British Gas Great London Swim, Royal Albert Dock, London, Saturday July 03, 2010. 74th position out of 3,143 finishers.

Above: Official finish certificate for my 1 Mile (1,600+ Metres) Great London Swim. A much better time than two weeks ago at The Great East Swim, and over 100 Metres more.

The logistics of getting to the Great London swim were quite complex due to me having to leave London after the race to go directly to Dover to be part of the 'Team Iryna International' English Channel relay team which was due to swim at about 03:30am the next morning (July 04, 2010). So Beccy and Luca left in Beccy's car, and they followed me to London as I drove in my car. It was a scorching hot sunny day, so much better than the conditions for the Great East Swim two weeks before. I had a swim bag ready for a 1 mile swim, and about 3 others packed with clothes, food and swim kit enough for about 20 hours in The English Channel.

When we arrived I studied and memorised the course (pictured above) as we walked the entire length of The ExCel Centre, which was simply huge.

Above: Beccy and I with Luca on first arrival at the event. The Royal Albert Dock venue was most impressive.

Having sussed everything out, I went to the changing tent and put the god damn awful wetsuit on and decided that I probably wouldn't do this race again, as no matter what the water temperature is (it was 21C today) wetsuits are mandatory, not due to the race, but due to the rules and regulations laid down by The Royal Albert Dock. I simply detest wearing them. This was the third time ever and it felt awful.

We headed over to the starting area at 11.00am and Beccy zipped me up. I was absolutely cooked! I felt restricted in movement and totally claustrophobic in it. How can people feel comfortable in these things??? I registered my timing chip and walked into the area where all the swimmers had gathered for the 11.30am start. We must have looked like a bunch of seals all lined up on a beach!

Everyone was getting into the roped off training area so I thought I would acclimatise myself to the conditions. I got into the water and just floated on top as if I had a rubber ring on. These suits are definitely cheating in my opinion. There's no achievement getting in cold water and swimming with a wetsuit on. It's just not cricket!

Luca and Beccy were on the dockside and Beccy was trying to show Luca where I was "Look, he's the one with the black wetsuit and purple swimming hat and goggles on!". He merely had to look at 300 people all similarly dressed to find out which one was dad! lol.

At 11.26, we moved forwards towards the start line where I downed 750ML of Herbalife H30 Pro Isotonic drink, but today, unlike The Great East Swim where I got bogged down in bodies, on top, beside and beneath me, I had a different tactic. These swims are not about who crosses the finish line first, they are about who gets the fastest time. To get the fastest time, you need to be able to swim in the water, not be bounced around on top of other swimmers unable to swim. Your time starts when you cross the start line, and finishes when you cross the finish line, irrespective of who finishes in front of you. Therefore,I was going to start right at the back, and get some clear water to swim in. Make sense? It did to me.

After the warm up, there was a 10...1 count down, and off everybody charged. Except me. I just stood there and when nearly everyone was in the water (about 300 of them male and female) other than about 8 people, I crouched down, and ran across the start line diving into some open water and started swimming. It was great. I was actually swimming!

Within a minute or so, I caught up some of the trailing swimmers who were sparsely populated in the water, and looking up, I swum round them with no problems, and just a few clashes of elbows etc. The usual stuff. Already, I was pleased with my new tactics.

I was at about 85% effort for the entire race, and felt good. My only errors were to go too wide over towards the right of the buoys, which meant I had to cut back in to go round the buoys losing me valuable seconds. On the last buoy before I turned to start heading back, I was a good 20 Metres wide of the buoy. So I must practise swimming in a straighter line for any future Open Water races I might enter.

As I turned for home, with about 600 Metres to go, I upped the pace more, and started to pant and gasp for breath taking in at least 3 mouthfuls of the black water of The Royal Albert Dock. Again I ran wide and as I saw the finish, I had to come in from the right to enter the finishing funnel. I slapped my hand on the electronic timing board of the elite race, but we had about another 20 Metres to go to our finish line, and we had to climb out and run over the finish line.

We were helped out by people standing on the pontoon, and then sprinted across the finish line where the time stopped. I was pleased to find out later that despite keep swimming too wide, I had completed the 1 mile course in 24 Minutes, 27 seconds, finishing 74th overall out of 3,143 finishers. If I learn to swim in a straighter line, I think I can improve on that time considerably though.

Above: Overall race time and position, and with Luca and my finishers medal after the race.

Women's Elite Race

Below are some photos taken just after the end of my race, for the finish of the women's elite race.

The race was won by Great Britain's Cassie Patten, followed by GB's Keri-Anne Payne and Jana Pechanova of Czech Republic in third position. The full results can be found by clicking here.

