Commiserations

I just want to add line re Joni Storer (who I have trained with over the winter in some really cold water) and also re Megan Turner (who we met many times at the harbour). Both made their attempts yesterday leaving Dover around 10am, unfortunately both were out of the water 10 hours later (10 hours 45 for Megan) without reaching France, they were only beaten by the weather and dangerous waves. Both should be very proud of their valiant efforts. Several other swimmers set out yesterday...it turns out that only 3 from 13 made it to French soil.

Injury and Inner Potential

Before we left for Sandycove I had a telephone conversation with Joni Storer (Channel aspirant same tides as me and violinist extraordinaire) the basis of the conversation was family, followed by worries about a nagging injury he had picked up to his shoulder. I remember during the chat me telling Joni not too worry, that I had sustained several injuries on my journey toward the goal of Swimming The English Channel, that I had nursed multiple ear infections, shoulder injuries, back spasms to name but a few. I clearly recall stating it would be a temporary set back and that with some rest and professional treatment he would be just fine.!

Then of course, I travelled to Cork and got battered by some rough seas over 4 hours or so of swimming. Only to return home and be in a great deal of pain with my left shoulder, it has been worrying me all week to the extent that I have not swam since Saturday, that in itself presents its own paranoia type feelings let alone the concern for recovery now that we have only ten weeks before my tidal dates.

On Tuesday I awoke in the worst pain my shoulder has felt since training began, I have been taking anti inflammatory medication but no pain killers as I didn’t want to mask the issue and end up causing further complications. Wednesday the pain had eased by around 10%, I had some treatment from Gary Hinchely at The Norton Physio/Sports Injury Clinic, a session of ultrasound and some advice/diagnosis. It is reckoned that I have either tendonitis or a partial tear to the rotar cuff, the prognosis is good so long as I take some rest. I looked up the injury online and thought I would include some of what I discovered, as I know many swimmers will get similar pains along their routes to France.

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Rotator Cuff Injury Explained

A Rotator Cuff injury is a common cause of shoulder pain. Injury to the Rotator Cuff will usually begin as inflammation, often referred to as Rotator Cuff tendonitis. The Rotator Cuff muscles (Subscapularis, Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus and Teres minor) are small muscles situated around the shoulder joint. Although they have individual actions, their main role is to work together to stabilise the humeral head (ball) in the shoulder socket. People are often told that they have injured one particular Rotator Cuff muscle or tendon, with the most common diagnosis being Supraspinatus tendonitis. However, it is unlikely that the problem is with just one of the muscles in isolation. The world's top shoulder surgeons refer to such conditions as a 'rotator cuff injury' and consider the picture as a whole.

Although the Rotator Cuff can be injured by a single traumatic incident, this is not common. Injury to the Rotator Cuff will usually begin as inflammation (tendonitis) caused by some form of micro trauma (a small but continuous source of irritation). If the cause of the inflammation is not addressed, and continues over a long period of time, partial tears may develop in the cuff that could eventually become complete tears (a tear all the way through one or more of the rotator cuff muscles).

There are three main causes of micro trauma to the rotator cuff:

Primary Impingement The 'Coraco-Acromial arch' forms a bridge over the Rotator Cuff. It is made up of bones and ligaments and is lined by a sac of fluid called the Subacromial bursa. The space under the bridge that is available for the Rotator Cuff is called the Subacromial space. Many people will have a naturally small Subacromial space, which is just bad luck, but the space can also be reduced by conditions such as OsteoarthritisDegenerative joint disease, characterised by wear of the articular surface of a joint. This can occur due to repeated overuse, but the incidence and onset of osteoarthritis is increased secondary to trauma, such as major ligamentous injury or meniscal injury in the knee.','',250)" onmouseout=hideddrivetip() ;Osteoarthritis. Whatever the cause of this small Subacromial space, repetitive overhead activities (such as throwing a basketball or dusting high shelves) can cause the Rotator Cuff to become continuously squashed against the Coraco-Acromial arch, causing inflammation of the cuff.

Secondary Impingement Many people will have what is called shoulder instability (a lax shoulder joint). This laxity may have been present since birth or may be due to an injury. Often it will have occurred over time due to repetitive overhead activity, poor posture or inactivity. Due to this instability, the Rotator Cuff has to overwork to stabilise the shoulder, causing it to become inflamed. Eventually, the Rotator Cuff will become weak and tired, and will not be able to prevent the humeral head from squashing up against the Coraco-Acromial arch. Because this type of impingement is not due to a small Subacromial space, it is called secondary impingement.

Overstraining During forceful throwing actions (e.g. tennis service, pitching and throwing), the Rotator Cuff has to work very hard. With repetitive throwing, the cuff is prone to being overloaded, resulting in inflammation and tissue breakdown.

