River Arun - Littlehampton - Arundel, Brighton. 23 June 2012

I was really excited about this one.  Advertised as the second fastest river in the U.K. we were all guaranteed a personal best time.  12 Redcaps headed off for Littlehampton.  Some camped, some thrashed it out in a day. This was the first time I drove to an event, competed, and drove home again.  And hopefully, it will be the last time.  Far too tiring.

That said, it was a great day.  So nice being part of a huge team all cheering one another on.  My personal driver decided that he needed to practice his golf on this occasion.  Very inconvenient.  I won't be letting him do that again, so I had to drive.

With a car load of Redcaps we headed off at 10a.m.

This event was one of the best organised I have ever attended.  Run by Raw Energy Pursuits, the organisation was first class.  Registration took place without a hitch and then after a brief chat on how to get 400 swimmers to the other end of the river, 3 coaches appeared  and escorted us all to Littlehampton.

A quick change into our wetsuits and in single file, we were all lead across a footpath to reach the river.

A whole lot of giggling going on for some reason

With only two portaloo's for so many swimmers and spectators, the inevitable happened.  


Not mentioning any names for fear of repercusions, it was soon noticeable that a certain individual had a little trail of urine running from the bottom of her wetsuit legs.  Naturally this soon led to hysterics amongst the girls.  And how jealous of this particular person we all were that she had mastered the art of walking and wee'ing at the same time.  

Men in green and white are off with the pink women
soon on their trail

Coming round the first bend

Great finish when we hit the town.  Water was really fast here.

Zooming down the middle, very fast tide, great fun.

And its over.

The green and white hats (the men) were off.  The women (pink hats) had a short time slot to fit in with and hence we were being yelled at to get in the water quick by a very loud scary lady!   MOVE NOW - HURRY.  OMG, is this river really that fierce?

Anyway, once in, I had to turn the central heating on myself quick (take a pee for the less knowledgeable on open-water terms amongst us), and then get to the front of the pack.  It was a mass start so I did not want to be stuck at the back.

"Keep to the right of the river at all times please.   The safety crew need to zoom up and down the left.  And besides, the center of the river is very fast" !    HELLO!  I think in that case, I will swim up the centre of the river and take me chances with the kayaks.

And so I did, which is why I probably got such a great result.  15th overall out of 398 competitors and the 1st SuperVet over the line.  3.8k in 52mins.  The fastest the river has ever been swum in is 46.  Today it was won in 48.  So I am happy with this result.

Receiving my SuperVets trophy.

I found it a bit weird not knowing where I was going, other than - follow the river.  It was impossible to site anything as it was a case of just swim until you reach the mouth of the river and then take a sharp left or you will end up in the sea.


And, as for the results.  No sooner the last swimmer finished, the results were there.  You just tapped your race number into the computer and you got your own personal print out showing your time, category position and overall position. Fantastic.

Great race, great day, great friends, great laugh.

But, I really missed my driver coz I had to stay awake to drive all the way home again, which was not so much fun.

Great East Swim - Alton Waters - July 17 2012

Postponed from the Saturday due to this horrendous British weather we are having, at least a dozen Redcaps set off for the Great East Swim on 17 June 2012.  

The camaraderie shared by our club is fabulous, we all share a love of the Great Open Water and are all genuinely interested in one anothers performance.  So here's Barbara, me, Michaela, Shaun, Andy and Jane just before our 1 mile race. 

Barbara, me, Michaela, Shivvers, Andy, Jane.

It was extremely windy so the conditions were not perfect but compared to what the weather has been doing, it was going to be a great day.

Having met some personal training targets that I had set myself for 2012, I was still yet to achieve my racing target.  To complete a mile in the open water in sub 25minutes. 

Me and my new suit.

This was my first race in my new Zone 3 Aspire suit.   I had given it a trial at Burnham during the week and it felt so comfortable.  I suffer from severe cramp when I race due to poor circulation (and probably nutrition), but I am working on it.  

This suit doesn't hug my legs as tightly as the Blue Seventy, so I was praying for a cramp-free race.

 I had failed to break the 25 minute target at the Great London swim, which again may have been down to the strong head wind we had to swim into, but, as all us open-water swimmers know, anything can happen on the day.  

I never usually go off fast as a mile is a long way, but this being my last chance to break the 25min, I was battling with my personal demons.  I just kept saying to myself, what have you got to lose, just go out fast and see what happens.

So, kept all to myself, I had decided I was going in amongst the front-line and going out hard, no matter how many knocks I took from the men.  When that gun went off, right at the front, I ran for dear life.  

