Day 261 - Tuesday 31st May 2011

Ciaobella

That’s my entire Italian vocab now used.

We had a fabulous time in Italy, just Sharon and I and a good book each around the pool for 3 days. Not much more to report on that apart from to say that the batteries were sufficiently charged to take me through the final weeks of training. I did manage a decent gym session on the Saturday afternoon in the Hotel gym; no air con working, 30 degrees outside and a small room; end result was a very sweaty workout, but a workout none the less. We got back to the UK early Monday morning, but being a bank holiday and travelling through the night I never made it to the beach for my swim (in truth I never planned too, so nothing lost there). This morning, however, was a back to work normal day so no excuses. I was at the Arch all alone as usual at 6.15am and in the sea by 6.20am. Jeeze it was bloomin cold! The temperature in the air was around 7 degrees and the sea had dropped from last week’s high of 14 down to just 12.5. I think that being in the sun for 3 days meant I had lost some temperature tolerance as I found it really cold today. I swam around the buoys and the pier head twice, a total swim of around 80 minutes. The swim itself was easy enough, the sea was relatively calm and the tide seemed to be going with me both way (which of course can’t be right, but who was I to complain). However I did suffer the cold today; to the extent that when I was walking up the beach (straight passed those jut entering the sea) I put my key into the Arch door but could not turn it. I tried for a good five minutes, but simply my hands were just too cold to grasp the key firmly enough to turn it! I settled myself outside the door having to wait for Little Bob and Mike to do their quick thing, but luckily like a night in shining trains (I say trains as he is more a train man than an armour man!) Henry turned up and was able to easily turn the key and let me in! After a 10 minute hot shower I was certainly a bit better, but it still took my car seat to be heated and the air con set to high before I truly started to feel warm again.

Tomorrow I’ll do another session the same, but perhaps in my wetsuit this time. The sea really does need to start to warm up now as I’ve got to be knocking out some long swims now and I really wanted to do them without the wetsuit on. I’ll aim to do at least 90-120 minute swims every day in the sea this week, apart from Saturday when I’ll do a 12k again; perhaps longer if I’m able to (conditions will dictate this rather than I). Tonight meanwhile I’ll head into the gym once the kiddies are asleep and will make sure I work super hard.

By the way if you are looking for a book to read then please try “3 Cups of tea” and then follow that with “Stones into schools” (I read the first 3 years ago and the new one in Italy). These books are exactly why I set up the Starr Trust; incredible is an understatement.

Day 260 - Wednesday 25th May

Last Brighton swim of the week for me as tomorrow it's off to Sorrento for a 3 day break for our 10th anniversary. Getting to the beach at around 6.30am today it was odd to see four different groups of teenagers sitting around as if it were midday on a Saturday summers afternoon. One group, Mohicans amongst them, were sitting around a fire as if ready to start singing kumbyar, another 2 groups were huddling near to each other as if planning a council of war and the final group, made up of just 3 boys in grungy clothes, were leaning back to back fast asleep like praying monks. I wish I'd had my camera with me; Brighton certainly is eclectic!

Ignoring my prediction of a rough one today the sea was very restful; seems I don't know what I'm talking about after all!! The air was quite chilly, but the sea was a decent 14.2 degrees and it was completely flat, it really couldn't have been more different from yesterday if it had tried. It constantly amazes me how two consecutive days can be so very very different. I swear that before taking up sea swimming I never really took the time to consider weather conditions other than it is raining or dry. In the sea whether it's raining or dry is immaterial to a great degree, it's all about the wind, the tide and the moon.

I left the Arch at about 6.45 and swam solo around the 4 buoys, then anti-clockwise around the pier to the buoy on the other side and bathe around the pier, tracing my original path back around the buoys to the beach. The sea was so flat with zero wind that you would be forgiven for thinking that the sea itself was stationary, it certainly looked that way. In truth the tide was pulling very hard to the West, so as I was swimming around the pier to the East I had to work really hard to get around; coming back around to the West of course was a doddle. Watching from the beach you would have thought it was effortless, but those of us in the sea would challenge that fiercely. Total swim about 46 minutes, so a decent one again.

