"Don't eat Pineapple .It's bad for you!" Mick Helps 2007

News and Training Updates  (Click on Report Title to go straight to report)

June 2008 Progress Report

Started the month with the Guildford Lido Aquathon. This was a 500m swim in the lido followed by a 5k run around the park. This was the first non-totally swimming sports event I’d done since the London Marathon in April 2007 (about 14 months). In truth I’d entered the race more from a social viewpoint than any fitness gains. It gave me the perfect excuse to catch up with Dana and Jim from the Lido Legends (part of the Gozo Groupies). My time was better than I thought but found the 5k run so much harder than it should have been (“run fat boy run!” was going through the mind for each pace of the 5k!!)

That same weekend we had a family event to say goodbye to Marie my oldest niece who is now travelling around America starting in New York (GOOD LUCK MARIE!)

The middle of June saw two very positive events with the Champions of Champions event and the Surrey Youth Games. The Champion of Champions is a series of open water races swimming in Dover Harbour. The Races comprising of 5 miles, 3 miles and 1 mile with cumulative time being the overall event. My time of 3 hours 43 minutes and 2 seconds was over half an hour quicker than the same event in 2007. The conditions were the calmest I have ever seen a piece of open water. T was the classic millpond and favoured to better “pool” type swimmers. It was also idea for me to use as a training swim and again catch up with some people I hadn’t seen since last year.

The weekend after the Ch.of Ch. Was the Surrey Youth Games and was an immensely proud moment for me as both William and Matthew were representing Epsom and Ewell Borough for Judo. Bethan narrowly missed out on the Judo by being too young and the tag rugby also.

Matthew fought hard and won one of his matches but missed out to the eventual silver medallist in a tough group. William fought with equal determination and only missed out on victory due to inexperience. He however won a bronze medal in the Under 16 (38kg) category that he so richly deserved.

These are great days and I hope the children treasure this and don’t take for granted the efforts and what they have achieved.

You may have noticed from the training graph for June I am way below the monthly mileage and this may ultimately prove a problem but finding time to train is continuing to prove a problem.

The positive remains that I achieved my key training and sponsorship targets again this month with completing the champion of champions and getting THREE press articles this month (1no. in the Local Guardian, 1no. in the Post newspaper and 1no. on 220 magazine website)

* =Primary Target for the month

May 2008 Progress Report

I’m finding it hard to create the time to do the amount of training that I think to compete well in Zurich would warrant. You will see I have fallen just short of my monthly mileage target but have maintained the two key training and sponsorship targets I needed to do within the month. These were to do my first open water swim and the sponsorship target was to get an initial article about the charity and the swim in the local newspaper.

My open water swim was at Heron lake (just off the M25 junction 13). The water was fantastically warm as the days leading to that weekend were very sunny. I have swum there a few times since and the weather is more of the grey, wet drizzle that I remember in abundance from training at Dover last year. Mark Bayliss has been training with me a couple of times (I say ‘with’ me .I often only get to see the souls of his feet in the early 2 to 3k then he’s off in a fish like manor!)

Heron lake is 99.9% triathletes (hundreds of them) and they all wear wetsuits. It’s still a fantastic feeling to walk past them with only trunks ,hat and goggles to calmly dive in to the ‘cool’ water of the lake as they stand trying to avoid that first breath taking encounter with the water. To be fair to them all they do give supportive comments and lets face it I think when I was doing Ironman training and saw someone without a wetsuit I would have been far less complimentary and would seriously question their sanity!

The newspaper article was in the Epsom Guardian and was nicely written and I hope the www.JustGiving.com/mickhelps page gets a few more hits because of it. This month I will try to build on that with a sports related article maybe after the champion of champions swim. Again this is to raise awareness for sponsorship and worked well for me last year.

