Blog

My swim window opens three weeks from tomorrow… gah!!!!

Tracking Me

For those who would like to follow my progress directly, you can do that here: (I’ll put this link up on the main blog page too): http://cspf.co.uk/tracking

My boat is Optimist, with Paul Foreman and Jason Parrott. I don’t know what day I’ll be swimming yet – I’ll keep you in the loop (it should be between July 12th and 19th).

There will likely be updates to the blog or to Facebook or both – I’ll let you know.

Thanks!

All the thanks in the world this week go to everyone involved in “Durley Week.” First to the volunteers who were there day in and day out – Ali, Deborah, Neil and Emma. I know I speak for everyone involved when I say how integral you are to helping us fulfill our dreams. And all of those who volunteered were amazing – especially those of you who did long swims and volunteering! And everyone who participated was so amazing and inspiring as well. Thanks as always to Will for being my English swim buddy (and the ride home on Wednesday night!), and to Katie for some great swims together – especially the hour of support swimming during my 7-hour.

Now I want to come back next year and be one of the volunteers playing in the sea 🙂

Durley Week!

As with so many things in life, there were plusses and minuses here. In a perfect world, this week of long swims offered daily would not have been the week after the great food poisoning or stomach bug of 2022. On the other hand, at least it wasn’t DURING the great food poisoning or stomach bug of 2022!

I definitely felt less than my usual feisty self in the water (and out), although that improved throughout the week. I didn’t get done as much as I would have liked, but hopefully I did enough.

That being said, this week was incredibly helpful. The talks by Dr. Ruth and Deborah (with Marcus chiming in) were yet another opportunity to wrap my head around the magnitude of this challenge. And the chance to talk to Channel swimmers and aspiring Channel swimmers all week was fantastic. I got the chance to try out a bunch of stuff – suits, Channel grease, meds, feeds, etc. I’m honing in on the plan, and keeping it as simple and flexible as possible.

And then there were my long swims – I managed 7 hours on Friday, followed by 6 hours on Saturday. It was… weird. Friday was the hottest day we’ve had yet in England (we my family, not we the country), and the UV index was quite high. I had 5 good hours and then a truly terrible time from 5-6 hours. Everything hurt, and everything bothered me – not just my muscles but my cap, my goggles, my head, my stomach. Everything. I felt like I was going nowhere at all in the water and couldn’t see the point of even swimming (hindsight analysis – I was only 4 minutes slower on that lap, which has happened several times when I DIDN’T think I was going nowhere. And the chop on the first part of that lap was quite bad). I slowed down on the last lap and felt a bit better, although not about myself at the time.

My temp was quite warm when I got out, and then I biked home (and walked up the cliff) in the heat of the day, wearing a sweatshirt. I felt terrible when I got home, and like I was going to burn to death in the (tepidly warm at hottest) shower. It seems crazy to say, but I think I just got too hot and dehydrated that day… swimming in 17-degree water. The chop and my commitment to holding my pace didn’t help, but I cannot even tell you how much better I felt for 6 hours on Saturday when it was cloudy and a bit cooler outside. I held my pace (pretty easily) for 2 laps, slowed a bit on the third, and shortened my laps for the last 3 hours. But hopefully not to a Channel-swim-ending pace.

So I think all is well. It definitely was a confidence-puncturer instead of a confidence-booster, but I learned what I need to change about pace and feedings if I get a hot, bumpy day.

All-in-all a good week for me and a great opportunity for marathon swimmers!

We’ll Never Know

Was it food poisoning? Was it a stomach bug? I looked it up to see if food poisoning was plausible…

“Salmonella bacteria are often found in raw or undercooked meat, raw eggs, milk, and other dairy products. The incubation period is usually between 12 and 72 hours. The symptoms usually last around four to seven days.”16 Dec 2020

“If you do eat a food past the expiration date [and the food] is spoiled, you could develop symptoms of food poisoning,” said registered dietitian nutritionist Summer Yule, MS. “The symptoms of foodborne illness can include fever, chills, stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.”7 Feb 2019

That pretty much nails it. But of course so do germs. I’m just glad my digestive tract no longer feels like it has had a mace taken to it.

