Midnight Man - 16th August 2014 - More like Midnight Horror

TEAM DOE were back in action today for the 2nd year running.  We decided to up our game this year and enter Midnight Man 1/2 Iron Man distance. We had the same team as last year.  Colin Doe on the Bike, Kerry Marsh on the run and myself, the swimmer.

Having had such a great time in last years Clacton team triathlon, it's now officially an annual event.  The sun was shining and the weather conditions were perfect.

There were only 4 teams entered in the 1/2 iron man distance so our goal was to get in medal position!   We are easily pleased!. The safety briefing was called and at no point did the organiser say, "I know this is a race, but please do not run!!  It is common practise for swimmers exiting the water to run to the bike racks.  Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am a useless runner anyway, so to say I came out of the lake with all guns firing and sprinting is slightly over exaggerated.  A gentle jog more like it for me.   

Little known to me, my fellow supporters, Janet Doe and Kerry Marsh had already been discussing how the timing mat was appearing to be a safety hazard.  Although there were very few swimmers in front of me, the mat had already become a slippery ice-rink.  An accident waiting to happen said Janet to Kerry.  And yes, you guessed it, I was the accident!   The mat is only about 4ft wide but you had to step on it in order for the chip to register.  My right leg went from underneath me as I slipped and landed on my bottom.  Then to my horror I realised my foot was facing the wrong way! 

The pain was excruciating as I glanced down at the dislocation.  I shuffled off the timing mat on my bum, hands and one foot to get out of the way of the other swimmers and in true competitive style, before I let rip and scream out in agony, I ripped the timing chip off my left leg and threw it at Kerry saying "get the chip to Colin quick".  The organisers were OK with this since I had already completed my swim and therefore agreed we would not be disqualified.  So, once I had that in order, I could go back to quietly screaming.  

All I can is remember is saying to the St John Ambulance chaps, please don't do that pulley thing that I see them do on telly - please don't pull it to pop my foot back in place.  I kept on repeating myself but was soon shut up by the first aider telling me that if we don't re-align your foot asap, the circulation will stop and the consequences will be a lot worse. 

Oh crikey, this obviously means that they are gonna have to do that pulley thing they do on telly - now this is really gonna hurt.  Some gas and air arrived and Janet Doe came over, sat beside me, held my hand and told me not to look at the first-aider - just keep sucking the entonox and staring at me.  I do remember sucking a few, then still repeating, "please don't let them pull it, please", suck suck, please don't......   It seemed like forever that I was repeating this process.  I must have drifted off into a blissful pain free dream for a millisecond because I just then remember Janet telling me that my foot was now back pointing the right way.  

My new HUUB wetsuit was now completely sliced up my right leg and it wasn't long before I started to get cramp and suffer the cold so I had to ask them to slice up my other leg too. Poor HUUB - queue Christmas prezzie!

The ambulance crew couldn't reach me due to traffic and the 100's of cyclists bombing up and down each side of the dual carriageway but paramedics soon arrived and quickly administered the morphine so although cold, I was now pain free.

It took the ambulance over an hour to get to me but eventually I was on my way to Darent Valley hospital.  Kerry had already phoned Chris when I went down and it took him over 3hrs to cover the usual 1/2 hour journey to hospital.

Naively I thought it was just a dislocation.  That I would get to Turkey next week to race Hellespont and then the week after, attempt to complete the length of Windermere.  These had been my main focus events all season.  My Xray came back showing a broken fibula.  So that's it, gutted.  My season was over in a flash, I was now in plaster cast for at least six weeks.

I hold Bridge Triathlon solely responsible for my accident. The lack of care taken when witnessing the first few slips clearly should have triggered a change of mat.  Instead the timing mat was changed immediately after my fall as seen in the photograph.  The red mat was placed over the black mat after I fell.
5 weeks into recovery now, they haven't even rung me to see how I am, so when their email came through saying how much of a success the event was and asking if there was anything we would recommend to make it better next year, I couldn't help myself, I hastily hit the 'send' button advising them that 'a non-slip mat' would be an advantage.  I also mentioned how disappointed I was at not having any contact.  Sure enough I received a reply email and a voice mail within hours.  "Apologies but I was so busy after the event, then went on holiday, then was preparing for my own race".  oh please.......
Nuff said.  Oh and some mention of we've always used this timing chip company and its never happened before.  Oh so its my fault then is it???

