2-way Channel

Done!

At the end of January I signed up to the Aspire Channel Challenge for 2019.

The goal for swimmers is to swim the distance of a channel crossing (22 miles) in your local pool over 12 weeks, while raising money for Aspire – a charity that helps those with spinal cord injuries.

As someone that swims quite regularly I decided that I would aim to swim 44 miles – the equivalent of a two-way channel crossing.

Things started slowly as I couldn’t swim during the first week, but I got into it and have really enjoyed it. It’s given me a purpose to go to the pool and meant that I haven’t allowed myself to slack off. I have had one week where I just couldn’t get to the pool because of life & work and in theory I’ve got another week before the challenge is over – so actually I’ve managed 44 miles in 9 weeks. I’m quite pleased with that.

And of course what has happened is that because I’ve trained regularly I’ve got quicker and my stamina has improved.

This morning’s swim was 2 miles in exactly 58 minutes – so 29 minute miles. That’s certainly not breaking any records, but it’s good for me and more importantly it felt like a ‘steady’ speed that I could replicate and go further at the same speed. If I can manage some of my longer lake swims at 29 minute miles I’ll be delighted.

Of course all of this is leading up to me asking you to sponsor me. To do so, click here.

I’ve personally donated £22 as I promised that I would give 50p per mile if I hit my target and it has been a very worthwhile investment to get me back into swimming again.

So if you can spare a few pennies, please do support Aspire and sponsor me for this swim. Thanks.

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