Mountbatten is the venue for outdoor swimming practice. My first outdoor swim of the season seems hard. Perhaps it's because I am tired as it's the day after the Dartmoor Classic.
Not for the first time, I wonder if I've bitten off more then I can chew with the pending 4k sea swim. I've done nothing remotely as far in open water before and looking at it from my office window, it seems daunting. It doesn't help that jellyfish are out in large numbers this year, borne on warm ocean currents. One Sunday in July, I do the swim leg of Falmouth triathlon as a practice and see some rather large ones a metre and a half underneath me. I hurry on.
A month or so ago, a humpback whale was sighted near Dartmouth. It could just as easily have been Plymouth Sound.
As you can see, the next challenge is going to be as much a mental one as a physical one.
I have a confession. 3 weeks ago I took on a rather large wave whilst body boarding on holiday. The wave won, my head lost and I have whiplash that doesn't seem to be going away as quickly as I'd hoped. Fingers crossed it'll sort itself out.
Wish me luck.
If you would like to help me raise money for St Luke's Hospice and Jeremiah's Journey, here is my page. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephenDilley
