Thursday

 Today is race day, day 6 of 9, up at 4:30am to stretch and load myself with fuel which consists of Porridge, bananas, a dash of milk and a sprinkle of sugar, then 2 poached eggs and toast, a hot cup of Barrys teas and a 500ml hot Maxim and water to go on the way to swim number one of today, my belly feels full and I can feel the heat of the food from the inside out.

 This morning the air is crisp, 8.5 degrees Celsius crisp (47 F ish),  the water a bit warmer than the air at 11-12 degrees Celsius (51.8-53.6 degrees), it is a beautiful morning, it is a morning offering an extra lashing of cold, I rub my warm belly as I look out to sea, ” come on porridge, share the warmth while I’m in the water”.

Sandycove Island, photo from Ned

 TIDE’S OUT

This morning the island looks unrecognizable compared to the other mornings, this morning we drive down the narrow windy road towards Sandycove Island, as we round the last corner it is not the familiar image you see above it is this……..

Low Tide Rocks and Weeds are silently waiting to add to the challenge

Morning meeting complete me and the other swimmers scatter to out various spots to get ready for our penguin plunge, today the grease is extra cold making it even harder for Robbin to smear on, cap, goggles, ear plugs and we are off for the ‘ hike” in to swim, with the tide being low, there is no ” walk the plank” off the slipway, we trudge across the sand and rocks, this morning I learn a ‘low tide lesson”…..

LOW TIDE = ROCKS, SEAWEED AND KELP

 We are off swimming, (or is it scrambling), I chase Ned as he weaves in and out of the rocks and drives through the seaweed, my tactic of slithering over the rocks to take a short cut is a rookie mistake, the rocks are sharp and covered with razor sharp barnacles, like needles on a porcupine ” you will regret getting too close”, and me the clumsy puppy does exactly that, I slice my foot on the top of the rock, fortunately I have little feeling in the foot at the time so am oblivious to the gash while I am swimming, I feel just a bump andwith not much blood going to my foot there can only be a small stream of blood, if any leaking from it as I lap around the island.

 Next trick is the seaweed and Kelp, I must say although I find this slow to pull through it appears to be warm, it wraps around my neck, my arms, feet and waist like a blanket, once it is wrapped it is tricky to shake off, it all looks like a Halloween forest down there, all sorts of dark shapes of different sizes, some look like massive mutated house plants gone wrong.

 The first 2 corners of the island are the ones that are the rockiest and weediest, I slip and slither, pull and push my way through and then sprint to catch up to Ned, I know that without his expert navigation I will have a much longer and tougher swim this morning, his strong pace is great for me to swim along with.

 So we are off around the back side of the island, no more sheltered water of the cove, it is noticeably cooler this morning, not only the water but the air, I am noticing the driving cold of my head, it aches with the cold, my feet have already ice blocked up but the good news is my hands have not clawed and my midsection feels toasty warm, I can feel the warm porridge sitting in my belly radiating heat like a pot belly stove AND I feel strong. What fun I am enjoying myself this morning, what progress from the horror show swim on Saturday morning just 5 days ago, either I am starting to show signs of acclimatization or my brain been tricked into thinking this hijinx is normal stuff, either way I’ll take it.

 Around the back side things get rough, there is a keen swell and the waves are picking up, I am jostled about by the waves, sometimes I am picked up and dropped away from Ned, sometimes the swell knocks me straight into Ned, then we hit corner 3 the incoming tide picks us up and we surf in super fun, I get to swim around for 3 laps and each time I look forward to  the surf in around the back corner, before I know it it is time for the final 800 meter sprint to Cape Gris, we pull through the current along side the red house and into the slipway, EXCELLENT, GOOD TIMES!

 The cold did once more get the better of me today, Robbin shuffles me up the slipway, I stumble, mumble and slur ” Tanks Blobbin Zinzibar” to her as she wraps me in a towel, 2 blankets and thrusts a hot chocolate in my shaking hands. I am thrilled my brain is still functioning even if my body has started to shunt blood away from my extremities.

 How far today….3 Laps 4.5 km

How Fast…our first 2 laps were Lap 1= 23 minutes

                                                                 Lap 2 = 24 minutes

 I like the faster pace, next up off to feed and rest up for tonight’s swim, back at Sandycove for a 2 Lap swim at my top speed, I am told it is a RACE, I LOVE TO RACE.

Closing Thought:

” Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of doing”

John Wooden

7-9pm Speckled Door or around Sovereigns

 Thereit is tonight’s swim in black and white on my schedule, we meet at Sandycove Island, it is a stormy night with a blustery wind and driving rain, the sea reflects the mood of the current weather it is gnarly and unpredictable looking, we hover around Ned for our meeting…..

We swim up the coast along the cliffs to land pieces out there, there is NO exit, you are responsible for when it is time for you to turn around, we swim in groups and pairs after turning around we ride the current back with the incoming tide, Ned looks up the coast, the landmarks are big, things seem further away than they are, they get big fast, if you can see it you can swim it”

No exit point there

 We all scatter to get ready, cap, goggles, ear plugs, grease on and down to the waters edge, I am swimming tonight with Billy, Colm, Carol and Ned, we head down the slip, the air temperature is 14.5 C( 57 ish) the water 11-13 degrees C ( 51.8-55).

Sandycove Island Low Tide

 No launching off the slipway tonight the tide is low, the Sandycove Island lap is unrecognisable to me yet we manage to slither out through seaweed and rocks and with that take to swimming up the coast adjacent to the cliffs, it is the most breathtaking view yet dark and grim all at the same time, the rugged nature of the cliffs, the height of them fascinates me, all while leaving me with a hollow gnawing feeling inside….NO EXIT POINT. That is a fact, the waves are crashing into the cliff face, to try and exit there would not end well knowing how sharp the rocks are and then if you survived the landing where to go and how would someone get you out, nope firmly ingrained in my mind is ” I am swimming this out”

Rocky Cliffs, Sandycove in the background

 So we swim, and we swim, I am enjoying the pace and the rhythm, after a while Ned stops, are you good, ” Yes “I reply, we continue, I can start to make out the shape of the land pieces, they look like tall sea versions of sky scrapper jetting up out of the water, perfectly formed and surrounded by the sea, ” I am going to swim to them tonight, must swim to them”, well looks like my brain has decided that we are swimming the whole enchilada tonight….wonder if my body knows that yet?

 On we swim, our group has turned around to head back, Ned asks ” time for you to turn around?”, ” not yet, a few more minutes”, I reply doing my best to speak clearly and concisely, we swim on the land pieces are getting larger, any thoughts of how to exit and the return swim are gone I want to see the land pieces, ARE WE THERE YET?

 Finally we are, it was worth the effort they are magnificent, so tall, so perfectly formed and what a view from the water. We turn and head for home, swimming with the current is a blast, I feel so fast thanks to the push of the current, back comes the race horse pace and we are off thundering down the coast, I am having FUN, I am getting colder as we swim, I have no choice but to swim with all my might and get back to Sandycove Island FAST, we swim and swim and swim, we come across Colm and the three of us swim together side by side and still I get colder, my feet have lost feeling, that’s OK, I can manage that, my hands claw up, no problem I can manage that but then my speed drops, UH OH, that will take more effort to manage, I pick up my stroke rate, it helps but my arms seem to be spinning there is not as much power in my pull, I stop and look around, ” How far, how far” I repeat it in my head, while I do this I am not swimming, the worst thing I could do, as I am pondering how far I hear a booming voice SWIM, and I put my head down and swim, after a bit I slow again and pick up my head…. ” SWIM, SWIM NOW”, there is that voice again, I obey and put my head down and swim, then I begin to drift away, my mind that is as clear as a bell I hear my son’s voice, he is quoting a line from Family Guy which always makes me laugh ” I might not be able to go to the bathroom by myself but I can STILL DO THAT”, he says it in the funniest voice and pulls a face to match, my frozen jaw gives it’s best impression of a smile…..” Yes I can still do that I can swim home’, with that I hear SWIM, Ned is bellowing loudly at me and I swim and I swim and I swim.

