Alnwick Tri Club Swimming

Tonight I received a message back from both Michael Oram and Alison Streeter, both saying there is some availability for next year. Looks like the Challenge may be on! Michael has asked which set of neap tides I was thinking of swimming on. Had to admit I had no idea what a neap tide was, let alone which one I needed to be swimming on to make this challenge a reality. Is being some kind of moon pull expert a pre-requisite of being a Channel swimmer??

At my aircrew medical today I got chatting to the Doctor who was interested in my fitness profile. On explaining my training he told me that there was another potential Channel swimmer at Alnwick tri club and I should hunt her down. At training tonight I got talking to Frances, who is planning a swim this year and have somehow agreed to train with her. From being a bit of a pipe dream three days ago this is somehow becoming real. I am starting to get the same feeling I first got when I entered the Ironman online. I was sure some unknown filter computer alien would spit out my credit card details with the harsh message, “You? I don’t think so. You are SO not ready!” But again, nothing appears to have happened. People don’t look at me like I’m a fraud (they look at me like I have a screw loose but that’s another story), they seem interested and excited and the excuses as to why I might not be able to do this Challenge (booked pilots, lack of ability etc.) seem to be diminishing by the hour. Frances was extremely helpful and enthusiastic and has left me feeling ridiculously buoyed up about the Challenge. This may be helped by the fact that training tonight was like a dream – another 2.6kms closer to that cold morning in Dover!