And for breakfast I tried something new; it is called Beach Crunch. It consists of a mouthful of pebbles, mixed lightly with sand and topped off with water that is heavily laden with salt plus a sprinkle of brown god knows what over the top. Yummy yummy good for the tummy!
By the time I was at the Arch, 7.05am, it was still dark, however, the rain had stopped but the wind was blowing. Damien and Soweichi were already finished and Damien gave me the account of the wave that turned him face down as he was trying to come out. Little Bob and Mike had just been in for their couple of minutes and were heading back in just as Big Bob, Fiona, Martina and I were heading down. The sea temperature was 5.4 degrees and the air temperature, despite the wind, was a comfortable 7 degrees. The sea itself was busyeeee.
Lots and lots of waves in succession made actual swimming a challenge; it was more a case of constantly either diving under the waves, riding high on them or being splattered by them. We stayed in for about 10 minutes and then headed to shore. Coming out of the sea was the challenge today as the pull from the sea receding was very strong; it really wanted to drag you back. You had to almost let it pull you backwards and then ride the subsequent wave back in as much as you could; kind of like two steps back and three forward, until you hit the beach. Fiona and I did hit the beach, literally face down. The fact that it was warmer today in the sea and the air made it much more pleasurable and the waves actually made it a lot of fun.
Tomorrow I’m in the pool for a 3 or 4 hour swim and then in the Gym in the evening; so playing today was allowed!
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This blog is a dedicated blog for Rob Starr's journey from sign up to eventual Channel Swim. Rob's dedication to the Trust is second to none and this commitment to not only the gruelling hardwork, training and preparation for the swim, with his own personal challenges, but also the steadfast commitment to raising £100,000 and creating smiles. Please do follow
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Monday, 10 January 2011
Day 165 - 10th January 2011
An interesting and warmer sea this morning. The temperature in the air was around 5 degrees and the sea registered an average of 5.3 degrees, which is around 1 degree higher than last week. Whilst this is still ccccold, it is a lot warmer than it has been. The conditions themselves were that the waves were big enough and constant enough to let you play but still let you swim, and the tide, whilst pulling a little to the west, was not fierce enough to cause any problems. I stayed out for about 12 minutes I guess, which was a lot more than I have been able to. Whilst the sea was warmer, as I stayed in longer it meant I took longer to warm up afterwards; I’ve got to remember that. Really can’t wait until it gets to 15 degrees again, sooner the better!
Big Bob was back from his long holiday, which was great, as I’ve missed having my swimming buddy with me. This week I’m planning my usual morning sea swims, plus two pool swims and a couple a gyms (more if I can find the time).
Sad news over the weekend. A 52 year old man followed his dogs into the sea by the Pier (on our beach) after they ran away from him. One of the dogs made it back fine, but the other dog “and the man” never made it. The coastguard couldn’t get to him in time and the cold temperature and strong tide were too much for him. You hear this all the time how someone tries to rescue their pet and ends up losing their own lives; it’s crazy! The fact that it was on our beach brings back to me how dangerous the sea can be, especially on such a tidal and unpredictable beach as Brighton. As I now have so many hours in the sea in varying conditions and temperatures I feel that I have the experience to judge the safety levels and as such when we should and should not go in; other normal people just don;t have this and it can instantly become deadly. Incredibly sad for his family and for the whole town that this should happen.
Big Bob was back from his long holiday, which was great, as I’ve missed having my swimming buddy with me. This week I’m planning my usual morning sea swims, plus two pool swims and a couple a gyms (more if I can find the time).
Sad news over the weekend. A 52 year old man followed his dogs into the sea by the Pier (on our beach) after they ran away from him. One of the dogs made it back fine, but the other dog “and the man” never made it. The coastguard couldn’t get to him in time and the cold temperature and strong tide were too much for him. You hear this all the time how someone tries to rescue their pet and ends up losing their own lives; it’s crazy! The fact that it was on our beach brings back to me how dangerous the sea can be, especially on such a tidal and unpredictable beach as Brighton. As I now have so many hours in the sea in varying conditions and temperatures I feel that I have the experience to judge the safety levels and as such when we should and should not go in; other normal people just don;t have this and it can instantly become deadly. Incredibly sad for his family and for the whole town that this should happen.
Day 164 – 7th January 2011
Not the best ever start today, although a bad start always leaves the day open for improvement!
After a fairly restless night I woke with some crones pains, which is the first time for a few months. It was certainly uncomfortable and made my leaving the house a slower process, however, I was still at the Arch by 7.15am. When I got to the Arch it was dark but dry, 3 minutes later when I walked out of the Arch towards the sea is was dark but wet! The rain, which was simply like someone all of a sudden turning on the tap, came down heavy and cold. By the time I reached the sea I was already so cold and wet that it meant the usual long walk in (the tide was out) was somewhat less painful. Apart from the odd rogue wave (which were all small anyway) the sea was flat and calm. The temperature from my trusty watch was 5.4 degrees, a whole 0.1 degree higher than the rest of the week, so still extremely cold, but in the right direction. As usual a short sea swim totally took away my crones pains and by the time I came out 11 minutes later the only pain I had was the cold in my hands.