I kept hurdling over the water until I felt I had enough depth to take a dive, and then I launched myself into the pack.  For a split second, I thought to myself, 'God help this ole dear - whatever am I thinking of', but then in another split milli-second, I think 'Come on girl, you can do it'.  

I just love it that Chris takes part in my sport - its great having him there at the end.
And I secretly think he loves wearing the rubber too !

And I did - 24.12, I smashed the 25min barrier.  Not sure whether it was the suit or my determination not to hold back at the front, but who cares, I did it.  I also came 2nd in my wave which was also a brilliant result having just one man in front of me.  

So now I can relax knowing that all my 2012 targets have been accomplished.  I now have two 3.8k races ahead of me and another two 10k races booked so next week I will be adjusting my training accordingly. 

Windsor 3.8k - June 10 2012

Blue Seventy wetsuit - 3.8 Windsor swim.

On me lonesome for this one.  Not sure why no other Redcaps had entered but nevertheless, off I toddle with Chris for the Royal Windsor Swim.

Few hundred competitors in all and a very cold murky day.  This is when you really do have to pull on your enthusiasm and justify why on earth one would head off on a long car journey, in cold windy rainy weather to jump into an ice cold river.

I can't answer that question.  But can say, that its for the same reason thousands of other swimmers do it. It's a fantastic achievement and a great feeling.   Whats the alternative?  Housework, gardening, cooking, ironing.  Mmmmmm, now let me think - that's exactly why I do it.  It's called living life to the full.  And I love it - (Most of the time).

My famous Lock-Ness arm recovery - dreadful !

Not entered an F3 Event before and I was a tad disappointed with the lack of facilities, organisaton and results procedure.


The registration tent had no idea where to send me to get changed.  It was impossible to get out of the river, swimmers were being pulled out on their tummy's along a make-shift board!

I am actually standing on some poor mans knee as the previous method
of sliding out on your tummy was proving too difficult for the swimmers.

1st lady over 50, 1hr 1min, tough swim.

and something went wrong with the timing chips so the presentations didn't happen.  And no results for over 24 hours - not good.   

So, all in all, did I enjoy this one, not particularly.  A race against a very strong current made it extremely hard work for half the distance.

No other Redcaps there either so a pretty dull day :{

Queens Jubilee Charity Swim Challenge June 2012

We doing Skins or suit today?

5 June 2012, in order to boost funds for our Chalkwell Redcap 2012 Charity Challenge, I organised a Queens Jubilee Charity Swim in the River Crouch at South Woodham Ferrers.




27 swimmers took to the water, all agreeing to donate £5 towards our chosen charities.

I think we are swimming that way !

Brrrrr ! defo suit for this one



Hurry Up Lorraine - We are freezing - Can't we just Swim

I see Mrs Tyrant is'nt swimming, but she makes damn sure we have to.

Im going half suit, half skin !

Weather looking gloomy, but it was actually OK

Distances of 1/2, 1 or 2 miles were set for the challengers and flags were set along the coastline to mark the various distances.

Swimmers were invited from The Chalkwell Redcaps Open Water Swimming Club, Blackwater Triathlon Club, Chelmsford
Swimming Club, and a few of my other long term swimming mates from days past.

Must pay attention to Mrs Tyrant's Rules !

The Charities are RNLI and Essex Search & Rescue.


The majority of the swimmers took to the water in a wetsuit with a few die-hards going without.

Boats all ready, and they're off

On the day, we collected nearly £400, and added to the on-line donations, the event raised approximately £500 for charity.

Bye Mrs Tyrant - Nice knowin ya

I was relieved that the day went without a hitch.

And they came out smiling.

Well almost. Un-be-known to everyone, I got there very early with the intention of lining the coast with Red, White and Blue balloons. On opening my boot, they all flew out in the wind and all popped on the bramble bushes! - great start !.

Lovely picture

Fighting back the tears, coz clearly my whole day was now ruined because of my lost balloons - on my own, I then had to chase a rolling black sack full of balloons up the road to try to prevent loosing the remaining few. Hilarious! and so glad no one witnessed it! Do I laugh or do I cry?

More smiles

Thank God Derrick arrived early to assist in putting up the flags as Chris had had a last minute calling to the golf club!!!!! say no more !!!!! so I had no 'set-up' assistance.

And even more, so glad you enjoyed it

I guess the flags went un-noticed on the day as the wind prevented me from hanging them across the poles that I had bought down, so we had to make do with twisting them round a fence post. They were there honest!

Special thankyou has to go to all the volunteers that offered their time and valueable experience to making the event run smoothly.

