I may or may not have been holding a cheeseburger during this picture Happy New Year! It’s been a little while since my last post, but I’ve been very busy between family, work and of course, swimming. I took on a “lighter” workout schedule for December, and by light, I still swam about 95,000 yards (I swam 150,000 yards in November for comparison) albeit with a less disciplined approach. I did this for a couple reasons.  First, I do not want to burn out. I’ve been training for over a half a year and wanted to give my body a little bit of a rest.  My shoulders/rotator cuffs were in…

Yes, the torture chamber. What is the torture chamber you might ask? I will explain that in a moment, but it is a good lead into something several people have asked: How am I going to endure sub 60 degree Fahrenheit water temperatures for several hours?   I have a plan.  I can’t say it is a particularly comforting plan, but it is a plan, and it has three parts: One: (And this is the most enjoyable out of the three). I’m going to get fat. I need to gain weight in the midsection so I can insulate myself from the cold conditions. My goal is to pack on at least 20 pounds…

My oldest son recently turned five and during bedtime a couple of weeks ago I tried to explain to him why I’m always swimming in the mornings. He listened very carefully and when I was done talking he simply said, “Mako sharks are the fastest sharks in the ocean.” He then paused and said, “Watch out for those.” Invaluable advice from a five year old. While that might be something to seriously think about later on, right now I’m just focusing on increasing my distance and time in the water (I will say though, Shark Week is this week on the Discovery Channel and I have actively steered away from…

Since I just launched this site and I’m still getting acclimated with posting stuff, I will make this first post brief. I’m one year away from my June 11-19, 2020 window for swimming the Channel. If feels like such a long ways away, but on the other hand, it seems like it will be here before I know it. Logistics-wise, I’ve done every thing I can (which means I reserved my pilot (boat captain) and paid my deposit). I’ve been training for about two months and I’ve only scratched the surface. I have been swimming 6 days per week with one swim being a “long swim”. I’m using the progressive…