 Soon I can see some tiny specks in the distance, THE RED HOUSE, THE RED HOUSE…IF I CAN SEE IT I CAN SWIM IT”, with that I swim with all I’ve got, the Red House does not get bigger as fast as I would like it too, my mind keeps drifting off and I force it back to THE RED HOUSE, there we are in the inlet it must be less than 500 meters, give it your all DO IT!

 Little did I know Robbin was up on the cliff watching us, worried of course but also amazed, amazed because we had a guide a big seal was leading us home, guiding us in, Robbin could see him porpoising underneath Ned, Colm and me, sometimes behind us and sometimes right underneath, he helped me back, Ned helped me back, swimming beside Colm helped me and my son Soeren spoke to me out there in those cold evening waters, ” you can still do it Mum” and I did.

 Into the car to defrost, Robbin wraps me in blankets, she is soaked from the rain, I thank her for her help in a faint little voice “tank you”, an abbreviated thank you, then Robbin gets her new nickname….amongst my mumbles I say Blobbin Zinzabar, I repeat it many times and we laugh, it sticks.

 Off to the apartment to shower and change we are all heading to Craig’s for dinner and then home to catch some zzzz’s to be ready for another Sandycove Island swim at 6am, 10 swims down 6 more to go, how far have I swum in the last 5 days? 55,000 meters

 Closing thought:  The tougher the job the greater the reward

Wednesday Morning EARLY, today is the first of two swims both leaving from Sandycove Island.

Sandycove Island my new friendly waters

 This morning I awake to a beautiful sky, it shows all the signs of a morning swim with SUNSHINE, ahhhhh YES sweet sunshine to warm my skinny penguin back! I have been wearing a black suit on purpose for every swim so far, black because I know the dark color will draw any heat there is up for grabs from the sun, whether makes a difference or not physiologically I don’t much care, but mentally my primitive brain knows it to be true and I believe the difference is huge on a day the sun is out and I milk it for all it’s worth. Today is such a day.

 Since my visit with Amelda I have been thinking alot about pace, she asked me my pace and I garbled out 100, 200 and 400 meters cruise set paces from the pool….didn’t help much, then I told her my average mile pace from my 25km Open Water swim less than 2 weeks ago, still not there, she was looking for a kilometer/hour pace, one that my English Channel Pilot can use to guage my speed to help him determine a departure time and location from England, all dependent on the conditions on the day and ME!

 Amelda suggested a comfortable pace for 2 laps around Sandycove Island would be the way to get a pace time, after meeting with her I couldn’t wait to give it a ” good old kiwi try”, so this morning I rolled myself out of bed at 4:30am, giving me a little extra time for 20 minutes of Yoga, then breakfast made by Robbin, 2 eggs on toast and porridge, hot tea and 500 mls of Maxim, my carb drink.

 Off to Sandycove we go, we are not late PHEW! The swimmers are milling around chatting, I quietly move towards Ned, ” can I have a word to you in private”? , I ask Ned, we move a few paces away from the chatter of the group, he starts before me, ” you’re not feeling good are you”, ” No I’m GREAT”, I reply, ” you’re always great, aren’t you”, Ned replys back, I think for a moment and smile, ” well yes I am mostly good, well GREAT”. I sense that Ned thought after last nights nose bleed swim and repeated frosty freeze experiences I might be sitting this swim out, or worse the rest of the week, I don’t know for sure if that is what he thought I was going to tell him, I did not ask because what I was asking about was…….” I have a plan this morning, I want to swim 2 laps at a comfortable pace to get a feel for my kilometer per hour pace, will you help me?” YES, said Ned, you set the pace, we will swim 2 laps. I am bubbling with excitement, I love having a mission, I scurry off to get ready to swim.

Ready to take the plunge off the slipway....that's me in the black suit with orange trim, fast swimming Ned is to my right and super nice speedy Carol is in the wetsuit on my left

 Me and all the other penguins make our way down the slipway, one by one we fall off into the water, I am excited this morning not only because of my plan and the sunshine one my back but because today the water feels NICE! Opps did I really say that, yes I did I feel more comfortable today and less like an ice cube in a someones drink, I am able to enjoy stretching out into a comfortable pace, I am taken back by the beauty of all I see under the water, the sea weeds swaying from side to side moving with the swell of the ocean like they are in a waltz, the frothy white foam of the water as it breaks on the rugged rocky sides of Sandycove and the rocks themselves under water, they have the most interesting crevices changing the shade of the rock here and there, then there are the barnacles, fierce little barnacles that cover each rock, I learn today that cutting it too fine where clearance of a rock is concerned results in a short sharp reprimand from the rock, those barnacles are sharp, one little brush of my toe slices it open this morning. There are other things to look at, crabs scuttling along the bottom, seals looking for those crabs and fish, lots of fish darting around this way and that, I wonder when a school of fish all change direction in unison and go in exactly the opposite way whose idea it was…OK which one of you decided to dart that way! None of the little fish fess up and they swim off.

We are off!

  When we get around the back side of the island the sea gets rougher, I am jostled about, Ned and I are swimming along like a pair of bumper boats, WHAM Ned’s hand punches my in the right eye, SMACK my hand punches him in the nose, BAM Ned’s hand punches me in the same spot on the right eye ramming my goggle further into the socket, ” that’s going to leave a mark”, I giggle to myself as we swim on. As we round corner 3 we ride the tide in, too much fun, body surfing in towards the feed station, I LOVE it and although I can’t wait for my hot feed that Owen has ready for me in the dingy I am more excited about swimming around again for lap 2 so I can ride the surf again.

 Feed down and off for lap 2, before I know it we are surfing around the back corner of the island again and we are making the pull for home, the red house is in sight and we make a beeline for it, the Red House is a double edge sword, it is so uplifting because it is the symbol of completion the gateway to the slipway, on the other hand their is a menacing strong current right along side it, you have to give it all you’ve got to make through this current, it is like fighting the dragon in front of the castle.

 We fight, we fight and we fight some more, I turn on my best interpretation of sprinting to the French shore, it is no where in sight, I swim on pulling even harder, Ned begins to pull away, he is so well practiced in sprinting to Cape Gris France, so well in fact that he had the shores of France achieving a solo crossing of the English Channel, his experience shows this morning, regardless I stick to his bubbles and land on the slipway not far behind him.

