shoreham Port (basically 3 miles a day for 7 days in a row). This is also very much a challenge as there are some exciting pockets of drama thanks to the shape of the coastline and the tidal patterns. So whilst the Crohns may think it’s got the better of me it certainly hasn’t.

So whilst I wish with everything I have that I could take on the solo swim, I do at least now have two challenges, which for me are equally as challenging as the original.