It could take 18mths before it feels normal again...!

I write this blog after enduring a summer of surgery, pain, being uncomfortable and not swimming!!!! I had an athroscopic sub decompression (ASD) on my right shoulder in July this year and have been suffering ever since. The main problem was the constant aching in my bicep, tricep and loss of sensation in thumb so following an ultrasound and MRI scan it was decided I needed an ASD and possibly a repair to the tendon! Despite having a bad reaction to the anaesthetic, the surgery went well and I was sent home a few hours later clutching a set of exercise regimes and told to move it as much as possible! This I did religously and several weeks later I sat in front of the surgeon. He was dismayed at my lack of progress and duly referred me to a physio. At this point I was given a yellow rubber band and told to do various exercises. For the following weeks I was upgraded to a red band and then a blue band (they are all different strengths!!) All was going well and I was allowed to finally get back in the pool. Relief ensued but not for long - all I did was lift my arm in a gesture whislt talking when my shoulder temporarily dislocated. The pain brought me to a standstill and the aching returned. Fortunately I had a scheduled meeting already booked in with the physio and she promptly told me to go back to the yellow band and do the exercises given at discharge - imagine the frustration!!?? I also had my final review by the surgeon (5months post surgery) and was expecting to be discharged from his care! He assessed me then came out with the immortal words - "I think we need to inject it with steroids to settle it down!" A thick, milky substance appeared in a syringe and was duly injected (without local!) right into the shoulder joint! This was to put a complete stop to my swimming and any lifting so I am now in a deep depression! This is exacerbated even more by the throw away comment from the surgeon - "well it could take 18months before it feels normal again..." grrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

Running - argghhh!!

Well I am trying to take up running! I have been persuaded to do a triathlon on May 7th! 500m swim, 14km bike ride, 7km run. Not bad distances I hear you say but I am just not cut out to run! Don't get me wrong 20 years ago I ran 2 marathons and belonged to a club but I now resemble a lumbering red faced sweaty gorilla! Swimming has changed my body shape and my lower half just dosn't work like it used to! I cycled 21 miles at the weekend and it was relatively easy but to don a pair of running shoes and put one foot in front of each other shouldn't be too difficult - but no! Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me! Watch this space!

Shoulder problems

Well despite the fact I am not swimming as hard as I was when training for the channel - I seem to have developed an impingement of the rotator cuff tendon in my right shoulder!!! I have virtually stopped swimming as a result and have replaced it by spinning and mountain biking!! I am now in the frustrating world of physio, endless exercises and anti- inflammatories.
I am going to have my stroke analysed in a few weeks to see if this is aggravating things as I am sure it is!! SO frustrating! Fingers crossed it gets fixed soon - I have some outdoor swims planned from May onwards.

Success at last!!

Our swim felt like it was a long time coming with the weather window set for the tide between 23rd – 28th June.
The weather was lousy on the 23rd and the swim got delayed until the weekend – Stuart, our pilot, indicated that Sunday would probably be the best day but it was open.

I have attempted the channel twice before – a solo in 2009 ended after 13miles and 5hours 4 mins due to the weather and sea state changing and my 2 person relay ended after 20miles and 8hours 35mins again due to the weather and sea state changing and my fellow relay swimmer suffering from hypothermia. The channel weather gods just weren’t smiling on me on both days and I secretly thought I would never experience getting to French shores.

It all started when I got a phone call in January 2011 from Dan Earthquake, a swimming friend who manages various swims in Swan Pool and Folkstone. Dan was putting together a relay team and wondered if I would like to join the team. At first I had to think about it but John was adamant that I did it! I think he secretly wanted me to get swimming the channel out of my system! I set about upping my swim training in the gym and went on the SwimTrek Long Distance sea swimming training camp in Gozo in April. The local lake Allerthorpe had also opened its doors on Monday and Wednesday evenings for local triathlon clubs so I joined them when I could. This was quite funny as all the swimmers were in wetsuits and shivering a lot and there I was in my swimming costume!