As for the rest of the day; it’s meeting after meeting after meeting, followed by an hour at the gym with my personal trainer.
So as I said, not a great start to the day, but already it’s improving minute by minute!!
After a fairly restless night I woke with some crones pains, which is the first time for a few months. It was certainly uncomfortable and made my leaving the house a slower process, however, I was still at the Arch by 7.15am. When I got to the Arch it was dark but dry, 3 minutes later when I walked out of the Arch towards the sea is was dark but wet! The rain, which was simply like someone all of a sudden turning on the tap, came down heavy and cold. By the time I reached the sea I was already so cold and wet that it meant the usual long walk in (the tide was out) was somewhat less painful. Apart from the odd rogue wave (which were all small anyway) the sea was flat and calm. The temperature from my trusty watch was 5.4 degrees, a whole 0.1 degree higher than the rest of the week, so still extremely cold, but in the right direction. As usual a short sea swim totally took away my crones pains and by the time I came out 11 minutes later the only pain I had was the cold in my hands.
As for the rest of the day; it’s meeting after meeting after meeting, followed by an hour at the gym with my personal trainer.
So as I said, not a great start to the day, but already it’s improving minute by minute!!
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Day 163 - 6th January 2011
One thing I forgot about pool swimming was the immediate cold, stuffed nose and bad throat I get! I have been sea swimming only for the last 6 weeks and even in 3.5 degree temperature & snow I have not had even the slightest of colds. I’ve done one 3 hour pool swim (yesterday) and here I am with a bad throat and a 100% blocked nose. I’ll have to get a nose clip for next week as that might help, but ultimately there must be some kind of supplement or homeopathic remedy that I can take that will lessen or stop the effects, otherwise I will be feeling like this all through the winter until the sea warms up enough for long swims! Any ideas more than welcome please?
Despite this problem, I hit the pool again this morning; silly I know, but silly I can be! I’ve got an 8am meeting today that will last the entire day, so I decided a morning pool swim for an hour from 6.30am – 7.30am was better than a pitch black solo sea swim in the pouring rain. This has certainly not helped my blocked nose, but at least it was safer and did mean an actual swim took place. The pool was empty apart from two other people, both of who stayed in the low lane, so for my hour I had the lane to myself. Of course it took me almost the whole hour to find my rhythm and then I had to get out, but at least I swam for an hour.
Tomorrow I am most definitely firmly back in the sea! I need the cold, the waves and the darkness as it seems so much better for me than the warm, light and friendly pool – now that is odd!!
Despite this problem, I hit the pool again this morning; silly I know, but silly I can be! I’ve got an 8am meeting today that will last the entire day, so I decided a morning pool swim for an hour from 6.30am – 7.30am was better than a pitch black solo sea swim in the pouring rain. This has certainly not helped my blocked nose, but at least it was safer and did mean an actual swim took place. The pool was empty apart from two other people, both of who stayed in the low lane, so for my hour I had the lane to myself. Of course it took me almost the whole hour to find my rhythm and then I had to get out, but at least I swam for an hour.
Tomorrow I am most definitely firmly back in the sea! I need the cold, the waves and the darkness as it seems so much better for me than the warm, light and friendly pool – now that is odd!!
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Day 162 – 5th January 2011
Back to the pool after too long a break. It was actually really daunting this morning getting up and heading to the pool rather than the beach; it’s been so long since I did a long pool swim that I was seriously doubting if I could do it. Silly I know, but that was how I was feeling.
I got up at 6am, having had a restless night. Jesse popped in to see me at about 1am and I took him back to his room about 2 hours later, leaving me wide awake until 6am when I got up. After I was dressed (10 minutes is all it takes me these days as I shower later) I then hit the kitchen to make up my swimming feeds (water with maxim and a banana), jumped into the car and headed to the pool; I ate a banana on the way, which I was rather proud of myself for doing (it’s the little things that count!!). I got to Falmer dead on 6.30am just as they were turning on the lights and was in the pool and doing my first length at 6.40am. The first hour was really tough indeed, I just couldn’t get my rhythm right, however, I plodded on. The second hour was a little better, but still I swam like a crab rather than a fish, very annoying! The third hour however, saw the magic return and I swam really easily and smoothly. I had the lane to myself for virtually the whole 3 hours, with just the occasional person joining me for the odd 10 minutes; in fact the other lanes never had more than a couple of people in them at any time as well. It seems that peoples New Years resolution was not to include an early morning swim; suits me just fine! After my swim I headed straight up to London for a meeting (in fact I’m on the train right now typing this) and I have to say that I can really feel the tiredness now setting in; it’s been a good few weeks since I felt the “exercise tiredness”. It’s quite a nice feeling in all truth being tired from a lot of exercise. However, as soon as I’ve done a few more pool swims that will settle back to normal I would think. It’s probably a combination of yesterday and today, which was a morning sea swim, 10k run, a 45 minute gym and then a 3 hour pool swim today. The other annoyance is that my breathing is a little painful again today , which I always get after a long pool swim, but the sea will sort that out in the morning I’m sure.
