More training!

Despite it being the weekend 3 of us (Josie, Izzy and Poppy) went to outdoor training this morning and were in the lake for 8am!

Particular praise must be given to Poppy as it was not only her first time doing outdoor training, but she also braved the 17.6 degree Celsius lake in only a splash vest and drag shorts!  Her argument being here that she may as well skip the wetsuit stage and get used to the coldness from the beginning.

Furthermore, she managed to persuade Izzy to drop the wetsuit and do the same!  Poppy's encouragement did not work quite as well on Josie who remained in her wetsuit, but she has promised to ditch the wetsuit the next time she goes.

For those who may be unaware when we complete the swim in August we are only allowed to wear standard swimming costumes, with the option of greasing up as the only extra layer of potential warmth allowed.  With the English Channel in August being anywhere between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius in the summer ultimately all outdoor training should be completed without extra layers - so well done Izzy and Poppy.

It s also worth a mention that it was Josie's fourth outdoor training session in seven days today, which is  dedication to training, even if it was in a wetsuit.....

All of us are picking training back up on a more serious basis at present now that the exam period is truly over and will will keep you updated on our progress...

Updated Photos

The Flickr page has (albeit in a very late fashion) been updated with photos from our fundraising evening back April.  Enjoy them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/challenge521

Bake Sale

Yesterday The Abbey School (Josie and Alice's old school) allowed us to hold a bake sale at their annual Sports Day.  After a morning of preparation, collecting of doughnuts and baking we made our way to the sports ground where it was being held and set up our stall.

We are delighted to announce that we raised £200 for the Mark Evison Foundation throughout the day, which is a fantastic amount of money for a very worthwhile cause (http://www.markevisonfoundation.org/).  All the cakes and doughnuts went down extremely well, and not just with those of use who were selling them!

For Alice and Josie it was also lovely to be back at their old school, and particularly at an event such as Sports Day where they could once again cheer on their old houses and watch the infamous teacher's race with some familiar faces!

A huge thanks much be given to the staff at The Abbey for allowing us to hold a fundraiser and making us feel so welcome, as well as including us in the programme which explained how and what we were doing.  A further thanks needs to be given to the staff at the Palmer Park who were also very welcoming and helped us set up.

Another outdoor training session may be occurring this afternoon weather permitting.... If it does go ahead Izzy will be introduced to the lake!

First Open Water Training Session

On Sunday 17th June I (Josie) undertook her first open water training session at a lake just off the M4 in Berkshire.  Accompanied by a friend who has been training for the Great North Swim this coming weekend, I went down to the lake for 8am.  Upon arrival it was exciting and inspiring to see that there were around 40 other swimmers in the lake, I had no idea open water swimming was so popular!

After a wetsuit fitting (yes I know we are not allowed them for the Channel Swim but for this training I was) I apprehensively got into the water which was an apparently mild 16.6 degrees Celsius - not too far off what we are hoping the Channel will be by the last week of August when we swim.  After getting used to the temperature and spotting of the buoys while completing laps of the circuit I found the whole experience very refreshing and enjoyable.  I completed 2.25km in 42 minutes, which as a first outdoor swim is very encouraging as we hope to be averaging speeds of 3km/hr in the summer.  As well as practising in a different and more realistic environment the experience was also good to help acclimatise to the temperature and lack of visibility, as well as practising not swallowing too much water which could be disastrous in the sea in the summer!

I am off back there this evening for my second training session, and am hopeful that it will be as fruitful and entertaining as the first!  I will keep you posted...

Upcoming Events

Now that we are all beginning to finish for summer there are several events happening at the moment relating to both training and fundraising:
1. Open water training at lakes in Berkshire
2. Bake Sale at Abbey School Sports Day
3. Car Boot sales in late June/July

We have raised over our £1000 target on our JustGiving page which is absolutely incredible!  Thank you to everyone who has donated, we really appreciate it and it is all going to such a worth while cause.

If you haven't yet donated but want to the link is below:

http://www.justgiving.com/Challenge-521

We will update on further news/events as and when they happen!