Rough and relentless or rocking and a rolling............Either way it was a pretty bumpy ride in there on Saturday! Let me explain: Dave unfortunately did not get away on his attempt across the Channel. As you will be aware it has been pretty windy this last week and the weather has meant he is still a man 'in waiting'!! Any day though.
So, I headed to Dover as originally planned for a BIG swim training week end. It is a fair distance to travel but is so much more beneficial training in the sea, with other channel aspirants. You really do need to train to type on occasions, but this means travelling! We stayed at Varne Ridge, the local caravan park, where David and Evelyn are always so accommodating to swimmers, and will do anything to help during your stay. Even when the weather was as atrocious as it was this last week end! Saturday was a close call. It was howling wind and torrential rain! Great! It was so foggy too when we got up in the morning, but was clearer down at the harbour. Freda and the beach crew were debating if we were going to swim and how long for. there was between 12-20 swimmers. The water was pretty 'up and down' to say the least!! We went in, and I must say probably some of the roughest water I've swum in!! It is hard to keep a good stroke, you get rocked all over the place and rolled around like crazy! I swallowed a fair few mouthfuls of salt water, and at times that can be a shock and make your breathing go to pot. The far side of the harbour, especially with the tide coming in, gets fairly heavy, with a mean backwash off the walls. Hairy at times. Pretty lonely, but you just have to keep cutting your way through it. Tiring, but great experience. Although you wouldn't want those conditions during your channel attempt - you never know!! If you have experienced them a bit, it helps and is then not a shock!! We had a feed at 2 hours, went back in for another hour, but at that feed we were all taken out. As Freda explained, it was rough and getting worse and unsafe for us all to be out there. They were struggling to see us all. There was no point in injuring shoulders that close to peoples attempts either. It was a correct call safety wise, although I had got in to my head I would keep sticking out for at least another hour. We did 3 hours (had planned to do 6), but in those conditions I think the work rate was considerably more!!
Saturday afternoon recovery earlier than planned: consisted of drying ourselves out and drying out lots of soaking wet clothing. Matt ran for 9 miles that day along the front and piers watching, so was also a drowned rat!! Oh, and watching the tour, while the caraven was rained on relentlessly and the wind continued to try and blow us to France!!
Sunday morning was a 5am start (due to a rowing regatta at 9am), so a 4 hour 'early doors' session it was! I figured 4am a good time to get up, prepped and then ready for swimming. (Matt not so sure!) You never know what random time your channel crossing may start. So it's good to confuse the system every now and then. I love swimming in the morning anyway. Apparenty there was a lovely sunrise (I didn't see it!), and the water was so much calmer that the day before!! Although, a little windchop did pick up in the last hour. There are some pics that I will try and put on here too at some point soon. Again a 2 hour swim stint, then a feed. The beach crew are fab, checking us as we stop, running down Maxim drink to us and giving us our rations of a mini chocolate roll and some jelly babies! Ravenous swimmers trying to stand up on the pebbles, and eat and drink in the small waves without falling over must be quite amusing!! A pleasure to swim that morning, another feed at 3 hours and out at 4 hours. Good solid swim in, with no after affects from the thrashing around the day before!! Matt once again managed to support, watch and kill time by runnning 12 miles along the harbour front and piers at each end, and being around the beach for each feed. So good to see a familiar face before heading back out to swim. Thank you for supporting me :-).
Afetr wrapping up warm and a recovery shake, I managed to have good a catch up chat with my boat pilot Eric Hartley. He often pops down to the harbout at the week end to be social and catch up with his swimmers, and see how their training is progressing. Nice guy, very knowledgeable and so willing to answer questions. He gave us even more info about wind/weather/tides etc...etc... Such a massive and interesting topic. So much to try and understand. I have really tried during the last 3 years to increase my knowledge about all this. You really have got to respect the pilots knowledge and that body of water out there that I am attempting to cross!
A soild 2 days of training, even though Saturday was a 'nasty' day , and one of the very few occasions they have had to pull the swimmers out of the water due to safety! So glad I made the journey. Just great being in the environment with other channel swimmers, where you don't seem to feel odd, crazy or mad! It is just an unspoken understanding as to why we are there, and got to get on and do, what we've got to get on and do!! Matt was a great support too. I take him to the most glamorous places for week ends away ;-) A lake week end near home this week end, need a break from travelling away. The last month has been non stop! Then back to Dover for a bit of the same again (with hopefully less wind and more sunshine) - wishful thinking eh?!
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Dover bound!!
