Jigghead

The last few weeks have been hell, antibiotics for man flu and then another round for an infection in my finger after the op. I've been battling to say the least. Fundraising has been coming along, but the swimming has taken a knock. I've managed one or two miles in between setbacks, but nothing to shout from the rooftops. I must say, the setbacks of the last weeks have taken their toll on my motivation, especially given that there has been nothing major, albeit it major enough to keep me out of the water. I'm back in the pool this weekend and feel like I'm starting all over again. The commitment to get this done is still there, although it's going to take a little more of my own ass kicking to get me over the line than before. My endeavour has now turned more into a mental battle than a physical one. I've set a lofty target for the next week which should hopefully see me get back into the swing of things and find a new rhythm. The miles will be done! Sorry for the delayed response, it's been a made rush to wrap up the work year as well.

This week couldn't have gone worse. Another busy week at work and then whilst tucking my shirt in, I somehow managed to screw the job up properly and ended up severing the tendon on my little finger. This caused what is known as mallet finger. It was so nondescript that I didn't notice until I was asked what was up with my finger whilst having a cup of coffee. Didn't even feel it. Anyhow, off to the doctor who tried to fix the "dislocation" until she realised it was all in place. A referral to an orthopaedic surgeon provided the correct diagnosis though. The choice was a split, which he said tends to get grimy, and should it slip off, would start the whole healing process all over again. With my need to get some serious hours in in the pool, I asked what the alternative was. He suggested a quick surgical procedure under conscious sedation where he'd put a pin into the finger to straighten it. This would stay in for 8 weeks but would allow swimming a week after the surgery. So that was the week. I have my follow up on Thursday and will most certainly hit the pool no later than Friday. Apart from being a stupid injury, it has put yet another dent in my swimming. I am still certain I'll make the 200 miles, but I'm under more and more pressure to do so. Another disappointment here is that I was to swim The Cradle Moon Challenge tomorrow and it was to be my older daughter's 1st open water swim. She's a little nervous and I was to swim the 400m with her just to ensure she was confident, she's not keen to do it now, so it's a double disappointment. Her first will now have to wait for January, so a bit of an unhappy swimming family this weekend. Watch this space though, my resolve is still strong and I am more determined than ever to make this happen. Keep an eye out and hold thumbs for me please.

My first swim for a bit. Last week was just crazy and I didn’t manage to get any in, but I’m back and the miles will begin, once again... I need to get quite a few in, I’m pretty sure December will wind down a. It work wise which should allow for 2-3 miles a day during the week and 4-6 on the weekends. Hopefully this will put me ahead of the curve coming into January.

Last week it was 14hr days every day at the office and precious little time to do anything else. With 94.7 on Sunday I knew I was going to be away from home the whole day(with all the comfort and technical stops, it took us over 7hrs to push/pull Layla around the route) so it was a long day out. This week looks like it may also be a busy one, but I’m going to need to make a plan somehow. I’m quite behind on my miles, but still sure I’ll get them in. Keep watching. Thanks for the interest.

Awesome, thank you. I don’t usually take any type of nutrition during training swims. In light of your request however, I may need to do so. Your support is greatly appreciated, high speed miles coming up.

Today was a 10km(6 miles) swimming day and now I’m a little sore. A 10km day has been a target for a bit so I’m glad I’ve pulled it off. They were split up between 5 swims/workouts due to the need to cater for separate donors. I anticipate running out of sponsored miles before the end of next weekend, so please don’t be shy and visit https://kydrin.co.za/goals/View/223 Only R100 will get your name in lights, right here!!! Whilst more would be very welcome, I’m really just appealing to everyone for R100 each, I know the time of year sucks, but Midmar still refuses to change dates, so we’re stuck with the festive season! All proceeds go to CHOC. You can check them out on www.choc.org.za I’m sure you’ll agree they’re super worthy recipients of your hard earned ZAR’s That’s over 3hrs in the pool and 402 laps.

Two little miles in open water today. The feeling of being totally alone in the water is quite strange and a little scary to begin with but not all together terrible. Water was like glass for the first half of mile #2 but got choppy on he return leg. All in all though, very happy with the additional time in the open water! Cradle Moon has well marked out and visible buoys with three routes, 500m, 1,000m, and 1.5km. I only found out one can do this on any weekend a couple of days ago!

Another two today and I’ve hit 50 miles. I’m a way behind on the totals so it’s back in the pool tonight for two more...

Here we go peeps, today's open water swims. @GrantC, the first swim is your final two miles. Thank you so much for you support, once again. The weather today was hot to say the least but the water conditions couldn't have been better. I was pretty happy with both swims, although I was hoping for a slightly quicker time in the second event. All told though, a good start to the open water season for me. Keep an eye out as I head towards the midway mark in my journey.