Men's Elite Race

Below are pictures of the start and end of the men's elite race.

Above: Great Britains Olympic Silver Medallist, David Davies finished in 10th position. English Channel World Record Holder, Petar Stoychev (3 photos up with towel over shoulder) finished in 3rd position.

After guiding Beccy and Luca out of London, throwing my Great London Swim bag into Beccy's car, and ensuring I had everything ready for The English Channel, we said goodbye and I headed off to Dover for an extremely long 30 hours ahead to swim in the 'Team Iryna International' English Channel relay team. A full update will follow shortly.

Interim Update: Great London Swim - Complete: 24 Mins 27 Secs. 'Team Iryna International' English Channel Relay - Complete:12 Hrs. 44 Mins

Above: With Luca and my medal of completion after posting a pleasing time of 24 Minutes and 27 seconds @ The Great London Swim on Saturday July 3rd, 2010.

Above: 'Team Iryna International" English Channel Relay route, Sunday July 4th, 2010 - England to France, 12 Hrs. 44 Mins.

Just a quick update to say that both swims were completed after a very tiring weekend, and a full update on both will follow shortly. If you would like to sponsor me for these swims to raise money for St. Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds, then you can do so by clicking on the link below. Thank you in anticipation:-

Donate to St. Nicholas' Hospice here...

Confirmed - Great London Swim, Saturday 11.30 Hrs. English Channel Relay - Sunday 03.30 Hrs. A tiring weekend ahead!

Firstly, Tomorrow morning at 11.30am I am competing in the light purple wave of the 2010 Great London Swim. I am semi-looking forward to it except for the fact that it is mandatory to wear a wetsuit, something I really do not enjoy, especially since the escapades at Felixstowe a couple of weeks back. However, if I've got wear it, I will wear it and compete to the best of my ability in equipment I am simply not used to.

Secondly, I have just spoken to Mike Oram, Hon. Secretary of the CS&PF, who has confirmed that Iryna Kennedy's English Channel Relay Swim has been confirmed for Sunday morning at about 3.30am in the morning. This means that we will meet in Dover Marina at about 2am on Sunday morning. Mike said it may be Lance Oram who pilot's us, or it could be Mike. I am really looking forward to it, as I have not been in The English Channel since my second solo swim on September 11, 2008, and I have never been involved in a relay.

Above: In the early stages of my first English Channel Swim (England to France 13 Hrs. 52 Mins.) on July 10, 2007.

The logistics of getting to London to swim with all the equipment, then carrying on to Dover to start a relay less than 14 hours later are immense, but very 'do able' and exciting. After all, it's only tiredness and pain! I will report back next week on the two events.

Last open water training session before The Great London Swim and/or English Channel Relay

Above: Heidi McDowell and I enter the North Sea at Felixstowe on the hottest day of the year so far. For Heidi it was her first time without a wetsuit. Well done!

Following last weeks Great East Swim, I managed to pull a muscle in my left trapezius muscle picking a towel up off the bathroom floor. I keep telling Beccy that this picking up towel business is a dangerous pastime for us elite athletes. Bathroom towels are supposed to be left on the floor! Anyway, that aside, it hampered my training last week, with Beccy having to massage and Kinesio tape the area to assist healing. So as I entered the sea on Sunday, it was the first time since The Great East swim.

Heidi and I were the only two members of the Suffolk Open Water Swimming group who turned up this week, probably due to some football match going on in South Africa where The Sausage Eaters' were about to slay 'St. Georges Dragons' by 4 sausages to 1. They should have come swimming instead. It was a simply glorious day during which I had a beautiful swim down to the Spa Pavilion with Heidi where she turned round and went back while I continued on my way to the pier and back.

The trapezius muscle held out OK. A bit sore, but it was only pain after all. I completed 3,100 Metres before the beach crew, (pictured below) who had spent their time in a small tent this week to protect themselves from the searing sun, packed up, had a quick sausage and chips and headed home to watch the football.

Last night I completed 4,000 Metres in the pool with no problems and will hit the pool again tonight. Well not actually hit it, swim in it I mean!

Next Saturday is The Great London Swim, but there is a slight problem. I am swimming in Iryna Kennedy's English Channel Relay on the July 01 - 10, July and there is a chance the two swims will clash. The relay will most definitely take preference should the two clash. I will keep the blog updated when I know more. Meanwhile, it's just train, train, train this week!

British Gas Great East Swim, Alton Water, Ipswich, Suffolk, Saturday June 19, 2010

Above: Finish certificate for The Great East Swim. A disappointing time, but probably the best possible considering the conditions and an eventful 1,500 Metre race.