Well, off I go to Dover. A few days earlier than planned.........although I still have my BIG swims to do this week end. (A 6 hour stint on Saturday and an early 5am 4 hour stint planned for the Sunday!!) A few of us are now travelling to Dover in the morning, to crew for my swim buddy Dave. It is his solo Channel attempt Wednesday eve 10pm start. I am feeing excited for him, and obviously nervous too! He has also put in an amazing volume of work. We have swum a huge amount of meterage together in all sorts of pools, lakes and seas! We can only pray for kind seas and that the Channel gods will be on his side. Please keep everything crossed for him. I am packed and ready to go - even bought sea sickness tablets for the boat - just in case! ;-)
Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid, North Wales).
I had never been to Bala before, so was a novice in this lake! What an awesome setting though. Like the beautiful Lake District but in Wales! It was a double bubble weekend, with a 6 miler on the Saturday (two lengths of the lake), and a one way 3 miler on the Sunday. The lake was a balmy 16 degrees, so I knew that would be no problem. Although the sun was out on the Saturday, there was a fair bit of wind. For those of you that know Bala, it whips along the lake and can make it a pretty choppy swim. That it was!! Fighting up through the quite relentless chop all 3 miles to the other end was a hard task. It takes its toll on neck and shoulders. I managed well and got to the turnaround in 1 hour 33mins, ably guided by boyfriend Matt in the kayak! The swim back was tiring even though the wind was now coming across, it was still quite fatiguing! I had a 'fuzzy' patch for a good 20mins on the way back, and realised my last feed should have been Ambrosia as well as energy drink. I stopped early for my next feed, Matt obliged and I gulped down a whole pot of rice pud and flew off on my way again!! More fuelled, made such a difference and I felt I had a bit more to give then to the end. When it finally arrived 3 hours 9 secs later I felt I had put in a great effort. 6th lady overall. Recovery shake, a good meal and sleep should be sufficient to get me to the 3 mile start line in the morning!
Sunday morning came and it was a grey, dull, rainy one! Well, couldn't expect the sun to last! Again there was a breeze, but this makes it more interesting - my arms were going to ache anyway, was how I saw it! My race strategy was pretty much to go out hard, and hold on to the pace for just as long as I could. I knew I should be able to last 3 miles, even if I did tire a little towards the end. Matt guided me really well. I managed to stay on the feet of another swimmer and keep their kayak in sight for most of the way, before it gradually pulled away. I really prefer to have a focus for my eyes when I'm swimming and even more so when I'm tiring!! I did feel that this race was harder, but then it was shorter and faster, with tired arms! I was pretty stoked at the end (again the stone jetty at the finish seemed to take forever to get to!), when I was told I was 3rd lady. The pain was worth it!
A good 9 miles in the bank this week end. Great crewing from Matt, and support from the banks at various points from my parents too. Thanks so much guys, couldn't do it all with out you (X).Well done to all the other competitiors too - a really fab bunch!
Sunday morning came and it was a grey, dull, rainy one! Well, couldn't expect the sun to last! Again there was a breeze, but this makes it more interesting - my arms were going to ache anyway, was how I saw it! My race strategy was pretty much to go out hard, and hold on to the pace for just as long as I could. I knew I should be able to last 3 miles, even if I did tire a little towards the end. Matt guided me really well. I managed to stay on the feet of another swimmer and keep their kayak in sight for most of the way, before it gradually pulled away. I really prefer to have a focus for my eyes when I'm swimming and even more so when I'm tiring!! I did feel that this race was harder, but then it was shorter and faster, with tired arms! I was pretty stoked at the end (again the stone jetty at the finish seemed to take forever to get to!), when I was told I was 3rd lady. The pain was worth it!
A good 9 miles in the bank this week end. Great crewing from Matt, and support from the banks at various points from my parents too. Thanks so much guys, couldn't do it all with out you (X).Well done to all the other competitiors too - a really fab bunch!
Sunny Torbay!
