I have always wanted to swim the channel yet it seemed too extreme a challenge to be a realistic goal.  I have long feared sea swimming and like many, the Jaws film plays through my mind when I venture into the salty water.  I have also never liked the cold.  When I was taking my triathlons really seriously a few years ago, I had very little body fat and I remember going out biking with about 6 tops and a gilet on and still being freezing cold, so I have to say that the thought of swimming almost naked across a body of water that will top out at around 16 degrees and is full of shadows for me to freak out about fills me with dread.

That said, I love challenges.  I love pushing my mind and body and seeing how far it can take me.  I have filled my life with challenges over the past fifteen years and the more I take on, the more I want to try.  This seemed like the most appropriate next challenge.  Less than 2,000 people in the World have ever done it, less people have swum the channel than have climbed Everest and many have attempted it and failed.  It sounds extreme, but I want to test myself and see if I can do it.  Your body will achieve what your mind believes, that's what I think anyway. 

So, I am taking on an extreme challenge that has already, to this day, seen me train hard for the past 10 months spending up to 4 hours in 25m swimming pools getting my body and mind ready (and trust me, 4 hours in a 25m pool is pretty dull).  I have been taking cold showers for the same period of time and have even swum in 7 degree waters in December.  Just recently at the end of June I completed my 6 hour qualification swim.  This was a 6 hour endurance exercise in 14 degree waters in Dover Harbour.  I was able to get through it, albeit with a tongue that shrivelled up like a prune from the salt and I now have the confidence believe that I can do it.  I am in the last few weeks of heavy training now which will culminate in a split channel swim (7 hours on a Saturday, followed by 6 hours on Sunday) and then I will get a call some time between 20^th and 27^th August to say I will start my attempt.

I figured that for this once in a lifetime challenge that will really test my mind and body, I should use the opportunity to raise money for a well deserving cause.  Hospitality Action is the hotel industry's benevolent charity and helps anyone that has come upon hard times.  They do some great work and have helped loads of people to deal with the challenges that life throws at them, so why not allow the challenge that I throw at myself to help them?!