OW Videos

June 14 – no video. focused 🙂

June 15 – no video. here’s a picture 🙂

June 16 – no swimming, what?

What I’ve Learned – Channel knowledge and its infinite nature

When I started this blog, a big part of it was hoping to pave an easier path for future Channel aspirants. Here in England, this is far less necessary. As someone said at one of the Durley Week dinners – “I went to a couple of training sessions and found out that everyone swims the Channel.” Although slightly hyperbolic, that’s not far off. In England.

In America on the other hand, you are much less likely to know and train with 20 people who have swum the Channel. And when I began to prepare, it was almost completely overwhelming to try to figure out everything I needed to do. Now, of course, that seems laughable… but things always do once your are on the other side of them. So even from the very beginning, I wanted to find a way to make it easier for others.

Some things are hard because there are choices it’s difficult to be ready to make when you need to make them – like choosing your pilot.

Some things are hard because, for instance, the CSA and CS&PF are all about marathon swimming, not making the administrative process clear for newbies trying to understand it from the website. (They do a fair job – it’s just a tough job to do.)

And some things are hard because (as you will be told a million times) it depends on the person. Cold water marathon swimming is not well-studied, as yet. So no one can tell you the “best way” to do things. But even if they could, you might find that that particular best way doesn’t work for you.

What I’d like to do (eventually) is create a database that consists of problems (Channel Challenges?) and their many possible solutions. Having chafing problems? Here’s a list of things that people use (and where to find them and how to make and use them and what they are called in different countries). Wondering what OTC drugs people take or have available? Here’s a list and the pluses and minuses of different options (liquid ibuprofen can go right into your feed… but if you spill some in the ocean, you don’t know what your dose was).

I could go on and on and on – that’s kind of the point. I’m not ready to compile that database yet, but I will list here some of the (many many many many many) questions that I’ve had, and the answers I ended up on myself.

Channel Answers Database – the beginning

You probably only want to read this section if you have a deep interest in marathon swimming 🙂

What swimsuit to wear?

•  I spent far too much money, but trying out a bunch of different ones is really helping. The Speedo Aquablade and the TYR Fusion are very similar – I probably didn’t need to try both. And they are both a bit chafe-y. At this point, the Speedo Eco Endurance thin strap is in the lead – it’s not a suit I love wearing (it’s quite skimpy), but I’ve had 0 chafing issues with it and it seems pretty fast. I went a size down. [I assume this question is a bit simpler for guys – I wouldn’t know. I do know that my stubble doesn’t chafe :)]

What to bring on the boat?

• This is an entire post on its own, and there are already checklists out there. I will just say this – “Packing light” is relative.

What drugs should I take or consider taking?

• A perfect example of how personal this is. I am not someone who generally ever takes much medication. Having a ton of crap in my system (that my body is not used to) worries me just as much as all of the things the medication is meant to help with.

• The big ones are:

1. Seasickness meds. I have had seasickness once ever (briefly) on a boat. I have never had it in the water. I tested Kwell’s on a practice swim, and I will have them on the boat, but I am not planning to take the pro-actively. (The crew is a different story – going across the English Channel at a swimmer’s pace can be extremely seasickness-inducing.)
2. Pain meds. As it was explained to me, it is recommended to take both an anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen) and a pain med (paracetamol=tylenol). I tested the liquid versions of both in combination on a training swim – it was fine. I don’t plan to use them regularly, due to the increased likelihood of injury if I am masking pain, and I may or may not “pre-load” them on my swim. I will definitely have them on the boat to be asked for if desired. (I like the idea of liquids – since I am planning to do solids on any of my feeds, it just seems easier.)
3. Antihistamines – it’s the jellyfish. Most people I’ve talked to here don’t seem that concerned about them – you definitely might get stung, but it probably won’t be the thing to stop you. I’ll have both solid and liquid Benedryl (kids) on the boat, but probably not preload. I could regret this, but I just don’t have enough data either way. I was stung once during a race… that time was fine. Benadryl does make me sleepy.
4. I am personally taking birth control so that I don’t have periods during this time – it is soooo much easier not having to worry about it.

