I forgot an important milestone in my last post. Those of you that know me well may have guessed what it is already…….

The 15th June 2014 was not just my daughter’s birthday but it also happened to be Father’s Day! I was very excited to receive one particular present that helped me overcome a key challenge during the CoC event.

A Dryrobe!

It was a very early rise on Saturday and I decided to head off to Dover alone, it was going to be a long day and Debbie and the kids could head down later to enjoy the finish and hopefully the sunshine! (It also happened to be the girl’s school summer fair and they’d never have forgiven me if they missed out on jam jar hoopla to watch me swim for the whole day!)

According the BLDSA website the Champion of Champions is an epic challenge! Swimmers aim to complete a 5 mile, 3 mile then 1 mile swim with only a short gap in between each one. The swimmer with the lowest time across the 3 swims will be crowned the ‘Champion of Champions’. Although most swimmers enter to complete all 3 swims there  is also the odd swimmer who just enters a single event.

‘It’s one of the most brutal and challenging events of the BLDSA swim calendar and being early in the season can be a huge confidence booster for training for Channels, Windermere’s etc later on in the season’. (BLDSA)

Arriving on the beach in front of the sailing club I came prepared with all my kit, a folding chair and cool box filled with soup, hot chocolate, pasta and other assorted snacks.

I registered early and got my race number (20) written on my back, shoulder and hand in black marker pen. I was to shout this number out every time I passed the lap counters, who would be sitting on an inflatable boat keeping track of everyone’s progress.

There was a briefing before each of the 5, 3 and 1 mile races to make sure everyone was aware of the course, starting instructions and more importantly the safety protocols. I will say at this point that the BLDSA are very well organised and unlike other organised events outside the BLDSA, the swimmers safety is always paramount. There was a safety officer, fast safety boats on the water, numerous kayakers in support around the circuit, St Johns Ambulance service were in attendance and everyone was well briefed and ready to leap into action and I felt confident that they could cope with any situation.

It was time to race, I recognised some of the faster swimmers lining up at the start line. It was a race but I had decided to treat it as a training swim.

Who was I trying to kid?

The starting klaxon sounded and I shot off like a bullet from a gun. I was leading for all of five strokes and by the time I reached the first turning buoy I had been overtaken by a pod of speedsters who actually had a leg kick! I relaxed and slowed my stroke, 5 miles was a pretty long swim and I needed to conserve some energy for the 3 and 1 mile swims later.

The water was about 14 degrees and after my efforts in Dover over the past few weeks I knew the temperature was not going to be a problem. I got into my rhythm and finished the first leg in 2 hrs 30m.

The three miler was next and to be honest, I didn’t really fancy it. I was feeling quite tired after the first swim and surprisingly I was also pretty cold waiting for it to start. It was a clear day on the beach but it was still quite breezy, I huddled inside my Dryrobe which helped a bit.

There was no sign of the family yet and I was hoping they would turn up before I finished the next leg.

The water felt colder and I was starting to realise that it’s not the swimming so much as the getting in and out that made this swim a real challenge. I didn’t bother with a sprint start this time and just focussed on getting it done.

I was pleased to see that the family had arrived as I exited the 3 miler and my youngest daughter was on hand to bring me one of my crocs!

I was actually feeling a bit better than after the first swim and knowing that there was only 1 mile left was a massive relief. I knew I was going to complete my first CoC. As I entered the water for the last leg I knew that I could probably have pushed a bit harder in the earlier swims and this was born out by my average speed for the last mile. (It should be noted that I still struggled to actually swim in a straight line, so probably covered a little extra distance, all good training though).

I had finished it and I felt proud of my achievement, it had been a great day out and although I finished outside the top ten it was a great swim and I highly recommend it to anyone, even if it is just to earn the prized BLDSA Champion of Champions swim hat!

My next milestone was a split 6 in three weeks time! This would involve a 6hr swim on the Saturday followed by another on the Sunday. I was intending to head back to Budleigh for this one and I was keeping my fingers crossed for no wind and calm seas…