Dawn achieved her key sporting target for the year completing the 26.2 miles of the Breast Cancer Moonwalk raising over £250 for her charity in doing so. There is still time to sponsor her if you wish (www.justgiving.com/dawnhelps )

I added the ‘spoof’ competitors list to the website during the month with the raw and open intention to whined up some of my colleagues I swam with last year and (if they don’t take offence) again this year.

I’ve set my targets for this month below 

April 2008 Progress Report

Returning from my family holiday to America signalled the start of my training for Zurich. This is many months later than last years channel swim plan but I’m hoping this will be the right balance between time with the family versus being serious about a 30Km lake swim. To help this approach I double entered the swimathon this year .Once for myself to swim the 5k on my own on the Saturday and then on the Sunday I joined the family (Team Hamsters) in their successful 5k team swim. They all swam really well putting in strong performances with Matthew and Bethan swimming 1k each and William achieving a very impressive imperial mile! Their better than expected distances meant Dawn and myself had easy swims and enjoyed watching the kids achieve their individual targets.

My broad plan is a build up of regular swimming in May, Lake swims and preparation races in June and long swims in Dover in July (see mileage plan in the training section). I intend to add a bit more cross training into the plan this year (running and cycling) to get some fitness as well as the endurance. The judge of how much non swimming I do will be based on time available and ‘THE BACK!’

I hated the boredom and pointless nature of the gym last year so I won’t be joining one this year choosing to cycle around parks and swimming in open water appeals far more!

* =Primary Target for the month

“Quelle Façon en France ?”

(Which Way to France?)

(Channel Swim Report) 

The Week Before

The lead up to the swim had been frustrating as the weather prior to the swim had been some of the worst on record for June. It seemed amplified when Wimbledon tennis started. Every report during the tournament concentrated as much on the weather disruption as it did on the tennis. 

I spoke to a few experienced swimmers at this time who said this was often the toughest part of the preparation. Not knowing when a swim is makes this event unique. Other races or challenges will happen on set days but channel swims are integral to the weather conditions. I took all this good advice and information to mean “Shut up and don’t worry about things you can’t control!”

The Day Before

Eventually my time came. On the eve of the swim I rang my pilot and he confirmed the next day was forecast swimmable conditions and offered it if I wanted it.

“Wanted IT!” 

By that time I was so desperate to swim I’d have gone in a hurricane ,singing a national anthem of his choosing and being supported by a rowing boat if it meant I’d get a chance. So 10^th July 2007 an hour before high tide would be my time.

The Hour Before

All my crew met up in Dover at about 5:45 am. I took some pictures of the crew and handed out the T-shirts and fleeces my company had kindly donated to my cause. They looked good in their ‘One width Challenge’ attire. To this day I don’t know how but they did!

I had planned the feeding and equipment to minute detail and briefed the crew so I could feel comfortable that my wishes were understood. We then went to find the boat. This was the first issue of the day. We couldn’t find the boat in the masses that were moored in Dover Marina. I kept calm this is apparently one of the key elements despite the micro planning some things could still go wrong and it is how one deals with them that would be a key to a successful day or not . I just hadn’t expected the test so early and certainly not BEFORE we had left dry land!

Having sorted my logistics concerns and found the boat the crew started to load the kit onboard as I shook the pilot’s hand. This was the first time I’d spoken to or met Lance Oram, my pilot.

Very soon after boarding we were underway and started to head out of the Harbour. As we set off I was still joking with the crew which is exactly what I wanted from them. There was a serious job to do but there was nothing in the rules to say we couldn’t have fun as well.

One of the most synonymous images of channel swimming is the grease covered swimmer. This no longer is the case to the extent of the earlier swims of the 20^th century. I had Vaseline rather than Channel grease applied to areas that were at risk of rubbing (neck, arms and shoulders). Dickie my friend I’d know from school got the dubious honour of applying the grease and naturally the banter associated with such a situation pursued. I was then ready for my swim .I jumped from the back of the boat and made my way the short distance back to the English shore (Shakespeare Beach) to get clear of the water to allow the official start of the swim.

