Dover weekend 14th 15th June

Lesley and I prior to the first race - note the lucky number!


What a fantastic wewekend just passed. Total training mileage estimate >20 miles over the 2 days.
Saturday was the champion of champions races, and it was great to 'race' again, as training can be quite seem quite pointless at times. The races were 5 mile, 3 mile and 1 mile with the total times being added up to find the overall order.
I was happy that I contained myself in race one, in the past I have shot off, only to flag later on in the race. It was more fun as I got to pass people in tte second half of the race rather than the other way around. After a nice leisurely lunch on the beach catching up with the Malta swim trek bunch, and my son getting some priveledged rugby passing training from Rufus, we headed off out for the 3 miler. I raced this one all the way to the end with another swimmer in a blue hat, she just pipped me at the end, but it was all good fun!
We then had another break, chance for some more food, hot chocolate, chatting and a few photo's etc before the one miler.

This seemed quite manic compared to the last two. If during my sprint pool swimming years someone described a mile as a sprint I would have laughed....hard! However this is pretty much what it was like. I raced alongside 2 girls all the way, who out sprinted and out manouvered me at the last bouy and shot off to the finish line. Fortunately the girls results were separate to the mens, and I ended up as 2nd Male which was a very welcome pleasant surprise. As I said before, all great fun. Big thanks to all the BLDSA organisers, a top event.

Sunday was my 40th--woohoo and Fathers day - double woohoo! We got an early get up, and I got to open my pressies in the hotel in Folkstone with Lesley Brandon and Chloe before breakfast, which was nice. When we got to the beach, Freda (the channel 'general' / coach) was kind enough to give me a 7 hour swim. There were 3 others doing 7 that day, quite a few 5's and 6's so it seemed reasonable enough. Trunks on, earplugs in, a good smothering of vaseline and off in right after Kevin and Rufus, who seemed mad keen to pile in straight away. The script on feeding in these sessions is swim for 2 hrs, then pop back to the shoreline for a glug of hot maxim on the hour each hour. We were occasionally treated to a nice choccy bar brought on the day by some kind soul. The swim was certainly a mental battle more than physical, as I just plodded round stiff from the Saturday efforts. The trick was to find the balance of speed, warmth (ho ho ho) and aching. The whole 7 hours passed pretty uneventful with the sighting and feeing of a few jellies, one got me on the leg - but was barely a twinge. A few crashes with other swimmers (Where do they come from!!) and observing the sea life on the wall as the tide went out!
Then all of a sudden 7 hrs was around, out warm and off to my Brothers house in Leatherhead for a party tea with my folks. Top.