 What a good result I am not cold, DREAMS DO COME TRUE! I walk out of the water unassisted, thank Ned and talk to Robbin as she and I head to the car to get dressed. What fun. It urns out that 2 laps is 3.1km, I average out my time to round it up to 3.5km and come to the conclusion that this mornings swim was a 3.5km/hour pace, looking back a bit too slow but I certainly did enjoy myself. Another exciting thing is that Amelda has come out to swim, I was hoping she may swim this morning, I want to thank her for all the wonderful information, she in turn has put together some reading material for me which is super helpful, we exchange before she swims, ” are you free this afternoon? I have an hour at 2pm for us to talk a little more”, a beaming smile from me and a “YES! 2pm I’ll be there”

 Robbin and I head back to the apartment, me to shower and stretch, Robbin to wash out all my swim supplies to get ready for the afternoon swim and make me a big brunch, what a wonderful support, I feel thankful.

 After a nap it is off to meet Amelda, I did not nap much instead I sat up in bed writing notes, I want to share my 2 lap pace with Amelda and some other thoughts.

 I pushed some numbers around and listed the following to share with Amelda

 Today’s swim was 54 minutes for 3.1km, rounding up the distance = 3.5km/hour swim pace

Racing 25km my 5km splits were:

# 1 – 5km 1 hour 18 minutes

# 2 -5km 1 hour 23 minutes

# 3 -5km 1 hour 23 minutes

# 4 -5km 1 hour 27 minutes ( wind and waves)

# 3 -5km 1 hour 27 minutes ( wind and waves)

What I like most about this is not just the 7 hours and 1 second swim time but more the consistancy, the first 5km I planned to go out hard, then hold my strongest possible pace with out blowing up, lap 2 and 3 5 km times where within 20 seconds of each other, then the conditions got more challenging slowing my progress, but the exciting thing is my pace stayed steady, laps 4 & 5 within 10 seconds of each other. From this effort I calculated my kilometer per hour pace at a little under 4km/hour.

  With these numbers and a few other thoughts jotted down on my yellow sheet of paper I am off, we once more see Amelda, it is like seeing an old friend, we start immediately talking, I ask her what it was like to take those first few strokes from Dover and what it felt like as she saw the bottom at the French shore….I listen, I can’t write a thing I am memorized by her description, not just the words but her energy, the glow of her face the sparkle in her eyes, it is like she is right back in the channel in the thick of her swim and I am there with her, FANTASTIC!

What a ride for me to live part of that journey with Amelda on this rainy afternoon in Kinsale, Ireland. Then she begins to tell me about crewing for others, she has the best ideas, ones that I would not have thought of, ones that she has learned by experience andwhat she has observed and learned when she has captained a crew, stories of emotional spouses and or partners whose faces and words were not the best motivation for the swimmer, ” the last thing a swimmer needs to do is see a girlfriend or boyfriend in distress shreiking your name while you are swimming”, I shudder,” yes that sounds exhausting”, I think to myself.

  Amelda  says some things I just have to write down….

 NOT GET IN CONTACT WITH NEGATIVITY

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF YOU CAN GET ACCROSS THE CHANNEL

DON’T LOOK BACK THERE IS NOTHING TO BE GAINED BY LOOKING BACK

UPLIFTING IS GREAT

 From there she tells us some crew details…

Only one swimmer communicates with the swimmers at a time

Short concise uplifting  comments or words are best

Big Green poster board to signal 5 minutes to feed time

Big Red poster board to signal time to feed

These are just a few of the wonderful bits of information, in picking your crew swimmers are best, non swimmers are OK as long as they have a task, someone to captain your crew vital.

 I ponder, I have been pondering this for 24 hours, I want to ask this amazing person if she can recommend someone to captain my crew, someone who is a swimmer, someone who has been in the Channel and knows unpredicatability, it is clear I need a captain.

 ” Amelda, it is clear to me that I need a captain to head up my crew, a swimmer who knows the channel, has experience and most importantly clicks and feels right, you are welcome to say no to the following question………. I would like to ask you if you can recommend someone to head up my crew and I can’t ask you that without first asking you if YOU would consider being my captaining my crew, you are amazing and I can’t think of another person in the world I would rather have, it is OK to say no and you do not need to answer right now, I can’t ask you to recommend someone else without first letting you know that you are incredible”

 Amelda smiles, where are you looking to find someone from? she asks, ” anywhere in the world”, I reply. On we chat, so much to talk about so little time, we get one last picture and I open up a bag of goodies that Amelda has brought for me, inside is an English Channel Solo hat, “this is for when you get back onto the boat after reaching France”, a swim cap that says” When the tough get going the Sprinters get out and an English Channel T Shirt ” Nothing great is easy”, how funny I just thought of that the other day and it is a quote from Captain Webb the first man to cross the English Channel.

Me and Amelda I am sporting my gift an English Channel Solo hat, I will not put it on again until I reach France..... one stroke at a time

 What a time, if all I had done in Ireland was meet Amelda it would  be the ” best trip ever” and with that I am off the get ready for tonight’s swim at 7pm.

Later this afternoon as I am getting ready for tonights swim I receive an email from Ned..

Subject Line: Amelda is it

Email Content: Cheers

 I blurt it out to Robbin and we jump for joy around the apartment like two school kids, I keep saying ” pinch me, pinch me Robbin, I can’t believe this is happening, how can this be so, I am the luckiest girl in the world”, as you can see I am quite excited, Amelda said yes, never in my wildest dreams would this happen, I feel Dover racing closer and I could not be more excited.

Closing thought: We do not remember days we remember moments

I will never forget the moment I read that email……. Amelda is it

Swirling Water and Lampreys

This evenings swim is at Muckross Lake in Killarny, it is a 90 minute drive to the lake, as we drive the skies darken and the temperature begins to drop, I have my eyes locked on the temperature reading in the car, each time it drops a degree it is like a dagger to my heart, arrrhhh sounds inside my head and heart, on the outside I am silent. Just Robbin and I are in the car tonight, Alan is off on his adventure to Dover.

 The air temperature continues to drop, now 12 degrees C ( 53.6 F), we arrive at the lake, park and gather round our fellow swimmers for Ned’s debrief, the lake itself is stunning.

Muckross Lake

We all look up the lake...ahhh....which group of trees Mike?

Someone asks ” which group of trees are you talking about Mike?, Mike replies ” those ones there” and points again.

Those Trees there!

The other thing Mike mentions is the Lampreys, Ned had warned us that there were Lampreys in this lake, Mike reinforced that tonight, ” the Lampreys have been running”, I am not sure what this means but suspect that they are more present at the moment than they have been in the past. One of our swimmers is very afraid, she is terrified of the thought of Lampreys and what it might be like if one pays her a visit while during her swim, her eyes are wide and red rimmed, ” tell me of these Lampreys” she asks Mike, he walks over and says the following in his soft Irish accent with the most comforting tone of voice…..” you’ll be fine, I’ve swum in this lake 1000s of times, for many years and I’ve only ever had one bite…….and that was last week”

We reassure Jowita, ‘ you are going to be OK, you can do this’, with that we get start to move towards the water. Mike and his fellow lake swimmers are armed with a kayak, they are going to paddle up and down the course. Pink fleece off, sweat pants handed to sister Robbin and I take the first step in, WOW this is so slippery you could package it up and sell it as Jelly, Yip the rocks are slick, we are reduced to crawling on our hands and knees to get out into the water, Ned latches onto the kayak for support, I follow suit for a bit and then decide to simply slither along on my belly.

Slippery little suckers....

 Finally we are in the water, Ned begins thrashing around yelling he has been hit by a lamprey, it is quite a dramatic performance, I could swear he had rehearsed it, it lightens the mood, we all laugh ( well maybe not Jowita) and with that we are off.

