THE GREAT BRITISH SWIM

Ross Edlgey’s swim has reminded us that there are still adventures left!

Ross Edgley just completed his record Breaking swim around Britain . Ross set out on his 1,792 mile journey on June 1st, never touching land until 157 days later. Resting each day on boat in order to sleep and eat (around 10,000–15,000 calories per day) with a couple support crew who would plot the location he stopped, starting again in the same location. Despite injuries including being stung by jelly fish and many more physical and mental obstacles he never took a single day off and swam on average 8.6 miles each session lasting up to 12 hours. As well as the overall he set a few more records on the way —

It’s an incredible physical feat, but more so, one of human mental endurance. More survival than anything else, mentally just the melancholy of swimming every day would be excruciating. The thing about swimming is that it feels like your going no where fast, it’s not like running where you feel your making progress. Its more like running on an endless treadmill — each wave looks exactly like the last.

I remember watching a few episodes — Redbull were airing them on YouTube. In one, Ross had woke up and realised that parts of his tongue had fell out over night because of the salt water exposure. Describing the moment his tongue disintegrated Ross said“I realised something was bad when I woke up with chunks of it on my pillow,” “It’s that tender, you’re just pulling strips off,” “You could see the taste buds on it”. The temperature was freezing, there was a clip of him trying to eat as his whole body shakes from the cold.

His wet suit had rubbed his neck red raw causing burns and an open wound “Imagine having an open wound and rubbing it with sandpaper for 12 hours a day — that’s what it was like,” says Edgley. “I woke up the next morning and my bed sheets were stuck to it. They used duck tape to cover the wound, he got in and continued.

Of course they are an inspiration, but more importantly it reminds us that there are still adventures left for us to conquer.

I love that quote nothing worth doing is done easily, great accomplishments require great action. Just imagine if this wasn’t true anymore? If these physical challenges were harder to find? When an unreasonable, extraordinary effort isn’t required? When the deepest darkest rain forest has a tourist route.

In my previous blog “Slaying The Dragon” I said “Maybe that’s why so many of us are so inspired by people like Lionel Sanders (triathlete), why we seek to be tested by challenges such as Triathlons. Modern life is so predictable, — life used to be a fight, it was tough and came with its own physical challenges, Now were fighting to live — were fighting to experience life in any kind of meaningful way. Those Physical challenges no longer exist and we find ourselves searching for them. Now I know that’s a romantic way to look at it, of course were better off today, But I think we all want to be tested physically.” — https://medium.com/@deanmilnept/slaying-the-dragon-9e592b931c71

The dream is to one day do something like Ross’s swim. I hate saying that because talk is cheap, However, I’ve always fancied the Marathon de sables. Its a brutal 156 Mile Ultra Marathon across the Sahara Desert lasting 6 days. I remember being inspired by seeing seeing a documentary of the Olympic gold medal rower James Cracknell racing it, he came in 12th and for some time was the highest British finisher ever. Being a rower James is familiar with suffering, he’s got two Olympic Gold medals in rowing and has won the Rowing World Championships six times. In the documentary going for Gold they do the dreaded 2K Row Test (they use this as a measuring stick for fitness) James and Redgrave push themselves so hard they almost pass out (skip to 2:55)

I remember when Sir Steve Redgrave said “if you ever see me in a boat again shoot me” which reflects what it takes physically and mentally.

So what about Ross, whats he up to now he’s on dry land? well the main focus is rehabbing his body. When asked whats next Ross said “Well, genuinely learning to walk again” — and then a marathon by Christmas. “I think that might be quite a good litmus test.”

I think we all need physical challenges…i’m not saying that you should spend half the year swimming around the UK, well if you want to let me know because i’m in — but a marathon, a triathlon, EASY!!

I’ve probably put too many quotes in this article already, but I have to add one more— for any of you who are thinking you could never run a marathon or a Triathlon or anything like that. It got me the first time I read it, and hopefully it inspires you too…

I work as a Personal Trainer and online coach, if you’d like to find out more about me and the online coaching options available click one of the links below.

Dean

Dean

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