T-Minus 12 Months

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 overload training method which means I will slowly increase my numbers each week over the next eleven months until I peak. My goal is to peak at 60,000 yards in a week (34 miles/week). The month before the swim I will scale back my swimming and rest my body before the big swim.

Right now the training feels no different than training for a marathon (which I have done several times). I suspect, however, that this feeling will change as my time in the pool progressively grows. My “long swim” for this week will be three hours. By the beginning of next year, that will be just another drop in the bucket.

My strategy is simple: Stick to the training plan and take each day one day at a time.