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.