So, many of you are probably wondering how one goes about training to swim the Channel. If you want the funny version of it, I highly recommend a great Independent film called, "On a Clear Day." It's about a man who trains to swim it and it's a very quirky and funny film. On a more serious side of things, the road to swim the Channel is a very long one so it's a good idea to start early.
Training for me began about a year ago, doing a lot of training on dry land and researching many things to start getting my mind mentally sharp for this challenge. My brother, who is a Staff Sergeant in the National Guard, has been cross training me outside of the pool to strengthen my core and shoulders, to prevent me from wearing them out from swimming lap after lap. The core is a very important part of the body of a swimmer, as the core creates the barrel roll movement that makes free-styling (a.k.a. the crawl) the most efficient, especially in open water swimming.
This past summer I started training in the pool along with running and lifting, but not to build up swimming endurance quite yet. I mostly spent time building up good technique and retraining myself how to breathe bilaterally (side to side). Technique is so important and it is something you constantly have to be checking, otherwise bad habits can settle in, especially after so much repetition while putting in so many miles in the pool each week. If I were to swim at the slowest pace of 50 strokes per minute, it would take me around 45,000 strokes to finish the channel. If I develop bad habits and bad stroke technique, 45,000 bad strokes would be a problem!
Right now we are also in our early stages of raising funds and awareness for our cause. So far we have received some donations-even from people I don't even personally know! It is so inspiring and exciting to meet new people that are linked to us in such a profound way. I feel so honored to be able to bring many people together with a common cause to fight for and honor those who have fought cancer.
More to come-check back every now and then for more updates!
Cheyanne