What do I eat?

• Feeds are a huge question. Most people here do maltodextrin powder – you dissolve it in warm water and add whatever you want for taste. I tried it and my stomach did not like it (bloating and gas) – that’s when I tried chocolate milk. I love it, I’m doing it… we’ll see how it goes.

• I’ve experimented with a few other things, but don’t think I’ll have many available – peaches in syrup are nice for a change and do seem to help a bit with salt tongue (I’ll take mouthwash on the boat as well). And I will definitely make sure there is plenty of 50/50 apple juice and water available, after my dehydrating swim on Friday.

Crew?

• Who should be on your boat? Another very personal decision. The general recommendation during Durley Week was – not friends and family. Experienced crew who have done the swim themselves preferred. I am so grateful to have Ali I cannot tell you!

• They also mentioned that crew can be hired if you need to.

Nightswimming?

• What do you do about the fact that you may be swimming a decent portion at night? I am not prone to many collywobbles around water myself. I did a practice “night” swim during the camp this week – However, I assume that swimming from dusk into dark, surrounded by the lights of Bournemouth and by other swimmers, is pretty different from being in the big dark ocean by yourself. If this is something you think will mess with you, I would definitely recommend a practice that is as close to the real event as possible. But if not, as with most Channel things, we’ll do what we need to do.

Pacing?

• What kind of pace am I trying to hold across the Channel? Walk? Jog? Run? I still don’t have an answer to this one. I know now that I can comfortably hold my “fast” pace for 5 hours. But that leaves a whole lot of swim to go, and if conditions worsen, that is what could really mess with me. This is why I personally hate doing events where you never train the race distance. There is no way for me to find out what pace is sustainable for me over that time period. So I’ll have to wing it. My favorite.

• But at least I know now how much I slow down if I do slow down. And that I can recover and get back at it. You can’t predict what’s going to happen on the day anyway, and at least I’m much better informed than I was a month ago.

What is my projected time?

• The million-dollar question, and you will be asked. A lot. I’ve been saying 12, because I swim at about the same speed as Will and he says 12. That is exactly as much science as there is in my estimate.

• If you look at Chloë McCardle, who has the record number of Channel swims (with 44!), her times vary by over 3 hours. Conditions matter so much and you get what you get on any given day.

Should you do a practice swim with a Channel pilot?

• This was really helpful to me. Even though everything was pretty much “as expected,” now I know that it is going into it, and it’s less mental stuff to clutter my already Channel-overloaded brain.

How much different is 12 hours than 6 or 7?

• I still haven’t gotten an answer to this one, other than “you will be in pain and struggle at some point.” I guess that pretty much sums it up, but I’m realizing how much I really do dislike heading into the unknown when I’m doing events. (But not enough to do a 10-hour swim along the coast.)

Channel Grease?

• What to use, where to put it. What I heard from someone is that they use vaseline for under 6 hours and 50/50 vaseline/lanolin for over. Since I already liked vaseline I made some up and used it during Durley Week – it seemed fine. I checked with Sarah, and she just puts her lube in the usual places for long events, so that’s my plan. It seems pretty oversimplified after reading about and watching videos of people being greased up from head to toe. But I like simple, if possible.

• My chafing, like so much, depends a lot on conditions. I don’t think I’ve ever chafed badly in the flat – it’s when the chop picks up that stuff starts rubbing. But my 7-hour had just a tiny bit of chafing (up at the top of my neck, which I’m not even sure I got) with my speedo eco endurance suit and the vaseline/lanolin.

Pilot Perspective

I took the chance to question Paul and Jason after my practice swim with them. Here’s what I learned:

How does tracking work? 

• You can do it through the CS&PF site, or through marinetraffic.com

What should I bring my stuff onto the boat in?

• Most people do bins. BUT, having seen the brilliant Ali pull up to prepare for Durley Week feeds with a rolling suitcase, I’m going to do two of those – one for feeds, one for equipment. I’ll get packing these soon.

Do I have to swim to the right of the boat?

