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.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - MARCH 31 2012

It's been a hard slog through the winter working full time and trying to train in my spare time as my spare time is almost zero these days.  SKS Charity Challenge work, writing training sessions, articles, organising fundraising events and being asked by the editor of H20 magazine, Mr Simon Griffiths if I would like to share my training schedules with his readers.  It's no wonder I have had no time for my blog.

But this weekend, I have given myself 3 whole days off training.  WOW.  So I have had a good ole catch up on the computer.  I've also had time to check out a weeks training at Club La Santa in Lanzarote for the beginning of May so really hope I can get out there.  Chris even got a roast dinner cooked for him today which has been a thing of the past lately.  Not because I haven't had the time to cook it but because I train for 2 hours on a Sunday evening and can't do that after a belly full of roasties, so hence, if I can't have a roastie, no one can!

And why, you may ask, have I given myself three days off training?  Well, it's because

MISSION HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.

Back in July 2011, I needed a goal.  The channel swim attempt was all over and I was a lost soul again.  I needed to set myself a target.  I had oodles of distance training under my belt but the end result was that my speed had completely disappeared.  I didn't even have a 25metre dash in me.  2 extra stone in weight had gradually found itself attached to my middle and I needed to sort myself out.

So target number 1 was obvious.  I had to lose weight.  Target number 2 - I had to find my speed again.I never managed to break the 25min mile last year for open water and for me, this was awful.  I was doing them in the pool in sub 22mins just a few years ago so not breaking 25mins was hard to swallow.

So, target set.  Lose 1.5 stone in weight and complete 40 x 100's swim and rest off 90secs before 1 April 2012.  Best thing for me when setting targets is to say them out loud.  Print them on face book.  Type them in me blog and tell every Tom, Dick and Harry of me intentions, even the milkman if necessary.  Tell the World.  This is how it works for me.  Once Ive announced it - I HAVE TO DO IT.

From July 2011 right through to December 2011, I had lost a whopping - wait for it - 6lbs.  Crap.  Then off I went on a two week Caribbean Cruise and put the whole lot back on again.

 

Then I was ill for 5 weeks and couldn't train, then it was Christmas. I was no farther forward than I was in July.  I was training hard but could only come in on about 86 secs on the first 100m, then 89, then 91.

So new years resolution - Pull yourself together.

I joint a fabulous website called MYFITNESS PAL.  I told it what I needed to weigh before April, I told it what I weigh now and IT told me my maximum daily calorie intake if I wanted to achieve it.  Oooh dear, that's not a lot of calories to survive on.  However, great thing about this programme is that it calculates exercise calories for you and adds them to your daily allowance.  I soon worked out that a hard 2.5hr F/S session burns 2,000 calories.  Result!  Now I could actually eat loads as long as I trained loads.  I became addicted to the programme to the extent that if I came home from work only having 250 calories left for my evening meal, I would work out what I wanted to eat and then MYFITNESSPAL would tell me how many hours I have to swim for tonight in order to get the dinner I wanted.  God this sounds so sad when I write it down, but this is what I have been doing and whether its sad or not - it worked for me.

So by the end of January 2012, the weight was shifting pretty quickly but the speed in the pool was still not looking good.  So, another radical change of plan.  Stop killing myself with long distance work.  I've got the endurance now, I've got the stamina - start sprinting again.  So I started doing 25's with loads of rest and at the beginning I was gasping for air after just 1!  Jesus, how the hell am I gonna do 160 lengths in one hour at this speed.

But once my Memory Muscles had kicked back in, I soon remembered what it feels like to do 25's in 15/16secs.  And it only took 2-3 weeks of doing sprint work before I was repeating these times swim and rest off 30.  I then started bringing in the 100's and was amazed that I was coming in sub 80!!  All I needed to do now was keep repeating it - that wasn't so easy.

