2017 English Channel swim

Saturday, April 9, 2011

English Channel Training

I will be swimming the English Channel in four months. My training is going very well and I feel encouraged with my progress.  Today I completed a five hour pool swim.  Tomorrow I will be swimming for six hours and cross train for one hour. During my last few months of training, I will not use pool toys.   Transitioning from pool to ocean will start within the next couple of weeks. The ocean temp in Maine is 40F degrees with a wind chill of 45...still a bit chilly for open water training.  During my transition period, I will swim at the pool for a few hours in the morning and then swim at the ocean for a short swim in the afternoon.  When the ocean temperature reaches 50 degrees, I will have longer swims in the ocean. My goal is to transition completely to the ocean by mid June when water temp averages 52 degrees. I train 5 to 6 days per week.  On days that I work as a nurse ( work 4 days per week), I will swim for one to two hours after work. In July I will swim a few long ocean swims of eight to ten hours.  On the other days I will swim shorter swims.  I include weight training as part of my program. Also, crew training will resume in a couple of months for final preparations.  Between swim training, work and family life, there isn't enough time in the day....but I'm loving it.  :-)

1 comment:

Mike Leake said...

Pat -

You are an inspiration to swimmers everywhere! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about training and competing in these long distance swims. I have been learning a lot just from following along with your blog.

Hope the Peaks to Portland is a great warmup for your channel swim in August. I'll be swimming the Peaks for the second time this year, and plan not use a wetsuit. I would like to follow your lead and look for larger swims in the years to come.

May God richly bless you and your team as you prepare again for this great swim.

...mike...