A couple of laps around the pond, a scorcher today and water like glass.

I'm beginning to think that the biggest hurdle to achieving my 200 mile target this year will be finding the time as opposed to actually getting my body in on the act. I'm going to need to be far more diligent here as I make more of a concerted effort to arrange my time more effectively between work and of course my family's needs to have me around. I need to average two miles a day during November in order to be on track come the halfway mark in my journey. As I said, I'm beginning to think that time will be my enemy on this one. With that, @Grantc, you got six of your miles in between last night's two and this morning's 4. Tomorrow sees me take on the Cradle Moon Swim Challenge 1 3km swim. for those of you following my 100 Mile to Midmar 2017, this is the same swim I was pulled out of the water at last year having been kicked in the throat, so there's unfinished business. You'll notice last night's swim was a little longer, this was to compensate for the shorter than 2 mile swim tomorrow. My eight year old daughter and her friend tried a bit of fundraising by selling some of their "crafts" the other day and managed to raise R50 for me. In light of this, I'll be doing the 1km swim tomorrow as well. This will be for the two girls. You can all also get me to cover a mile for you, just go HERE HERE HERE Only R100 gets your name in lights, don't be shy, this is for an extremely worthy charity. Check out the link on my signature for the link to their site.

My wife hasn't hit a target for months and has seen no reduction in her points goal. Another issue I have here is the fact that after a 2hr swim this morning, at 60-69% HR, I only get 100 points allocated, it's the same allocation that a 30 min swim at the same intensity gets. The fact that we get 30,000 points limit for fitness is one thing, another thing entirely when there are those stupid sublimity for certain exercise "types"

Well Hubbers, it's been a crazy month. I managed to bang in less miles than hoped for but all told it was successful. The count is as follows: 39 miles 30,216 strokes Over 20 hours in the water 2,576 laps in the pool Tonight's miles saw me onto the first of the miles sponsored by Hubbers, thank you gents, it's really appreciated. I split this evening swim between the two donors. The first was quite quick with the second a little slower. Dumbass thing I did was pay too much attention to the insanely svelte and beautiful lass in the lane next to me tonight. I may have forgotten to start my watch for the second mile, I estimate that is was around 3-5 laps before I realised this. So I had to start again, those don't count. With that, here they are: On a more serious note, although I have raised almost R6,000 towards my R20,000 target, I'm going to run out of donors to swim for around next weekWednesday or so. Whilst I will continue to swim, it does make my task a little harder - fundraising wise. Please assist where possible, R100 is all it take to get your personalised mile. You can go HERE in order to donate, you can do EFT, Credit Card, or SnapScan. Please also remember where these funds go, CHOC, check out my signature for details on this incredible charity and the amazing work they do.

So the week yielded only 8 miles. Having started out with sinus issue, I managed to fit in a cheeky two midweek, I just couldn’t get it right in between meetings and an office party on Friday afternoon. Yesterday was my daughter’s 9th birthday party with today being the actual birthday, so no big swims with the exception of yesterday’s 4 miler. I was going to try for four this morning but wasn’t sure I’d be back from the pool before she woke up, so thought better of it. The month is going to come up a little short of the 50 mile target, most likely only 41, but I’m still on track for the 200 mile target. Glenys Thomas’s miles are done. Thank you for your support.

Been battling with a bit of sinus this week, but did manage a 2 miler last night. I’ll do some more tonight and then tomorrow morning. The weekend will need to yield at least 8 miles though, so it’s gonna be a busy one.