My feet standing clear of the lapping waves and I look up towards my boat. On hearing the Claxton horn I walk and then dive into the waters of the English Channel and my “One Width Challenge” is officially underway.

0 to 2 Hours – The Beginning

I started out steadily trying to get into a comfortable and long stroke. The first part of the swim was choppy as I tried to get clear of the local Dover waves rolling and breaking on Shakespeare beach. Once I cleared this bit the water appeared smooth and I felt comfortable as I drifted a distance from the boat caught up in my own world of Rocky and happy thoughts!

I was on hourly feeds at this stage and after the second the pilot asked if I could swim closer to the boat as we were now entering the English shipping lane. I informed him I was having fun out there. He just rolled his eyes and smiled.

2 to 5 Hours – The English Shipping Lane

The water around the three hour mark started to get a bit choppy. Nothing serious but enough to bring out some pain in my shoulders. First the right shoulder. This then calmed and then soon after the left kicked in. I had some ibroprofhen with my next feed which helped to shift the pain back to the right shoulder.

That’s when ‘annoying man’ started chipping in. Let me introduce you to ‘Annoying Man’. I was advised that despite being extremely focused and positive there will be moments when negative thoughts would creep in. So I decided that if they did come along for the ride I would treat them with distain. Like an annoying person always whinging on about doom and gloom but no one gives him any respect because he’s so negative. I dislike these characters in real life and had great pleasure being tough and abusive to this fictional version when he appeared.

Whatever his point was (feeling chilly, pain in my shoulder, size of jelly fish) I would reply “So what! I’m not stopping so why are you bothering to talk to me!”

5 to 7 hours - Mid Stream

The water calmed again as I reached the middle point. I knew I was about half way because this is where the jelly fish tend to congregate. The reason for this is the water is slightly shallower and between turbulent shipping lanes. This was my least favourite part of the swim. Although there were very few jelly fish at my level in the water it was like a scene from finding Nemo about a metre or so below me. 

Brown’s, Bright Blues, transparent and pink were these silent patchwork of menacing creatures. The real risk of course all completely in the mind. I wasn’t stung and these weren’t Portuguese-man-of-war or box jelly fish. 

I kept taking the positive from the fact I was half way. 

I asked the boat to get ahead of me so I could chase it down as a tactic to ignore the shoulders. This the pilot did for a while. I however caught them up a few times which I found frustrating. When it happened a third time I shouted at the boat to get a move on as they were slowing me up. The irony had not been lost on either of us and made me smile for a while as I continued onto the French shipping lane. 

7 – 9 Hours – The French Shipping Lanes

Prior to the swim I had been warned that the French Shipping lane could feel cold after the warmer middle section and with deeper water being churned up by large ships. I didn’t find this to be the case and with the sun re-emerging from a cloud Mr..Annoying’s voice was small.

My shoulders, however, were shouting at this stage and I realised I had to take a very basic ‘throw the arms forward’ approach to bloke out the pain. I took some more pain killers, opened up my mentally stored motivational toolbox and chose new inspiration. This time it was the kids and their own sporting successes this year. William football progress and Goals, Matthew representing the Borough at Tag Rugby and winning his first medal and Bethan’s determination at her recent swimming time trials against older children.

It’s such a positive thought thinking that I’ve got years ahead of me watching them reach their individual goals in sport.

9 – 13 Hours – The French Side “Graveyard of Dreams”

This part of the channel has over the years earned the title “Graveyard of Dreams”. I believe it’s on the basis that so many attempts are unsuccessful with only a mile to go to the French shore.

It is normally the roughest part of the swim and presented my shoulders with their next challenge.

My first reaction as I entered these waters were “Oh! Why can’t I have an easy finish?” (Guess which voice this was!!) but very quickly corrected myself stating I knew this was the toughest part of the swim and this was not so bad and again I wasn’t giving in. Keep turning those arms.

