Hi there, Joanna here. Some of you may remember me from previous seasons; if we haven't met yet, then welcome to Dover Channel Training and our 2020 season weekly blog.

I've been a bit of an intermittent visitor to Dover and DCT over the past few years as work has often taken me overseas. 2020 is the year that I'm signing up for full 'red hat' status with the aim of putting in a proper season of training, so our Dear Leader, the wonderful Emma France, has asked me to write a blog about each weekend's training. Nothing like a bit of pre-commitment, so here goes.

Saturday 2nd May 2020

Saturday 2nd May dawned sunny with a mild breeze. A bit of 'bite' to the air, but not bad for the first weekend of the season! Had anything changed since September 2019? Well, the shingle has certainly got even steeper! It must be a result of all those storms friends told me the UK had suffered over the winter. The swim area though is still the same, with the reassuring sight of the little yellow 'ducks' marking the western end towards the watersports centre, then the red and green 'apples' marking the exit point for boats crossing the area, followed by the longer set of small buoys stretching out to the eastern end and 'the wall', passing the 'slopey groyne' on the way back.

There's always a 'back to school' feel about the first weekend of the season. There are groups of swimmers scattered across Swimmers' Beach - some catching up with friends and failing to get changed, some frantically tipping their bag up searching for the right piece of kit, some looking nervous and unsure about which queue to get in - whilst Emma and the beach crew try to get everyone signed in on the right boards (solo, relay and 'just for fun'), sell kit, grease people and answer queries simultaneously, all before the 08:45 briefing.

This year was no different: I arrived to find Emma and Paul dressed as crayons, and Mandi dressed as a traditional school teacher sporting a particularly fine mortar board and flowing wig through which she was endeavouring to see whilst wielding a clipboard, biro and a Sharpie. There was also a tall guy in the beach crew, 'the Storm', although apparently this year he's been renamed as 'Kinky Storm Boots' due to some impressive new thigh high crocs...

Having collected my membership card for the season, I signed in as a 'red hat' (soloist) with Paul, getting a number 3 marked on my hand. There was a bit of banter from some returning swimmers keen to secure the 'number 1' place, but all were told 'there is only one Number 1'. Slightly confused by this cryptic remark, I changed, making sure that my clothes went back in my bag in the order I would want to put them on afterwards with a dry costume, towel and my lovely DCT bobble hat at the top. A lesson learnt from previous years - there's nothing worse than trying to find the right clothes quickly whilst shivering and wet!

At 08:46 a whistle blew, Emma stood up on the promenade and briefed us on the first training session of 2020. The briefing is the critical part of the session - an explanation of the swim area and beach, safety information, and what the plan is on the day for soloists and relays depending on weather, swim conditions and what week of training we're on. Later in the season it also becomes a chance to celebrate successful swims and achievements too. Today it might be tricky to swim to the wall due to the breeze, but we're unlikely to get that far anyway. Briefing over, Emma got us to all squash together so that she could take the first DCT selfie of 2020.

Looking at my watch, I realised that it was already 08:57. Stumbling over to my bag, I shed my Dryrobe, then lurched down the beach shoving my earplugs in whilst attempting to pull my hat down. Anyone new to DCT was doing an assessment swim - out to the red, then the green buoys and back to the shore; those of us who had swum with DCT before were in for 20 minutes as a soloist, with 15 minutes for the relay teams.

Taking a tentative step in cries of 'aargh', 'it's not cold', 'ouch', 'it's lovely once you're in', '****' rang in the air! Struggling to keep my balance whilst taking off my crocs and throwing them back to the beach crew, it was clear the pebbles hadn't got any smoother! Some people inched their way, others plunged in and were off. Waving my arms around above my head like a madwoman, I wobbled deeper and deeper until there was nothing for it but to swim. After a few rolling, clunky strokes it became clear that I hadn't forgotten how to swim in the sea: 2020 training was underway!

After about 10 minutes, the euphoria started to drain away. It was not warm, my goggles didn't feel right and 'the mile breeze' was stronger than I would have liked as little waves slapped me in the face. Some swimmers had shot off in the distance, others looked like they might be having second thoughts. Still, passing the little yellow 'ducks', then the red and green buoys was reassuring - at almost half-way through the first swim I was surviving. Before I knew it, 18 minutes was up, so it was time to head back in so as not to be late.