The swim came around quicker than I thought and I spent the week leading up to the swim in our motorhome in Little Satmar campsite, Capel-le-Ferne. John unfortunately had to work so couldn’t join me until the Thursday. The campsite was lovely and quiet and I was able to relax a little before the swim. Dan and my fellow swimmers (except Steve) all descended on Folkstone on the Monday and we spent the following days swimming in Folkstone and Dover – Tejesh and Caroline were both in training for their solo attempts so they spent hours in the water. Myself and Paul potted about the sea just keeping loose whilst Dan proceeded to eat his way through every café in Folkstone!!

Eventually I got a phone call from Dan on the Saturday evening to say we had to be at Dover marina by 0430hrs the next morning. John and I tried to get an early night but obviously my nerves were all over the place and so didn’t really get too much sleep! We got up at 0315hrs and quietly got ourselves organised. The campsite was bathed in thick fog and I wondered whether it was as thick in the channel and whether we would be able to set off. When we arrived at the marina the news wasn’t good! Stuart had spoken to the coastguard, the met office and fellow pilots and all agreed it wasn’t a good idea to set off in the fog! We decided to wait until 0600hrs to see if the fog would clear! Sadly it didn’t and we all decided to head home and wait! Stuart indicated that an evening swim would probably be possible but it would mean swimming through the night! My heart sank as I had never experienced swimming at night but as I had to be back to work on Tuesday I didn’t really have a choice!

We waited nervously in the motorhome trying to catch up on sleep. The fog began to clear at 1300hrs and the sun started to shine. It suddenly got really hot and humid. A phone call came at 1430hrs from Dan – ‘We’re on! Be at the marina for 1630hrs’ Gulp!!

We got down to the marina early and met up with our observer, Arti and Tejesh. Stuart was already on his boat and we waited for Dan et al to turn up! They soon got to Dover and we loaded the boat – Stuart was keen to get going so we didn’t hang around. Caroline was the first swimmer and I told her to start getting ready as we were going to swim from Shakespeares Beach rather than Samphire Hoe! I kissed and hugged John – sadly he was unable to be on the boat and his plans to get the ferry over to France and then drive to Cap Griz Nez were thwarted as he had to be back at work Monday morning! He headed off to the beach to get some photos.

On June 26th at 1700hrs on the dot Caroline set off from the beach following the sound of the Sea Leopard’s horn to attempt to swim the channel. We gave a big cheer and off we went! I got a phone call from John saying he had been sent by a policeman to the wrong beach and was at Samphire Hoe! He could see us even though we couldn’t see him! The sun was shining and the sea was relatively calm. There was a swell as we left land but Caroline was swimming really well! We were soon joined by a curious seal and a couple of porpoises! Dan reminded us not to point from the boat as Caroline would wonder what we were looking at! I remembered during my swim last year when John and the observer spent a number of minutes pointing furiously from the boat over my head – I was terrified that they had spotted a shark or something sinister! It wasn’t a good move!!

Tejesh was next in swimming backstroke! He has the most amazing style and manages to somehow block his nose whilst swimming so he doesn’t ingest too much sea water! Paul, Caroline and I had tried it earlier in the week and ended up not being able to breathe!!

Steve (enduroman) was next. Steve had already swam the channel as part of a challenge called Arch to Arc (ie: run from Marble Arch, London to Dover – swim the channel – then cycle from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris!). He pointed out that he had worn a wetsuit so is didn’t count! Well it counts in my book!! Anyway he made good way! Caroline, Tejesh and Steve had propelled us into the first shipping lane and then it was my turn.