Boat support takes on a new meaning tonight

Tonight’s course is oval shaped, that means we will be swimming 2.5 km straight down the lake, I pull alongside Ned and instantly fall into a cruise pace, strong, steady and aerobic, I feel great, when it clicks you feel like your body is on autopilot, your body is running like a finely tuned machine, all cylinders firing in perfect harmony, strong and steady, a good push yet in control, I feel like we are thoroughbreds on the track, I feel on top of the world. Ned pulls up and asks ” are you good for 6km”, “Yes”, I blurt out in reply, almost in unison with my reply the skies darken further and it begins to rain, poring rain, I can feel it on my head while I am swimming and pounding on my back, it is cold rain, the temperature feels like it is dropping, nonetheless Ned and I power on, straight back into the rhythm, we pass the white house and swim on eventually scouting across the lake, when we get to the other side I notice the temperature drop just as Mike had said and when I breathed to the right the water seemed to pass and then roll back past my mouth and drop in , it was the strangest thing, I am fascinated and play with it for a bit before following Mike’s wise advice and throwing in some left side breathing.

 It is a wonderful feeling swimming in this Lake, the scenery is beautiful, I think about the Lampreys, I have swum in a Lamprey Lake before, Lake Champlain in Vermont where I train and currently live is said to contain Lamprey, I have seen there ferosuos mouths in photos in the local newspapers, they are considered a pest, posing a threat to the fish.

 Lampreys are a jawless fish, they are sometimes called lamprey eels, they have a toothless, funnel-like sucking mouth, they are well knowen for boring into the flesh of other fish to suck their blood ( some species are non parasitic and never feed on other fish). They pyhsically resemble eels in that they have no scales, they can be 5 to 40 inches long and have large eyes, one nostril on the top of the head and seven gill pores on each side of their heads. Here is how they feed….they attach there mouthparts to the target animals body and then use their teeth to cut through surface tissues until they reach blood and bodily fluid, from there you do the math…” I want to suck your BLOOD!” They generally don’t attack humans unless they are starved, I don’t yet know this but someone is going to get bite tonight, but who!

(Source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamprey)

 Mike gave us the ” how to” on removing these blood suckers should we find one attached, ” get a good grip close to the head, twist then pull hard”, well I now feel more relaxed, how about you! Actually I do feel relaxed, I have swum round these little devils before, never a bite and if I get one tonight I fully intent to tear the little toad off and toss him away, the funny thing is Lampreys have long been used as food for humans, they were highly appreciated by ancient Romans, during the middle ages they were widely eaten by the upper classes throughout Europe and check this out, on March 4th, 1953, the Queen of the United Kingdom’s coronation pie was made by the Royal Air Force using Lampreys! Ned had shouted revenge of the Lampreys when he was thrashing about in the water when we started, perhaps tonight is the Lampreys turn!

 Amongst all the excitement of Lampreys and fun swimming the air temperature has dropped, my head has been aching cold for some time, I choose to ignore it, my feet got cold earlier and I lost feeling in them, I choose to ignore it, my hands have clawed up, I ignore that too and swim on, I am thrilled that my speed is holding it together, but still something doesn’t feel quite right. I have been fighting this annoying cold all week, each night I have had a fever, burning hot, causing me to sweat, my clothes and sheets dripping wet 2 or more times during my 4.5 hour night sleeps, by day my sinus’s have ached with green mucos stuck inside, pulsing, sometimes I am able to blow some out causing theblood vessels inside mu nose to crack, breaking open so my nose drips with blood. I have been ignoring all of this, I have purposely kept training any time I have got sick over the last 16 months, I am used to the feeling, this thing is not going to stop any of my Ireland swims, if anything adding a bit to the challenge. Still something doesn’t feel quite right as I am swimming the last stretch of this oval loop, I had asked Ned earlier ” can you check my speech at the 5km”, it gave me some comfort knowing he could hear me talk and notice if I take a rediculousl long time to reply to a question or get tongue tied trying to talk. 

Sprint to the Finish

 Mike had told us of a big tall rock that would be our land mark to make the right hand turn to swim back across the lake and into the beach, our finish point, we come across a rock and swim on…not that one, we come across another lake and swim on….not that one, man how many rocks are there? There were indeed quite a few but eventually we made it to the biggest one, our turning rock WAHOO!

 Ned sights the life jacket hung on the tree our landmark for the beach, we take off, I am feeling chilled from the outside inwards, my head, hands and feet are the most painful, I am excited that my stroke remains strong and long, Ned picks up the pace I chase, he is well practiced at sprinting to the Shore of France, I dig my hands deep into the water, firing the muscles in my upper back and abdominals I pull hard with each stroke, it offers me a glimmer of warmth in my midesction, this is good. Iss the slippery rocks appear under my face, next I feel them, WE MADE IT1.

 Next up getting out, back to the slithering on my belly, I pick my head up, it has got quite darkish out, Owen and Robbin are on the beach waiting with blankets and towels, Owen looks distressed, “hmmm what’s up I wonder, have I got Lampreys hanging off me”, nope, not that, unbeknowen to me my lips and chin are covered in blood, ” it looked like you were in a horror film”, Robbin later tells me, poor Owen I must have looked frightful, my nose had been bleeding while I was swimming, when I stops and stood up it all ran down my face, oh well, onwards, Robbin wraps me in a towel, Ned throws a blanket around me and we walk rapidly up to the car, I am thrilled because I can walk and navigate the windy path uphill, EXCELLENT PROGRESS, I am doing better than after many of the other swims.

 Into the car, changed and out for a  hot drink, ” you don’t want to be out here”, says Ned, instantly I see why there are what seems like thousands of little biting bugs swarming around me, I jump back into the car, we drive a few miles down the road park and gather around Ned’s car for hot drinks but the midges follow and many of our fellow swimmers are chowed. We all pile into cars and are off for the 90 minute drive home throught the pouring rain, into bed after a hot shower, 20 minutes of Yoga and some food, the alarm is set for 4:45am, up again in 4.5 hours.

 So did someone take a hit from a Lamprey, YES, Gary from ” up North’ has bite marks, just a half circle, looks like the Lamprey didn’t get a good hold on him and did Jowita complete the swim, yes she did it, did she like it NO, but I tell you what a couragous person, she faced her demons head on and conquored the lake, awesome job Jowita.

 Next up: Sandycove Island 6am and I have a plan……what is it I will tell you tomorrow.

Tuesday Evening: Swim # 2

Location: Muckross Lake- Killarney

After this mornings fresh water swim Robbin, Alan and I loaded into ” Pooh Bin” and followed Ned to Cork, the plan for the middle of the day is to practice feeding off Ned’s boat in Cork Harbour, I am excited to try this and get pointers on how to receive a feed and how my crew can best deliver it to me.

Owen, the youngest Irishman to swim the English Channel and historian, he has a wealth of information about the history of Ireland

 Ned launches the boat and Robbin, Alan and I all climb in along with Owen, our Irish host. The day is stormy the rain comes and goes as we motor out into the Harbour. While we drive Ned is telling stories of swims that have been held in the harbour and stories of Channel swimmers, meanwhile Owen is spurting out the most incredible historical information on not only the Harbour but also Ireland itself…..there is the last pot of call of the Titanic, there is the British navel base, the list goes on and I am fascinated skipping in and out of Ned’s stories, into Owen’s and back again, it is terrific. While all this is going on I am loading up on my Carbo drink Maxim in an effort to recover from this mornings swim and prepare for tonight’s, I have also downed a good amount of water. The boat tour goes on, I can’t believe how much we are seeing, Ned points out our Church Bay swim from last night, it is so great get a perspective of where we have swum.