Off to London now for 5 meetings, feeling physically good at the moment, apart from a small ache in my collar bone; I think a remnant of the goggleless swim on Saturday. Ash cloud permitting (yes that darn icelandic volcano at it again) I will be speaking with an Italian twang this time tomorrow.

Day 259 - Tuesday 24th May 2011

Another bumpy ride this morning in the sea; it feels as if we are building up to a stormy one before it calms down again. Listen to me the expert after a year!

I arranged yesterday to do a 2 hour swim with Leo & Shoichi; neither of them usually do such long swims but they are both taking part in a 12k river swim at the weekend which should take about 3 hours and as such they need to get some mileage in. As usual I agreed to join them very quickly but then spent the night wishing I hadn’t. This is not a reflection on either of them as they are both terrific guys, it is a reflection on me once again doubting my abilities to keep up! As it happens I was pleased to swim with them as they are both great fun, good swimmers and it did mean I was having to push myself. Unusually I was the only one in a wetsuit, but I did this not for warmth, but for speed as it certainly increases my pace wearing it. This is borne out by the fact that we all swam in a line the whole way out and then on the way back I was already at the beach having taken off my wetsuit before Shoichi and then Leo surfaced; I think without the wetsuit I would have come in after them.

The original plan was to swim to the Marina and back, but it is such a soulless swim that I persuaded Leo (didn’t take much persuasion to be honest) to swim to the King Alfred Leisure Centre and back instead. We set off at about 7am and reached the West Pier after about 25 minutes. The swim was very hardy as it was a choppy sea, literally bashing you down every time you surfaced and around 30% of the swimming strokes were through waves rather than over them. The tide was going West but the wind pushing East, which gave it a washing machine effect but meant we were not against or with the tide either way. Having gone passed the West Pier a few hundred metres Leo started to get leg cramps and Shoichi started to really feel the cold (it was circa 13 degrees in the sea and cold in the air). They decided to turn back at this stage, which was sensible as it would have been dangerous for both of them to go on feeling as they did. As I was in a wetsuit I wasn’t cold and as I am used to longer swims I wasn’t stretched at all, however I thought it would be best to swim back with them as staying out in those conditions on my own, especially as deep as we were, wouldn’t be wise and also I wanted us all to swim back together.

For me this swim proved two things; firstly how much warmth a wetsuit provides as I was actually overheating slightly and also that whilst in usual times I would be the slowest of us, because I am used to doing hours in the pool and also to a great degree in the sea, I am well placed to just keep going where others start to struggle. I should also point out that last night Jesse was a right royal pain, having come into our bed 5 times during the night and eventually settling in with us at about 2am and then keeping me awake with his constant kicking and coughing. I would guess I had no more than maybe an hours sleep last night; therefore completing this swim in the speed I did does show my fitness levels increasing and that I am still able to do this without the need for sleep.

Tomorrow is my last Brighton swim for a couple of days as Sharon and I are heading to Italy for a few days, leaving the kiddies with my in-laws at my house. We desperately need some time together away from work and kids as the last year has been a rollercoaster. I will be taking my swimming and training stuff as I still expect to do both, but hopefully in warmer climates!

Swimming day 258 - 23rd May 2011

Just a little one today; swim that is!!

The Arch was alive with members new and old. My old favourites, Little Bob, Mike, Big Bob, Shoichi, Paul, Leo, David, Martina, Bella, Lindy etc all present and accountant for and then new member James plus two other new members. It seems that the chemicals in the pools around Brighton are indeed driving more people towards the sea. Quite right too if you ask me; pools are too boring, too warm, too crowded and full of chemicals whilst the sea is just full of life and inspiring. The wind this morning was really making a fuss and it meant that there were proper waves again; been a while since we’ve seen that. Nothing too crazy, but certainly big enough to swim around and play in. Big Bob stayed out for a good half an hour, but I played with my friends Little Bob and Mike and did just a short 10 minutes. After Saturdays swim my neck was still a little bruised so I didn’t want to overdo it, also I fancied some fun, which today certainly was.

Tonight after work I’ll grab an hour in the gym and then tomorrow in the morning I’ll do a 2-3 hour sea swim.

