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!

Just a brief update to let you all know that I'm still training hard!  Only 48 days to go now......pretty scary but very exciting indeed.  I am really reaching the point of being completely over all these early mornings and training pressure.

However, that said, I had a wonderful day yesterday.  As you're aware, it's been on my mind that I will be in the water for a long time on the day, possibly 18 hours or so.....and this is a long time to be in 16 degree water!  So, yesterday I had planned a longer swim than the normal 6-8 hour sessions we've been doing at the weekend.  My goal was to swim 30km, 20 return laps of Manly to Shelley.

We (Collie, Iain and I) started in the dark at 5.30am which was surreal.  The stars were magnificent, and the water so clear with wonderful phosphorescence.  After two laps my left hand was absolute agony.  It was like I could feel a tendon joining my chest to my  thumb, and on every stroke there was this tight, yanking sensation.  I got out, had a stretch, and started worrying........how could I possibly cope all day!?

For the half hour from 6.30-7.00 I was seriously contemplating getting out, and also bailing on the whole channel challenge.  I had thought through the consequences, the apologies I would need to make, the inner sense of failure, and the knowledge in my heart that if I didn't make it this time I would have to try again.........I had it all worked out.

Then at 7, the 100+ Bold & Beautiful swimmers were in the water with us.  We did a lap, Julie announced my challenge for the day, and on we swam.  I was still festering then after a couple more laps stopped for a feed and my "handler" for the day brought out the pill box!  Pills are very important to long distance swimmers.  It's not unusual for a discussion to ensue when you meet marathon swimmers about what pills they take.......when you put the body through so much strain over long periods, you need to be able to block out the pain.

Nicole (handler) was a legend with me yesterday.  She gave me at least one pill almost every half an hour.....paracetamol, neurofen, ibuprofen, voltaren......you name it!  I think the pills helped, also about 10am we strapped my wrists up even more than they were already (see photo), and by the time I had done 7 laps I knew I had to finish the swim.

I was blessed, the water was so clear I felt like I was swimming in Sydney aquarium.  There were all manner of fish, and lots of friendly Port Jackson sharks.  I was joined during the day by lots of people, and never swam alone.  I am shocked by the level of support people have shown me, and I thank everyone of them.  I could not have done this without you.

On each lap, there was a mini-simulation of the last 3kms at France, where the tide pulls against you.  To get in at North Manly there was a reasonably strong rip, particularly on the outgoing tide.  This was mildly annoying at the time, as you faced a choice of swimming an extra 200m around the rip, or pushing through it for 5 mins (which I chose).......good training!

By the end (10 hours 20 minutes) I was elated.  My family turned up to say Hi, and I got to see bewildered looks from my Kids - "where's daddy been all day?!?".  I got very cold when I got out, but was saved by my friend James and the Manly SLSC showers (thank you!) which were clearly plumbed pre-drought as it was like standing under a hot niagra falls.  Perfect! 

The great news about yesterday was that I made it, and mentally was able to push through, and also that my nutriion plan worked.  No sickness or tummy problems, so I was really happy about this!

So, on we roll.  Not long to go......some tough weeks ahead, just hoping my hand calms down a bit, and I may have to get some more injections in m wrists!  Oh the trials and tribulations of a Channel Aspirant!

The last few weeks have been relatively consistent from a training point of view.   A typical week involves intense squads four days, one or two cold (~15 degree C) water sessions in the harbour, one 4-8 hour swim, and a 5km gentle ocean swim on Sunday to recover.  On average I have been swimming 35km per week, and am feeling pretty good in the water.

Squads are important because they build your tolerance to different levels of aerobic and anaerobic endurance, and fine tune your skills.  The cold, and time in the cold water for long swims, is important because clearly the Channel is cold!  This summer in England has been atrocious, with record rainfall and cold weather.  This means the Channel has been two degrees colder than normal, and slower than usual in warming up (today = 15.2 degrees).

Since the start of "Channel Season" in July, very few solo crossings have been made due to the bad weather.  Two people i've been training with recently succeeded though.  Lochie Hinds became the youngest Australian male to cross a few weeks ago, and managed an amazing 12 hours in really cold water (apparently 13.5 in the middle).  This is great for such a young guy, and shows mentally he'd made massive progress since we all swam together in Melbourne where he was not exactly thrilled by the cold!  He's a brilliant swimmer, and survived a big tide too, so well done Lochie.

Tori Gorman succeeded at the weekend, in just over 14 hours.  Tori has been training hard for two years, and was wonderfully prepared both physically and mentally.  She had the most agonising of waits in the UK while the weather cleared, and was luck to be able to hang around past her "window".  Others had to return to life and work, and missed out on their chance this year.  Well done Tori.

So, what do these two successes mean for me?!  I swing from feeling hugely positive, knowing people who've been following similar training regimes to me have succeeded, but to be honest these guys are both much quicker than me..........probably 20 secs per 100m (~20%).  Their tales of battling the current and the tides off france do worry me, as should I not have enough gas in the tank at the end to lift my pace, then I'll struggle to deal with the 3km "danger zone" which is the  3km just off the coast of France.

So, I am working hard on my technique and my pace, and do seem to be making progress.  I have also been doing mental strength work, reading books by athletes who have mastered the mental game.  I am preparing myself to be in the water for 18 hours.  Hopefully it won't take this long, but I need to be ready, just in case!

To this end, over then next two weekends I will do a couple of long swims.  Probably 6 hours next Saturday, and then 12 the following Saturday.  I think if I can deal with 12, and if my nutrition plan holds up, then mentally I will be feeling tough.  On the day I will no doubt be lifted by the magnitude of the event!

More to come over the next week or two.  I have five other friends swimming the Channel solo in the next 6 weeks, so I am crossing my fingers for all of them.

My flights are booked for 15th Sept, so I have just 7 weeks of hard training left.  I am going to give everything I have..............at least then I'll know I've done everything I can.  This period will include some dietary adjustment, essentially more food, and no alcohol at all.  I have already been two weeks without a glass of wine, and can't believe I am staring down the barrel of another 8.........some meals just aren't the same!  I can't wait for my life to return to normal, and I look forward to spending more time with my family and friends, and more time asleep!  The 4.45am alarm is getting very very tiresome......................

As always, thanks for your ongoing support.