The Titanic's last port of call, this is the last port some of the passengers aboard would ever see again

 Time ticks by, the Harbour starts getting rougher and the boat leaps up and down as it travels across the waves, I start to notice that I have that  “I have to pee feeling”, ” OK don’t worry, we are out here to practice feedings, just politely ask Alan if you can swim first, then you can pee in the water as soon as you get in, just wait, just wait”! I do wait and I wait and I wait some more….. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes…I JUST CAN’T WAIT ANYMORE!!!!”

 Ned, can we please stop I have to get in to pee,” if you want to get in but I would be hanging off the back of the boat, your choice”, Ned replies matter of factly. The boat stops and Ned, Alan and Owen all turn their back away, Robbin is in the back with me and I go about navigating holding onto the back rail of the boat with one arm, the other manoeuvring my sweat pants and swim suit to make sure I don’t pee on them. Well I start peeing, I would be mortified to pee on Ned’s boat and to prevent it hold my deepest squat all while holding on with my right arm, I continue to pee, and pee, and pee and pee……and pee, my arm begins to burn, it is fatiguing holding my 137 pound frame, my thighs are burning and still I pee on. Well I start to get the giggles, ” I’m OK back here I laugh”, the boys remain facing forward in the most silent way, ” Still going’, I say and continue to pee, minutes go by, ” Hurry up” I am thinking to myself, ” I promise I am not a Camel”, again working hard not to a. Fall in and b. Laugh so loud they think I have something other than Maxim in my drink bottle. Finally I am done and Robbin hauls me back into the boat, we motor on looking at more historical buildings, I am feeling much more comfortable and then wouldn’t you know it Robbin had to go pee too!

Me, Alan, Ned and Owen Cork Harbour

 All that squared away we drive the boat onwards. Ned pulls up the boat, it is time to practice feeding, Alan goes first, he falls into the harbor and swims alongside the boat for a few minutes, we lean over and pass him his feed, he downs it super fast under 10 seconds, drops the bottle and swims on, we all applaud, he did great! Than it is my turn, I jump into the water, relieved at another chance to pee, I swim long easy strokes beside the boat, Robbin leans over the side and passes me my feed, I down it, not as quickly as Alan but still under 20 seconds, then I make an error, I start putting the top back down on my bottle, ” drop and go, don’t throw” yells Ned, I know to do it but old habits die hard and I was automatically putting on the top and about to toss it to my crew, LESSON LEARNED….” Gulp’n Go” , this is not a tea party. Back into the boat and we motor back to the boat launch, since we left the tide has gone out, a yacht that was happily in the water when we left is now bone dry leaning against the jetty, Owen tells us that the tides cause the water level to lower and us over 25 feet, it is amazing.

Harbour swim and boat feed complete, time to wrap up, I am pleased!

 We follow Ned back to his house, on arrival he says ” your job now is to shower and scrub up the best you can for lunch”, we do, I have a bag of clean ” street clothes”, it feels great, when I come down stairs I smell a BBQ and see a table set up with all sorts of treats. The 5 of us sit down for what feels like a lunch fit for Kings and Queens, BBQ sauasages, seared fresh Tuna, a selection of cheeses and a baguette, I tell you I have not eaten a sausage off the Barbie in over 20 years…it was insanely good and I swallowed down a few more along with Tuna, then Ned pulled out Vermont’s finest ” Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, NO WAY!

 Well with our tunnies full, I am feeling content, time is ticking on and it is time to head back to Kinsale to get ready for tonight’s swim, before we leave Ned takes us into to his office, we see maps of swims he has completed and swims he is planning, then there is “the big map” on the wall of the English Channel, out comes a slew of information, he points out Cape Gris the ultimate landing point  in France, I am amazed at how small it is, then he shows us all the other possible landing points, some less appealing than others, it is such an experience to listen to him, both Robbin and I learn so much from Ned and from Donal another Channel Swimmer who shares his knowledge as well.

 We say our farewels to Ned, Donal and Alan. Alan and Donal are heading to Dover for the day tomorrow to let Alan get the “Dover feel” and see France, I am excited for him and am looking forward to hearing of his experiences when he returns on Thursday.

 We make it back to our Apartment and go about changing and packing up for tonight’s swim, within an hour we are in town ready to meet Craig, then we are off to yet another lake tonight, this one is reportedly the home to a good population of blood sucking Lamprey…..”something new to think about while swimming tonight!”, I think to myself.

 Will I be a” latch on Lamprey victum?”…….I’ll keep you posted!

Tuesday Morning 4:14am, time to ready to drive to swim #7 of 16 Swims of distance training week

Swim # 1is a travel swim and we are up at 4:15am, we meet to car pool at Supervalu, one of the towns grocery stores located on the main street of Kinsale. This mornings swim is listed as Iniscara Lake, a 45 minute drive there, this morning we have a fresh water swim and I have instructions to follow that I received in an email from Ned yesterday….

Tomorrow is in a warmer lake…probably warmer than the river

 we will swim 1,500 m down then back…and repeat….then we’ll swim back past the last person….and zig zag so YOU are the LAST person to get out

Robin can feed you after 3,000 m…suggest about 500 ml

 Time to strut your stuff  out there

 I have this plan firmly lodged in my mind, I go over my plan of attack as we drive to the lake, I  take in the sunrise which accentuates the beautiful rolling hills, the rock walls built 100s of years ago and the green grass of the Irish County side, once again I feel grateful.

The Lake, rainy skies and cool temperatures

 We arrive at the lake, park the car and survey the scene, the water is mirror glass flat and there are glimmers of sunlight radiating through the clouds, “ this is going to be an outstanding swim”, I think to myself, I am excited and a little jumpy, a familiar feeling,  it is one I get before a race or a training swim I have pegged as significant, it might be my longest, my fastest, or a new feed, simply one that I have tagged as pivotal, I sense this is one of those swims, I feel excited and nervous, I am ready to pounce like a cat stalking a mouse.

 We prepare ourselves and our feeds, there is a boat ramp that everyone leaves their feeds on to consume after their first lap, Ned also places down a bag of blankets for me and any other swimmers in need, Robbin has all my feeds laid out, time to enter the water.

Home comforts await on the slipway, Blankets and Hot Maxim....mmmm

 As we walk down the slipway the remainder of the overnight rainclouds are still lurking, I am amazed how changeable the weather is in Ireland, sheets of rain one minute and not long after sunshine breaking through the clouds, today is a classic example of this. The air temperature is 14 degrees C, I am told as I walk down the slip way to start the water is 16 degrees C, could this really be true? I edge towards the water to find out for myself, it is, it is…… I am SO EXCITED, as I wade in my body relaxes, the water feels like warm silk, it feels familiar and safe, we dive under and begin to swim. The water tastes and feels just like the Green River Reservoir, my home stomping ground back in Vermont, threatening thoughts of Sandycove Island and it’s chilly water melt away and I stretch out and set about “strutting my stuff.”