Throughout March I had several attempts at my target.  I needed to know how close I was, coz 1st of April was just round the corner.  I managed 11 one day, then next time only managed 10.  Jesus, how the hell am I gonna do 40.  I kept hearing Gray's (great swimming friend) voice in my head from last summer "Why don't you set yourself sensible targets Lorraine"?  He has no idea how many times I have revisited that sentence and has no idea that it was that sentence that helped me to achieve my goal.  I had to prove him wrong.

The Sunday before 'D' day, I prepared to do it.  Nice lay in, relaxing day, plenty of the right fluids/nutrition and off I went, the little saddo I am with my self-inflicted mission on tow.  I managed a lousy 6.

On the Wednesday before 'D' day, I managed 27!   And the only reason I had to stop at 27 was because some stupid kid that could hardly swim, crossed the lane rope and I had to stop to check she was OK.  She was only about 10years old, could barely tread water.  I was so flaming angry with her and the lifeguards that I just screamed at the little brat "Do you cross the road without looking?"   I felt awful afterwards because how were they supposed to know what I was doing but I was so close to doing it, that it infuriated me.

Friday morning at the crack of dawn, texts went off to fellow swimmers, I need a pace-maker and I need one tonight.  40 x 100 swim and rest off 90secs please.  Any volunteers?  That's the great thing about facebook and texting - just send the message out there and all those nutters who understand where I am coming from - came forward.  But - not with what I wanted to hear.  Sorry, I'm away this weekend.  Sorry Im working etc etc.

But then came the BEEP I was waiting for.  One nice little text popped up from my good friend Andy Jopson'.  "Well, I'm flying out to Gerona at the crack of dawn in the morning, but I will try to get my packing done and if you could leave it till late evening, I will come and pace you".  That's some friend for you isn't it?  He did that for me.   Thank you, thank you, thank you. x.

As the pool was so hot, we did them in batches of 10 with a maximum of 1min between each ten to drink.  It was necessary as I had learnt from my previous 27 which had left me red faced and having palpitations purely down to the heat in the pool, that there had to be some cold drinks consumed throughout the challenge to avoid spontaneous combustion.  I packed my drink with ice cubes to help reduce my temperature.

And for some very very strange reason, I found it easy.  I just sat on Andy's toes and I just focused on 10 at a time.  He paced it brilliantly for me.  He started at sub 85's which was really comfortable and then towards the end, I was just reaching for the wall at 86/87, taking a deep breath and pushing off again.

I guess it would be easy to say that swimming in someones draft made it easier for me, but I don't care how I did it, I just know I finally did it.  And with it looking so doubtful just 2 weeks ago, I was chuffed to bits so if anyone wants to accuse me of drafting, then so be it.

Now being the real odd ball I am, I woke up Saturday morning feeling somewhat empty - Now what do I do. I no longer have a target.

Oh yes you do Bettsy - Break that 25mins for the mile in the open water this year and break 2hrs.45 for those 10k events.

100 x 100's - 2nd time around

As if managing it once wasn't hard enough, being the type of swimmer I am, and always thinking I could have done better,  I felt the urge to attempt H20's 100x100's for the second time.  All swimmers training for SKS are really working hard and the commitment is really coming through now.  The 100, 100's session is a killer.  For me, I couldn't do it the way some of my fellow swimmers tried it.  Just swim a 100, stop and go again when you are ready.  No.  There's no structure to that.  I need to know that if I manage my 100's off a certain time, I will be home by 8p.m.  And I need to remain focused.  Keep watching that Speedo clock and keep a consistent pace.  That's the only way that I can overcome the boredom.  Concentrate on each one like its the first.

This time round, I broke mine up into batches of 1k.  The first time I attempted them a month or so back at Garons, Southend, I paused for 30 seconds after each 1k to take on nutrition.  I focused on taking enough rest after each 100 too so that my actual time for the 100 was consistent.  I am trying not to allow myself to become a progressingly slower plodder.  Stay focused, keep looking at the clock, and keep swimming at the same pace.  However, for me, taking too much rest between each 100 (15secs first time round), leaves me bored and just wanting to get on with the next one.  Although I made the first 10k relatively comfortably, I realised that I should be training harder during the 10k in order to get my stamina/endurance levels up, so this time round, I am on a mission.

