Our final simulation weekend in Jersey
This was our final simulation weekend before the Enduroman — a proper test for the 2 of us, built around 3 x 2 hr walks then 3 x 2 hr swims, and an Enduroman-sized rest in between, to mirror what’s ahead of us in our late-August/September window. We chose Jersey as it is a place we have been to on many a holiday and sporting challenge and it’s in the Channel so perfect for simulation.
We arrived in Jersey on the Thursday to a sweltering 39 degrees, said to be the hottest day recorded in Jersey to date. Rachel got in from Heathrow via night flight from Dubai so was in charge of car pick-up and food shop. Trisha was an hour and a half late due to a punctured tyre on the aeroplane from Glasgow that needed fixing but the Airbnb had air con in the bedrooms so we couldn’t complain.
Walking
Our main hope was that Friday wouldn’t also be 39. Thankfully it wasn’t — it was 28 degrees, which was still warm but manageable. We drank a lot, and had 3 really good 2 hour walks. All of our previous simulations had been held at night so it was a novelty to do this during the day and also to nick into supermarkets should we need a top-up of water, Portuguese rolls, Compeed etc as well as a blast of cool air from the fridge units!
We had a 10-hour break before setting off for our swims this morning (Saturday), and it went far quicker than we’d have liked. It really brought home how organised we’ll need to be for the Enduroman itself — because that night we loaded all our clothes into what we thought was the washing machine, switched it on, and only realised the next morning that we’d actually put them in the dryer. Oh dear!
Swimming
The first swim was at 5:30 am on Saturday on or just after high tide, from St Helier to St Aubin — an hour out and an hour back. The time flew by. We came back, refuelled with porridge, banana and golden syrup and then headed to St Brelade’s for the second 2 hour swim. This was a different story: not as warm as we’d hoped, and extremely windy heading east. But again, we managed it and refuelled with pasta pesto and cheese for the last 2 hours. For our last swim, we returned to where we’d started first thing, and this time the water was so warm — absolutely lovely. A really good third swim to finish on and gives us confidence ahead of our attempt later in the summer.
Celebrating post completion
All in all, a fantastic weekend. It’s given us real confidence, and we genuinely feel we’re nearly ready to take on the Enduroman.