Apart from that, all is good in the world!!
I got up at 6am, having had a restless night. Jesse popped in to see me at about 1am and I took him back to his room about 2 hours later, leaving me wide awake until 6am when I got up. After I was dressed (10 minutes is all it takes me these days as I shower later) I then hit the kitchen to make up my swimming feeds (water with maxim and a banana), jumped into the car and headed to the pool; I ate a banana on the way, which I was rather proud of myself for doing (it’s the little things that count!!). I got to Falmer dead on 6.30am just as they were turning on the lights and was in the pool and doing my first length at 6.40am. The first hour was really tough indeed, I just couldn’t get my rhythm right, however, I plodded on. The second hour was a little better, but still I swam like a crab rather than a fish, very annoying! The third hour however, saw the magic return and I swam really easily and smoothly. I had the lane to myself for virtually the whole 3 hours, with just the occasional person joining me for the odd 10 minutes; in fact the other lanes never had more than a couple of people in them at any time as well. It seems that peoples New Years resolution was not to include an early morning swim; suits me just fine! After my swim I headed straight up to London for a meeting (in fact I’m on the train right now typing this) and I have to say that I can really feel the tiredness now setting in; it’s been a good few weeks since I felt the “exercise tiredness”. It’s quite a nice feeling in all truth being tired from a lot of exercise. However, as soon as I’ve done a few more pool swims that will settle back to normal I would think. It’s probably a combination of yesterday and today, which was a morning sea swim, 10k run, a 45 minute gym and then a 3 hour pool swim today. The other annoyance is that my breathing is a little painful again today , which I always get after a long pool swim, but the sea will sort that out in the morning I’m sure.
Apart from that, all is good in the world!!
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Day 161 - 4th January 2011
Back to work today for begining of the year after a nice morning swim. It was extremely dark still at 7.15am when I was walking down the beach; just Soweichi and Me this morning, the others just turning up after us. The air temp was around 4 degrees and it was very dark (even the Pier lights were still off!) and it was just starting to rain. The sea temperature was 5.3 degrees like last week, so still cold but doable. To welcome us back the sea put on a little show of waves! In fact the first wave I encountered simply hit me full on as I was pulling my goggles down over my eyes and it shot me right out of the sea and back onto the beach. A few seconds later the two of us were out past the Pier sign and onto the next building and ready to swim back. Total swimming time this morning only 6 minutes, but considering you really coudln't even sea the waves coming, and there were a fair few of them, 6 minutes was plenty enough.
Tomorrow I'm back in the pool, which is actually quite daunting as I haven't pool swum for about a month. As it's my first one for an age - I am going to be sensible and not go too mad. My aim is a 3 hour swim, 7am-10am. Meanwhile tonight I'm back to the gym on my own for an hour; quite looking forward to that actually.
Tomorrow I'm back in the pool, which is actually quite daunting as I haven't pool swum for about a month. As it's my first one for an age - I am going to be sensible and not go too mad. My aim is a 3 hour swim, 7am-10am. Meanwhile tonight I'm back to the gym on my own for an hour; quite looking forward to that actually.
Monday, 3 January 2011
Day 160 - 3rd January 2011
My first sea swim of the New Year and fine it was.
Today is the last bank holiday of the holidays (at last!!), so it was an 8am swim this morning rather than the usual early 7am start. The sky was clear, although at 8am it is still a little dark out there. The sea was very calm and the tide was just turning, so it was neither shallow or deep to get in, all very easy. The air temperature was 1 degree and the sea was 5.3 degrees - as confirmed by my fantastic Christmas watch from Sharon; loving my watch! This morning I swam with Little Bob, Mike, David, Soweichi and Bella and I did my standard out to the end of the sign and back. Nothing much to report on the swim apart from that.
Other news was that last night I watched Little Bob and Mike on BBC One countryfile celebrating the BSC 150 year anniversay back in March 2010 - so I officially swam with TV stars today, maybe their fame will rub off on me; who knows!!!
Yesterday my little Jesse was sick so I spent the day looking after him whilst Sharon took Asher and Mia out. I find it tough staying in the house all day as I am a "fresh air" person by nature , so at 7pm after all the kids were in bed I popped on my running shoes and did a 10 k run (actually it was 10.2k, but who's counting!). It took me exactly 48 minutes and 32 seconds. Considering it was 7pm, dark, cold, at least 40% up hills and I hadn't run for about 8 weeks, I thought that was a decent time.
As from my run last night and my swim this morning I am now officially back in "training" mode; the run up to my channel swim has now officially started. I am no longer swimming the channel "next year", I am officially swimming it "this year".
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