It was 2000hrs by now and the sun was slowly going down. By this time the waves had got up and there were several swells which resulted in me swallowing several amounts of sea water. I must admit as I started a dread engulphed me! Something didn’t feel right and I was struggling to get into some kind of rhythm! The last 2 swims suddenly haunted my mind and I had a massive urge to give up then and there! I looked up at the boat and suddenly stopped swimming – panic set in to all on the boat! “I’m alright” I shouted at the worried faces! I gave myself a massive talking to and set off again! This urge to give up haunted me again and again and for a couple of times I started doing breast stroke! I desperately asked Paul how long was there to go and he told me 20minutes! I was surprised at that and just put my head down! I thought Dan was following me next and kept looking at him waiting and hoping for him to start changing into his swimming things! He didn’t and my heart sank and sank! Suddenly Paul appeared on the side of the boat in swimming gear and green flashing lights on his head and back and promptly jumped in behind me! I remember saying to Paul later on that I had never been more relieved to see him take his clothes off!
It was over for me for the time being. As I made my way to the boats ladder I just sat there holding onto the rails – Stuart asked if I was okay – “Yes I’m okay, I’m just having a pee!!” I clambered on board and was immediately tearful and glum! Dan and Arti tried to talk to me and I felt terrible! I thought I’d let everyone down as I felt I hadn’t really swum that far! I got changed and had some hot food and tried to think of something differently. In the meantime Paul was going really well even though he too was swallowing loads of sea water and having to battle the huge swells that were coming in from the big ships!!
As night fell Dan was next! He started swimming on the same side as everyone else but unfortunately it wasn’t comfortable for him so he asked to swop sides. This did cause a bit of a problem for the pilots as the pilot steered on the right. Both settled down and Dan made good way. In the meantime Caroline was getting ready for her second dip. By this time she was experiencing sea sickness and hadn’t really warmed up! I found out later that she had kept her swimming costume on which isn’t a great idea as you never really get warm. I told her that she would feel a lot better once in the water as a friend of mine also got dreadfully sea sick on her relay and her only relief was when she was in the water! Caroline eventually took over and just got on with it! My demons kept surfacing and I was really struggling to get my head together! Tejesh followed Caroline who by this time was physically throwing up over the side of the boat! I started to help her get dressed and gave her some warmer clothing which I had spare in my bag! I gave her a little pep talk about getting some warmer clothes and ensuring she took off her wet costume! She was still shivering so Dan brought over a sleeping bag which we proceeded to put her in! It did look silly on her but I do think it warmed her up despite the sea sickness! It was midnight by now and Steve followed Tejesh! When Tejesh got back into the boat he told us he had been stung by Jelly fish on his back and legs! Dan had some white vinegar on board so rubbed that into the stings – I think it must have worked! Steve stopped at one point to say he was being stung to pieces by jelly fish and my heart lurched! This wasn’t helping with my mind and I became tearful again! Dan came over to talk to me as I was preparing for my leg – he proceeded to quote the following from Karen, a close friend of mine:- “There is nothing so urgent in open water swimming that cannot wait half hour or more” I didn’t know then but this was all I needed! I thought to myself that I just had to get on with it and not think about the hour – I actually told myself that I could flounder for an hour actually knowing full well that I was very capable of swimming and swimming hard. My head emptied and I swam on! I decided to concentrate on the boat rather than try to look forwards – it was dark anyway so all I could see was lights from passing ships! I got on with it occasionally glimpsing the beautiful red crescent shaped moon and the odd star! I wasn’t sure about the jelly fish and think I got stung but I was concentrating so much this didn’t bother me! Whilst in Gozo I got stung badly on my arm and face and it bloody hurt for hours afterwards so my worries were real! Soon Paul appeared – I was really surprised as it didn’t feel like an hour! I jumped back in with a smile on my face! I had actually enjoyed it but was convinced that I would never get in the sea again! My channel swimming days were over (or so I told myself!). Later I realised that Stuart was busy sighting several big ships and trying to calculate their speed and course in relation to us. It appeared that they had to make a diversion to avoid a tug with a phenomenally long cable pulling a barge the particular hazard. Stuart calmly altered our course to run parallel with it in the opposite direction so we went round the back without having to get close or stop and I actually didn’t even notice. We thought this might have cost us twenty minutes as the position we was hoping for was slightly negated by the diversion. My 2 mile swim leg gave us a fighting chance of not being swept around the cap, putting extra pressure on finishing with the tide!
Paul continued on as the sun was just starting to emerge in the sky! Dan was next and actually swam into the light! The sea was calmer by this point and we could see Cap Griz Nez. It still looked a long way off and we knew we were still another couple of hours away! Caroline got ready for her 3rd leg and was told to go for it! By this time everything she had eaten or drank had been thrown up so she was really tearful and dehydrated! I had a chat with her and said this would certainly be her last leg! She reluctantly jumped in and just got on with it! Dan got back on the boat! He was actually hot and sweating and when he took off his swimming cap he asked me to feel his head – it was really hot!! Amazing!! Caroline battled on! Dan discussed with Tejesh about whether he could make land! Steve was keen he did otherwise he would have a third dip! Tejesh then jokingly asked for a vote about whether he should tread water so Steve could have to make a third dip! We did a show of hands and agreed with Tejesh!! Steve said he wouldn’t let Tejesh back on the boat and he would have to make his own way back to England! This made us all laugh – spirits were really high! Caroline’s hour was soon up and Tejesh took over! A tired body climbed back on board – I think she was done and still had to endure sea sickness for the way back to blighty!!
Tejesh went for it! Stuart had to stop the boat in the bay whilst the other Stuart escorted Tejesh into shore using a small inflatable rib! We waited with baited breathe onboard and watched closely! Eventually Tejesh landed on shore and our swim was complete – at 0651hrs Monday 27th June 2011 we had taken 13hours, 51minutes and 23 seconds. Tejesh picked up some pebbles for us all and then jumped into the dingy and headed back to the main boat! We all hugged each other and cried!! Emotions were high – I felt elated! I briefly called John and tearfully told him we’d done it!! He cried back! This had been 3 years of our lives with several lows and some highs! This was most definitely a high!! When all were on board Stuart turned the boat around and headed back to Dover! We heard that the other boats who had set off the same time as us had given up hours before and we were the first channel swimming association boat of the season to be successful. He put his foot down whilst we all relaxed and tried to get some rest and sleep! John met us at the harbour and presented us all with a medal and little trophy! He gave Stuart a trophy to put in the boat for good luck!
We then had loads of photos taken and then headed off to our respective homes. John had to go to work so dropped me off at the motorhome and headed off! I then had to have a shower and sort out the motorhome and then too had to drive the 5 hours back to Welburn. I had to be on a train to London with my boss at 0615hrs the next day to attend a conference so it was important I got back early enough to have a rest!