Crocs were flying in all directions as the beach crew tried to reunite everyone with the correct footwear. The reality of how numb my hands and feet were hit me as soon as they tried to catch a croc in the water, shove it onto a foot, then gain a grip on the sharp pebbles! Having been unceremoniously dumped into the surf, I crashed onto the beach, mumbled my number to Paul, then stumbled up in the direction of my saviour - warm, dry clothes. The beach looked a bit like a zombie movie with hoards of shivering, mostly black-clad figures lurching this way and that, trying to shove dry kit over damp, cold skin. One poor soul called Pavel was trying to get warm in just a Wookie dressing gown and fish flip flops. Huddled over a cup of tea, Emma told us that we had an hour, then we'd be going in again. For longer!

The sun came out, the limbs and extremities thawed out, yet all too quickly it was time to go back in. Eek! Taking the layers off again came as a bit of a shock - they really had been protecting against the breeze. There was nothing for it though, but to get on and get in! It seemed harder than the first swim initially, but then I found a rhythm and somehow 10, 15 minutes passed ok. By 20 minutes knowing that it was not time to swim in yet was tough. The waves seemed just that little bit more 'slappy', with my feet no longer seemingly attached to my body. Miraculously 25 minutes passed, then 30. We'd made it - the first day of 2020 Dover training was in the bag!

Sunday 3rd May 2020

If this is your first season, relay or solo swimmer, then you may like to know that the butterflies don't go away. For some people, it's their first sight of the sea on the way to Dover, others it's walking along Marine Parade squinting to see if anyone's arrived yet on Swimmer's Beach, or it's registering with a member of the Beach Crew and getting the all important number on their hand - the point of no return! Anyway, there were butterflies a plenty for me as I dragged my swim kit onto the beach, bagged a spot against the wall for changing, then took a look at the beach.

The sun wasn't out, but mercifully yesterday's breeze had dropped. That said, having registered, the urge to take off my toasty layers seemed far away. This meant the briefing saw me doing a strange kind of hopping dance trying to get socks and shoes off, whilst listening to the all-important briefing. For those who hadn't swum on Saturday, it was the same format - either an assessment swim or a 20-minute swim; for those on day two of training, it was a 30-minute first swim, with the second to be decided later.

"'Ouch', 'Aargh', 'Ooo', 'I hate this!'" No change from yesterday's cries then as we stumbled, edged and crashed our way into the harbour water. Without the sunshine, my arms felt like they'd gone on strike. Why was I doing this again? And yet, sure enough, the rhythm came - up the line of little yellow ducks, past the red and green buoys, then on to the long line of buoys heading to the wall. After about 18-minutes it felt like time to swim back.

'You're early, Joanna' says Mandi. 'Swim out to the green and red buoys, then come back in'. What?! Muttering in my head at the travesty of getting 'Mandi minutes' for being a whole two (ish) minutes early, I reluctantly push back out. The buoys seem further away than earlier. Hmph!

By the time I'm back I've been in the water well over 35 minutes. Mandi has cunningly convinced me to do more than I thought I could! It seems I'm not the only one either. Crawling onto the beach, there was a splosh, with someone called Gillian Topsy lurching sideways back into the water. 'Oh don't worry about Gillian, she can never stay upright'.

We get an hour to warm up again, which seems tough today with the sun only peaking behind the clouds from time to time. Yet, the camaraderie is building as swimmers huddle together, nursing mugs of steaming brews, scoffing cake and guessing how long the second swim will be. Suddenly the time is up, '40 minutes' comes the solution to our riddle.

Again, inching my way in a second time seems harder. Yet it seems to take no time at all to find my groove, sliding past the yellow ducks, the red and green 'apples', then on, steadily along the edge of swim area. And suddenly with an increase in bounce, there it is, the fabled harbour wall! Turning back, suddenly there's a patch of surprising icy water. How can it be possible to feel colder still?! Pushing on, back past the groynes, the beach is in sight. Determined to make a full 40 minutes, I swim right past the beach and will my arms on, turning back only when I'm sure that there will be no more 'Mandi minutes' for me today!

Crashing once more onto the beach, missing Gillian by inches and soaking Emma, Paul, Kinky Storm Boots and Mandi in the process, swim two is over. Hurrah! It's been cold, it's been tiring, it's been great fun! The first weekend is down and many more to come! See you next weekend swimmers...

Guest Blog - Visualising Week 1 Training

Saturday 2nd May 2020

Sunday 3rd May 2020