Me and Ned head back in the water for Lap 2 after a feed of 500mls of hot Maxim

 Long strong arm pulls, rhythmic breathing, everything flows and feels fast, yet comfortable, Ned is right by my side, stroke for stroke, today again I rely on him to guide me, sighting only for the corners of the course, after the first lap I walk up the slipway and take a warm 500 ml feed of Maxim from Robbin, it tastes sweet and I feel the energy and warmth flow into my core as the liquid goes down, then back in the water and we are off again, I feel a new surge of power from the Maxim and we snap back into strong powerful strokes, I feel great. As I breath to the side I see the shoreline, I imagine Paula and Deb, my support crew beside me in the kayak, counting my strokes and smiling, it makes me feel even stronger in the water. Down the first straight of Lap 2 I feel a presence on my left side, I breath to the left and see a female swimmer in a swimsuit, not a wetsuit, I am puzzled, “ who could this be, I know Carol is a great swimmer and fast but she has been swimming in a wetsuit during the other swims, it can’t be her”, I look closer, it is Carol, she has lost her wetsuit for the warm lake swim today, I couldn’t be more excited, another swimmer to play with and a chick, EXCELLENT, what fun!

 We all pace along and suddenly Ned pulls up, he stops short as if he was a horse in an arena approaching a jump and at the last minute locks them up, deciding he is not having a bar of the jump. “You swim on Carol and I will catch you up”, says Ned calmly, “how strange”, I think to myself, none the less one of my goals this year is to be obedient, so be it,  I swim on alone. After a bit Ned and Carol slot back in beside me and we return to our previous rhythm, then Ned pulls up short again….” Charlotte, you have to beat the tide to make it to France, Carol and I are the tide, I am also your Pilot and might have instructions for you too, GO, GO, GO you have a 1.25km SPRINT to the shores on France!

 Well that lit the fire in me, as Ned is talking I think, “ I can do this, it is less than 1500 meters and a week and a half ago I was racing that at the USMS Colonies Zones Championship meet in the States setting the New England Record, I know I can swim fast for this distance”, and with that I am gone.

The adrenaline pumps, I see Ned to my right, but where is Carol, “don’t look back, don’t look back, don’t look back” I repeat over and over in my head, long strong strokes, lean down into the water, dig your hand deep, anchor your hand and recruit those abdominal and upper back muscles to pull against the water with, hold the water with your hand and heave your body by it. I start to look for familiar landmarks on the shoreline that I noticed during the first lap, “ there is the yellow sign…….. not far now, there are the boats in the shore, I am close, PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, hold onYOU CAN DO THIS”. I notice how the water feels so warm, I am in a hot tub, no thoughts of cold, no feelings of lost power. It must be close it is getting shallower, what is happening?….Ned is pulling right but Carol is not, where do I go, where do I go!!!!!!

 Ned is pulling away and stops sharply, “follow Carol, follow Carol, GO, GO , GO !!!! I turn away from the slipway and swim, “ what is going on, where do I go?”, I swim after Carol and look back towards Ned and continue to swim towards Carol….then another shout from Ned “this is it sprint to the slipway, sprint to France, don’t let the tide beat you”, with that i turn back towards the slipway and pound it out, a frenzy of spinning arms and kicking legs, Carol and me, me and Carol, I made it along with the tide……we land on the slipway. “Well done” says Ned and Carol.

 My face is flushed from the effort level, I feel as I do after I race, I feel great, I feel strong.

 So what went one? Ned hatched a plan with Carol when they stopped and I swam on, the purpose of the plan was to help me learn and feel what it is like to sprint, to beat the tide, to experience what it is like to digest changes in instructions, it will happen in the Channel, say Ned, today’s lesson is one that I will not forget, here is what I learned:

At times it may be confusing, you may feel like you are getting conflicting instructions…..Do what you are told, don’t question, your Pilot and/or crew may shout and yell at you, stay relaxed, smile and follow instructions, try to avoid the “ deer in headlights” look that I had today as I listened to Ned’s instructions, they were different than those in my email from him yesterday, I had to let that go…….things will change out there in the Channel, my job to just swim.

 After I landed in vitual France I ponder what’s next, I am unsure if I will be asked to get back in and swim down the lake to the last swimmers and zig zag after them in, we are the first swimmers in and I loiter for a bit waiting, I notice Ned and Carol removing their cap and goggles, I follow suit, time to get changed and I couldn’t be more excited, not because I am not getting back in and am finished swimming, no it it not that at all it is because this is my first swim in Ireland that I have left the water without  signs of hypothermia, Wahoo!!!! It is the little things that mean so much!

I am very pleased and appreciate Carol and Ned’s support out there on the lake this morning….I HAD FUN TODAY and THE WATER FELT GREAT!

  Swim Time Today: 1 Hour 50 minutes

  Distance approximately 8km

Next up, Robbin, Alan and I are following Ned to his house, he has invited us to practice feeding off a boat in Cork Harbor, I change straight into a dry suit and layer with clothes ready for another dip.

 What will the water be like in Cork Harbor, I’ll keep you posted.

Yip, still 4th of July and this is the third adventure of the day, time for swim number 2, on our schedule is Church Bay 6-9pm, a 1.5 hour drive, we meet at the Supervalu in the town center of Kinsale at 5pm to car pool. The town center is a bustle of busy narrow streets, tightly lined with houses rich in history, I look and imagine each house newly built and the families that lived within them, the streets absent of cars, the clip clop of the horses on the streets, the smell of the manure they drop and the chamber pots that may have been emptied out of the houses and how they navigated disposing of the town sewerage. The town was chartered in 1334 and has enjoyed a reputation as a port of consequence, mainly through fishing and shipping, it is a pretty little town, lying snug between hills and valleys, safely sheltered by the rounded contoured harbour, the roads are winding and narrow, there is a wealth of historical buildings some built as early as the 1300s, with a surge of building in the 1600s.

 In 1601 Kinsale became the Cockpit of Europe with the armies of England, Spain and the Northern Irish Chieftains in Contention. The Irish army under O’Neil & O’Donnell was defeated and after an occupation of the town lasting 100 days the Spanish was granted safe passage back to La Coruna. The result of the battle was the end of the Gaelic way of life in Ireland and the breakdown of the power of the Chieftains and Clans. Kinsale however remained an important British Garrison town until the 20th century. Source Kinsale Tourist Information Area Map

 We depart Kinsale, a line of 4 cars enroute to Church Bay, we are pleased to be following the locals in the group saving us from the challenging task of “finding our own way”, we weave in and out of valleys, over bridges and through towns, I gaze at the town pubs, they look cosy and tight knit.

 My goal this week is to keep hydrated and feed, (along with surviving of course), to keep my energy up and allow myself to pee in the water before and during my swims, this involves tipping back alot of water and my Maxim Carbo drink, easier than it sounds when you have a 90 minute drive to navigate….by the time we all meet in a parking lot in a town close to our swim I am desparate to pee, I get out of the car and survery the scene, we are in a parking lot in the middle of a “round a bout”, cars are zipping everywhere, our training group has stopped briefly ready to drive on, I impulsively dash across the parking lot, across the busy road and leap onto the top of a fence and onto a bank, there are some trees and a bit of a dirt path, not much cover from the road but at this point I don’t care, as I jump onto the bank I see a group of local teenagers, 6-8 teens aged about 16-18 years old are leaning on the fence in a circle smoking, they instantly turn to look at me, ” Hey, I am going to pee right over here, I point to my left,” are you cool with that, I have to GO REALLY BAD?” They look gobsmacked, as I talk I drop my sweatpants, my swim suit is on underneath, I leave it on and pee, and pee and pee and pee and pee, what a relief, I emerge from the bushes and fist punch “YES”, the bewildered group are not sure wheather to laugh, scowl or approach, one of the girls asks ” can I have a smoke from you”, I reply, ” a pee for a smoke that sounds like a fair exchange, but I don’t smoke and have none, sorry,see ya”, and with that I was gone. How strange for them and for me, I jump back in the car and resume drinking Maxim….” that’s one way to meet the locals”, I say to Alan and Robbin, “I hope we reach the beach soon” I think to myself, “then I can pee in the sea.”