Today saw the end of a busy week, both work and swimming wise. The weekend was a huge swimming weekend and I'm feeling it in my shoulders a bit. With work what it has been I only managed to get two swims in during the week. This is proving to be a problem and I'm really under pressure to get it right if I want to achieve my 200 mile goal. i've worked out that I need to swim no less than eight miles a during the week, which will give me a little bit of breathing room come Saturday and Sunday, both of which are looking like needing 4 miles each. Coming into Friday morning, I had every intention of getting three miles in given that I was on leave, but a last minute rush to a meeting made that look a little unlikely. Finally, at around 17h00 I bit the bullet and went off to the gym to get in two miles. This proved to be a good idea as I banged in my first sub 60 min two miles since training started. Saturday saw a strong 4 miles, although not entirely without a few stops for a drink, and equipment adjustment. I was dreading today as I was stiff after a late Friday push followed by a long Saturday morning, but I knew I had to get in four miles, this was non-negotiable. I was just looking for a steady 4 miles and then out. When I hit 3km, I though I could go all the way without a stop, 4km had me thinking I could go all day. At 5km it occurred to me that this swim could actually be longer than the 4 planned miles (6.5km). At this point I promised myself a drink break at 6km and then a push all the way to 8.15km (5 miles). I felt strong though and didn't want to break my rhythm, so I pushed on counting 20 lap intervals so I could break the task up into smaller manageable segments. I kept expecting to need a drink every 20 laps (500m) but every time I thought just one more. Before I knew it I'd passed 8km and the last 10 laps didn't need that drink either. With that, I've just pulled off my longest non-stop swim. Now I know there are far longer non-stop swims out there, probably also on this forum, but for me, it's a bit of a record breaker. Here it is: That saw me through to a respectable 15 miles for the week, bringing my total to 29 miles for the month. This week also saw my fundraising total climb to R5,500. Don't forget I'm raising funds for CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation. These guys do such awesome work. I'm sure everyone is aware of the increasing prevalence of childhood cancer. What many may not be aware of is the toll this disease takes on the families of the children suffering from cancer. Many times the treatment needed is only available far away from home. In addition to providing emotional support to parents and sufferers, CHOC provides accommodation and transport, amongst other things, to the families that need to travel long distances in order to have their children treated, but cannot afford the transport, board and lodging away from home. Check out their website and read some of the stories that are there, it makes me feel really privileged to be able to play my part in assisting these families. www.choc.org.za Should you wish to assist with donations, check out my fund raising page HERE - Jigghead's Fundraising Page As usual, R100 gets you 1 mile, I'm R5,500 into a R20,000 target, so don't be shy. Every penny counts.

What a week it's been. After the flurry of donations received on Tuesday I though I'd see things settle down. Not so however as Wednesday also saw a good flow and I ended the week with R4,400 in donations being received, leaving my total on R5,400. That's over 25% of my target in only two weeks. That leaves some serious swimming to be done. Work and children's sports days made it a little difficult to get in all the swimming I was hoping to, but I did manage to squeeze in a total of 8 miles. I've now checked off the miles for Brent Marlton​ and Moira Dewar​. Thanks guys. As usual Brent, you'll be capping it off by doing the last one with me. In the mean time, thank you to @mon-goose, @Grantc, Stephen Venter, and Karabo Senatla for your donations. Today I managed to swim all miles owing to Wendy McFadden so now I begin getting down to firing off the Premium Team's miles. All 20 of them and beyond. As I've said, all miles will be completed. Thanks for the support to all who've spoken to me and mailed me. I really appreciate it. Please feel free to spread the word and send the links to your friends. You can donate of the link here: https://kydrin.co.za/goals/View/223 In the meantime, keep watching. This week promises to see far more time being spent in the pool so I'm hoping to get at least 14 miles in between now and this time next week. Here are the swims I've managed to complete since the last update. Today's were split between two swims given that I was taking care of two donors, I managed 4 miles(6.5km) today and feel stronger than I expected. This bodes well for my 200 mile target!

Thank you bud, no need to register, simply follow the link and hit the ‘DONATE’ button. https://kydrin.co.za/goals/View/223 You’re a champ, thank you.

Today's quest for Midmar glory started off much the same as any other. I hopped in the pool and began my swim. I got into a nice rhythm and didn't feel seem to feel either the distance or the time spent in the water. I fact, apart from a little cramp in the foot(I get this sometimes), I could have gone longer. I do however work for a living and had to head off. Now I've found that when raising money for charities one tends to elicit the same flight reaction from possible donors as an insurance salesman does from prospective clients. I am quite adept at recognising this response as it just so happens that I'm also an insurance salesman, although we don't go by that title any longer. So, when heading to the office, I decided to "throw it out there" that I was raising money for charity. What followed was incredible. Within minutes of sending the explanatory info mail, it had been circulated to around 50 of my colleagues. Now I work with a wonderful bunch of people, so much so that work doesn't often feel like actual work. What was to follow though was overwhelming to the extreme. By the end of the day my fundraising page had logged an additional R2,700 in donations with a few pledges of more to follow. WOW is about all I could muster. I've gone from expecting to swim a couple of freebies this weekend to having a deficit of 30 miles to swim. I'm ready for them and will launch into them with ongoing vigor and will, as usual, post updates here. Thank you to my colleagues; the Premium Team, Glenys Thomas, and Wendy McFadden. I am truly humbled by your support. With that, here's today's two miles. Three more still owing to Brent Marlton and Moira Dewar, those will be completed shortly. Now I know you all work hard for your money, I'd like to do the same. This is why I'll swim for it... Check out THIS LINK to donate.

