Hi everyone, and thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

My challenge for 2009 is to attempt to swim across the English Channel - no wetsuit, just a cossie and one swimming hat. Oh and goggles too!

Sunday 9th August 2009:

I was planning on updating this page this evening after Dover training to say only 3 weeks to go, however on Friday evening (7th August) it was confirmed that the weather and conditions were great for swimming, so I agreed to go ahead with my swim, and off we went down to Dover marina to meet my boat!!!!

AND I MADE IT TO FRANCE!!!!

A bit of a shock to the system at first, as I still had 3 weeks to go in my head, but I just had to make myself relax calm the nerves, and then take one stroke at a time once I was in the water.

My support crew...well I couldn't have asked for a better team, and am so so appreciative of all the help and support they gave me both before and during the swim. They were great, so a big big thank you to you all.

We left Dover marina aboard Sea Satin at approx 11.45pm, and travelled round to Abbotts Cliff, where I then swam to shore (having been caked in vaseline to stop my costume rubbing), cleared the water, and then the boat siren sounded, and off I went just after 12.30am Saturday 8th August.

The water was a comfortable temperature, and I don't remember feeling cold throughout the swim. It took a little bit of getting used to being in the dark in the wide open sea, but I managed to calm myself, as I knew the boat was very close and the crew were watching.

Feeding didn't start off too great - nerves didn't like the double strength Maxim drinks I had made up, so after about 4 or 5 of those hadn't agreed with me (about 3hrs in), Lance my pilot suggested tea with sugar and a sneaky spoon of maxim, which I then managed to keep down, so kept drinking tea for the remainder of the swim.

The conditions were absolutely perfect, on quite a few occasions I looked up and there was not a ripple in the water - it looked like glass! It was amazing. It only got really choppy as I was coming up to France because the tide had started to turn. This resulted in me swimming parallel to the beach for at least an hour, but with one final sprint and push, and then Clair and Greg swimming with me, I made it to Cap Griz-Nes, clambered out on a rock to clear the water,and the boat siren sounded to mark the end of my swim! 12hrs 23mins!

I was overcome with emotion when I sat on that rock - it's a bit tricky crying with goggles and a noseclip on - and the sense of achievent was great, although I don't think it will sink in properly for another couple of days that I have actualy swum form England to France, all on my own!!!!

Thank you again to everyone who has been supporting me, both in the 2year run up to the big day, in training, especially Freda, Barry, Irene and the rest of the beach crew in Dover Harbour every weekend, Tanya, and again to my support crew on the boat on the day. Lance and crew - you were great also - giving friendly smiles out the boat as you were driving, and then willing me to the rocks at the end. You were great!

 

My training run-up is below, followed by the background to my swim, so please read on....

Latest training antics.........Only 4 weeks to go now (can't believe it is weeks now rather than months)!!!! (that was last weekend I wrote that!!)

1st/2nd August: 2x 6hrs this weekend. Saturday was the rowing club regatta, so we couldn't go into the water until 3.00pm, which meant swimming until 9.00pm. Really enjoyed it though, quite peaceful and relaxing. We all had to wear a green flashing LED light on our goggle straps, and then turned it on at our last feed at 8pm. Swim finished at 9.00pm on Saturday evening, and then Sunday's one started at 9am!! A tight turnaround, but it all adds to the experience and practise!

25th/26th July: Bleriot festival in Dover this weekend, so our 6 hour swims on both days had to start at 6am!!!!! It was a struggle to get up and motivated for them, but once in the water it was lovely. The sun was just coming up over the harour wall (blinding us in the water in the process), but the sunlight was reflecting off the flat water. It was lovely! The swims seemed to go quite quickly too.

4th/5th July: Longest training swims so far - 7hours on Saturday and then 6hours on Sunday. I was completely shattered, but really enjoyed both swims. The weather was pretty good on both days, apart from the band of fog that loomed over the harbour on Saturday morning!

21st June: I stayed down in Dover after the Champions race, and did a 4hour swim in the harbour - supposed to be a  6 but my shoulders were aching from the race!  

20th June: Champion of Champions race in Dover Harbour - 5miles after breakfast, 3miles at lunchtime and 1 mile at teatime! The hardest part is entering the water for the 2nd and 3rd swims, as my feet were still numb from before! Really enjoyed the 5mile swim as I got into a good rythym, the 3 and 1 I found harder, but overall I was 5th in the senior female rankings in a total time of 4hr27mins (longer than last year but I'm sure they were longer miles, or really short miles last year!)