The beginning of July was a quick day trip to Torbay. The swim across the bay was from Meadfoot beach to Brixham (and back), 8 miles in glorious sunshine and pretty calm waters to boot! How unusual! I actually had to plaster myself in suncream! Mike was my crewman and having paddled with me last year, knew the drill! The rest of the Roberts clan and Matt surveyed the scene from the beach and cliffs (getting a sunbathe and dip in the sea too). It was a good continuous swim out. With the water being fairly calm, I got into a good stroke and kept it going. The only thing that I really remember, was the sporadic cold patches!! The water temp was only 14 degrees, and even colder every now and then. Just makes you swim faster! I amused Mike with the odd "cold patch" words being uttered throughout the swim! I got to the turnaround boat in good time - much faster than last year, and headed back strongly, encouraged by the time I saw on my watch. I was fueled every 45 mins with energy drink and Ambrosia rice pudding! This was great practice for my Channel feeding routine. The only really tough patch was the last mile in to the beach. I couldn't see the finish yellow buoy for what seemend like forever. But I remenber last year the tide was strong and not very forgiving at this point, and it took a long time to get through that last mile!! Got there in the end, after a little bit of swearing (sorry Mum!) and felt relieved. Mike did a fab job guiding me in. I was 5th lady overall (again the top two women beat the first man!!) in 3hours 47 mins (24 mins faster than my time last year).....can't be bad! On to Bala (Lynn Tegid, North Wales) next week end, and a couple of Lake swims to conquer!
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Lakes, Lido and lumpy sea swimming!
English summer weather didn't fail to disappoint on the morning of my first open water swim race. Pretty gusty, with driving rain and grey skies, was what we had to encounter - nothing new there then! The lake at Bowmoor Sailing Club, Cirencester was actually pretty warm though! However, due to a drifting buoy, (because of the wind), the 3.8k course was a little short. We all thought our times were a little on the rapid side! ;-) The race went well, usual carnage at the start, settling into a nice firm pace for the 3 laps. A bit more effort into the finish. Felt strong and happy with my 7th position non wettie (I worked out in a wetsuit I would have been approx 3rd lady) - happy with that and getting the first race out of the way. Off I toddled to the Lido after (in the rain) for a little bit more meterage (in the rain)!
There has been the opportunity to get some longer swim sets in at the lido the last couple of weeks. So, a 6.30am start till approx 9am, sees me ploughing up and down the lovely open air 50m pool, and will continue to do so for the forseeable future! I would rather stay in there for hours, than a chlorinated 25m swiming pool believe me. Even if it is pouring with rain! We are very lucky to have this facility so close. It is awesome. If you haven't already, you should try a little swim there - you may just like it!! Yesterday morning (June 21st) was summer solstice, and it opened for sunrise swimming! Even though the sunrise was shielded by grey clouds (gotta love our country's weather!) I was in there at 4.45am with swim buddy Dave (his Channel solo window is mid July). It was pretty busy and great to be swimming so early. We took the opportunity to do a 10k set. So much easier with someone else. We followed that up with a trip to the lake in the evening for a steady 'open water' 3k. Solid day's training! Just need to recover well now.
The Lake was also party to a 'night' swim last week. A few crazy swim buddies used the full moon (even though once again we couldn't see it because of the cloud) to our advantage! We didn't get in to the lake until about 10.30pm, this was then 'dark' enough for us to have to sight the glowing lightsticks placed on the buoys. It was brilliant swim practice in the dark. It is pretty surreal, but also quite calming and peaceful. All you can hear is the sound of your own breathing and hands entering the water every stroke. I really quite like swimming in darkness. Just as well really as this is likely to happen during the Channel attempt. A hot drink and slice of cake after, made the journey and late night worthwhile!! (I'm normally dropping off to sleep these days by 9.30pm!)
Dover Harbour was the setting for last weekend. Mid June always plays host there to the 'Champion of Champions'. It is a 5mile, 3 mile then 1 mile sea swim in the same day. There was alot of wind on the Friday and forecast for the Saturday, so there was talk of cancelling the race. However, all hardy open water swimmers travelled anyway, the course was altered slightly because it was quite 'lumpy' out there in the harbour, but he 5mile race went ahead in balmy 14.5 degree water. True to form wind picked up during the race, rain hammered down in parts, visibility was reduced to 'not alot' and people retired! The start/finish boat drifted (anchor problem), and this race we swam the best part of 6 miles!! Nature of the sport - be prepared for anything!! I felt strong and swam well in those conditions. It seems to suit my stroke and mentality!! The 3 miler was cancelled due to longer first swim, conditions, safety of kayakers and swimmers. The 1 miler went ahead and again the course was brought in closer to shore, due to conditons. I swam quite strongly over such a short distance for me! The competion was HOT in the ladies. The first two females, beat the men!! I finished 7th (again). Note that the English Channel World Record Holder was 3rd!! Pleased with being thrown around, swallowing sea water and sighting in pretty tough conditions. All in all a good day at the office. Next day a two hour 'spin cycle' (as swim buddy Dave would say) training session across the harbour, with other like minded channel aspirants. True to form wind picked up in the second hour, leaving tired arms battling us back to shore! Even support crew man Matt got in for 40 minutes non wetsuit (couldn't stand the banter from the non neoprene, non triathlon lot!) ;-) Another good weekend 'training to type' in the bag!