That’s why we have these forums so that knowledge gets shared. My goggles are not tight, but after 2 hrs in the water, the suction becomes painful irrespective of how tight the straps are. This is just my experience with all goggles I’ve tried, all with various strap tightness. Bottom line is, find a comfy pair and keep it as tight or loose as is comfortable for you. I tend to keep mine a little tighter than usual in open water purely because I’m not keen to have to empty them halfway through due to turbulence or getting knocked off. Just a personal preference. Pool swimming I keep them quite loose, but they still get a little sore beyond the 1hr mark.

So is that no to the beer or no to the swim?

For Heia, go to midmarmile.co.za it’ll give an option to enter the Heia swims. 4 months is more than enough time, just get some open water practice in, it’s very different to the pool There’s a swim at Heia in 5 Nov, 3,000m, 1,000m & 400m. I’ll see you there for a beer afterwards.

I use Speedo Aquapulse Max, I've tried loads of them and frankly there is no real "best"goggle to use. Whatever is most comfortable is the way to go, especially if you're in the water for anything more than around 45 minutes, I find they can become very uncomfortable. Sometimes I can swim for up to 2hrs at a time and the pressure can become very painful if the goggle doesn't fit nicely. I use them for open water as well as pool training.

Week one is behind me and unfortunately I didn't manage to get in the mileage I was hoping to. A combination of factors contributed to this, but to be honest, it's mostly due to not having been in the water for over 8 months. Last year I only started in training November, with a target of 100 miles. This year however, having doubled my target, I figured an extra month was required. So with 125 days and 194 miles to Midmar 2018, the magnitude of my task is very apparent. The fact that I was working from home last year assisted me greatly when trying to find the time to swim. My expectations this year are to try and squeeze in 6 miles on the weekend (3 each day) with two 2 miles swims during the week. Given my schedule, these need to happen at 5am, hopefully on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whilst this will leave me around 22 miles short, I'm quite sure I can squeeze additional distance in during my December whilst not at work. This should get me to 200 miles. The good news for the week is that the first donation came in.My friends, Brent and Moira, thanks again for opening the donations for the second year, I still owe you 5 miles, which will follow this week. So the week's cumulative tally is as follows: 5/200 miles with 1,000/20,000 in donations. My 8 year old daughter and her little friend from school took it upon themselves to sell some loom bands that they made and came to me with R30, asking that I add it to the donations, These two will get a full mile and I'll top up to R100 for them. Thanks girls. Please help in the donations department, I will ensure the miles are completed. R100 will get your name on the board and will see me churning up the water for around 30 minutes with gratitude. It's also going towards an awesome cause. CHOC has been doing their phenomenal work since 1979 and will, with our help, continue to do so for a long time to come. You can donate here: Donate to CHOC here 100% of all funds donated go to the relevant charities.

Having been humbled by the support and encouragement I received in my quest to conquer 100 miles leading up to Midmar 2017, I have decided to set myself a loftier goal this year, 200 miles! Partly because I have a little longer to prepare and partly because I saw a quote the other day that inspired me to try a little harder. It sent something like this: “Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you ate” I’m not sure who said it first but it made me realize that I’m not sure I’ve tapped my body’s limits yet. As you may or may not be aware, every year a small fraction of the over 20,000 swimmers attempting to cross Midmar Dam swim in all 8 events, 4 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. We swim each event only to be transported, by boat, back to the start to do it all again. The reason we do it? For charity, each 8 Miler is required to raise money for their charity of choice. This year I will be swimming for CHOC. Whilst last year I managed to raise almost R11,000, excluding my personal donation, I have set my sights on R20,000 this year. I swam 1 mile as a show of gratitude for every R100 donated last year. I will do the same this year. So R100 x 200 miles = R20,000. If you donate, I’ll swim, simple as that. It's MILES by the way, NOT kilometres... Follow my progress here where every donation will be acknowledged and every mile logged. I will swim the miles, however many you want, just follow this link where you can donate and watch the miles pile up. https://kydrin.co.za/goals/View/223 It’s for a very worthy cause and you also get to see me suffer. Last year I spent almost 60 hours in the water in preparation for Midmar, let’s make that 100 hours… The first donation is in, thank you to a repeat donor, the two that cracked the seal on my fundraising drive last year, Brent Marlton and Moira Dewar, these two are awesome. Their first miles were completed this morning and have been added to the first mile completed on Sunday. That makes me 3/200, the first one was an icebreaker. Please don't make me swim too many unsponsored miles this year. Last year, it was around 20, I'd appreciate a couple less this year please You can also follow my progress on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/278492455881143/