P.J. Thum will be swimming across the English Channel this Friday. To qualify to even attempt this mammoth feat, you must first show that you are capable of swimming 6 hours non-stop in frigid waters. His training blog is replete with stories of massive stinging jellyfish...
Just as I began to tire from battling the waves, I felt a cattle-prod to my ribs: a jellyfish had smashed into my side, and I grunted, loudly enough for Norman to hear. My side was on fire, but I forged on and it eventually grew numb.
swimming though sewage...
As we entered the Mediterranean, the water slowly turned murky and began to smell. All signs of life disappeared and all I could see were shredded bits of sewage, suspended in the water around me as if in a colloid. "Don't swallow!" was all I could think of, and I tried not to gag and retch at the stench around me. I focused on Norman, and kept moving forward.
vommiting while swimming...
Things, sadly, got steadily worse. At the three hour mark, I swam in for a drink and my hands were trembling so violently that I think I spilt more than I got down. Someone on the beach tossed me a small chocolate cupcake to swallow and I forced the little bite-sized piece down gratefully. Twenty minutes later, after all the excessive saltwater in my stomach, nausea finally overcame me and it all came up again. It was oddly comforting, because as I swam through the vomit it was warm. The chunks of cupcake brushing against my legs as I kicked didn't bother me in the least. I had reached the stage where I'd have swum through urine if it was warm. I really didn't care.
In a way, it was good to practice vomiting, because inevitably while I'm swimming the Channel I will need to vomit while on the move, and so I should get some practice in it while I can.
muscles cramping up from the cold...
Still, it was barely two hours in and I was already shivering, which I knew was my main enemy. Once I start shivering, the cold has penetrated, and my core muscles would slowly cramp up. True enough, over the next three hours all the muscles in my stomach and groin area slowly locked up, and I learnt that stretching them only made it worse. The only fix, albeit a temporary one, was to work heat into the region by "jogging" on the spot.
And other very scary stuff.
A ten hour swim in the sea! In nothing but swimming trunks! It makes the marathon look easy.
I wish P.J. every success.
5 comments:
Zoheb Khan
Not many people know to swim but everyone knows to walk.Swimming looks easier than walking on the road but it's a completely different deal.You can walk on the road for several hours or even a day but swimming can only be achieved by a professional.
Thum's experience while practicing before crossing the english channel was wild but has prepared him for the real deal.His participation helped him to understand the power of mind and body.It has not only helped P.J to cross the english channel but will even help him to cross hurdles in his life.
I wish him the best for his journey of life.
http://www.norfolkline.com
Hurry! great offers for christmas on cross channel ferries..
P.J. Thum's swimming methods and achievements are quite a revelation. Swimming across the channel is no mean achievement. I usually go on weekend breaks to France by taking a ferry to France on Dover Dunkerque ferry route. I can't even think of swimming across the channel:).
Its a great achievement from P.J. Thum and wish him all the best.
____
promy
Crossing English Channel is quite comfortable and affordable too with Cross channel ferries. You get number of ferry operators offering Cheap ferries taking you across the English Channel.
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