High 5 Anyone ? 13

Nutrition is one of those things that athletes generally freak on, maintaining an over-confidence that the right product mix will unlock unimaginable success or prevent collapse. In any case, it offers a never-ending debate on what brands/amounts/timing are best for competition/training/recovery. 

Indeed I, too, have a plan, calculated on the amount of sweat-loss, by weight, during a measured one-hour hard swim (about 0.9kg) indicating the electrolytes and water I should consume for the 14-hour swim to Calais. No approximation here. 

On the Day and after the first hour I will feed every half-hour on the clock, baring in mind that when I am not swimming the tide is pulling against me so 20x2 minute pit-stops adds a lot of time - I will aim to keep it under 30 seconds. To do so, my coach will chuck a tethered bottle at my head containing various tested solutions. Yes, it is not unusual to barf it right up.

I admit that a nutrition strategy is something new for me, which I did not apply during the five marathons I bonked whilst chasing the magical three-hour barrier up to age 43.