Post Malta update

I returned yesterday from the SwimTrek Long Distance Swim camp in Malta. Those that have followed my blog are probably wondering both what my mental state is as well as what my plans are for the future. The quick and short of it is I am feeling mentally motivated and still plan on making a run for it!!

During the 24 hours after the 6 hour attempt in Gozo was a very helpful for mental recovery. Of course, I started pretty depressed but tried to keep it under control to help the rest of the swimmers celebrate their accomplishments. The next morning we got in the water for a quick fun swim in the cove and finally got out of Xlendi cove to see the white cliffs just out of the cove. I had no trouble doing this and in fact felt a lot more comfortable getting in the cold water then I had in days. This says something about how nervousness and mental issues can throw you off. The comradeship of the fellow swimmers was great and seeing how what looks to be ordinary people doing extra ordinary things was real helpful. By the time I left Gozo to do a quick day of sightseeing on the main island of Malta, I was already starting developing plans on how to strengthen my weaknesses. Bottom line is I found every penny I spent on the trip valuable in teaching me where I was at and what I had to do to be prepared for the English Channel. It was a harsh slap in the face that one does not roll off the couch and hope to swim across the English Channel. It takes a lot of focus, determination and planning to be prepared for it.

Eliz and I talked quite a bit about our learnings and plans during the long slow trip back to the US. It was obvious that we were the least cold acclimated of the swimmers at the camp. All the other swimmers had their events this summer (versus ours next summer) and had at least another year of cold water acclimatisation then we had. We also found out that the Dover season is not that much longer then what we should be able to achieve in Colorado. They officially begin the first weekend in May and we should be able to get in the open water as early as mid May. This made us believe if we push ourselves to hit the open water as soon as possible, we should be able to achieve the same cold water acclimatisation this year as the weekend Dover swimmers did last year.

There are a couple of updates on the 6 hour qualifying swim status. Eliz's swim will count so she does not necessarily have to do another. However, she quickly come to the realization that she will need to do more to prepare for the Channel crossing so it was generally a moot point if it counted or not. We plan on doing more 6 hour swims in the next year where one of them will count as my qualifying swim. My goal is to work toward cold water acclimatisation this spring to fall and aim to do my official qualifying swim this fall in a fresh water lake in Colorado once the temperature in the lake drops far enough (mid-September). Worse case scenario might be a return to Malta next spring but with another year of cold water training under my belt.