Yep, head still there !

Kayak and boat support from Chalkwell Redcaps Open Water Swimming Club, Blackwater Triathlon Club, SWF Yacht Club, and close friend and past Channel Swimmer 'Water Slave' Karen Eyles, along with husband Roger, provided additional kayak and first aid support.

All the trouble I went to getting a celebrity, and no-one even
noticed Noel Edmunds swimming

Volunteers collecting money, selling raffle tickets, checking swimmers in and out of the water, feeding them home made cakes, all gave their time free of charge.

Must get the crabs off me toes before I come out

The generosity of all those involved meant that every single penny raised was able to go direct to the charities. So thankyou everyone.

A special thank you goes to Lee at The Whalebone Pub who catered superbly with 50 hungry mouths all decending in the pub at the same time for a social.






Lee donated additional money and a fabulous raffle prize of a 'meal for two' at The Scrimshaws restaurant (which I am delighted to say, was won by a Redcap, Julie Dempsey). He fed all the hungry swimmers free of charge.

Look at all those lovely prizes.

I am absolutely delighted that all swimmers enjoyed the day and the swim. Without the full support of everyone involved, I could not have done this so a very special personal thankyou from me.

Special thanks to our No. 1 kayaker, Andy.

I was wondering how to thank Lee for his generosity and Derrick Griffiths came up with the idea of a group of us doing a training swim in the Crouch, you can all pop back to mine afterwards to use the hair-dryer and put your lippy on (men as well if nec.!) and then I could book a table in Scrimshaws restaurant and we could all go for a nice meal. All interested, email me your names and I will organise a nice little dip for us soon.

Phew, all counted in and out safely.

And so to the raffle. Only possible because
many people donated prizes. I would suspect
at least another £50 was taken in raffle money.
Thankyou.

Happy Days.

THE COUNTDOWN TO C.P.C.P.C.P.C IS ON. ONLY 6 WEEKS TO GO !

And Mrs Tyrant didn't even charge for the cakes or drink - thats a first!

June 2012. Great London Swim & Eton 10k

A weekend to remember.

Just when I was starting to panic that I would never be ready for the open-water season, the gods finally came good.   Sunshine - and heaps of it.   Previously, I had a trip to Stubbers Adventure park and plopped myself into the minus 12 degree waters for my first open water dip of the season. 

Suffering from ice cream headache, I doggie-paddled round the 1k loop and then shivered all the way back to the changing rooms.   On my own, (as everyone else seemed to manage more than 1 lap), hypothermia set in and as my fingers shook vigourously, I struggled to remove my locker key from my costume. What a state to be in.   No choice but to stand in the red hot showers (bad move), in my wetsuit for 20mins.  I had a migraine all day, Why?   I had to do some research. 

Next day, I headed off to the sea and plastered a tub of vaseline on my forehead, (advice from Derek), pulled two swim hats down over the mess and put on the extra large goggles that Derrick (another Derrick) had lent me. That should do the trick.  Nope!   3 x 200metre laps of the Crowstone Crawl, and I was in trouble once again.   And whats more, coz I lifted the goggles off to tread water and hold my head in agony, I managed to get vaseline all over my fingers, then I put the goggles back on, the ice-cold water turned the vaseline white - and now I am blind (as well as stupid)!

But then, a miracle happened.  My prayers were answered, twice over!  Windsor 3.8k is cancelled due to severe bad weather.  RESULT.  I have another whole week to acclimatise!  Then miracle no. 2 happened, a whole week of glorious sunshine and the water temperatures crept up daily. Halaluya.   London Docklands here I come.

The day was made extra special because my mum came to watch us. The Excel centre had a Heroes convention going on, so as well as several thousand arriving for the swimming, there was equal amount of people dressed up in costumes.   Chris, now a 'swimmer' and not a 'golfer',  has been training, (sort of) with me but this was going to be his first ever 1 mile distance.  

 
It was lovely to have him right beside me (if only for the warm up routine and the acclimatisation dip) as there was no way he was gonna be anywhere near me when that gun went off “!  

Kerri Ann Payne was looking absolutely gorgeous as she always does and I managed to get my photo done with her. Beauty and the Beast comes to mind in this photo, (sorry Kerri - but you really look rough without any make up!!).  

This was the first race I have ever done where I had no nerves. I am enjoying my new found sport so much and I don’t want to be competitive with anyone any more. Those days are gone. I just want to set my own targets and race my own race.

Shivvers and Me just before our race.

