Sea Training in Estapona, Andalucia, Spain - Day 2, Sunday March 16, 2008

Above: My daily training area in Estapona, Spain during Easter week.

Getting up for my daily swim on day 2 of our trip to Spain, we stepped out onto the balcony to see it was another beautiful day, with the sea very calm again. There was however, a strong tide pushing the sea from West to East. I decided that I was going to do the same swim as yesterday, but to add another 1KM to it, by swimming back towards the apartments after I had swum the 3KM length of the beach. This would make it a 4KM swim.

We walked the full length of the beach and I undressed to get in. Stepping into the water, it felt colder than it had the day before without a doubt. Having swum for about 15 minutes, my temperature gauge on my watch levelled out at 16 Degrees Centigrade. That's a full 2 Degrees Centigrade less than the day before. It's funny but swimming in all the different temperatures over the past couple of years, your body starts to recognise a 1 Degree Centigrade water temperature change.

Above: Swimming in the calm sea on Day 2. There was one "rocky" area which was where a pipe went out to sea. The water wasn't very clear, so I had to look out for it every day to ensure I didn't swim into it.

I swum the full 3KM stretch with the tide, with the ever present Beccy walking along side on the beach and taking photos. Reaching the end, I spun round in the sea (not stopping swimming) and headed back against the tide towards our apartments. You could certainly feel the difference. Beccy was walking slower, and the buildings on the promenade didn't seem to move as fast. However, it was a really enjoyable swim, and I completed the 4KM swim in 50 minutes. As I got out, Beccy took the picture below.

Above: Finishing the 4KM swim on Day 2. Gibraltar is in the background on the right, and Africa to the left.

Getting out after the swim to have a drink on the beach, I kept looking at the gap between Gibraltar and Africa, and wondered what you would need to do to swim it. That would be a question for the Kevin Murphy or Alison Streeter when I got back home!

Total distance for the week so far (2 Days): 7,000 Metres.