On the way to Alton Water, Beccy drove while I studied a map of the course (see above). Using NLP Visualisation and Mental Rehearsal techniques, I shut my eyes and pictured the course over and over again, so that when I actually swum the race, it would be just a re-run of the race having swum it many times before in the car. I learnt all the buoys along with their respective distances, and was mentally prepared when we got there.

As we arrived, the heavens opened, the wind was hurtling across the water and into the car park where we were parked, and it was a really miserable day. The BBC weather forecast said to expect winds of 21MPH in Suffolk. They were not far wrong. We sat it out for about 5-6 minutes in the car, then it just stopped. The sun came out, and it was scorching hot. All in the space of about 60 seconds! This was to be the pattern of the weather for the day.

As we reached the swim area, a "Wave" (as the groups of swimmers are known) was already in the water, and we searched around to suss things out, and prepare for my race which was the "Light Purple Wave" at 11.30am. I put my trunks on in the changing tent, and noticed that virtually everyone was wearing a wetsuit. It was not mandatory as the water temperature was about 16+ Degrees C. It was only mandatory if under 15C. After last week's experiences at Felixstowe, I didn't ever want to wear a wetsuit again, although they are mandatory for The Great London Swim on July 3rd.

Above: Jana Pechanova (Czech Republic - 8th in Women's 10KM Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics) with Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria - Olympian and 9 times FINA World Cup Open Water Swimming Grand Prix Champion and English Channel World Record Holder) start one of the waves.

As I watched Jana and Petar start a wave, Petar spotted me and waved from the podium. I hadn't seen him since Mexico in 2008, and he came over to chat. He was complaining that he felt really cold. It was certainly now very cold and windy, and the water didn't look inviting at all.

At 11.00am, our wave's gates were open to register. As I wasn't wearing a wetsuit, I remained clothed for as long as possible prior to the race so I didn't get cold. We had to enter the gate, wipe our timing chip across something to register that we were here, then entered the starting area. As I did, the heavens open again. The clothes I was wearing were the only ones I had with me, and they were getting soaked!

I started to drink my Herbalife H30 Pro Isotonic Drink, which I had put warm water in before I left home, and started to think about the course again, ensuring I had it locked into my mind. That done, and now starting to get really soaked, I stripped off and stood in the rain in my trunks.

Following the previous weeks tough swim at Felixstowe, and training during the week, I had slightly strained both deltoid muscles, and so Beccy had put Kinesio Tape on both shoulders 24 hours before. It seemed to create quite a stir with people asking constant questions about it, coupled with the fact that I was the only one with no wetsuit on. I just tried to focus on the race ahead.

At 11:29:30, we all pushed towards the front and waited for the countdown at 11:29:50. 10...9...8.....2...1... HONK!!! There was a massive sprint into the water, and everyone seemed to be on top of everyone else.

I seemed to have people on top of me, underneath me, beside me, everywhere! As I tried to swim, I couldn't actually grab any water. I just seemed to be grabbing bodies. It was unbelievable. But, that's open water racing! I was out of practice.

I headed for the first buoy, and as I passed it, I remembered the course, 200 Metres completed, now towards the second buoy at 400 Metres. Bodies continued to be in the way, the wind and waves were coming directly towards us, and I was purely breathing to the right to avoid swallowing water on the left. This was tough!

I headed past the 400 Metre buoy, looked up to see the 600 Metres buoy and sprinted at about 90% effort. I suddenly got into a rhythm, started to bi-lateral breathe and got into the zone. All of a sudden, at about 500 Metres, I decided to overtake a swimmer on the inside when I smashed into an immovable object. Head, face and right arm was stopped dead and it scared the shit out of me. I looked up, and there was some idiot in a kayak who said "Move to the left please. Keep to the left" quite calmly, and as if he hadn't got a care in the world. I couldn't believe it! What a total idiot! Didn't he realise this was a race? Once I had got my senses back, I pushed him out of the way, and had to start again from a standstill. It must have cost me a good 30 seconds, and I was absolutely furious! I was panting so hard I couldn't say anything which is probably just as well as he would have got a gob full I can tell you!

I turned at 600 metres and headed along the back straight where it was much easier to swim. The waves were now no longer into my face, and I again got into a good rhythm, and back into the zone.

As I turned the last buoy and headed for home, I was flat out. I went underneath the elite race finish line and slapped the board, but our race didn't finish there. We had to exit the water and run up onto the bank where our timing chips register the fact you have finished, along with your time. I crossed the finish line, and that was it. Job done.