Well, back to the lake this weekend for a 4 hour Saturday session, then a 3 hour Sunday session (we call these back to back swims). It will be a solitary face down effort for me - alot of this sort of swimming is fairly mental too. Will have all my energy drinks/feeds ready on the pontoon to keep me fuelled. It also helps focus to swim from feed to feed! Just need to get it done! The volume is really building now. Torbay 8 mile sea swim next weekend too! Wonder what delights our English summer will bring this weekend?........Who knows?! Be prepared for anything!
There has been the opportunity to get some longer swim sets in at the lido the last couple of weeks. So, a 6.30am start till approx 9am, sees me ploughing up and down the lovely open air 50m pool, and will continue to do so for the forseeable future! I would rather stay in there for hours, than a chlorinated 25m swiming pool believe me. Even if it is pouring with rain! We are very lucky to have this facility so close. It is awesome. If you haven't already, you should try a little swim there - you may just like it!! Yesterday morning (June 21st) was summer solstice, and it opened for sunrise swimming! Even though the sunrise was shielded by grey clouds (gotta love our country's weather!) I was in there at 4.45am with swim buddy Dave (his Channel solo window is mid July). It was pretty busy and great to be swimming so early. We took the opportunity to do a 10k set. So much easier with someone else. We followed that up with a trip to the lake in the evening for a steady 'open water' 3k. Solid day's training! Just need to recover well now.
The Lake was also party to a 'night' swim last week. A few crazy swim buddies used the full moon (even though once again we couldn't see it because of the cloud) to our advantage! We didn't get in to the lake until about 10.30pm, this was then 'dark' enough for us to have to sight the glowing lightsticks placed on the buoys. It was brilliant swim practice in the dark. It is pretty surreal, but also quite calming and peaceful. All you can hear is the sound of your own breathing and hands entering the water every stroke. I really quite like swimming in darkness. Just as well really as this is likely to happen during the Channel attempt. A hot drink and slice of cake after, made the journey and late night worthwhile!! (I'm normally dropping off to sleep these days by 9.30pm!)
Dover Harbour was the setting for last weekend. Mid June always plays host there to the 'Champion of Champions'. It is a 5mile, 3 mile then 1 mile sea swim in the same day. There was alot of wind on the Friday and forecast for the Saturday, so there was talk of cancelling the race. However, all hardy open water swimmers travelled anyway, the course was altered slightly because it was quite 'lumpy' out there in the harbour, but he 5mile race went ahead in balmy 14.5 degree water. True to form wind picked up during the race, rain hammered down in parts, visibility was reduced to 'not alot' and people retired! The start/finish boat drifted (anchor problem), and this race we swam the best part of 6 miles!! Nature of the sport - be prepared for anything!! I felt strong and swam well in those conditions. It seems to suit my stroke and mentality!! The 3 miler was cancelled due to longer first swim, conditions, safety of kayakers and swimmers. The 1 miler went ahead and again the course was brought in closer to shore, due to conditons. I swam quite strongly over such a short distance for me! The competion was HOT in the ladies. The first two females, beat the men!! I finished 7th (again). Note that the English Channel World Record Holder was 3rd!! Pleased with being thrown around, swallowing sea water and sighting in pretty tough conditions. All in all a good day at the office. Next day a two hour 'spin cycle' (as swim buddy Dave would say) training session across the harbour, with other like minded channel aspirants. True to form wind picked up in the second hour, leaving tired arms battling us back to shore! Even support crew man Matt got in for 40 minutes non wetsuit (couldn't stand the banter from the non neoprene, non triathlon lot!) ;-) Another good weekend 'training to type' in the bag!
Well, back to the lake this weekend for a 4 hour Saturday session, then a 3 hour Sunday session (we call these back to back swims). It will be a solitary face down effort for me - alot of this sort of swimming is fairly mental too. Will have all my energy drinks/feeds ready on the pontoon to keep me fuelled. It also helps focus to swim from feed to feed! Just need to get it done! The volume is really building now. Torbay 8 mile sea swim next weekend too! Wonder what delights our English summer will bring this weekend?........Who knows?! Be prepared for anything!
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Training and Fundraising Update - Wind and Mad Hatters!