So, I had my insurance and my claim is in.  Loss of earnings, equipment, entry fees, holidays missed and a few other bits and bobs so lets wait and see.

I am one frustrated swimmer at the moment.  Leg swells every day and I have not been allowed to even place my foot on the ground for four weeks.  The dog thinks its all a game with me on all fours all the time trying to get from A to B. The simplest of tasks like making a cup of tea or having a wash - well you try them all standing on one leg.

My new career move of swim coaching and Herbalife distributor is now on hold as my enquiries are stacking up but I cannot commit to anything until I know what the recovery/physio process is likely to be.  So I'm updating my blogs, writing sessions for my 2015 channel swimmer and trying to manage my Herbalife clients on crutches.

The dog keeps escaping but I can't grab hold of her, Ive got a bed pan under the bed coz apparently I make too much noise on the zimmerframe in the night and I'm putting on weight and becoming miserable.

BUT. yes I know.  I'm alive, I will come back stronger, healthier, fitter and there are a lot of folk worse off.

Yesterday I saw some postings re organising a swim from Fambridge to Burnham on 2nd October.

Oooohhhhh. I wonder.  I could feel my excitement at getting back in the water begin to kick in again.  This will be less than one week after my plaster is off and I have no idea whether or not I will be able to walk, but I am damn sure I am gonna try to swim.

And the great news was that TEAM DOE won the relay event.

Bridge to Bridge - 14k

O.M.G.

What an event this was.

The only time I have superceeded this distance was when I did CPCPCPC back in 2012.  And this year I've only met a 5k distance in one hit so this I considered a real challenge.

Very well organised and a really friendly bunch of emails coming through saying that if anyone had any dietary requirements, would they let them know so they could accommodate them.  Well, I don't have any medical dietary requirements, but for a 14k swim, I do need my Herbalife24 sports range rather than subject my body to the usual rubbish of bananas, cake etc.   They were very accommodating and said it was not a problem and please bring your own food, fully labelled and they would make sure it got to each section of the Thames ready for the next feed.

So we checked into a hotel on the Saturday.  A right dump.  3 star Travel Lodge in Reading Central.  What a dump - don't go there.  Only took it because they accommodate dogs.  Now I know why!  We had a nice meal in the high street and then headed back to the hotel for an early night.   7am registration!.

This was the weekend of all the storm warnings.  We were being threatened with the biggest storm to ever hit the UK.  The organisers weren't sure if the event was going to take place or not so we were on constant TWITTER watch throughout the night.  6am a final TWEET advised the event would go on but any sign of bad weather, they may have to stop it half way through.


Only other Redcaps I saw there were Tom Durhsen and Caroline Harvey, Julie and Rob Warren. Chris brought Millie with him and the intention was for him to travel to each food station to say Hi, before moving on to the next one.

We took this fab photo of Caroline, myself and Rob and it wasn't until afterwards that we realised we were a fabulous advert for HUUB wetsuits and we were standing right in front of the BLUESEVENTY stand.  Funny.



So, I queued for registration and then asked the question "where does the nutrition go for those people bringing their own".  The registration desk then went to enormous trouble to find out how they could get my bag to the 4k stop mark and then work out what POD I would be in, and then at that point, I could put my bag with the lead kayaker.  I really did feel a nuisance now.  And the ironic thing was, I had my CHILLSWIM with me but Chris had already taken my bag back the car, so if only I had known what a blooming nuisance I was going to be, I could have just carried my food in my CHILLSWIM.  I live and learn once again.

Yesterday had been a tough race and The Great Pier Swim had taken a lot out of me.  But I never realised how much until I started swimming. Hundreds of competitors and I was bruised and battered when the gun went off.  I immediately hated it and then when the heavens opened and I couldn't see a blooming thing for the rain splashes on the river, I hated it even more.  I'm not sure I've experienced this 'not wanting to do something' situation before, and I found myself talking myself into pulling out at the 4k stage.  Go home.  Crap hotel, doubt I will find my nutrition bag, been hit on the head and kicked several times and now its belting down with rain.  Just go home Lorraine.

I got to the 4k mark and struggled to find my bag.  No one knew where it was and the thought of cake now was Yuk with a capital Y.  When I eventually found it, soaking wet and most of the product in a sorry state, I got teary.  What a wimp!  At this point Chris located me and offered a cuddle and a smile and said those immortal words "No one is holding a gun to your head Lorraine - You don't have to do it".

