07/09/2022
Hi everybody !
More than a month passed since I swam the English Channel.
I finally take some time to write about this amazing experience.
2 weeks before my swim, I stuck my neck because of stress. 2 years of dedication, a lot of money spent plus the absolute certainty that if I’d failed, I would do it again 😰 I’ve never been that stressed out in my entire life. I have a million things I want to do, spending one more year training towards this goal and that amount of money once again was really not an option.
I was still not at 100% on my swim day, but surprisingly enough, as soon as I knew my approximate date, almost all the stress disappeared and solely the excitement stayed.
I always thought, the Channel is not simply an endurance event: if you keep going you’ll end up in France. The cold, sea sickness and mostly the tide (relatively to your speed) are huge success factors.
From the moment I got to the boat, I was serene. Even after a quick double puke one minute before jumping in the water.
The water was surprisingly warm, I didn’t get the usual crippling felling you entering cold water, and it wasn’t “cold” (19C).
Soon enough, I was swimming in the night. Surprisingly again, I wasn’t afraid. After a bit I felt the cold, without being “really” cold. I spent the night thinking of a comfy and warm blanket and to my partner. During the night I was on the edge of being sick. But as soon as the sun went out about 5 a.m the sickness and cold feelings disappeared.
I remember the separation zone, because everybody say it’s where jellyfish are. A few minutes before seeing Tim holding the “separation zone” panel I was thinking “damn there is jellies here!”. I was lucky enough to get stung without seeing the jelly and before seeing all of them in the separation zone. Because it was not as bad as expected, Not even painful, just slightly unpleasant, when I met the other, it was just a nice distraction without any fear. I still tried to avoid them 🙃 I got stung only twice, so they were not that many.
The other moment I remember is entering the French waters. I thought “wow water is warm” and then, Tim held the “French inshore” panel.
Everything the coach said during the training and the swim was right.
At each feed it was a relief to hear “you’re perfect” (speed speaking) so I knew my trajectory was leading me to France (and I didn’t need to go faster which was nice 😅).
What I will mostly remember of this swim is my state of mind.
I was in a in an amazing and strange state of mind I never experienced before, a kind of hyper focused mode. 13h swim felt like 2h. I barely spoke, maybe 3 sentence total. And I had my first hard time at 10h30 into the swim. Presence of my friends and the coach on the boat was incredibly comforting (it’s probably why I had my first hard time that late into the swim).
I almost don’t remember the swim a part from the night, entering the separation zone, and the French waters.
And because I was focused on a 15h swim, 13 h felt relatively easy : my body was (very) tired, but my head was still on this strange state when I hit France.
I felt relief and joy.
The night after was painful at least (most intense muscle pain I ever experienced).
I would like to thank you all the beautiful persons involved in my adventure from the bottom of my heart:
My partner Gustavo for everything, so much that words can’t describe it. My amazing sister Mathilde for being there always and for many many other things. My friends Michelle and Julie for their comforting presence despite intense sea sickness. My coach Tim for the very effective training, advice, nutrition. Red top coaches Matt and Nils for precious advice, Saturday training in Dover and much more. All the persons who gave me indispensable advice : Neil for feeding quick and the sea sickness (So I decided to take the sea sickness pill 🙏🏻) James for the “mind over matter” talk that got stuck in my head and helped me a lot.
And to everybody who gave for cancer research, that meant and will forever mean a lot ❤️
Now that is over, I’m a bit sad because I enjoyed the process and the persons I met so much!
Thanks for being there, and you’re here searching for your next adventure, please consider swimming the Channel 😃
![[2 WEEKS] approximately 2 weeks before my window opens 😬😬I’m finishing my last big training week ! It’s getting real ! 🏊...](https://img4.events1000.com/306/809/161778643068096.jpg)
![[4 WEEKS] before my tide opens…I’ve been training almost everyday through all conditions for 2 years… It will soon be th...](https://img3.events1000.com/673/305/158467766733059.jpg)
![[2 MOIS] avant ma traversée de la Manche a la nage 🏊Je suis impatiente de voir le résultat de 2 ans d'entrainement! 😁La ...](https://img4.events1000.com/076/649/151466770766492.jpg)
