One Width Challenge Swimming the English Channel

[PoopedMacroon]

im 15...ive been swimming since i was seven. and i hope to accomplish the same, but im not sure by when !

[No2pineapple]

@PoopedMacroon There's plenty of time. The channel will always be there. Just make sure you keep the dream alive!

[PoopedMacroon]

@PoopedMacroon thanks for the support! I know I can do this

[MARCUSURILLIES]

Im planning to swim across lough neagh n ireland and have been training for six months now

Do you have any advice on the sort of miles I should doing a week in the pool etc

The swim s 9 miles or so

Ive been doing 3 mile 5 times a week for 5 or six months now

[No2pineapple]

@MARCUSURILLIES -Hi, Great swim you are about to do.They are a good group who organise that swim! It sounds like you will eat it with the mileage youv'e described.Try & Keep the pace up in the pool swims(short pyramid sets) Try and get some open/cold water training in for the two months prior to the swim and make your longest swim be about 6 or 7 miles during one of those OW sessions. Then on the day you'll fly! - Hope that helps in some way - Good luck

[MARCUSURILLIES]

@No2pineapple Thanks a million for that. Ill get back to you when the jobs done. I forgot to mention the swim is for Suicide Awareness and i hope to collect money for both Aware,ie and Niamh Louise Foundation charities that are in Ireland. You can donate by logging onto mycharity.ie under my challenge 15km swim Lough Neagh

Thanks again

[RunToyota1]

Hey, well done. I am 18... Can hardly swim one length of pool without getting tired... But one day I will swim it!!! I remember not able to run 100metres... Now I am a marathon runner!!! Well done, man!!!!

[acd150]

Wow -- very inspiring -- great job.

[gunnerwez]

Great effort mate!! Im planning on doing it August 2012 for Pilgrims Hospice. Did you do it from France to England as it looks like you swimming towards the monument in St Margarets at cliffe? Also what did you find the toughest part of the challenge? Any advice for training and the challenge itself would be massively appreciated!

Wez

[No2pineapple]

Hi Wez, I swam fromEngland to France the monument is a war memorial on the French side (I use to know the name) The toughest part of the challenge is(and should be)the back to back training swims.My peak swims were 6hrs & 7hrs on consecutive days & were done on grey wet days. Mentally very challenging but I am convinced it got me across & allowed me to really enjoy the day. Train hard,fight Easy.Have fun & great cause good luck. Mickey

[pisham4]

@No2pineapple Perthes Association ? Did you have any previous experience with this disease. I have Leg Calve Perthes and was looking for a great charity when attempting the channel. Let me know if you have time. : ) Congrats by the way !

[No2pineapple]

@pisham4 -Hi thanks for the comments. My son was diagnosed with Perthes at 61/2 and had an operation in 2006. It was his fight to not let it rob him of his childhood that inspired me more than anything to swim the channel the following year. Not many charities for Perthes but the Association gave us a lot of information and are a small organisation so it felt right to help them out. Good luck with your swim!

[pubrally]

HAHAHA his mate is bustin his chops " pull your finger out of your ass and put in an effort " beast effort mate cheers

[MzSkater47]

Hey Mickey

congrats man! really good effort!

I am 16 years old, born 2nd March 1994 and am planning to do the swim with 2 other friends alongside, also swimming

please can you tell me everything i need to know

such as how you got the boat, where from, how you got involved with giving money to the charities and things such as training up to and during the sprint and dietary requirements up to and during.

Thank you so much - IDOL.

~ Matt.

[No2pineapple]

Hi Matt,Thanks for comments.The best starting places for info is the 'Channel Swimmers and Piloting Federation' website.Mike O who runs the show has a standard email he sends that gives the rules and regs.After taking in that info I would suggest you make the dream really strong in your mind(ie.something you MUST have)and then put in the mileage especially the cold water yards!@16 you have many years but do promise yourself you'll do it-you'll not regret it!-Have fun! - Mickey

[MzSkater47]

@No2pineapple Thank you very much, i will do the best i can

me and my friends have decided to train for 2 years haha

almost non stop weekly. I am currently in Costa Rica and swam 3.25 miles across a gap and found that alright but only because it was warm and i had available drinks so i will take everything into account. ~Matt

[theliquidchild]

Awesome! did you eat during the swim? if so, what? I'm training for the big swim but can only swim 12 miles so far. I drink water, but don't eat during it. Then I'm dead tired and insanely hungry.