The end of May saw us travel to Cornwall. The intention was to sea swim.....lots!! It is a familiar bit of coast and a fair bit of my training (and body boarding) in the past, has been in these waters. However, the WIND...and lots of it (very strong too), put pay to my training intentions!! Even with knowledge of the tides, beaches and knowing the lifeguards present, it was far too risky to get in, and risk being sucked out. I would either have had to swim alone so far out back of a few surfers, I wouldn't have been seen. Or, dodge windsurfers, who were having a ball! I didn't fancy getting knocked unconcious or p***ing them off! There was alot of rough water moving around, and during the week, the wind just didn't settle :-( So, without getting too disappointed, I found a nice warm, chlorinated swimming pool to swim in, at lunchtimes, with all the retired regular lane swimmers - FANTASTIC!! But that was my only choice of getting metres in! Had to be done. I did dip in the cold sea a couple of times in the shallows and duck dived in and out of waves, and let them batter me about a bit, but that doesn't really count as 'swimming' in my book! Just bad timing, nature of the elements, but the sea will get a look in, as I have a race (9 miles total) in Dover on 18th June!
Fundraising is continuing to pick up. Thank you to all of you who have supported or donated so far!! To any of you who haven't and would like to, please use the links/info on here to do so. Thanks! Last Saturday (4th June) saw a fundraising Mad Hatters Tea Party take place. Luckily the weather had calmed down at this point and the sun was shining - phew! There was alot of different stalls and activities: Refreshments, raffle, guesser, jewellery, books, produce, bric a brac, clothes, childrens items, sports kit, face painting, darts etc. Most people also donated items and wore a (mad) hat!! Fun afternoon! It took a bit of organising and a BIG thankyou to those who helped and supported the event. We managed to raise some money that will help and go towards the charities: Pied Piper Appeal and Brainstrust. It is your support and these events that are so crucial to raising the funds. I do appreciate everyone's time and efforts. Please keep the donations coming!
Well, this weekend is my first open water race of the season. It is only a 3.8k lake swim, non wetsuit of course. I will be competing alongside mainly neoprened athletes, but it's cool to be different!! It will be great to get back in the mix. I love the pre race prep, few nerves, cold water feeling, the melee at the start (which I always seem to be in the middle of!) and the great feeling after once digesting well deserved tea and cake! The post race run down with fellow competitors/friends is always fun too. Once this one is done, they get LONGER.....and longer.....and even longer.....!! Will keep you updated :-)
Fundraising is continuing to pick up. Thank you to all of you who have supported or donated so far!! To any of you who haven't and would like to, please use the links/info on here to do so. Thanks! Last Saturday (4th June) saw a fundraising Mad Hatters Tea Party take place. Luckily the weather had calmed down at this point and the sun was shining - phew! There was alot of different stalls and activities: Refreshments, raffle, guesser, jewellery, books, produce, bric a brac, clothes, childrens items, sports kit, face painting, darts etc. Most people also donated items and wore a (mad) hat!! Fun afternoon! It took a bit of organising and a BIG thankyou to those who helped and supported the event. We managed to raise some money that will help and go towards the charities: Pied Piper Appeal and Brainstrust. It is your support and these events that are so crucial to raising the funds. I do appreciate everyone's time and efforts. Please keep the donations coming!
Well, this weekend is my first open water race of the season. It is only a 3.8k lake swim, non wetsuit of course. I will be competing alongside mainly neoprened athletes, but it's cool to be different!! It will be great to get back in the mix. I love the pre race prep, few nerves, cold water feeling, the melee at the start (which I always seem to be in the middle of!) and the great feeling after once digesting well deserved tea and cake! The post race run down with fellow competitors/friends is always fun too. Once this one is done, they get LONGER.....and longer.....and even longer.....!! Will keep you updated :-)
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Training Update!
Wow! We are now well into May! Finally I have managed to get round to doing a quick update. Spare time is very minimal at the moment. How I love this time of year! We get to swim outside in the Cheltenham Lido and the Lake (32 at Keynes Water Park in Cirencester). This is bliss compared to the warm chlorinated swimming pools we have been ploughing up and down throughout the winter months!!
My cold water acclimitisation has been going well. We dipped our toes in the lake mid Feb after a hard frost over night, and then became fully submerged (nutty I know!) Each week following we managed to stay in longer and longer (non neoprene of course!) At one stage we were in for over 20 minutes in only 6 degrees! We built this up until 45 minutes was fine. It's just the getting in that is always hard, but you do get used to it. It's all about keeping calm and breathing and focussing - no panicking! This type of training is crucial though, and I will grateful for it if the sea and Channel is only 15 degrees when I am racing and doing my long swims in the next few months. It will feel positively balmy then!