Not much to report apart from that I don’t think. The kids all well, but had both twins with us from about 2am until I was rolled out of the bed by 5.30am. Asher had a swimming gala at school today which I went to watch; amazing to see him so proud of himself swimming around the school pool. No doubt at all that he will be a far stronger and quicker swimmer than his old man! Clairvoyant evening on Friday (I'm in the middle with the loud shirt) raised over £1,000 for the Trust as well as bringing in new supporters. Heatwave expected in UK for June and July, which will bring the sea temp right up. I think that’s about all the rest of the news and all good news it is.

Swimming Day 257 – Saturday 21st May 2011

Old Red Eyes is back!!

Saturday morning and an early start. I was up just before 5am, leaving Jesse and Sharon asleep in our bed (or I should say Jesse’s bed as he seems to take up all the room) and I crept down the stairs as quietly as I could so not to disturb Asher or Mia. My bag was already packed by the front door with my clothes for after my swim and my wetsuit was waiting patiently by ready to assume its position as my fake skin. In the car by 5.05am, wetsuit on up to my waist and bag on seat next to me and at the Arch by 5.10am (roads completely empty at that time), makes me realise how lucky I am to live so close to the beach. I drove my car right down to the Arch entrance, quickly dumped my bag on the bench for later and hoped back in the car and drove to my in-laws house; right by the Hove Lagoon. Having parked in their drive and left the key in their porch I did a quick 10 minute walk down the street, over the road, down to the beach and was standing in the sea by 5.30am all ready for the task ahead. The only problem was that I was sure I had forgotten something!

It wasn’t food as I had eaten some fruit in the car on the way down (best I could do at 5am!), it wasn’t the wetsuit as that was firmly wrapped around me and it wasn’t my Arch key as that was secured tightly in the wetsuit. Then it struck me like a thunderbolt! I’d forgotten my bloomin swimming cap and goggles! That was a serious error as I had intended to try to swim from the lagoon all the way down to the marina (around 8k) and then back to the pier; no way I could do that with no goggles or hat! But the only option was to walk the 10 minutes back to the car, then drive the 5k back to the Arch, grab them from my bag and head back to the lagoon! I thought about it for about 30 seconds and then realised that as soon as I got back in my car I would end up going home! Also I knew that Leo, Tom, Damieb=n and Angus were planning on a lagoon to pier swim at 7am and I wanted to be done and finished before they got there as I really needed to do this as a solo and not be pressured into the whole "I've got to keep up" thing I do to myself. So nothing else I could do but head out to sea and just take it as it comes.

Luckily the sea was fairly calm, the tide was heading East (to the marina) and I felt happy to be there. The swimming itself was a tad uncomfortable in so much that each time I put my head into the water the sea really slapped coldness into me; it proved to me completely how much warmth one gets from a swimming cap. Then there is the salt; plenty of it in the sea for sure. So I ended up swimming with eyes getting redder by the minute and my neck aching from having to swim with my head so high. All that aside there was a positive to this. To be able to look at the coastline and the birds and the sky and the clouds without goggles on was really amazing; first time I have really been able to do that; goggles definitly dull your senses.

I kept really close to the shore for the whole swim as it was a long way and I was on my own; I was never more than half a dozen strokes to standing; apart from when I swam around the West Pier of course. Being on my own in the sea and being under no pressure to do it in a certain time or to catch someone up or even to complete the swim for that matter actually made me really relaxed. I just plodded along (probably not going to slow truth be told) and apart from the sore eyes and cold head I really enjoyed it. I got to the west pier in about 1hr 30 mins, I got to the Palace pier in about another 25 minutes and then got to the marina wall in about another 45 minutes; so probably around 3 hrs the whole swim. When I got to the marina I actually felt mentally and physically strong enough to turn around and swim back against the tide to the palace pier; unfortunately the eyes at this point were already too sore to swim back, especially against the tide with waves hitting them. The sea temperature was a decent 14 degrees and for most of my swim (up to the palace pier at least) the sun was shinning and the air was warm. It did get cloudy and choppy when I heading to the marina, but it wasn’t too bad. Having touched the marina wall I swam back to the adjacent beach and basically jogged all the way back along the shore (which was mostly just sand) to the Arch; about 1 ½ miles I would think. Back at the arch after a quick shower and dress and a little chat with Evo, Paul and David, I grabbed my bad and power walked the 5K back to my car.