It was about now many of the crew started to get a bit lively. I thought at the time it was because I was getting close to France and the excitement was building. I later found out their interest was because I’d missed Cap Nez .and the tide had turned meaning I was rapidly being pulled towards Calais.

13 – 13:35.57 – The Landing

My crew egged me on and finally stopped me to tell me this was my final feed. I couldn’t believe it I felt I had longer it was a massive boost. The Pilot wisely tried to warn caution he eloquently says “We’ll see about it being your last feed. If you pull your finger out your arse and get a move on we might get there a little quicker!!” I laughed as I needed little motivation at this stage. I had taken his comment as this was his last chance before we got to France for him to get his revenge for me shouting at him to get a move on earlier in the day. However when I got out I found out it was indeed a genuine hurry up. If I hadn’t broken through the tide at that point I could have faced a further four hours in the water while I headed towards Calais waiting for the tide to turn.

Luckily I felt strong at this point and it had only been the shoulder pain that had dictated the speed. When I knew this was the push to the finish my stroke rate went up and I felt I started to power to the finish.

About 25m to 30m from the shore the main boat had to stop and all aboard waited and watched my final few yards.

Passing the boat for the last time was emotional. At this point I could feel the pull of the water drawing me to France. I looked up and picked a spot to land and then headed head down for this point.

With 10m to go the noise suddenly got intense. The waves crashing. I could hear the rushing of retreating tide pulling the stones beneath me. It then got really warm – almost bath like. I hadn’t realised sea water could get this warm!

It was all relative .of course but the sudden sensory change made me look up. I could see large sandy/chalky coloured rocks in front of me. With two more strokes I was on top of them trying to get enough of a grip to pull myself clear.

The rocks were slippery but as I pulled myself clear of the water and realised this was it I could hear myself shouting. “Yes! Yes! I don’t believe it!!”

Considering nothing but this moment would ever have been acceptable to me I think my overriding emotion was relief.

Despite being fully focused and mentally confident of crossing I stood on the small ledge at the base of the cliff that was my France looking back at my crew and the boat not quite believing what it really meant. What had I actually achieved? Had I done it? You bet your life I had! Every stroke.

My dream, My One width Challenge now complete!

Climbing back across the rocks and trying to avoid the crashing waves I swam back to the boat. The crew cheered and clapped as I got on board. They had all been fantastic. Each with a role to play and each executing it to perfection. 

I put a team together believing I had the right blend of skills never quite sure if every base was covered. I could not have asked more from them or from Lance and his crew. 

When we got back to Dover Alison Streeter (Queen of the Channel) greeted us. It meant so much seeing her knowing what she has achieved in this event and then for her to say I had worked hard and deserved it was nice.

As I got back to the carpark I met Susan, my sister, and my Dad. Both had been waiting for hours and I was so pleased to see them.

Coming home the kids were asleep and Dawn was waiting to see her little soldier home safely. As I sat down and thought about the day I still knew the true feeling of completion/job done had not sunk in.

Reflections – After the Swim

Soon after my swim I went back to Dover to see Freda, Cliff and the crowd I had been training with. They all make you feel good about what you have achieved and I have so much respect for them even more so now having done the event. I’d enjoyed the pressure and focus preparing for the swim.

It was then pointed out to me that only four British people have ever swum to France and back again in one trip. Something that seemed total madness only days earlier now seemed potentially the next stepping stone.

There are many things to consider if I take up this or an equally challenging test but the one that would be the primary deciding factor would be the impact on the family. This event has meant a lot of dedication (early mornings and weekends) for preparation and it is now time to give back some of this time I’ve taken from the family.

Whether I do another great challenge or not is still to be decided but I am reminded of two sayings as I consider my next move.

“Only he who dares to go far will know how far he can go”

“What doesn’t break you makes you stronger”

I feel I am still to find my limits. I thought this might have been it but through a process of dreaming, planning, preparing and determination it became possible. 

So for the “What next?” question the answer is “To Be Advised!”