All in all December's been a very positive month on several fronts!  I have:

• avoided any illness, other than a couple of self-inflicted mornings caused by pre-Christmas overindulgence;
• trained reasonably consistently, and feel all the pool work with Vlad is paying off as I'm definitely getting faster and more relaxed in the water;
• completed long swims in the ocean every weekend with the Bold & the Beautiful, including a 13km epic on Christmas eve.  This was a great "journey swim" around the beaches from Manly to Curl Curl and around the houses.  Apart from the sunburn caused by 5 hours in the water on the first genuine summer's day of the year, it was great, and I felt strong at the end;
• confirmed a boat for Rottnest - a wonderful relief;
• received some great sponsorship!  Whilst the tally on GoFundraise does not quite reflect it, we're now upto over $10,000 - truly amazing!  I never thought I'd be able to say this, but someone has paid to put a logo on the back of my Speedos..........(thanks 325 Consulting)!
  

Overall I feel for the first time really that my training's on track, and whilst it's really early days and the real training's yet to come, I feel really positive about progress made to date, and all the hard work to come.  I have learned a lot about myself in the last few months.  Physically I need to look after myself, and really invest in my immune system.  Mentally I feel I have turned a corner.  I now genuinely believe I will complete the crossing.  I feel it in my heart.  This is a massive contribution to the potential to succeed, and so I am thrilled to be able to say this. 

I would like to say a big thank you to all of you - the team, supporters, donors, friends, and family.  Without you this challenge would not be possible.  I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.  I have a couple of weeks off work so will relax, eat, drink and be merry.  I will however keep swimming....................!  I hope you have a great holiday, and get to spend quality time with your nearest and dearest.  Thanks again.  Ben

Since the my last, rather despairing update, things have definitely taken a turn for the better.  Whilst the crusade to find a boat for Rottnest (25th Feb) continues, I've received some really generous donations of peoples' time, accommodation in Perth, and amazingly $1,000 from a nameless donor who I don't even know!  So I feel the universe is definitely sending me lots of positive energy, and I am feeding off this all I can.  Thank you all.

So, the main event for the week was the 10km qualifier for Rottnest.  I was especially dreading this because I would barely have recovered from being sick, had spent a week out of the water (and would therefore be slow), and because it would take place in a pool with lots of much faster swimmers!  The objective was to complete the 10km in less than 4 hours, including any breaks taken for food / drink.   I had recovered from my ear / sinus infection in time to get back into the water on Thursday morning, so by the time Saturday arrived I'd done two squads and was actually feeling pretty healthy and energetic!  The 10km was done as a pyramid 100m, 200m....upto 1,000m and back down again.  This was great from my point of view as it nicely broke the monotony, and it gave us plenty of opportunity to change pace, rotate the leadership of the pelaton, and generally made life a bit more interesting.  Bizarrely I felt I came into my own at about the 6km mark.  I could sense others in the lane flagging and dropping off the pace, but I felt great!  I had stuck religiously to the hydration and energy plan, feeding every half an hour, ad I am sure this was a major factor. 

Amazingly (in my view) we completed the 10km in 3hrs 9 minutes.  I was really pleased with this, but what was more important than the time was that I felt great throughout, my stoke only falling apart in the last 1km with Vlad yelling "go faster......."!  Mentally I am really starting to believe that I can do these long swims, and all being well I should be ok for  a 7 hour Rottnest crossing.  Now we just need to lock in that boat (only 2 weeks to go!)

As it turns out I was exceptionally lucky to be able to do this swim on Saturday.........by Sunday afternoon I was struck down with a nasty kiddie vomit-bug which the girls had just had (and I thought I'd missed).  I have to say Sunday night was probably the worst 12 hours of my entire life.  It makes every other episode of food poisoning (even the mussels in France) look like a vague upset tummy.........perhaps that will be a useful memory to keep me going when the swims get tough.............."at least you're not lying on the bathroom floor under a damp towel!".

When I swam at Canberra three weeks ago I was coming down with a cold.  Since then, this has morphed into a chest, sinus, and now ear infection!  I've been on antibiotics for three weeks, but stupidly not allowed myself time to rest.  I have been caught between the good and evil advisors (in my head) - hearing "you must keep training" from one, and "take it easy, rest" from the other.  Until yesterday I kept on training.  Finally my ear was painful enough for me to only be able to hear the sensible advice from the good advisor (and the doctor!).

Anyway, I have been swimming.  As you'll see on the training log (finally updated), I've actually been swimming quite a lot!  The general routine now is swim four or five mornings a week in a pool in the city.  Squad sessions with Vlad, and some stroke correction have been really beneficial, but to be honest I've been feeling mighty frustrated!  I haven't felt like I am getting any quicker, and still struggle at the back of the squad for most of the session.  However, after about 3kms I seem to relax (generally an issue), and my speed and the ease with which I can swim, actually increases.  In a couple of sessions last week I was feeling at my best at the end, which is GREAT!  I also demonstrated that when I sprint I can actually be pretty fast as my lazy bent-wrist catch goes away.  It was a great feeling during a session to be able to almost keep up with Cameron during short sprints, although when we went back to cruising it was extremely depressing to see how far off the pace I really am............

Having said all that, I do feel I am on the right track.  The "team" are all helping in their own way, and I do feel now there's quite a large community of people willing me on.  THANK YOU ALL!

So, couple of rest days required, then the next big milestone next weekend.  I have my 10km time-trial for Rottnest.  Sadly this will be done in a pool (ABC Sat am), so will likely be very boring, and also pretty frustrating as I will likely be the slowest member of the squad so get overtaken a lot.  However, good mental preparation, and as a channel mentor keeps reminding me it's now how fast I cross that matters!  That said, to qualify for Rottnest I must swim it in less than 4hrs 15 mins.  All being well this should be ok, and ideally I can do it in about 3.5hrs.  Also will be a good opportunity to try some feeding techniques and do a fluid study to see how much I lose (sweat) and therefore need to replace in long sessions.

On the subject of Rottnest (Feb 25th next year), I have finally got a paddler to support me, but am in desperate need of a boat!  If anyone knows anyone with a boat who wouldn't mind crossing to Rotto island (WA) with me, I would be really grateful.  I only have 4 weeks left to lock one in, so given Christmas in this period I am somewhat stressed.............!

Thanks for all the support, all being well I will be fit and healthy next weekend!