Pulling The Team Together

Pulling The Team Together

By Karen Smith

June 25, 2019

On Tuesday 25th June, it was Uswim's Dave's turn to step up the training and complete an 8-hour swim. His training programme was planned 18 months ago and, despite an extremely busy season, he had stuck to the plan making sure the milestone swims happened. With the full support of the team, we headed off to Windermere.

I am a big believer that less is more and it is about quality over quantity; the programme ensured Dave was rested and in good shape for this important swim. It was also the first time the team was all together and our chance to discuss our roles for Dave's English Channel solo attempt in July.

There was never any doubt that this swim would end before Dave reached the 8-hour mark. We chose not to waste time driving to one end of the lake and simply dropped Dave in outside the marina and off he went. We used this opportunity to confirm his feeds and the equipment we would use on the day. All these considerations are individual—there is no use getting to the big day and discovering the feed line isn't long enough or that he can't open his bottle after swimming for a while.

Dave had a great day for this swim and had the ultimate boost of his escort swimmer, Graham, jumping in alongside him. This is the plan for the Channel, weather permitting. There is nothing better than someone jumping in to give you a much-needed lift. There are specific rules regarding escort swimmers: no touching the swimmer, don't swim ahead, and you can only actually get in at certain times.

So, 8 hours later, we finished back where we started. Dave felt strong and the feeding plan was confirmed. The team all identified their roles, and it was a fabulous boost for DQ. Next stop, Dover. Huge thanks to Nick, Graham, and Babeth for their continual support and positive encouragement. What a team!