The time is near for our two sponsored charity athletes with Sasha taking part in Saturdays Dart 10km (with a twist) and David travelling to the lake district soon for his windermere attempt. Here are the penultimate updates from our swimmers as they embark on their Event of the season.
There sponsor links are also shown in case you wish to show them a few pounds for their given Charities. The training they have both put in this season has been amazing.
Good luck to you both from a very proud Coach, Jason.
David Stevens – Swimming Windermere End to End on 7th September
Well today is my last work day before we attempt Windermere and sure enough I was wide awake at 3am with lots of swim things going through my mind!
I booked and paid for my boat last night and also spoke to the lake warden about the swim. The weather forecasts are clear at the moment with an 11 mile a hour north east wind, so I need to swim left hand bank as I’m swimming north to south! (I think that’s right any way).
Since my last update I have continued my training at Lake32, bringing the distances up and refining my technique and building more endurance, I have also swum the Cotswold 10k which was good fun and a well organised event.
I’ve also been chatting to a chap who was training to swim the Thames and last Saturday he finished it! I was lucky enough to spend the day swimming with Chris Mount (who Jason has also coached for in the Endless pool) from Clifford bridge to Wallingford. This was on day 6 of his mammoth swim all in aid of Helen & Douglas house and cystic fibrosis , and I think he made well over £3,000, which is top stuff. By the end of the day we had swum 13k together and I gained a good insight to the feeding plans and importance of feeding I have spoken to Jason about. Chris was feeding ever 30mins, which at the start I thought was a bit to often, but when swimming all day you need it not only for the body but also the mind, so you can kinda focus on the next feed. That swim with Chris was two 
weeks ago now and I’ve started tapering down again as recommended by Jason. This means still swimming most days but not quite so far and reducing distance as the event looms closer so I am nice and fresh.
So it’s very nearly here ! This last year has gone so quick , from walking in to the pool last September for my all day swim till now. Wow! I’ve done some swim miles and lost track of how many times I’ve stepped in to lake 32 , from 2 degrees to 25 degrees in the water, there’s a big difference there but we did it. I’ve met so many great people along the way and the response to our challenge and fundraising has been awesome. I want to thank Jason Tait at South West Swim for all his help and advise along the way it really is appreciated, also great thanks to Jo and Peter at lake 32 Waterland Outdoor Pursuits. I felt at home the first morning I visited the lake and that felling has just grown as it is such a friendly place.
If you wish to donate to my cause or find out more about it please visit our fundraising page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/David-Stevens13, every little donation will help.
Finally, to everyone I’ve met along the way, thank you for sharing our journey and this this little chapter in my life for my son Tylor.
Much love.
David
Sasha Leigh is swimming the Dart 10km tomorrow………………and then running back to the start!
What doesn’t kill you…
…can sometimes feel like it has!
With two days to go, I can safely say I am going to earn every penny of sponsorship. The shoulder ‘issue’ that halted my swimming training for a tortuous 6 weeks earlier this summer reared its ugly head again two weeks ago. Nooooooooooo, I thought/screamed. Since then I’ve been physio-ing and stretching like mad – I’m a stubborn idiot and so I know that whatever happens I WILL swim and run on Saturday. No pain, no gain. Or something.
I want to use this opportunity just to say thank you to everyone who’s supported me along the way. I’ve cried on more people than I like to admit, shouted/moaned at a fair few, and generally been a real bore at times harping on. But all that emotion has demonstrated to me how much this means to me, more than I ever knew.
So….bring on Saturdays challenge!!! I may not be quick, it will DEFINITELY not be easy, but I will blimmin’ well do everything I can to finish.
There’s still time to sling some pennies towards a couple of amazing charities so if you can, (or you know someone who’s got a spare million quid!), please visit my fundraising page.
See you on the other side…..hopefully 😉
South West Swim will be sponsoring more Charity Swimmers in 2017, who are doing their events for charity and good causes. Keep an eye out for the application process early 2017.
