My Baseline Before English Channel Training

When I first said yes to this English Channel relay, I thought I knew exactly what the training would look like. I pictured myself ticking off swim sessions, squeezing in strength work, braving cold water, and figuring out how to eat between swims.

I’m not starting this journey as some super swimmer who glides through the water for hours. I’m starting as a swim coach who, honestly, doesn’t swim much herself—except to hop in and show five good strokes at a time. When I coach, I always tell swimmers, from beginners to advanced, that we start where we are. Now, I have to take my own advice.

I’ve done my share of triathlons and plenty of 2 km swims. I’ve got a few physical quirks, and cold water is a whole new world for me. But I do know how to make a plan, and my mind is ready for this two-year adventure.

So… here is where I’m actually starting.

Baseline Swim Fitness

I’ve finished two Ironman triathlons. Clients are usually impressed when I mention it, but that was twenty years ago, back when I was 35. I’ve done lots of organized 2 km swims, always with my ‘slow and steady’ mantra. But those swims? They were over a decade ago.

Right now, my swim fitness is pretty much non-existent. I get in the pool every so often for 20 or 30 minutes, and that’s about it.

Step one: just show up. My first goal is to get back in the water three times a week, because consistency is the part of open water swim training that no one can fake.

These first few months have been humbling. I used to swim an hour straight without having to bargain with myself every 100 metres. Now, I find myself making deals: just two more 100s, just five more minutes. And then I do it all over again.

Coming back to swimming in my 50s feels like a whole new self-improvement project. I remember what fitness feels like. I know what strong endurance feels like. I know how to train, and I coach people through this all the time. Whether I’m helping someone in  Kamloops, swimming classes in Burnaby, or open water, the same truth applies: just because I know what I used to be able to do doesn’t mean my body is ready to do it now.

Back in my 30s, I could just add more distance, train harder, and trust my body to catch up. Now I have to pay much more attention to recovery, technique, strength, sleep, and fueling. I can’t just pile on the kilometres and hope it all works out.

That difference really matters when you’re thinking about training for the English Channel. The Channel isn’t just a really long pool swim. It’s cold, salty, tidal, busy, and always changing. I need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable in the water, which is a big part of English Channel relay training too.

Baseline Strength and Mobility

This is the part I used to skip when I was younger. Now, I’ve hired a personal trainer and checked in with my athletic therapist.

I used to think strength training was just something I should do because a coach said so. Swimming, biking, and running felt like the real training. Strength work was the extra bit I’d squeeze in when I was feeling especially responsible.

That thinking has changed.

Right now, I’m working through a frozen shoulder and healing a torn hamstring.

Both my shoulder and my hamstring need patience. Luckily, patience is one of my strengths. Slow and steady, as always.

I want to get stronger fast, but my body keeps reminding me that’s not how it works.

The bigger picture is shifting too. Since menopause, rebuilding and keeping muscle has become so much more important for me. I can feel it when I miss strength sessions—my body feels less supported, my posture slips, and even everyday movements take more effort than they should.

For long swims, I have to work on both strength and mobility. I need enough stability and durability to keep moving well for hours. My shoulders, upper back, core, hips, and legs all have to pitch in. My joints need support, and my body position in the water needs some love too.

At Tri Balance, we talk a lot about efficient movement and injury prevention. We use video analysis, form workshops, and technique coaching to help athletes understand proper movements. My background in Total Immersion swimming keeps bringing me back to the same thing: better movement first. I will become my own best coach.

I’m rebuilding, step by step. I call it strength and mobility 101: external rotations, scapular slides, glute bridges, planks, single-leg hip hinges, Chi Running body looseners. And rolling. So much rolling.

Baseline Nutrition

I love food. All kinds of food. I eat my fruits, veggies, protein, and carbs. Food is a celebration for me. Beers and BBQs are a summer staple, and pasta, cheese, and wine help me get through the winter.

The truth is, I’ve been on a diet since I was 18. I used to cook with my Grandma, following her Weight Watchers recipes. I’m one of those women who has tried every diet under the sun and always felt a bit of shame about it. There were plenty of times when I worked out just to lose weight.

Now, my plan is simple: eat well so I can train well.  This is not about weight loss or how I look in my bathing suit.  This is about fueling myself to get stronger and figuring out the food plan during the swim.

I have hired a naturopath so that during my 2-year training schedule, I can heal my heartburn and sort out my gut issues.   Nutrition is not the glamorous part of how to train for the English Channel, but it is absolutely part of the work.

Cold Water Acclimation

I haven’t done any cold-water acclimation. I’ve done three or four quick dips with friends, mostly because of peer pressure. One client even gave me the Wim Hof book and suggested I try cold-water dipping. This, by far, is the most intimidating part of English Channel relay training for me.

First steps: short cold-water exposures at the end of my hot showers. They are not magic. I don’t like it. I dread it and have to build myself up mentally to change the tap.

I can’t say I am naturally built for cold water. I don’t seem to get the buzz that makes some people say, ‘Oh, this feels refreshing.’

I am approaching it gradually and safely and maybe, just maybe, start to like it along the way. 

Mindset

I am in the excited stage. Thrilled to have a great team of women around me. Nervous about cold-water adaptation. I love having a big goal in front of me. I love the planning, the questions, and the possibility of becoming someone a little different through the process.

I am comfortable being a beginner again.

One swim.

One strength session.

One cold-water exposure.

One nutritious meal.

I’m still at the beginning of this journey.

My coaching philosophy at Tri Balance is ‘where fear and courage meet.’ I want to share the messy bits of this process so we know we can do hard things.

You do not need perfect fitness. You do not need to know exactly what you’re doing.

You can start with questions. You can start cautiously. You can start by putting your face in the water and staying there for one extra breath.

I’d love to hear where you are starting from too. Are you working toward your first open-water swim, returning after time away, or trying to become more comfortable in cold water? Connect with the Tri Balance community and share your experience. Someone else may be standing by the edge of the same water, wondering if they belong there.

I’ll see you in the water…

🏊🏼‍♀️ Teresa

If you’d like support with technique, confidence, or your own endurance goals, explore Tri Balance swim coaching and training resources, video analysis, and open-water programs.