Swimming is resting!

Even though I have designated a few weeks off I find myself at the pool doing what I love and what relaxes me. Still a 16km week...!

Today in 12 months...

It is 12 months to the day that myself and my team will be in the UK and be ready to swim the channel.  The 24 months of training will be completed and my body and mind will be in a condition to swim the 34km. We now have flight dates, accommodation selected, and most importantly a team and lots of support people and swimmers around me.

Over the last 12 months i have completed every one of the swimming goals that i set last year.  With nearly 6 weeks out because of the flu I still managed to completed the fitness foundation set at 1050km and successful swum well past the qualifying times and required water temperatures. This foundation will now be what we build upon to ensure the maximum chance of success.

Its been well over a week since i have had a swim and its still another few weeks before i get back into the pool. I have enjoyed the time off but swimming and whats ahead over the next 12 months is never far from my mind...i am rather excited about getting into it but now is the time to rest.

The day after...

The day after I had my first DNF (did not finish) in a swimming event and/or training session is bright and sunny.  As strange as this sounds I actually want to go for a swim.

Gone is the sadness and extreme frustration of having to end my swim early yesterday because of a very painful jellyfish sting under the arm. I tried and I failed, but I only failed because I tried.

I would guarantee 99.9% of the population would not even attempt this swim knowing they had to start in the middle of the night, there were jelly fish everywhere and huge seas and a stormy afternoon predicted for the second half of the swim.  I am proud of been able to swim a further 11km in pain from where I was stung by blue bottles before tipping my hat to the Apolima Channel.

I have a few take aways from this swim.

• Adversity:
• You could not have planned a worse start than what I had yesterday. Not only did I get stung by blue bottle jellyfish we also spent a considerable amount of time swimming blind in the dark without a lead boat guiding me.  As you can see from the start of the track we were more or less put into a holding pattern until our support boat found us. It was only then we could leave the safety of the reef and head out into the deep water.
• Shoulders:
• i need to work on the acid buildup in my shoulders over a period of a weeks training in the open water.
• Support crew:
• My support crew need to know what to do when and if something like this happens in the channel

Even though I did not complete the swim I have learnt a lot about some of my limitations and how far I can extend myself after having things not go to plan.

Green Light...

The swim is scheduled to start on Wednesday at:

5am - Samoa Time

2am - Canberra Time

Because this swim has not been done in nearly 30 years the only estimates as to a duration is somewhere between 6 to 12 hours.

Steps to access Kane’s swim’s tracking map

1. Open the map page by clicking here
2. Type in your name
3. Once you see the map you will also see a red triangle and a red path. The triangle is my current location.    

Remember the GPS is on the boat. The boat may not enter the reef area.

Days going by...

Woke up this morning, logged onto the patchy Samoan internet and saw some great news today.  Ben Freeman became the first Canberran to swim the English Channel over-night. I gave him a call to congratulate him and remarkably he sounded as though he had just swum a 2km race not the pinnacle of open water swimming.  Fantastic effort Ben and Narelle, Lucas and I could not be happier for you!

The wait for a swim here in Samoa continues. I continue to do the 1 hour swim Andrew requested from me each day, it keeps the shoulders moving and the tension out. Today we ventured all the way to the reefs edge and even though it was rough the visibility was good and we got to see some coral and fish.

The seas outside the reef have been very rough and a swim all but impossible. However, according to the weather and tide data things are settling down tomorrow and by Wednesday morning we should have pretty flat conditions. It looks about 5am Wednesday (2am Canberra Time) will be the time…we will just wait and see!

The waiting game is not as difficult as I thought.  However, I have learnt one thing and that is not to have an ocean view room over looking the swim course.  It really becomes an obsession looking out over the expansive water body and thinking I wonder when I will get the chance. I think for the English Channel swim I will stay well inland in a room with no view.

Training is done...

Five training swims down and I think we are now ready to go! I have been swimming in a beautiful blue lagoon that has a powerful current which gives me a good test, especially heading into it. I was only averaging 1.7km/h yesterday into it and over 5km/h back down!

The water has cooled off considerable after a week of strong winds mixing the ocean and 4 days of what the Samoans are calling a cold snap. The water temps are down to about 23 or 24c which should make the swim so much more comfortable than the 28c I was anticipating.

As for the swim the weather report is not looking favourable until late next week. High winds, large seas and thunderstorms are predicted until Wednesday. There is potentially a small window between 2am and 9am on Monday but each time the weather report is reissued that weather window gets smaller and smaller. 

All we can do is just wait and see how it goes. I told the organiser the other day I did not want to spent 8 hours in conditions like Mondays event. Those conditions were nothing short of miserable and I don't think with such strong crosswinds pushing us away from the island the crossing would be possible.

First training swim in Samoa

Today I got to spend a very special 2 hours completing my first training swim in the beautiful Samoan waters. The water is remarkably clear and definitely a lot warmer than what I am used to and these days, actually enjoy. 

We are staying at a place that has their very own fale beside these prestine blue waters. Narelle and Lucas stayed in the shade whilst I completed the set Andrew gave me. 

Second Samoan swim - 10km

Up at the crack of dawn for another training swim. This time a 10km swim in an event...this is unusual for me as I am not a fan of racing, I much prefer the concept of 'just' finishing for self gratification and fulfilment than beating a person or a clock.

I decided I would work on a few areas of my swimming that require attention. That been longer gliding and quickier feeding. The first lap of the 2.5km course was quick and things were going well. This was until about the 90min mark when I lost my breakfast to the fish. The winds had got up and the usually quite waters in the reef were now a mess of white caps and an annoying swell that peaked over the reef outcrops.

After another few unscheduled stops, including one 10 minute stop to dislodge last nights dinner to the fish the 10km was completed in a respectable time, but far from my best.

During those few hours the emotions ranged from wow this is a nice place to this swim is hell and what am I doing here? But regardless I finished with lots of gas in the tank and a positive outlook toward next week considering what had just unfolded.

However, the day belonged to Dave, his first marathon swim done and dusted. Having supported me through my swimming endeavours it gave me such pleasure to watch Dave finish his very first 10km event...even in these tough conditions he came in side by side with his wife Pauline at 4 hours 27 mins.  Fantastic effort considering his longest swim was 4km before this race... u r now a marathon man.

Tapering....

It's now time to start winding down the training in preparation for the big Samoa swims.

This is the part of the training that I really don't enjoy as I quickly start feeling flat and totally out of gas. From past experience these r all very normal emotions but I know that very soon I will be jumping out of my skin with all the extra energy.

Big day out

This weekend was one of the best in a long time!  Started with a night swim in Port Botany where we were treated to something very special; each stroke we took resulted in a luminary delight of whites and greens from prosperous in the water. Watching this show made the time fly by and by the time I knew it we had completed the 3 hours in water that ranged from 13 to about 10c.