If you would like to see our course please go to the following website:-
http://www.instamapper.com/trk?key=10715650666388191286

If you would still like to sponsor me with all proceeds going towards International Rescue Corps please go to www.mycharitypage.com/julieryan

I would like to thank my team of Dan, Caroline, Tejesh, Paul and Steve, our pilots Stewart and Stuart on Sea Leopard, our channel swimming association observer Arti and most importantly my husband John who has suffered the highs and lows in 3 years of me trying to swim the channel!!!

Juliex

3rd time lucky

Hi everyone it's been a long time since I blogged but I have been contemplating attempting again!
Well you'll be pleased to know I am trying again! I am swimming on the 23rd June tide on a team with Dan Earthquake! It should be fun as there will be 6 of us! John is getting the ferry across whilst we swim to get to the Cap for our finish!! Fingers crossed!

Back Again

I know its been a while since I updated my blog but I was in quite a depression following last years attempt! Silly I know - its only a swim!!

Anyway as an update - I tried again!! Well this time as a relay but that didn't go as planned either! I started the year with 4 of us but slowly over the firth coming months people dropped out and then others joined and then dropped out! It culminated in just the 2 of us swimming week commencing 3-5th August - Fred Mardle our pilot.

Dave Fawkner was my other fellow swimmer - thats him above. Dave is lovely and very lean and fit - I don't think he would mind me saying that he didn't have a lot of fat on him and did struggle with the cold!

Anyway we set off at 0403hrs on the 5th August in the dark - I started first and we took it in turns - 1hr each. It was amazing! the water was warm and calm and we made excellent progress. 9 other boats were out in front of us and we began to catch them!

At the 6th hour I spotted something in the water and realised I was swimming with jelly fish - in fact I spent that hour swimming through them and getting stung!

At the 8th hour I swopped sides as the wind had got up and so I swam in the lea of the boat! Unfortunately I nearly ended up under the boat a couple of times and the weather got worse! I looked up at the boat and asked how far there was to go! Fred said we were standing still and had another 6 miles to go! We had covered 20 miles and could see the lighthouse at Cap Gris Nez! We were almost there but it was just too rough to continue!

We stopped the swim at 8hrs 34mins! Foiled again!!

Messages of Support!!

Well I have been battling with feeling so disappointed following the swim but today is the first time I have felt a little better - Why? Well this came through the post today...

Its from Johns nephew Joseph - I think its fab!!!

I have also received a massive bunch of roses and lilys from my brother and people are still giving me sponsorship! I need to have another go in the next few years just prove I can do it - I know I can!!!

Big THANK YOU to everyone supporting me - it means a lot!!