COPYRIGHT
HarperCollins Publishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published by HarperCollins Publishers 2020
FIRST EDITION
Text © Ross Edgley 2020
Illustrations by Liane Payne © HarperCollins Publishers 2020
Jacket design by Sim Greenaway © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020
Front cover photograph © Andrew Brown
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Ross Edgeley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Find out about HarperCollins and the environment at www.harpercollins.co.uk/green
Source ISBN: 9780008356989
Ebook Edition © April 2020 ISBN: 9780008356965
Version 2021-03-22
NOTE TO READERS
This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:
Change of font size and line height
Change of background and font colours
Change of font
Change justification
Text to speech
Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008356989
DEDICATION
Thank you to my dad, the most stoically strong man I know.
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Note to Readers
Dedication
FOREWORD by Ant Middleton
PROLOGUE
PART 1 | LIFE ON LAND (BEFORE THE SWIM)
CHAPTER 1 |WHY DID I DO IT?
CHAPTER 2 |WHY THE BODY DOES NOT BREAK?
CHAPTER 3 |WHY THE MIND DOES NOT QUIT?
PART 2 | LIFE AT SEA (DURING THE SWIM)
LESSON 1 |STOIC SPORTS SCIENCE IS PHILOSOPHY FORGED IN BATTLE
LESSON 2 |LEARN THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL SPORTS SCIENCE
LESSON 3 |THE BODY BRUISES AND BLEEDS BUT CANNOT BE BEATEN
LESSON 4 |TO WALK YOUR OWN PATH, WRITE YOUR OWN PLAN
LESSON 5 |MAKE THE BODY AN INSTRUMENT, NOT AN ORNAMENT
LESSON 6 |BUILD RESILIENCE BY ‘GETTING WINTERED’
LESSON 7 |FAST CAN BE FRAGILE AND SLOW CAN BE STRONG
LESSON 8 |STRENGTH IMPROVES STAMINA AND STAMINA IMPROVES STRENGTH
THE GREAT BRITISH SWIM TRAINING PLAN
LESSON 9 |LEARN HOW TO CRUISE OR KILL
LESSON 10 |LEARN TO LIMIT LIMITATIONS
LESSON 11 |THE TWO WAYS TO PROCESS PAIN
LESSON 12 |COMBAT FEAR WITH ‘FERAL FEAR THEORY’
LESSON 13 |LEARN THE POWER OF A HIGHER PURPOSE
LESSON 14 |ACCEPT THE UNCONTROLLABLES
LESSON 15 |CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES
LESSON 16 |RESILIENCE CANNOT BE RUSHED, BUT QUITTING CAN
LESSON 17 |YOU’RE STRONGER WHEN SMILING
LESSON 18 |YOU CAN SLEEP YOURSELF STRONGER
LESSON 19 |HEROICS IN HUNGER
LESSON 20 |RESILIENCE IS BEST SERVED WITH FOOD
THE GREAT BRITISH SWIM DIET
LESSON 21 |STOMACH OF STEEL
LESSON 22 |RESILIENCE IS SUFFERING STRATEGICALLY MANAGED
EPILOGUE
Endnotes
List of Searchable Terms
Acknowledgements
About the Publisher
FOREWORD
By Ant Middleton
You only have to look at the numbers: 1,780 miles, 157 days at sea, half a million calories burned, over two million swim strokes completed. Staggering. And do you know what’s even more mind-blowing? Zero sick days.
Here was I thinking it would be hard enough to sail around Great Britain: who whould be crazy enough to swim all the way around it?
That’s why I wanted to be one of the first to congratulate Ross when, after five months out at sea, he got himself back to Margate beach at the end of his mammoth Great British Swim. One of the things I remember most about that day was that he was exhausted, he was hungry, he looked like an alien from another world … and yet he had this huge smile beaming across his face.
One of the key mindset principles that has got me through life is positivity . And for those who know him, you don’t need me to tell you that Ross has that in bucketloads. It means you have more mental energy. You’re smart. Your positive mindset can get you out of those dark places (and when you’ve read this book, you’ll see that Ross has been to a few of those).
What gives you the motivation that drives you through the pain barrier and the resilience to cope with any obstacles that nature throws your way? What is it about the mind that is so powerful it can lead you to achieve incredible things? How did Ross find the unbelievable strength to go against the grain of human nature and tackle something which has never been done before?
When I think of the answers to these questions, I reflect back on my time in the Special Forces and how training taught me how to play the odds. So in a combat situation I would be thinking about what would happen when I went through that door with an armed enemy on the other side. Is he going to get me before I get him? What are the risks of me getting a bullet through the head that kills me instantly? In most situations I’d calculate the chances were slim, so I’d say to myself, ‘Fuck that, the odds are with me, I’m going in.’
Ross overcame all the odds. The jellyfish in the Corryvreckan, the tankers crossing his path, the treacherous currents and tides, the winds and the waves, the storms. It’s a wonder the odd Atlantic shark didn’t decide to join the welcoming party!
With his physical and mental capabilities, backed up by his professional sports science qualifications and understanding of nutrition, if anyone was going to make the Great British Swim a success, it was Ross. You could be the best swimmer in the world but you wouldn’t make it past the first week without mental fortitude, resilience and flicking yourself into survival mode.
The transformative lessons you can learn from this daring endeavour are countless. Don’t let other people define you. Overcome that fear of the unknown. Purge your mind of everything apart from you against the water. Crack on, get in the zone, and get the job done.
Ross is one of the most humble and inspiring individuals you could ever wish to meet. From reading this book, the message that comes shining through is this: you can achieve anything .
Who dares swims. Good luck, mate – I couldn’t be prouder to call you a friend. You are one of a kind, a true British hero and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for your next big (and hopefully dry) adventure.
PROLOGUE
It’s 10.00 a.m. on 31 January 2018 at the Royal Marines Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon. I had just completed a 48-hour training swim (covering 185 km in the centre’s training pool) in preparation for my quest to set the record for the world’s longest current-neutral swim in an ocean, sea or bay. I was planning to take on this challenge around Bermuda where the waters were warm, the food was great, and I knew lots of people with boats so plenty of support would be at hand.
Читать дальше