 It is another 15-20 minutes before we all find the beach we are swimming from, the weather has got rough since we left Kinsale, the wind has picked up, it is raining and the temperature is dropping , when we get out of the car the air is 16-18 degrees C

 We quickly meet to discuss the swim, out of the Bay along the coastline, it is rough, then  when we get to the point, we decide within our swim groups if we continue to Church Bay, if we continue we swim there, turn around and swim back. Ned groups me with Atlanta Alan, who lives in Montreal, Billy, the 13 year old power house who Ned is mentoring and me the skinny pengiun, who is sporting a new growth of blond leg hairs in a feeble attempt to make a difference in retaining heat, whether it helps physically or not I don’t know but in my head it will make a difference out there today.

 The wind is blowing up around on the beach, we walk into the surf, the waves are pounding onto the beach, Alan looks over, ” the water isn’t too bad tonight”, his comment about the water helps me tremendously,” excellent”, my mind takes over..” this water is warmer than Sandycove was this morning”, I relax and pee of course!

It is the roughest water to date this week, tossing us all about as we swim, waves crashing, I LOVE IT and pull hard excited, we are swimming as a group, my body wants to race off, my mind is in control, I pull long and hard and swim steady and stick with my group, my eyes are on Billy and Alan and of course Ned, I follow him. The coastline is rugged, I see the white foam of the waves as they crash into the sharp coastal edge, the sky is dark, the rain pounds, it is exciting. There are patches where the water is very cold and others where it feels warmer, I look up to sight occassionally, in the back of my mind their is a quiet thought, “there is no exit point, where ever we swim, we have to swim back”. I am waiting for the point where we make the call, it doesn’t appear,” patience, Charlotte, patience”, I reassure myself. Thoughts of ” NOT BLOODY LIKELY” in response to the question soon to be discussed by Ned. Finally the time for the question arrives, we have passed the point of no return and are now only 500 meters from Church Bay,will one of the other swimmers want to turn back or swim on, I am a destination swimmer and  really really REALLYwant to make it to the beach and  feel the sand under my feet, I want to imagine it is the french shore and I am walking up it, then there is that quiet voice in my head ” you are getting colder by the minute”

 Finally Ned pulls up, I swim alongside and tread, ” we are 500 meters from the beach, swim on or turn back?”, before I know it my mouth has open( a good sign that my jaw is not locked shut) and words blurt out like bullets, ‘ SWIM ON TO THE BEACH PLASE”, Ned turns to Alan and Billy, Charlotte says swim on and we are off…..we swim on, we are committed to an extra 1000 meters and a return swim back. In a sort while  I feel a tug on my ankle, I stop and look up a massive freighter is going by, it is huge, later  Robbin tells me that from the beach it looked like it was going to run us over, ” 20 stories high” she said, for us in the water it did not feel that close but it did look that big. On we swim, pull, pull, pull and into the narrow, isolated beach, we all stand around in the water, I pee and we set about getting home. Oh boy, ” I have to swim back”, my quiet vice says in my mind, too proud to say the words out loud. This is good for me, I have no choice but to see this swim out, the other option is smashing into the cliff with one of the crashing waves, I noticed my body temperature began to start dropping well before the beach, my pull is starting to lose power, ” strong, low steady strokes”, I remind myself over and over in my head, ” swim, swim , swim”, my mantra.

 I glance to Billy swimming by my side, 13 years old this young swimmer is amazing, Alan swimming there too and Ned leading the charge home. I know we are going to make it, it is hard but we are going to do it together as a team. The swim home seems to take forever yet is like a snap of the fingers, so hard to fathom.

 We surf into the shore, ” this is your landing on the shores of France, he turns and faces out to sea with Billy and thrusts his arm up in the air, I do the same I am elated, it was a tough, rugged and good swim, I am pleased.

 Robbin is on the beach to greet me with my Swimming Hole towel, I take it to all my swims, I love seeing her jacket on the beach when I swim in, coming home to her, I feel like a homing pigeon returning to her after each swim.

 Next up dressed and wrapped in a blanket, I feel very nautious, I have taken in  more mouthfuls of sea water than usual and I feel like I am going to throw up, Robbin says I look green, I double over as she walks me to ” pooh bin”, I can’t stomach my usual hot chocolate or chocolate biscuits, Ned hops in the car and points at the white washed cottage in front of us, ” I’ve painted that technicolor, on more than one occasion” and with that he is gone, it makes me feel better.

 90 minutes later  we arrive home at 11:30pm, shower, force down some food and in bed by 12:45am with the  alarm set for 4am, another swim is just around the corner, tomorrow morning fresh water, how will that feel, I’ll keep you posted. Oh….. and get this as we drove away from my pee adventure around the round-a-bout I noticed a Public Toilet!

 Today’s swim time: 1 Hour and 20 minutes, the water temperature 13-14 degrees C ( 57-58F )

Alan, Me, Ned and Billy looking out to sea, I am wrapped in my Swimming Hole towel, I wrap up in it before all my swims, it is swim number 6 of 16 for me and my towel, 10 more swims to go!

Monday July 4th

Sandycove Island, location of my early morning swim, next up Yoga, Feed and Nap!

We have already had one swim today and I am encouraged with adding time in the water, this mornings 4 laps is sitting happily on my shoulder for now, I love progress. After showering, eating and a nap Robbin and I are walking down to a local cafe to meet Imelda, Ned has set this meeting up and I feel so fortunate that Imelda is meeting me today, she has an hour break from work to talk and is also navigating preparations to pack up for her own big swim, she is leaving Friday and with the memories of my frantic departure from Stowe Vermont and how hectic it was to get packed up and ready I feel truly honored that she is carving out this time for me and Robbin today.

 Ned had given me a tip, ” Imelda is very sneaky, she may do something like try to pay for coffee”, I am pleased he has given me the heads up, I make sure that we arrive first and give the waitress 20 Euros, ” this is for our order, we are meeting a guest, please do not let her pay”, with that Imelda arrives and orders a tall glass of water, actually just what I felt like to, but it made me laugh as my cunning plan was foiled, I told her and she laughs.

 The three of us sit down, introductions and she asks how I like the training week, when I am booked for the Channel, about my speed among a few other things, I do have some questions on crews, cold water and feeding but that can wait, I want to hear  stories of her solo swim and captaining crews. Imelda shares the most wonderful stories, as she speaks her eyes twinkle like stars, they are so magical, yet have great depth of someone who knows things, someone who explores and grows with each adventure, we connect, I feel my energy bubble up to the surface, I am beside myself with excitement just listening to this incredible women.

 Both Robbin and I learn so much from this meeting, but it is more than that meeting Imelda has empowered me, given me confidence, here are a few of the things that I jotted down in my journal as she spoke….

Speed: find out me km/hour pace: Swim 2 laps of Sandycove at a comfortable pace to get your pace time. Figure out  your race pace from your 25km 2 weeks ago and your comfortable pace here in Sandcove

Cold Water Acclimatization:The Channel is likely to be much warmer than Sandycove, you are swimming in 11-13 degrees C here, the Channel July 31st last year was 18 degrees C, it can vary.

