So here we are, 9 days until the window for swimming the channel officially opens.  It’s the last Sunday at home before I head off to the UK on Thursday.  Some of our friends and training buddies have left already, others leaving imminently.  Cause for reflection, and rather than ramble I thought I’d take the opportunity to answer a few questions I get commonly asked at the moment:

1.  How are you feeling?

"Anxious, excited, busy......Can't wait for the time between now and getting in the water to be over, but at the same time so much to do before I get there!"

2.  Does it bother you that your training’s been patchy?  

“Yes, but I have done what I can.  I have balanced work, family, injury and illness, and trained hard when I can and I feel fit.  When I don’t I rest.  I have learned that I take longer to recover after long swims than others, and I get sick easily (maybe that’s my three kids - who knows).  Now is a good example of how I have to manage this.  I woke on Thursday with what little neck I have completely seized and agony.  Not the first time, and I know I caused it by only breathing to one side on Wednesday in the killer aerobic threshold set.  I also know that whilst I could continue swimming, if not fixed it leads to nerve pain in my hands and ultimately leads to slow swimming and uncertain endurance.  Solution - take a week off, have three massages, see the chiro for “shockwave” and adjustment.  I’ll be back in the water at 100% fitness on Tuesday, giving me a week to find my flow and prepare for the channel.  This works for me, and means mentally I can enter the channel knowing that I can swim, and swim, and swim, and swim………………"

Every time in the last two years there has been a big challenge - whether an 8 hour cold swim, or a long test (e.g. Palmie to Manly) I have manned up on the day and come through successful.  Often where others have not.  I feel that mentally I am tough enough to survive pretty much anything.


Hopefully this will prove to be the case this time too...............

3.  Why swim the English Channel at all?  

"As most of you will know, I was due to swim two years ago but was thwarted by poor weather.  My whole reason for ever deciding to swim the channel was to prove a point.  Sounds silly, but my point has parallels in every aspect of life, for everyone.  It’s simple - if you really put your mind to something and you have help and support, anything is possible.  The people who my charity of choice (Opportunity International Australia) are the poorest on the face of the planet.  They live on less than $2 per day.  It’s women that we lend money to, we train them and help them start businesses.  It’s a struggle, but they get support.  97% of these women succeed.  They repay the loans, and create a sustainable future for their family.  For them, as for me, it may not seem like it is possible whilst on the journey, and we may all fail, but the journey itself is invaluable and we will arrive somewhere different to where we started.  My swims have always been a struggle, and in this sense a parable for the struggles we all face in different aspects of our lives. 

ach of my swimming struggles has done good for others, and it’s at this stage that I need your help.  Let’s put the impact we have had in perspective:

• In 2010 I swam bondi-watsons bay.   I made it, just, and raised ~$10k for OIA.  This money helped 900 families get out of poverty and build a better life.
  
• In 2012, the channel was due.  I didn’t get to swim, but in the process we raised $35k which helped 3,195 families.
  
• This year, the goal is to raise $100k.  If we make it, this will help 12,000 more families over the next few years.    
  

Please share this.  Please give.  It’s cost me a fortune in time, effort, stress and money to get this far.  Let’s make it worthwhile.  
 

E

So, here we are, less than four weeks to go until the channel swim window opens…………..

Training has been reasonably intense the last few weeks, and with the exception of right now I have managed to stay well.  I’ve been pumping out 25-30kms per week in the pool, then a long swim on Saturdays.  We’ve mixed it up a bit in the last few weeks and I was even persuaded to spend 4 hours in Manly Dam on the basis that the water was cold!  

Last weekend brought a long anticipated opportunity to conquer a challenge I have wanted to do since the very beginning of this Channel journey.  Since 2011 the idea of swimming from Palm Beach to Manly has fascinated me.  Over the last few years I have swum every piece of coastline from Coogee to Pittwater, including some epic swims across/around The Heads, from one end of the harbour to the other, and from beach to beach.