April saw a trip to Guildford Lido, there was an event for Help for Heroes. It was to swim a mile on the hour, every hour, for 24 hours! Solo and Relay Channel swimmers all took part. I planned to take part as part of my training. It was stop / start and a very different approach. We had to concentrate on getting dry in between, warming up, feeding well and recovering enough to go again in approx 30 mins! I was chuffed with my consistency. I completed 10 miles. All between 24 mins 55 secs and 26 mins 19 secs. I can see how my strength endurance has improved. However, due to a sore/spasmy shoulder blade/back, I did the sensible thing and called it a day after 10 miles. There were no prizes for completing 12 at that pace and injuring myself in April! A great event, good training, and luckily I recovered well and was back into full training the following week, no problems. Thanks to swim buddy Dave (he was fab and did 24 miles), also Matt and Sambo who looked after us!
So, all races are entered for the season. There are fewer than last year, as there is a need for me to do longer back to back training week ends. I will be doing long swims on both days. I will however, be doing a 3.8k lake race in June, followed by the Champion of Champions in Dover (9 miles total). July takes me to Torbay for an 8 mile paddle across the bay to Brixham and back! Then to Bala for a week end of a 6 mile and 3 mile spalsh in the lake there! I also have to complete a 6 hour verification swim in this month, so I am allowed to attempt the Channel. Lots to keep me occupied!
I will endeavour to keep you all informed of my progress. It all seems very real now, especially as we are edging towards summer, and are now officially 'open water'! I have a week of sea swimming in Cornwall and Devon coming up, so am hoping to get in a lot of meterage in cold ish water (approx 12 degrees at the moment) and different conditions. Will be tiring, fun and hard work all at the same time, but essential boxes need to be ticked! I will try to keep posts coming shorter and more frequently from now on. Thanks for your interest and suppport..........Until next time..........Keep swimming :-)
My cold water acclimitisation has been going well. We dipped our toes in the lake mid Feb after a hard frost over night, and then became fully submerged (nutty I know!) Each week following we managed to stay in longer and longer (non neoprene of course!) At one stage we were in for over 20 minutes in only 6 degrees! We built this up until 45 minutes was fine. It's just the getting in that is always hard, but you do get used to it. It's all about keeping calm and breathing and focussing - no panicking! This type of training is crucial though, and I will grateful for it if the sea and Channel is only 15 degrees when I am racing and doing my long swims in the next few months. It will feel positively balmy then!
April saw a trip to Guildford Lido, there was an event for Help for Heroes. It was to swim a mile on the hour, every hour, for 24 hours! Solo and Relay Channel swimmers all took part. I planned to take part as part of my training. It was stop / start and a very different approach. We had to concentrate on getting dry in between, warming up, feeding well and recovering enough to go again in approx 30 mins! I was chuffed with my consistency. I completed 10 miles. All between 24 mins 55 secs and 26 mins 19 secs. I can see how my strength endurance has improved. However, due to a sore/spasmy shoulder blade/back, I did the sensible thing and called it a day after 10 miles. There were no prizes for completing 12 at that pace and injuring myself in April! A great event, good training, and luckily I recovered well and was back into full training the following week, no problems. Thanks to swim buddy Dave (he was fab and did 24 miles), also Matt and Sambo who looked after us!
So, all races are entered for the season. There are fewer than last year, as there is a need for me to do longer back to back training week ends. I will be doing long swims on both days. I will however, be doing a 3.8k lake race in June, followed by the Champion of Champions in Dover (9 miles total). July takes me to Torbay for an 8 mile paddle across the bay to Brixham and back! Then to Bala for a week end of a 6 mile and 3 mile spalsh in the lake there! I also have to complete a 6 hour verification swim in this month, so I am allowed to attempt the Channel. Lots to keep me occupied!
I will endeavour to keep you all informed of my progress. It all seems very real now, especially as we are edging towards summer, and are now officially 'open water'! I have a week of sea swimming in Cornwall and Devon coming up, so am hoping to get in a lot of meterage in cold ish water (approx 12 degrees at the moment) and different conditions. Will be tiring, fun and hard work all at the same time, but essential boxes need to be ticked! I will try to keep posts coming shorter and more frequently from now on. Thanks for your interest and suppport..........Until next time..........Keep swimming :-)
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