Nutrition:I fill her in on my love of steaks, that I fuel on Maxim and the other foods I regularly eats, she gives me confidence that I am well ahead with my nutrition.

 She has some good suggestions for foods during my Channel swim to have on board for a treat, she has crewed 7 times and some of the additional foods included Jelly Babies, Flap Jacks, Milky Ways and Turkish delight, I tell he about the potato bomb brew that my husband has concocted. A good tip is to stay away fro fruit with the exception of bananas as the stomach  shuts closes down, if I don’t feel like eating have Maxim

Rest: One full day a week REST DOES NOT MEAN NOT SWIMMING…this I write down in bold, I need to get better at this, my rest day has consisted of in the winter a few hours of Nordic Skiing, I the summer a run up the Pinnacle, a beautiful hill that overlooks Stowe, the village I live in, I love running up there with my friend Margaret, I like to set my watch at the bottom and see if I can beat my own personal record.

Crew: One person communicates with the swimmer, uplifting short comments are great, no contact with negativity

Massage: Once a week as you get close, take your day off after your massage

Imelda is a gem, she has so many other wonderful bits of information, I had intended to write many notes, but as she talked I put my pencil down and got lost in those eyes, I was in the Channel with her, I could feel the swell of the water, it was a wonderful journey, my final journal entry is this….BELIEVE IN YOURSELF YOU CAN GET ACROOS THE CHANNEL

 GOODBYES

Finally we say our goodbyes, sealed with a big hug, I ask if I can have my picture taken with her, congratulate her on her channel crossing and we she is gone…..what an inspirational and magical meeting, somewhere I sense we will see each other again.

Looking out from the slipway

Monday has arrived and today I have a plan in mind, to take on my nemisus ” Sandycove Island”, memories from the wounds from my first swim still fresh in my mind, the island took me out and today I want to move a little closer to conqouring the goal of 4 laps, thanks to Ned’s guidance, my sister Robbin and a small inflatable dingy, I am going to feed after each lap, a double dose ” Maxim” sports  nutrition, an electrolyte energy drink, my tub is of the lemon lime flavor. I wake after 4 hours of sleep at 5am, new this morning is a diet change for breakfast, Ned asked me yesterday what I ate for breakfast, I told him about my, hot tea and banana on toast….he told me of his porridge and maple syrup, a warming fuel.

 Robbin is up before me this morning making my porridge, it is steaming hot, I pour it down the hatch, it feels like you can see the steam hissing out from my ears and nostrils, ” this will keep me toasty”, I think to myself, I slide down 2 poached eggs on toast for good measure. The other change today is my feeds, Robbin has been instructed to give me a double strength serving of maxim, 3 scoops of maxim premixed in 150 mls of water, out in the dingy she is to add another 150 mls of hot water from a thermos to serve to me ” with a smile”, I loath glum looks when I am swimming.

Feed Cups and thermos ready to fill with Maxim and hot water

 We are all packed up ready to go the Sandycove, we arrive late, the last swimmers to get there, Ned has the dingy out and inflated, as we pull in someone shouts ” your guys were going to be in big trouble if you didn’t show”.

 Today I have changed suits, I am sporting a black speedo with bright orange trim, ” this is a fast suit, I mean business”, I think to myself, “today is the day, I AM GOING TO BLUDDY DO IT”.

 Out of the car, there is no milling around and little chatting, onto the job at hand…. grease on the back of the neck, under the arms and under my suit straps, it is hard to rub on as the grease is cold from the outdoor temperatures and not gooy. God bless Robbin she has become an expert at applying the stuff and instructing me to ” WAIT” as I pull away when she has to press hard to get the grease spread under my suit below my arm pits, it is tender there, as I flince she says ” luv you”, in a soft voice, it makes me laugh and relaxes me.

Robbin gets the life jacket on, I try to offer some sort of feeble offer of help, Ned firmly tells me to leave her, get in and swim and I am gratefull of the command from him. We are off, strong pace, I relax around the first lap, the tide is low meaning the weeds are thick and get tangeled around my neck, shoulders, arms, feet…..everywhere, I pull through it, I won’t let Ned out of my sights. He steers me around the island and before I know it there is Robbin, in the dingy ready to feed me, she passes me my feed cup, ” Stand Up” shouts Ned, I do, then he counts down ” 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14…..”, I am done and swim on, this lap is consumed with the image and feel of the Maxim sliding down my throat and into my stomach,” ahhh the warmth, the sweet flavor, the burst of energy”, I am off, new thoughts move onto the next feed at the end of lap two….I can’t wait. Lap 2 complete, next feed, I am excited to be on lap 3, I feel strong, we power around, the adrenaline is pumping, I am excited about the prospect of lap 4, I WANT THIS.

 Lap 3 feed completed, not as fast as the others but it goes down all the same, I am off again, swimming right to the side of Ned, I am like the little dolphin, tucked in alongside the luxury liner, I feel safe swimming beside Ned, we round the first 2 corners and are now on the backside of the island, no turning back now….I am committed to finishing Lap 4, I am thrilled, my body temperature is fast plummeting, my hands are clawing up, I am losing distance per stroke, there is no longer power in my pull….” I am going to do this, around corner 3 and I am on the home stretch….we round the final corner, my speed continues to drop, Ned stops periodically to let me catch up, we push home, the final push, I see the ” Red House” that sits near the slip way, I have come to love seeing this house, we are close to the house, now the current kicks in, I have to fight hard to swim forwards, it is daring me to make forward pregress, my shoulders are burning from the heavy work, ” this is so mean”, I think to myself, I am again grateful….. this time for all the pull sets I have done at the end of a hard set in the pool over the last 16 months back in Vermont, then I see the sandy bottom is much shallower, I look up, ” don’t do that”, I scold myself, I promptly do it again, each time I look up I lose speed….” head down and drive, made it”, there is the slipway and Ned’s hand reaching down to pull me up to the step up. Robbin smoothers me in two blankets and Ned and Robbin steer me up to ” pooh bin”, where Ned leaves us to navigate getting me out of my wet suit and dressed, then into the car, the stumbles, mumbles and shakes are bad, they hurt, my muscles feel like they are in spasm, my thighs, hips and the back of my neck aches, Robbin thrusts a hot chocolate into my hand, she cleverly fills it only half way, my hands shake so bad the hot chocolate sloshes about, I have to hand it back to her, after a while I try again, this time I can clutch it, I hold onto to it tight,  like it is a million dollars, it tastes AMAZING. Next up any food that appeals, in the past this has been a Lara Bar or peanut butter sandwich, I am out of the Lara Bars that I bought over from the US, today it is chocolate digestive biscuits and Jelly Bellys, my child hood comfort foods seem to be what my body craves, something familiar from long ago when I was comforted and nutured by my mother.

 Swim Time: 1 Hour 55 minutes…..Water Temperature 11-13 degrees F, I am very pleased, I feel strong and elated, now I concentrate on regaining control of my body function, this process hurts but the other swimmers joke and play with me and offer so much support and encouragement, Micheal pops his head in the car window ” How is the Hypothermia coming along today”, ” It is coming along quite nicely”, I mumble out very slowly, with my very best attempt at a smile.

 Next up today, a meeting with Amelda…….

Ned this email yesterday……