May

May has seen a steady progression in training as I work towards J2F. My tolerance to the water is building nicely, one of my training partners (Bill) had a fortnight away on holiday in Phuket, despite his worries of returning to the temperatures of North East England, they were short lived, he quickly hit the hour once more, only for me to disappear for a week in the sun with Kelly. 

I therefore had the same concerns having spent a week doing very little other than 4 swims of around 2km in the caribbean at a ridiculous 85ºf ! That said I was more than ready for the break.

Kelly and I returned home last Sunday (15th), once the jet lag subsided I managed 3 swims in the River with the usual suspects Bill, Amanda and Ben. 

The build up was gradual with increments of 70-100-125 minutes. Friday was our longest swim to date completing just over the 2 hours at 59ºf, the wind was quite strong which ensured we had a decent workout. 

Any discomfort was soon put to one side as we reflected on the massive achievement of Howard James, who this week set a new record for the earliest English Channel swim on 16th May, the water being 10-11º c. Now that is what I call hardcore. He is certainly in the same bracket as the likes of Kevin Murphy and Dave Morgan. 

The BLDSA Champion of Champions event will soon be here, therefore I will have a few more sessions in salt water shortly as the coastal temps have now just about reached 50f/10ºc

Onwards into the final week of May, with a  planned 10km on Bank Holiday Monday.