To tackle the entirety of the Northern Beaches in one go though, now that would truly be an accomplishment.  I tried with a group in 2012, but we got pulled out for safety reasons (see blog here).  In 2013 I was due to swim with friends then got sick so ended up paddling.  Now, this year, was my chance to get the monkey off my back, and deal with this.  Given this weekend just gone was the last big weekend swim before the channel, it was a perfect end to an era, and awesome to have a destination swim.  Much better to swim from A to B than swim in circles for hours!

Anyway, we met our chosen support boat “The Truck” at 6am on Saturday, together with handlers, paddlers - cae and I swimming.  The forecast was for a 2 metre swell and reasonable winds of 20+kms per hour. Not the sort of day you would choose to swim this swim, but a good challenge.

As we set off in the boat from the Pittwater side of Palm Beach in the dark the anxiety was palpable.  I was a bit nervous, but really excited.  Cae and I jumped in off the boat when we reached the south end of Palm beach, from where we swam to the beach to prepare for the start - as we will in the channel!  As we started swimming, it dawned on me that this would be a long day, but a day spent in good company with beautiful scenery.  The first few Km’s were somewhat painful with the waves reflecting off the cliffs and making it hard to get into a rhythm.  As soon as we reached Avalon we started heading out to sea to get a good straight line to the point of Long Reef.  Pretty interesting being a couple of km off-shore in deep water.

At one point a tiny (i.e. 2 feet long) Wobbegong shark swam up underneath me and swam with me for three or four minutes.  Really cool experience, but then it occurred to me that our shark shields clearly were not that effective!  Trust in them I do though, so perhaps the baby shark had not yet developed the senses that are repelled by these devices (fingers crossed).  Bizarrely the shark swam from me to Cae who was a few hundred metres ahead of me, then swam under him before coming back to me.  Very strange but slightly magical!  Aside from a big Albatross with a rusty hook in it’s beak that was the only “wildlife” I saw all day…………thankfully!

As we swam towards Long Reef, arguably the most scary place to swim from my perspective as it’s such a well-known gathering place for large wildlife and sharks (just google long reef great white if you doubt this), it was so tantalising how slowly the headland appeared.  The chop and swell were so big that I could only see the headland itself fleetingly as it’s pretty low, and the buildings around collaroy despite looking tall and crisp took ages to materialise.  

Cae and I had been brought back together to pass the point given the “wildlife” risk.  He’d swum better than me and been better organised and much quicker with feeds.  I’d ended up with my liquids being on the boat and my solids on the kayak so each stop was a 3-4 minute “high tea” as Alex my paddler quipped.  Anyway, it was of no matter to me at the time, the whole day was focused on achieving the goal.  Making it to Shelley beach without running out of steam!

Having passed Long-Reef, we were in very familiar territory, the home stomping ground of my group of swimming buddies.  Countless times we have swim these shores, and I entertained myself by thinking of my favourite swims, but also favourite memories with friends and family at each beach.  Coconut ice-cream with my girls at Dee-Why, Coffees and summer days at North Curl Curl, Xmas morning at Freshwater……..

In a straight line it’s only about 7km from Long Reef to Shelley beach, and my pace picked up remarkably in this knowledge.  My slightly over-gliding stroke had hindered me in the steep chop, impeding progress as I lost momentum each stroke.  When it flattened out towards Manly I could lengthen out again and stretch for home.

The elation when I swam around the corner into Shelley and saw my family and friends was memorable.  Monkey off the back for sure, and I become one of a very small number to have achieved this feat. 

I thought briefly about the Channel and how much longer, colder and harder this will be, but I’ve decided to embrace the challenge and this time I’m excited.  It will be exceptionally hard.  It’s still 13 degrees C in the channel, and given my slow pace last weekend (8.5 hours for 26km) I need to prepare for a 15+ hour crossing.  I do believe though that the diesel engine, the juggernaut as it was once dubbed, should be able to roll on if nurtured and fed properly.  We will see………….not long now!