Lakeside 5k and The Great Scottish Swim 1/2 Mile and 1 Mile

Lakeside 5k

Well what a different a year makes.  Last years Lakeside 3.8k was my first open water race since retirement, where, with no training whatsoever, I headed off to the lake with a brand new wetsuit (bad move) and aches and pains all over from the previous days 7mile swim at Dover.  I would prefer not to dwell over the drama I created at the end of that particular race as I left in tears, being pulled out with what my son calls “His Mums Wounds of Victory”.  Tears yes, pain yes but victory, well I was the only lady in my age group so Victory Mmmmm......


Anyway, I stepped up a milestone this year to the 5k and with no aches and pains headed off to Lakeside.  A beautiful morning and made even more special with many Chalkwell Redcap team-mates also competing.  It was a brilliant race albeit 6 laps left me wondering if I had lost the ability to count.  You had to go under the lap counter after the first 400metres and  I spent the whole race asking myself ‘does that count as lap 1’?

It was very disheartening to be lapped on this event.  My god there are some speedies out there. Well done whoever you were but next time, please lap me underwater so I don’t see you.  The feeling of deflation when you get lapped is awful.  3 Redcap members receiving gold on this day, me being one of them so it was a brilliant day for all.

5k Done, Brilliant.  Winner ! and this time I had someone else in my age group  !

Great Scottish Swim September 2011.

With just about everyone of my friends commenting on how expensive this race had turned out to be, (3x entry fees, flights, hotel, food, petrol.... say no more), Chris & I headed off to Glasgow early Friday morning for a long weekend, returning Sunday night.  This was his first ever Great Swim event as he had made the comment at a previous event that “It looks so much fun, I think I will have a go next time”, so I entered him in the ½ mile.  I entered myself in the ½ mile too, so I could hold his hand and then also entered myself in the big boys event, the 2 miler for later in the day.

As I am particularly susceptible to ‘brain freeze’ and seem to suffer more than anyone else ever in the whole world, the email I received from Great Swim just two days before the event did not help.  “We are sorry to advise that due to severe bad weather over the last few weeks, for safety reasons, the 2mile swim has been reduced to 1mile”.  Jeez, that must be cold.....

I can’t quite recall how many times Chris swore when we got off the plane when he felt the air temperature. 

We set our alarms for 6a.m. on the Saturday and thank god, there was the odd bit of sunshine poking through the clouds.  I must say that for a novice, he took the whole thing really seriously.  He had talked ‘tactics’ with me all night long over dinner the night before as he wanted me to be his ‘pace-maker’.  I can feel you are already thinking that Bettsy is gonna make a swimmer out of her husband yet.  So my instructions were to stay half a body length in front of him all the way until the final 400m, then he wants to sprint to the finish line so can I then go a whole body length in front of him so he can only see my toes. 

Sounds easy, but Chris is quite a good sprinter.  Not a lot of stamina to go the distance but he can get out of the block pretty quick.  I, on the other hand, wanted to spend at least 20 minutes in the acclimatisation zone until my brain freeze had gone but as the ‘organisers’ kept shouting move along, move along, my face was a picture.  No. I can't get out yet, I've got severe migraine!  I need another 10minutes!   So I wasn’t acclimatised at all and when that gun went off – so did Chris. 

I was struggling like hell to swim and struggling even more to keep him in my sight.  Couple of hundred swimmers, few thousand arms and  legs everywhere and me with my perfectly mastered water-polo freestyle trying to find him.

Wonder Woman to the Rescue!   Head eventually in, I spotted him - THERE HE IS.   Sprint woman I said to myself and then, in a flash !! he he!!  I was level.

It was a lovely swim we had together, we both thoroughly enjoyed it and was looking forward to having the official photograph  together at the end.   Ha, bloomin, Ha.   The only photos that are missing from the day are ours.  Faulty colour, deleted !   Well, he will just have to do another one now won't he.

So, freezing cold and shivering, we dressed and headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours.  I climbed into bed with gloves, socks and still filthy dirty and after a nice warm drink, we headed back to the lake for my 1mile race.

Now, it goes without saying that every single video coverage Chris has taken of me swimming, leaves the viewer giddy.  Bless him, he has not quite mastered the art of finding me amongst the masses and recording me.  He’s zooming in, zooming out, side to side, too fast, and its a standing joke that the family always say “You are not letting Chris video you are you mum”?

Was today going to be any different. 

Now........... where's Chris.  

He is videoing and giving this sophisticated commentary on a man that is coming in, in 7^th place !!!!!!!!    His commentary is classic “Here’s Bettsy, she’s doing really well, come on girl”. 

And the reason behind his logic... "but his wet suit was the same as yours and he also has a straight right arm like you!   One day.......

Anyway, great fun, worth every penny to actually spend some time together as with him being a professional golfer and us both working full time, it's very rare that we actually see one another.  So for that reason alone, Scotland was fantastic and worth the £800 it cost........   Keep your comments to yourself please !

And finally, the official end of season Chalkwell Redcap Fancy Dress dip, and I went as a monster - how surprising....