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As a result of not being able to swim, yesterday I broke my promise of never running again and had an excellent ‘hill work out’ on a treadmill at the gym, I followed this by a short spinning session just so that I felt I had achieved some cardio training rather than sat on my butt.

That said…whilst sitting on my butt I have been considering some other beneficial and necessary training: Alison Streeter states that Swimming The English Channel is 80% Mental (who better qualified than Alison..simple answer…no one) therefore I have been spending my some time reading related books/articles and hope to visit a a therapist in the next fortnight regarding Inner Potential Therapy and Training, I am quite excited about this.

I have included some text that kind of gives you an idea of where I have been heading with this mental training and visualization.

A Room in Heaven

One day a human went to heaven in the way that humans often do. On arrival, the human was greeted by a host of angels and given a tour of all heaven's wonders. Over the course of the tour, the human noticed that there was one room the angels quickly glided past each time they approached.What's in that room? the human asked.The angels looked at each other as if they'd been dreading that question.

Finally, one of them stepped forward and said kindly, "we're not allowed to keep you out, but please believe us - you don't want to go in there."The human's mind raced at the thought of what might be contained in that room. What could be so horrible that all the angels of heaven would want to hide it away? the human knew that one should probably take the angels at their word, but found it very hard to resist temptation. "After all", the human thought, "I'm only human".Slowly walking towards the room, the human was filled with dread and wonder at what horrors might about to be revealed. But in fact, the room was filled with the most wonderful things imaginable: a beautiful home; nice things; great wisdom; a happy family; loving friends; and riches beyond measure.Eyes wide, the human turned back to the angels. "But why didn't you want me to come in here?" This room is filled with the most amazing things I've ever seen!"The angels looked at each other sadly, then back to the human."These are all the things you were meant to have while you were on earth, but you never believed you could have them."

(Taken from "You Can Have What You Want" by Michael Neil)

I will leave you with a quote from Lesley Broadhead, it’s a little like Mark 9:23 i.e. To he who believes anything is possible...

“If you never set goals or if you never have dreams then how can they ever come true?

It's ok to want things - it's ok to expect things - it's ok to set goals.

Remember - focus on what you want not what you don't want - this is my golden rule.”

Heatwave

With the UK experiencing what feels like a mini heatwave, this week has been great for swimming outdoors, as you know we were in the Lakes Monday and Tuesday, I was just hoping that wasn't to be then end of the long awaited British Summer! It certainly was not, and we have been blessed with glorious weather since. Yesterday (Wednesday) I had a brief swim at Bishopton Lake, where as a result of the sunshine, the water temperature had shot up to 62F, I was disappointed at this as I know it will soon be pointless swimming at that location due to it being way warmer than the English Channel. With that information to hand, I called Joni and we agreed to cancel our scheduled one hour there, but to meet at Seaton instead. That way we could return to the salt water and see how things have improved since our previous visit.

As can be witnessed from the above picture, the weather was outstanding, blue skies, sandy beaches, it could have been anywhere in the world but for the industry which will remain out of shot!. We had planned to meet for 1pm allowing an hour swim before heading off to make the school run, Joni was delayed due to circumstances beyond his control, this meant water entry was put back til 1:35...we swam in big swells for 30minutes at 52F, we both agreed that the water felt great, that the sunshine made a world of difference and that we must return as soon as possible.

We exited the water and made an excellent recovery as we had hoped for after only 30 minutes, though this would have been a different story last year, I really think the acclimatisation is starting to take effect, long may it continue.

Today was also the first time we met Jonis Kiwi girlfriend who accompanied KGB on her normally lonesome vigil, a great day with more of the same to follow at the earliest opportunity

14 weeks out.....update

With 14 weeks remaining…activities are certainly picking up, Dover training commences this weekend where swimmers will gather to train every weekend before their expectant dates to tackle the Channel, I am slightly jealous that we live 340 miles from Dover, the distance and work commitments (I work shifts and have limited holidays) all mean that my trips to train under the guidance of Freda Steeter will be restricted to five weekends during June and July.

That said…I am still training hard, my twelve consecutive days of work did effect my training figures, this week so far in addition to pool work, I have had two swims at Bishopton Lake, once for an hour alone (Tuesday) and once (yesterday) with Joni Storer for 65 minutes, both swims were at 55F, warmer than the current sea and the Channel temperature, but good training all the same. It was Joni’s first visit to the idyllic lake which seemed to meet with his full approval. Though I must say his directional skills have not improved despite recently swimming for 6 hours in Malta! with Swim Trek.

