Monday 14 July 2008

Dover4

High and (S)Lows...

Highs:1. Excellent accommodation, I would highly recommend to future swimmers Wellingtons Lodge in the very pretty town of Deal just 8 miles from Dover.
2. Saturday swam as requested for 6 hours at 16C unaccompanied except for 20 minutes when I was joined briefly by Loraine Verghese..delighted with this 5 days after last six hour swim.
3. Had a good chat with my pilot who sounds on top form just hours before his season started with Kaise Stefan.
4. It didn’t rain.
Lows:
1. The drive to Dover took almost 8 hours due to weather and roadworks.
2. My arms were aching terribly in the triceps and elbows from start to finish on Saturday, getting progressively stiffer as the day went on. Probably not recovered in full from the swim last Sunday in not the best conditions.
3. Woke Sunday encountered difficulty dressing due to almost unbearable pain in the right arm.
Freda gave me 5 hours I was glad it wasn’t 6! agreed to go for it, wanted to be out at 1 hour (pain and getting cold due to inability to swim as the normal pace).
Ended up getting out after just short of 2 hours, much to the annoyance of several, including Freda, received offers of help from Jane but could not do it, feel severely gutted at yet another injury, and embarrassed at my failure to make the time, and for what I may or may not have said to the beach crew and Kelly. I wasn’t rude or impolite but was very stubborn. For what a number of people must think of me for refusing point blank to get back in.
My arm/right shoulder is still causing me a great deal pain today after the drive home and a day at work. I have treatment arranged for this week but to be honest I don’t expect to be back in Dover anytime soon.

Public apologies to Kelly, Freda and Jane. Sorry

4 comments:

Enda Kennedy said...

Mark

I have e/mailed you off the site. Remember you are a man that means WE are ALL stubborn. Put your hands up and say, you were wrong to be impolite to those who are your biggest supporters.

E/MAIL Ring freda jane and
Kelly and say, i threw the dummy out of the pram, i will pick it up myself. Dont wait! You know you were injured. Get back up on the horse when you fall off straight away

Enda k

M said...

Thanks Enda, just read your email and thanks for the comment, will email soon

Bruce Stewart (施樸樂) (ブルース・スチュワート) said...

I don't think anyone can remain gentlemanly when under a lot of pressure like that. I am sure they all understand that. I hope your arm sorts itself out over the next week or so. It seems like your friends who completed their swims at least had some luck with the conditions. The crossing could have been a lot worse from what I have read about. So you're kind of close to it, but with a few question marks, too. Hope it all works out.

Jevon said...

Stay with it Mark. Nearly there. Sometimes you have to go with what your body is telling you.
Jevon