So a circa 8k swim, a 2k jog and a 5k power walk; and all on a Saturday morning between 5.30am – 9.00am. This week I have swum 6 days and used the gym 3 times, so a very decent effort. I think that deserves the rest of the day off.

Some hope! The rest of the day was spent with the kids being a right royal pain in the …… and Sharon and I in garden centres with them and then digging up a million weeds in the garden. No rest for the wicked. Tomorrow however the wicked will not swim or gym; Sunday is after all the day of rest is it not!!

Day 256 - Friday 20th May

Friday today and a planned coffee after our swim, so Bob and I decided on a gentle one; not a bad idea as my arms and shoulders still aching from the swimming and gyming I’ve been doing this week. We were in the sea at 7.15am and did a once around the pier. The temperature was down on earlier this week to 12.1 degrees, however the sea was very flat and the tide was hardly moving. It was shallow enough to be showing more sand than sea at the beach and we probably walked out to around the end of the Pier sign. Even though it was a nice morning swim, for me every swim is considered “training” ; simply no time for fun, so I made sure I swam as quickly as I physically could the whole way around (I seriously envy every sea swimmer who has no goal to get to and can just have a morning swim).
Tonight I would use the gym as well, however we have a fundraiser for the Trust at the Grand Hotel; an evening with Marleen Woolgar; the Clairvoyant and it’s really important on so many levels that I attend.

Tomorrow I want to do a big swim as I need to start racking them up now. There are a few people from Brighton Swimming Club doing a swim from near the lagoon to the pier and I could go with them, but as ever they are all super fast and I doubt it’ll do me much good mentally. So assuming I can get a decent nights sleep and can get myself up and about early enough I’ll start my swim at the lagoon 40 minutes before them and swim on down to the pier (5k in total) and then, assuming the tide is with me and I am in the right mind set, I will carry on past the pier towards the marina and see how far I can get. I would love to be able to get to the Marina and then come back again, but I don’t know if I will be able to, so without pilling on the pressure I would not be at all disappointed if I was able to swim from the lagoon all the way to the marina and then walk back; it would certainly be the longest sea swim I’ve done since last summer. I simply need to get my mind right; my body is certainly up to it. It will definitely be a case of wetsuit and food in me, but that has to be my aim for the morning.

Day 255 - Thursday 19th May - Blog on the Bog!

As planned we met at the Arch at 7am and walked to the Peace Statue. Big Bob, Fiona, Leo, Evo and James (new chap). Little Bob and Mike were so tempted to join us I could read it in their eyes, but the chance of a little walk to the buoy and back was just to alluring for them so they passed on it this time!! It was such a low tide today that the sand literally ran for miles along the coast, so we walked straight down our beach to the sand and then had a lovely 20 minute walk all the way along passed the West Pier to the Peace Statue. The sun was shining, the air was tepid with a slight wind and the sky was blue. By the time we reached the Peace Statue I was very tempted to forget the swim and just turn around and walk back, I think others may have felt the same. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to swim, it was simply that the walk was so nice and relaxing that it seemed a shame not to do it again on the way back. However, we are swimmers, and swimmers swim! So in we went and headed around the buoys and straight over to the red buoy at the end of the West Pier. The conditions were completely different to the last few days; hardly any waves at all, very flat and a light tide pull to the West (the direction we were heading). The swim took about 25 minutes and I would guess it was about a mile in total, maybe a little more.

A really lovely start to the day and a good swim as well.

This blog today is dedicated to my good friend Daniel, who is no doubt reading this whilst sitting on the toilet, thanks as ever for your support. The fact that you read my blog every day, ignoring of course where you read it, means a lot to me. Knowing my friends support me and take an interest in what I am doing really does help. And for Natalie, who listens from outside the toilet while Daniel reads it aloud, it goods to know I make it into your gossip column!!! Love you both; keep smiling!!