Health wise all appears to be well except for some lower back pain, shoulders seem to be fine and thankfully I escaped the flu and stomach bug that was doing the rounds recently.

I mentioned some envy regarding missing the early Dover training sessions, however there is again a silver lining, on Bank Holiday Monday sensitive family issues permitting (which I cannot go into on the blog) KGB and I are going across to Ambleside for the an overnight stay, where we will have some time together and some swimming/kayaking in Lake Windermere similar to when we trained there last year with my support swimmer Loraine Verghese.

Speaking of Loraine, I sent her Channel Swim DVD to three other 2008 aspirants, Kaise Stefan in Australia, Megan Turner in Swansea and Chris Pountney in Whitstable.

Megan said: “Anyway, Mark was kind enough to send me a copy of a DVD made of Loraine Verghese swimming the channel. This DVD was fantastic to watch it showed the excitement, tension and (though this element was somewhat understated) it also showed how difficult it can be swimming into France against the tide. Loraine’s story is exciting and inspirational and it really made me think about what it will really feel like…. I have a feeling that I will be watching this DVD quite a few times over the next few months!”



Finally I am delighted to have been made aware that the J-A-C-K website is now live, thank you once again to all who have donated, (especially Mr Sean Price..(more details to follow) who have spread the word and have encouraged others to support me in The Fight against Neuroblastoma.And Chris said “I just saw the DVD of Lorraine's swim last year and it looks like you have got yourself a fantastic team there! Lorraine's swim was very impressive, you probably couldn't ask for a better support swimmer. And a very good and encouraging pilot. I think your gonna be just fine!

16 weeks and counting

Considering it was the second of the two weeks belated Easter school holidays, training has been good this week, during all the sessions I have felt really good and my timings have been better than ever. In hindsight this could be down to the lay off at the start of last week or it could be as a result of the increased intensity I have been trying to add to the pool swims, with new varied sets of sprints etc.

The only negative point being that I could only manage one swim outside, that was at Bishopton Lake on Thursday. I swam alone for 34 minutes at 8.5 degrees C, it was rather windy and choppy but very good training. Being that I was alone there are no photos. I must try to get back there or to the sea a couple of times a week from now on. I am happy to sacrifice distance in terms of metres in exchange for more minutes in the cold water. The sea is still around 7 degrees.

I had a good chat with Joni Storer, who, as expected had a brilliant time with Swim Trek last week in Malta, he even completed his 6 hour qualification swim under the guidance of Freda Streeter. Well done Joni. One other thing that transpired from his trip was the knowledge that Freda's father was in fact from Seaton Carew! we both see that as a good omen...Joni is now mad keen to set a training plan for the final 16 weeks leading up to our Channel Swims.

I am now starting a run of 12 days at work without a day off, what impact this has on my training remains to be seen. I still haven't gained sufficient weight/fat, another issue that is stressing me out.

A good week considering everything 27,100m for the week.

Thank you once again to all those donating both on and offline, remember spread the word !

Back on track

All things considered it has been a reasonably productive few days. I resumed normal pool training after what I will term a recovery period. I only swam 10.5km last week as I was letting my right shoulder rest. The injury is going to be a long term issue, it is under control, with a few adjustments, some treatment and a little luck I can keep it in check.

I eased back into things with a couple of shorter sessions Monday and Tuesday then had a nice steady swim of 10,000m yesterday, no real issues after this longer swim which lasted about 2hour 45 minutes. I did not get to the sea on Tuesday either, I dare say we could have squeezed in a visit, but it would have been a mad rush so I opted for the pool instead.

A week or so ago, Jonathon Storer (top violinist) emailed the Channel Group asking for suggested swim locations in the Tyneside area, now whilst we in the region of an hour south of that location, I thought it reasonable to invite him to Sunny Seaton when we made our next visit. We arranged to meet at 9.20 am today (Thursday 13th) weather permitting. At 08:15 I called Coastwatch Redcar to be informed it was a lovely day and the sea was slight but more or less flat. I sent Joni a text and before long we met up in a desolate car park to have what would be Jonathon's first sea swim of the year.

He was very positive in the car park and new the conditions were do able, we entered the water under the watchful eye of KGB, at which point Jonathon realised just what he had let himself in for...it was showing 44 degrees (6.7C) on my wristwatch...after a little verbal encouragement he began to breaststroke and before long we were both front crawling parallel to the shore. I was very aware this was going to be tough (for us both) and was a little more relaxed when Joni was back on terra firma being looked after by KGB. I swam for fifteen minutes then joined Jonathon and Kelly on the beech where we dressed before returning to the cars for hot drinks (and shivers) before we parted. Joni made and excellent start and promised to return soon.