That's all it took for me to MTFU (I just learnt this one recently).  Erm, excuse me. I am holding a Gun to my own head thank you.  I'm not a quitter, so let's get this job done. It seems that it's OK for me to decide to quit, but when someone else tells me to quit, my usual stubborness kicks in and I won't be told what to do!   My only issue was my bag to which Chris very kindly volunteered to get to each feed station for me (a decision he came to regret later on).

So, I was now in POD 3 with about 20 swimmers, much more civil and headed off with the instruction that one more clap of thunder, and please make your way to the nearest bank and then walk 4k back to the start!!!!    Wasn't looking forward to that one happening.

And so I pressed on, the stubborn swimmer that I am.  As each 2k feed station passed by, my hero for the day who was getting wetter and muddier each time, was there to meet me with my Herbalife.

























I gradually got into the swing of it so that by the time the last section came around, I was now up with the lead swimmers in my pack.   The finish was a site for sore eyes.  But, unfortunately Chris and Millie were not so happy this time to see me.  If you can imagine, whilst I was swimming down a tide assisted river, he was having to jump in the car, clean the mud off the dog, strap her in and zoom around the windy roads to find the next access point to the river.  Park up, Pay and Display and then get across muddy wet fields to see if he could spot me.   So when he finally found me, the dog and he were soaked and covered in mud so I won't go into the foul language that came from his mouth.   But he did mumble "don't ask me to come to Dartford with you next weekend"   Another decision that he would regret making - read Midnight Man to discover why !

 

The Great Pier Swim - Southend - July 30th 2014

How I love the Southend Great Pier Swim.  Mainly due to the fact that there are so many of my Redcap training mates entered.  And of course, it's the most local one to me and extremely well supported.  Havens Hospice did a fabulous job once again in ensuring the safety of all competitors.

All Redcaps

I was in the race, and hubby entered the challenge.  A 3.8k tide assisted swim from the Crowstone in Chalkwell to Southend and taking in a fabulous swim under the great pier.  Weather was kind today and sea temperature bearable (for me).  The race is non-wetsuit but the challengers are allowed to wear one.

It had been pointed out prior to the event that the race start time would probably mean it would not be tide assisted after all - and boy did I notice it.  Wind was up a little and it was tough.  I really did struggle to hold my stroke together and each time I popped my head up to site, all I saw was water, not land.  This made it very difficult as I kept saying to myself, don't worry, you are probably going in the right direction so catch a glimpse on the next site breath.  But sure enough, as soon as I lifted my head up again, what did I see - water, more water and more water.  I noticed some swimmers were actually doing a bit of breaststroke in order to catch a glimpse of where the pier was but I stuck to my guns, kept swimming in the hope that at least after every few attempts I would get the timing right and spot something familiar.

It soon became apparent when I was approaching the pier, which is quite a treacherous manoeuvre not to be swept into the support structure, that I clearly was way of course.  This became evident by the constant whistling of Iain Keenan, the beach lifeguard, in my ear who was out there on his surf-board alongside me screaming, move over, move over, BEEP, BEEEEEEP.   All I could think of was I am trying, I am trying, but the tide was insisting on moving me into shore.

It was probably at this point when I noticed a different coloured swim-cap beside me.  We all had the yellow caps on, but this one was orange.  I had remembered asking Danny Bunn at the start of the race, why are you wearing an orange hat, to which he replied, they ran out of yellow ones.   Surely I couldn't be level-pegging with Danny Bunn?   He had been having some banter on the B.O.S.S. WhatsApp page with Matthew Skidmore and James Cliff as to which one of these three guys would win it this year.  Then out of blue one of them messaged, "Never mind which one of us three will win, what about Lorraine Rate"?   Well, I didn't particularly think my swimming speed had been going great this year, so I just offered my own banter by adding "Don't worry, feeling slow and unfit" and left it at that.   Not that I would ever be capable of winning this event anyway, but we do all love a bit of banter.   So seeing this orange hat beside me, and being as competitive as I am,....... surely this isn't Danny Bunn alongside me.... IS IT ???

So I dug my heels in, upped the tempo and allowed my usual competitive streak to take over.  and sure enough when I crossed the finish line and turned round, who was behind me, Danny and Matthew.  Wow, I was so bloomin chuffed I can tell you.  First lady home too so what a great result for me today and I also won the over 50's ladies event.  Happy Days.