13th June: Arrived at Dover at 8.30am, to be told that today I'm doing six hours. SIX HOURS!! The water is still only 13.7degrees, although the sun was shining very nicely, and the harbour looked as flat as a lake. Once in the water it was lovely - I broke the swim up into chuks - 2hours then in for a feed, and then for the next 4hours (with a feed on each hour) I planned my swim pattern so that I didn't have to potter around trying to decide where and how far to swim before the next feed. I also made myself think about anything but the water I was in, in order to stop myself thinking about the cold.....And it worked!! The sixth hour came around just like that, and before I knew it I was out on the beach in my tent, having completed my 6hour qualifying swim!!!!

I was so pleased with myself, and I wasn't even that cold!!

31st May: Dover training......a 4hour swim today, building on last weeks 3hours. It was a lovely warm day, but throughout the swim is was getting more and more breezy, so much so that during the last hour I drank a rather large amount of salt-diesely sea water! Very pleasant.

24th May: Dover training...I arrived on the beach at 9.30am, thinking that we will probably be told to do a 2hr swim, as the past few weeks we have done 2x 1hrs. But no...it was a 3hr swim!!! The sea temperature is 13degrees, so still pretty chilly. I therefore did a 2hr swim, came in for a feed of blackcurrant and maxim, and then did a further 1hr swim, by which time my hips hurt and I was cold. But.....it can only get warmer! I wonder what swim time we'll be given next week???!!........

17th May: 4km Lake race at Colwick Park in Nottingham. It was a dull rainy day in Nottingham, but once the 4km race had begun, the sun came out, making the four 1kmlaps of the lake quite pleasant. The water temperature was 14degrees, which felt chilly getting in, but once in it felt great!!  swam really well, completing the four laps in 55minutes - I was going to be pleased with a 1hr 5mins, but with my time I came 3rd of the female swimmers!

3rd May: First trip of the season to Dover. The water felt like about 12degrees - boiling!!! Managed two 45-minute swims in the harbour, with an hour or so rest in between, just enough time for a cup of tea, a bit of food, and warm-up time in my pop up tent! There were about 96 of us on the beach - great to see some old faces from last year, as well as lots of new ones.

21st April: Lake training started at Liquid Leisure in Datchet. Started off with 2 laps in the 12degrees water, but will gradually build that up. Will be swimming most Tuesdsays and Thursday mornings, and Saturday mornings until I start the double weekends in Dover.

7th-14th April: Cyprus training camp with Slough Dolphins. We trained 4hrs a day in the outdoor 50m pool, alongside a group from team GB! We did a lot of stroke technique and efficiency work, so hopefully I will swim fewer strokes now en-route to France. I was exhausted by the end of the week, but very pleased that I had swum just under 50km in the week!

14th/15th March: Trip to Dover for the CS & PF dinner. Went in for a 15minute dip in the harbour on Saturday afternoon when I arrived, and then a slightly longer one on the Sunday morning after the dinner! It was about 6/7degrees C, so warmer than Tooting!! And it was a lovely sunny day. It was so nice to get back out in the sea. 

I am booked for my attempt on the tide at the end of August - so sometime between the 26th and 3rd September.

In preparation for the "big swim", I swam two lengths of Lake Windermere in July 2008 - a gruelling 21miles, through the night!! My time was 11hr 37minutes, which I was extremely pleased with, but completely exhauseted aftewards! I also swam most weekends between May and July down at Dover Harbour and built up to a 6 hour swim, as well as a Channel Relay, 1-way Windermere swim (10.5miles) in 5hr 02mins, and Dover Harbour training in 2007.

My outdoor training for 2009 will start in April at the Liquid Leisure Lake in Datchet, and then down to Dover Harbour almost every weekend until the big day arrives. I am going to keep a log of any events I do between now and August, and the first one to put on my list is the UK Cold Water Swimming Championships at Tooting Bec Lido on 24th January!!!! The water was lovely 3degrees C, and the race was across the width of the lido, so 30metres. I loved it, so much fun and will definitely go for it again next year!

I have chosen to raise money and support the Stroke Association  because in early January 2009 a colleague at work sadly passed away following a major stroke. He had been doing his best to get me motivated to work out in the gym and take me round the equipment to make sure I actually did the exercises, rather than just sit there and make excuses! I now have to keep up my gym visits as he kept saying to me "You'll never get across the Channel if you sit there and make excuses all the time Vic!!"

I would be really grateful if you could make a donation in support of the Stroke Association.
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