My 2012 goal is to beat 25minutes for the mile and being capable of doing sub 23 in a pool, I am hopeful its a fairly realistic target.

The weather and conditions dictate your swims for you.  Fast currents, strong winds, ribs motoring up and down, causing waves, all play a part.  The Great London had a strong head wind to swim into and I had a bad zig-zagging day all round the course, so hence a crap time of 25.52.   Never mind. I came 55th out of 1,684 competitors and was the winner of the ladies over 50 category.   Chris was 640th.

It was lovely at the finish line to have mum there and after I collected all the goodies they give you and had my photo shoot, it was back to the finish line to wait for Chris. 33 minutes and bless him, he looked knackered but he loved it. 

Every 1/2 hour, another 300 competitors set off into the glorious sunshine



Taken from the start as the swimmers head off

And the pink wave hit the waters

Followed by the green wave

Me, Chris, Shaun (Shivers) Derek. Just four of many Redcaps there today encouraging one another, no matter what our standard, we are a team. x.

ETON 10k
Back home, I had the perfect excuse for no housework today, I had to get up at 5.30a.m. and head off to Eton for a 10k race. Once again we had lots of Redcaps in the 10k so we all travelled in a minibus together which added to the team spirt.

The organisation was a bit hectic. Only 4 portaloos between almost 400 swimmers and even more spectators, so we were 15 minutes late for registering. I headed off to the bushes for a wee as it was the only option and met my poor friend Helen just returning from the bushes with severe nettle rash all up her legs.  Nice.  

Looks very inviting doesn't it.  The calm before the storm.

Now, let me see - who's juice shall I steal!  Redcaps were organised, we had a bucket with all our stuff in.  This was just a small section at the nutrition pit stop, it was about 15 meters long.  So if you didn't have a flag sticking out of your bottle, you had no chance finding it.

As the hours went on, the field spread out.

AND SO TO THE RACE
I hate wearing a wetsuit, I fight it all the time as I feel claustrophobic. I prefer to feel the water.   But I also hate feeling cold  - so dilemma!  We were told the water was 19 degrees.  Thats a good temperature for a short distance but can I stay in it for up to 3 hours?  As I crept up the queue to register I heard the three people in front of me say "non wetsuit", so when I got to the table, I found myself saying "non wetsuit".  Ooops!    I knew I would be uncomfortable wearing a wetsuit for 3 hours so now I am just going to be uncomfortable freezing for 3  hours instead. 

We were like sardines bobbing around in a tiny warm up area and when that gun went off, it was chaos. Only a small gap to get through, so the first 1k was like swimming in a washing machine.  The most dangerous mass start I have ever participated in.  400 swimmers had to squeeze between narrow starting posts, all fighting for water.  Hence I came home with several cuts and bruises.

  

I love the video below of how to train for a mass swim start. It is honestly just like this.

I went round the first 1k with Derrick Griffiths but then I lost him on the turn buoy amongst all the arms and legs that were battering me.  I wished I had kept with him.  We are usually the same pace, but with so many swimmers fighting for clear water, I lost him.

I did two laps before diverting off to the pit stop.     Ben was just pulling out as I pulled in, and the evil in me instantly thought, SHITE, now I have a race on my hands.  I am almost up with Doctor Doolittle himself, Mr Ben Jacques!!!!  I spent the next lap torturing myself thinking, Ben knows I am on his toes so 'will he, wont he', pull into the next pit stop?   I wasn't going to take any chances.  (what did I say at the beginning of this write up - I am not going to be competitive - I just can't help it).  I swam right past the next pit stop to make up some time and hoped that I would cope with no fluids for the next 4k.   Un-be-known to me, poor Ben was in trouble with severe back pain and I was already ahead of him.   Derrick came in first out of the Redcaps, then me, Ben and then my two little water slaves, Helen Wildin and Jane Bell - whom I am so proud of.    Both smashed their targets so went home smiling.  Other Redcaps with great results, Stuart Athol, Shaun Hales and Sarah Macintosh.   My time was 2hrs 49mins, 47secs, a whopping 7 minutes faster than last year.

As we sat on the grass watching the final swimmers come in, I received a text from fellow Redcap, Kirstie.  She was at Lakeside with many other Redcaps where we had great results, including several wins. What a fab weekend for us Redcaps with the swim of the day definitely going to Kirstie who won the 5k at Lakeside in 1hr 9 at the tender age of just 14.

So now I am focusing on my Queens Jubilee Charity Swim which I have organised in the River Crouch. With over 30 swimmers registered, we are looking forward to a fab day and social afterwards and I hope I raise oodles of money for charity.