[No2pineapple]

Hi, 12 miles is a great position to be in. Eating/refuelling is an important part of the challenge (keeps energy and heat in the system). I used mainly maxim varied it with coffee, lucazade, bananas and carbo gels. Try them out in big training swims its important to find a feeding plan you can be confident in. Good luck!

[No2pineapple]

I always pay for it myself and then all the money goes to the charities.

[iloveksgb]

hi im thinking of swimming the chanel myself, i was wondering if you could give me any info on what it was like for you so i can get a bit of an idea? thank you (:

[No2pineapple]

DREAM,PLAN,PREPARE,SUCCEED. Make 'the dream' really strong-there will be challenges to stop you on route.Get a plan you are confident in & one loved 1's can support.Prep = during the winter months work on technic & speed in the pool.Come spring get into cold water,as aclimatisation is important.Gradually build mileage to back to back 6&7 hr swims.Then succeed!have the mental toughness practiced during training to say NOTHING will stop me until I hit France.Hope helps a bit.Follow a strong dream!

[iloveksgb]

Thank-you for the advice, this will help me loads, as I had little idea on what I was doing. What you've done is fantastic and I hope I can do the same! Thank-you again, and well done (:

[djohnjimmy]

Hi, historic effort and for a good cause. Kudos!

Just curious, how far was the total swim across the channel?

[No2pineapple]

Hi, Thanks for comments. The straight line distance is 21 miles (19 nautical miles for anyone with sea legs!) but you can't swim in a straight line as you are pulled up and down the channel by the tides therefore you swim more of an 's' shape. I'm told my total distance was 30 to 31 miles. Hope that helps. Mickey

[laplata507]

Thanks for donating to Perthes Association. I had perthes in both hips as a kid. At 31 I had to have my left hip replaced. I know that they have made great discoverys in the last few years thanks to people like you that make it happen. Thanks Chad

[No2pineapple]

Chad,

Thanks for comments they are appreciated. You're right they are a great organisation and I hope to do another event to help them sometime in the future. My son had perthes and now 3 years after his op is playing water polo, rugby, football etc for clubs and school .There can bepositive storys that come out of this depriving condition even if at first we found it all very difficult to understand why. I hope more will research the condition and help. Thanks again.

Mickey

[No2pineapple]

Hi, Hat was a Diana (well worn on many training swims and events since) Water temperture had just flipped over that day ,for the first time that season, to 15c. So most training (except lakes) had been done in sub 15c tempertures.Have you checked out my windermere swim yet? Race completed and youtube vid uploaded! - have fun! :-)

[dmdml]

Hi Mickey, what swim cap were you wearing? What brand? It looks very nice (very stretchy). Also do you know the water temperature then?

[dmdml]

I just gave your 5 star :) Congratulations! I see many other swimmers climbed straight onto the boat at the end of their swims, but you actually swam to the shore and walked out of water, a complete crossing.

How long have you trained for preparation for this swim?

[No2pineapple]

Hi,

Thanks for rating. After getting on to shore it was my crew who made me swim back to the boat rather than come and collect me! Great mates!! :-)

I've always swum in some form but trained properly for about 6 to 8 months for this swim.

[dmdml]

Thank you for your reply :) Your crew were a bit cruel in making you swim back when you were so exhausted, but I'm sure for you it's the easiest and happiest swim back to the boat you ever had :D Another question: when you trained for this swim, what's the longest distance you swam?

[No2pineapple]

Hi,

I tended to plan and record distances when I was doing the pool swims only by the time I was doing my peak swims ready for the channel it was more about time in the cold water. Peak pool swim was 15 - 17K however my peak sea training swim was a back to back (saturday then Sunday) 7hrs /6hrs. These were tougher than the actual swim. Great prep both physically and mentally. Hope this helps.

Mickey

[dmdml]

Hi Mickey, thank you very much. It is very nice of you to reply to my curiosities :) (btw I'd prefer the video be wthout the background music, so that I can hear the sea, your conversations and other sound, as if in real-life). Good luck in all your future charity swims!

[No2pineapple]

Hi, The background music is iconic in the circles I train with. It's Rocky and although I'm sure annoying to some it was very much with me in the tool kit during the swim. Besides I recon hearing the 'banter' and abuse exchanged freely between myself and the crew may have had a short life on YouTube! :-)....next swim is Saturday night!

[Kurolli]

WOW!!! XDDD how long did it take?

[No2pineapple]

Hi,

Thanks for comment. It was 13hrs 35minutes. You going to give it a go? It's a fun day out (and the journey to the day is even better!)

[mpfmark]

great vid Mick, as per other comment.

congrats on this and Zurich, am sure Windermere will be a walk in the park for you

regards

Mark