Well what a busy Christmas so far, seems everyone has or is getting gastro - ah well I'm sure it will be a good story for next christmas. Got the book though and have nearly read the whole thing. I am glad I got it as there are a few suggestions etc that I will take on board and had not heard of or seen before.

Quote Originally Posted by Tri Girl View Post
I've got a few questions for you. How did you manage nutrition during the event? Was there someone following you in a kayak or boat to provide you with things you'd need over the course of the event?
Yes, it is compulsory to have a certified pilot and boat with you for the whole crossing. I stopped and kicked on my back every half hour for feeding. Which was carb drink from a bottle tied to a rope so it could be retrieved. I had planned to have some solid food as well but didn't feel like it when there.
Were you the only swimmer out there doing it?
There were actually 3 swimmers in the water at the same time though we each had a separate boat with us and ended up quite spread out as we all swam at different speeds.
Did you ever turn over and float to rest?
No, just when I had my feeds
Were you in full wetsuit and wetsuit cap?
Nope. Just a standard pair of swimmers, silicon cap and goggles. The rules are pretty strict and the crossing would not be counted if done in a wetsuit. This is actually a whole dimension of the training as it is possible to acclimatise ones self to cold water, which I did reasonably well by the time of the swim. It was about 14degC (58-60degF I think)
What was your training like?
I spent a lot of time pool training until it was warm enough (50degF) to train in the ocean and then started with 10 min swims and built up to 6 hrs when it was warmer. The longer training swim I did was 8hrs on a Sat and then 7hrs the next day about 5 weeks before the crossing. Getting back in on the Sunday was so hard as I had had a lot of trouble with my shoulder and really stiffened up overnight.

I tried to setup a 6 month periodised program similar to what is used by a lot of triathletes. It was a good exercise and I planned a lot more training than I actually did. I learned a lot about the need for goal setting, knowing your available time and having a focus for each session. As I was only swimming I suffered from shoulder problems that were a result of the massive increase in hours swimming I was doing from previous years. In some ways I think that would make tri training a bit easier beacause at least you can and have to switch sports regularly.