• Breathing to the right is my dominant side. That means I’d really prefer to swim to the left of the boat. And yes, I can swim there… but the pilots can’t see me directly – they have to watch me through a camera and it is harder for them to see. So I’ll suck it up – unless my neck starts hurting or I really need to swim fast. You can switch sides during the swim. The worst for me is looking to the left when the boat is ahead of me and there is a headwind. If that situations persists, I should consider going to the other side. The pilots said to just tell them if I need to switch.

Coconut oil?

• I was going to ask about delivery coconut oil as a feed to help with salt tongue, but having done the practice swim, I’ll just go with peaches or mouthwash – coconut oil would just add a dimension that hopefully won’t even matter (my salt tongue has never gotten really bad in the water and only gets somewhat bad in lots of chop).

General advice?

• Honestly, to my ears, the advice that I’ve heard from pilots boils down to, “Turn yourself into a robot.” Their ideal swimmer is someone who mechanically cranks across the Channel – even pacing, quick feeds, no drama, no chitter-chatter. I’m giving an honest go at turning myself into that swimmer… while sometimes silently rebelling that I am NOT a robot 🙂 These pilots are incredibly experienced, and I don’t think any of their advice is bad – just sometimes easier said than done.

But wait, there’s more

And in the end, this isn’t the half of it yet. Do I have enough feed bottles? Will the new ones I ordered have fast enough flow? Is my rope long enough to get feeds to me? And on and on and on. But in the end, I have confidence that we’ll make it work. I hope.

Channel Prep

Um, like, all that stuff I just said. Plus more.

Hahaha – didn’t even mention my goggle problems. I’ve never taken new goggles straight into the sea before. Suffice to say, there was some unpleasantness, and I will be making sure that each and every pair is good to go in the pool this week.

The [Time Period] in the Water (Sunday 6/12 – Saturday 6/18) DURLEY WEEK!

Summary

Pool Yardage ~ 0 M 

OW Yardage ~ 70,000 M

Total Yardage ~ 70,000 M

OTHER:

 miles of running – 0

 miles of walking (plus, you know, a lot more) – took A to school Wed morning

 miles riding – 24 (riding to swims + evening events)

The Gory Details

Sunday return swim: (3000 M) 1 h

1. Temp according to guard – 16.1!!! And it felt it – nice and warm in there. Warm weather predicted all this week – great week for swim camp.
2. The first lap felt like I hadn’t swum in about a month, but laps 2, 3, and 4 felt great. I took it easy on lap 5 and made about my usual distance in about an hour. I feel so much better now.
3. The hilarious thing? How incredibly salty the water tasted. I was only out for 4 days – how did my tastebuds completely un-adapt to salt water?!?

Mon June 13 (10,500 M) 3 h

OW Swim

• 9-noon
• 10.5 K
• Air temp high 50’s
• Water temp high 15s or low 16s
• Conditions – gorgeous
• Temp Before: 36.3
• Temp After: 34.8
• The wind picked up just a hint on my last lap out. I could have done without that 🙂 Felt OK in the water – back on land I can tell I’m still recovering.

Tue June 14 (14 K) 4 h

OW Swim

• 8-noon
• 14 K
• Air temp mid to high 50s
• Water temp 16
• Conditions – amazing
• Temp before: ?
• Temp after: 35.2
• It was really nice not to have my eyes burning the whole time today. I still don’t know if it was sunscreen or something on the new goggles yesterday, but this was sooo much better 🙂

Wed June 15 (1K) 30 m

OW swim

• 9:45-10:15 PM
• 1 K
• Air temp 60ish?
• Water temp 16
• Conditions – perfect, beautiful sunset calm
• This was proposed as a 2 hour swim, but ended up being just a dip. I might have done some other things differently this week had I known, but it may have worked out for the best anyway.

It was a beautiful swim. Amazingly, you could still see the bottom, even thought the light was going, going, gone. It was so clear. And the water felt warm. And it was very peaceful. And a lot of fun to just enjoy swimming around with Katie, Will and Ben.

When I say that the actual Channel swim is only a fraction of the experience, nights like this are part of what I have in mind.

Huge thanks to Will for the ride home!

