Hello all. I'm Pauls brother Alan and I'm now officially in the team to swim after initially joining as a reserve so i could sit in very warm clothing taking pictures and offering support from the comfort of the pilot boat while filling my face with as much warm food and liquid that they'd allow us to take on board. What a school boy error that was believing my brother Paul when he told me not to worry about being the reserve as it was so unlikely someone would have to pull out that all I'd have to do was a medical and a swim for a couple of hours before the event.
Well I'd planned to do my first open water swim this weekend without the use of my wetsuit but the powers that be at my local lakes have decided that it's too chilly for mere mortals to be swimming and have not opened. Well that's what i thought on Friday night and in the end was not entirely true. I found out later that two were open so my initial excuse for not being able to go submerse myself in 12 degree water fell flat on it's face and i now continue to hold team wimp status as my lunatic brother and the other members of the team seem to take any opportunity to submerse their bodies in cold water.
Paul seems to have taken cold water training to the next level as over last couple of months he's bin dropping himself into ridiculously cold water at every opportunity ranging from 5 degrees in a fountain while on a skiing holiday, water skiing at centre parks without a wetsuit, much to the amusement of the staff and the half dozen Chinese students who were there at the same time. I offered support by wearing a 5mm wetsuit as he went round and a round the laps enhancing the cold water effect with the wind chill from getting dragged around a lake on a cable. He then found that the chalet we were staying in had an outside shower and took one at 9 in the evening cos it would be funny. He's not wired right but i think that can only help with this challenge.
I did manage to swim 4.2k yesterday in the comfort of my local pool and they left a side door open so there was a nasty draft, which is my version of breaking me in gently. Unfortunately for me the excuses have all run out, the lakes are open and the Eton 10k is fast approaching.
I'll be at the lake in Datchet this Tuesday morning with the intention of pootling around for as long as i can stand it. Time to man up and get going. I'm looking forward to the challenge and will ask the lads at the lake if they can launch some old junk and oil to swim through and if they have time to try and scare the life out me by buzzing around me in the a boat while dropping jelly fish in front like stinging mines.
I'll let you know how long I last
Alan.