As I finished, the race commentator came over to me interested in my Kinesio Tape on my shoulders. The conversation went something like this:-

Commentator (C): "So here's a finisher with no wetsuit and some tape on his arms. I've seen this quite a few times now, could you tell me what it is please".

Me (PH): "Huh ... Huh ... Huh ... Huh ..... It's ... cal .... called .... Huh .... Huh ... Huh ... I ... can't ... get my ....... breath back .... Huh .... Huh .... Huh .... .Kinesio Tape".

C: "Kinesio Tape, I've heard of that before. What does it do?".

I took a couple of deep breaths so that I could speak, until I felt as though I'd got my breath back.

PH: "Well it helps with sports injuries, by lifting the top layer of skin (epidermis) away from the bottom (dermis) allowing an injury to heal quicker by getting the blood flow to the injury. I have slightly injured my shoulders which is why I'm wearing it." I thought I would plug my business, so I added laughing... "...it's available at Body and Mind Studio in Bury St Edmunds!"

C: "Interesting. I note you are not wearing a wetsuit, why is that?"

Now there was an interesting question! I thought that I would plug true Open Water Swimming as I knew it and replied:-

PH: "I'm a two time English Channel Swimmer, and we are not allowed to wear wetsuits to swim the channel. Wetsuits are for wimps". I looked around and suddenly realised how outnumbered I was so laughed nervously and started to walk away, but he continued...

C: "We have some of the world's top open water swimmers here, and they are wearing wetsuits. Do you think they are wimps then?".

Now I was in trouble! I didn't know they would be wearing wetsuits, and even as I write this blog, I am not sure why they were wearing them as they don't usually. They didn't in Serbia or Mexico, so no idea really. I thought on my toes quickly.

PH: "I don't know, you will have to ask them." I replied as I walked away surrounded by wet suited swimmers!

I walked off towards the official photographer, collected my goody bag with medal in and went off to find Beccy and Luca.

When I found her we chatted about the race, then told me some sad news. She said that as my wave had started, she had seen a lady in a wetsuit being brought to shore in a boat and CPR was being administered. She said she looked grey, had floppy arms and looked dead. She said they took her away in an ambulance (see footnote below for more information). I listened to her and it makes you realise that we are in a dangerous sport. Everyone should know the risks before they contemplate any Open Water Swimming. No one knew anything else about it, and so all we could do was continue with the day until we heard anything else about it.

I missed the start of the Elite Women's Race, as I went to get changed, but got back in time to watch the end of it, and to watch the Elite Men's Race competitors get ready for their race.

Above: Petar Stochev (in wetsuit - bizarre, why did they have to wear wetsuits?) warming up for the Elite Men's race.

Above: Centre, Great Britain's James Goddard competing in his first open water race, following an interview by the race commentator.

Above: The finish of the Elite Women's race. Full results can be obtained by clicking here.

Above: Great Britain's Olympic Bronze Medalist and World Championship Silver Medalist Cassie Pattern who finished 3rd in this race.

Above: With Beccy and Luca after my swim and just prior to the start of the Elite Men's race.

Above: Petar Stoychev (red hat) and Brendan Cappell (blue hat) of Australia who will be attempting to break Stoychev's English Channel World Record this summer.

We watched the Elite men's race set off and they went at a blistering pace. At the head of the pack were some of the world's top elite open water swimmers. There was a large outdoor television screen on which you could watch the race. Luca was fascinated by my medal, which each finisher received.

I headed over towards the finish line ad watched as the race finished with Brendan Capell in 3rd place and Petar Stoychev back in 5th, both positions surprising me. Stoychev took a long time getting out of the water, and did not look happy.

I went over to chat to Brendan Capell about his forthcoming English Channel World Record attempt. We spoke about CSA/CS&PF etc., when over came Stoychev to confront Capell. Now retired German Open Water Swimmer Steffie Biller also came over, and a slightly heated conversaton occurred between Stoychev and Capell.

Above: Stoychev (left) accuses Capel (right) of wrecking his race, but Capell was having none of it saying that it was called "racing"!

I walked off with Stephie as they argued. I didn't want to get involved in that one! As it started to get colder again, we decided to head home having had a great day at Alton Water, even though I was dissapointed with my time and hitting the kayak. Next up is The Great London Swim on July 3rd.

FOOTNOTE: During the week, we discovered very sadly that the lady Beccy saw being pulled from the water was in fact 35 year old Tracey Rammell from Leicester who very sadly died in hospital after the race. The story can be found by clicking here. Our deepest sympathies go to her family and friends.