Thurs June 16 – Rest (and biked over for dinner)

Fri June 17 – (23 K) 7 hours

OW Swim

• 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
• Between 22 and 24 K
• Air temp – high of 75 and it felt it (and my back feels it now)
• Water temp – high 16 and I’m sure 17 in places and as the day went on
• Conditions – calm until it wasn’t, but never unbreathable
• Temp After: 36.2 (so basically normal)

Laps 1-3 were a breeze. Wind kicked up on 4 and I had to work at it, especially to the final groin (English ocean marker). But I was able to cruise back a bit in preparation for doing lap 5 with Katie. I had fun keeping up with her. But then the wind really picked up on lap 6, and I didn’t have anyone to swim with. I felt as if I was going so slow, but I ended up coming in about 4 minutes late, which doesn’t seem too bad considering how I felt. The wind died down and I limped around a shortened lap 7 (to the last homely house and back) full of people getting in my way. I didn’t kill any of them, although if looks could…

I nailed coming in at an hour for my normal loop for the first 5 laps. As I said, full lap on 6 but 4 minutes late. Shortened 7, but then had to swim around at the finish because I had 7 minutes left.

I felt pretty ill in the shower once I biked home and crashed into bed without stretching or anything (I had eaten a scone before I showered – a tiny bit came back up in the shower. I think it was too much sweetness throughout the day.) [And it retrospect, heat stroke-y-ness]

I got up around 7 and stretched and had dinner – savory food felt a lot better going down. And the broth from my won ton soup was just the best – hydrating and comforting.

It’s 8 now and I’m calling it a night. Not exactly sure how I’m going to get through 6 hours tomorrow. But needs must. (Or at least, training plan must.)

Sat June 18 (19000 M) 6 hours

OW Swim

• 8 AM – 2 PM
• 18.3 – 19.5 K
• Air temp – low to mid 60s
• Water temp – 17
• Conditions – peaceful under the gray sky. Wind picked up a bit on laps 5 and 6, but not like yesterday.
• Temp After: 35.6

So that felt 1000 times better. In retrospect, I was definitely a bit heat-stroke-y by the time I got home yesterday (having to bike through the crowds during the warmest part of the day definitely didn’t help either). My main takeaway is – if I get a day with a high UV index, I need to drink my 50/50 apple juice/water early and often, and possibly slow down a bit.

I took that advice today, even though it was cooler and cloudy, and it helped a lot. My arms were tired, but I never felt as if I couldn’t keep going for hours and hours and hours. Whereas yesterday I had moments in lap 6 where I thought that the Channel would be impossible for me, and that there was no way I could have 5 or 6 more hours in me. Overheating and dehydration – not good for the adventurous spirit.

• My first hour today was (surprisingly) normal loop in normal time
• My second hour I added 3 minutes
• I gave it a go on the third loop, but added 4-5 minutes, so I let myself shorten it
• A fourth loop to the lifeguard stand (3000, according to Marcus, but either his numbers are wrong or Katie’s are) took me 54 minutes
• I did the same on the 5th loop (but with a headwind on the way back – 57 minutes
• Final loop the same (trying to relax) – 56 minutes (still windy, but better maybe? Hard to compare when you’re tired)

I’m really happy with that – if nothing else, it proved to yesterday’s 6-hour self that I can keep moving and make good enough progress, without being balls-to-the-wall.

It’s funny the things that make a difference to our comfort, mentality and general attitude. I had cap problems, goggle problems, etc. this weekend – they bother me more when I’m tired. But the absolute worst was that yesterday when I was at my most mentally low anyway, suddenly there was seaweed EVERYWHERE on the surface of the water. I swam through it again and again. It got wrapped around my arms; it got wrapped around my buoy. At its worst, it got wrapped around my earplugs and almost pulled them out. It felt scratchy and annoying and uncomfortable and, though I learned to swim as high in the water as I could so that at least it wouldn’t wrap itself around me, I found it pretty unpleasant.

Was it swim-ending (or even swim-affecting)? No. But it sure was nice to have it stay on the bottom where it belonged today.

Sun June 19 – Rest day

It’s the little things, like being able to lick peanut butter off of my fingers without them being covered in sunscreen.