One thing leads to another...

The thing about swimming is that one thing leads to another, and before you know it, all kinds of new and exciting adventures are in the diary.

So this was the thought process:

I need somewhere to do some distance training in the sea in April if I'm going to be ready for MIMS.
I see Swimtrek are doing their long-distance training in Mallorca now, so it must be suitable there.
I mention it to P, whose eyes light up at the prospect of a Spring trip.
We start to plan; we can both spend some time writing our books (sunshine helps), and he can cycle and I can swim. Perfect.
I start to do a bit of research online about good swimming spots.
I re-stumble across Xtrm Ballearic Open Water Swim Services, and flirt briefly with the Mallorca-Menorca crossing (40km) before deciding that that would be crazy and that I should just concentrate on training.
And then I find the Cabrera Channel...and I'm sold. As I said, one thing leads to another.

There are three crossing options, and I'm now provisionally booked in to do the 25km crossing somewhere during 8-14 April. The water temps should be around 14 / 15, and I'm told that conditions are usually quite calm at that time of year. My only real reservation was that I would have to go over on a boat, and after Catalina, I know that this is not a good start for me. At first, I had proposed that we rest on Cabrera for an hour before starting the swim to let any sickness pass, but the wonderful Toni Conesti Coll has come up with a much simpler solution - we'll just do it the other way, starting in Mallorca, and finishing on Cabrera. Problem solved.

That makes a tremendous roster of three big swims next summer: the Cabrera Channel, MIMS and the English Channel. It's a lot to take on, but such an exciting challenge that I can't resist. And as an additional incentive, as things currently stand and unless someone beats me to it, I would be the first woman to swim the Cabrera Channel. I've never been a record-chaser, mostly because I'm hardly record-breaking material, and by nature I'm more of a cautious follower than a pioneer. But this just makes a really fun thing even more fun. And I love the fact that rather sedate, middle-of-the-pack swimmer like me could ever hold a record, however briefly.

Training's going well at the moment, and in a couple of days we're off to Lanzarote for Christmas, where I'm going to be dividing my time between swim training and reading my way through a mountain of novels, eating ice-cream and generally recovering from a long, tough term. Bliss.

Merry Christmas to all the visitors to my blog, and best wishes for a happy and peaceful 2013.