Last week work brought me to London, and since I had meetings starting Monday morning, I flew overnight on Saturday and arrived early Sunday. When I got to the hotel, it was only about 11am and I noticed that it was a pretty nice day. Having done some National Rail sleuthing in the airport before I left, I had mapped the train schedule that potentially could get me to Dover and back that day. The only unknown was how jetlagged I would feel, but after getting up to my hotel room, I decided I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a scouting trip– I dropped my bags and headed back out.

A couple of transfers and a very pleasant train ride later, and I found myself at Dover Priory station, ready to explore the scene. I found a taxi driver, Amit, who suggested we head to the cliffs to get the best view…he was right.

The views from up there are astounding. As you look down and to your right, you get a sweeping look at Dover Harbor (or the “seafront” as Amit explained was the local term). The left side is reserved for the large ferries piloting to and from Calais, while the right is mostly open and where swimmers can get their time, swimming parallel to shore. The whole area is protected by a low sea wall, leaving the water relatively calm.

As I gazed out at the horizon, despite the partly sunny but bright day, I could only just barely make out France in the distance. The immediate thought that occurred to me in that moment was a very matter-of-fact, though not entirely reassuring, “Well, at least I can see it.” Moreover, my reaction upon taking in the enormity of the distance in person surprised me: It didn’t scare me.

Don’t get me wrong– I didn’t have the opposite reaction either, a brash, cocky attitude that it would be a piece of cake. But that fact that it wasn’t a total Holy Sh*t moment, did take me off guard. The way I’ve been thinking about the swim is that it’s going to be a series of tiny little bites, half hour swims, broken up by feedings, and ultimately there’s only a finite set of them. Seeing in front of me the miles that will need to be covered, triggered that same rational thought, and it didn’t seem any less manageable. Still, it was hard not to stand there and marvel at the vastness of the open sea.

Time will tell whether I’m a master of denial or just a cool customer, more on that balance in a future blog.