I am going to do this 10k at speed. (well - fast for me!).   My programme was as follows:-

10 x 100 off 95
5 x 100 off 90
5 x 100 off 1.40
10 x 100 off 95
5 x 100 off 90
5 x 100 off 1.40
2k done.  Take 1 minutes rest for nutrition and repeat the above 5 x.

For me, going off 90 is a killer as it only ever allows me about 7 secs rest maximum - to begin with.  But, after doing 5 or so, this 7 seconds rest drops to about 2secs rest.  I can keep going at this pace.  I just look up at the clock as the hand flows up to the 90 bit and just go again.  I'm OK doing it like this, but I only have to loose concentration on one of them and that hand scoops past the 90sec bit and then I have no chance of pulling it back.  This is why I was realistic and only put 5 of them in at a time.  Do 5, then go into recovery mode for a while, then back into comfortable mode for a while and then bring on  those 90's again.

It worked brilliantly until nature called at the 7k point?   Damn, I purposly did not drink too much before I left home and I also visited the loo before I entered the water, but unfortunately, when you are taking on the fluids during the long swims, the inevitable happens.  When you've gotta go, you've gotta go.  Even in the open water, I find it impossible to pee whilst swimming fast, but when you are in a swimming pool, I daren't ignor the signs just in case!   What followed next was a split seconds stupidity.   I  did a big push up in the shallow end to get out quick and then wham!! both calves cramped up.  I actually fell back into the water with the pain etched on my face.  I was in so much pain, I couldn't continue to climb out.  I just fell back in with no control over my legs.  I wasted about 3 to 4 minutes rolling about in agony then eventually hobbled to the loo.  Damn, damn, damn.  I was so angry, why didn't I just swim over to the steps ?

The next 1k saw me swimming with flat feet, toes pointing to the bottom of the pool trying to send the cramp away, so needless to say, the 90's didn't happen.  It was now all down to mind games.  Don't let that little man in the back of your head that keeps saying "You've messed up, go home" get the better of you.  I wanted to listen to him, but being a woman - I didnt !!!!   I had to settle for 1.40's for the rest of the 10k as not only had I lost my mo-jo, but I had also lost my pace-maker, Mr Ben Jacques - whom I am convinced that without him, I would not even have got to 7k at the pace I was doing.  It's so much easier drafting.

See you in 3 hours time !

Ben, also bailed out at 7k due to neck and shoulder problems.  It happens.  Doesn't matter how focused and determined you are, what happens on the day - happens on the day.

Overall, my pace was a lot faster than the first time I attempted it and there were factors that prevented me from completing my target schedule.  I will attempt it again in a months time.  Eton 10k is just round the corner and I need to get everything right for that one.  2011 Eton saw me having to stop for a good 10 minutes with terrible cramp, hanging onto a support kayak so I really want to get my nutrition right so I can get round this time in record time.

Xmas Eve Charity Dip - Far too cold for me

Why on earth did I do this?   I hadn't been able to stop asking myself that question all bloody week.  Will I have a heart attack?  Maybe.  Will it hurt? Probably.  Will it really be that cold?  YES.   So why?  Because I stupidly said I would and its for charity, and lots of other people are doing it, and I have nothing better to do on Xmas Eve !!!!  Well, apart from finish the shopping, set the table for 14, cook the turkey, cook the gammon, make the desserts.  ho ho ho !

So here's the deal.  Turn up at Southend Beach at 11.00, run up and down the beach in your swim suit (STRICTLY NO WETSUITS ALLOWED), carrying a charity bucket for 15 minutes, then when you've collected a few bob, run in the freezing cold sea, then run back out again.  Smile for the camera.  Get dressed, and your done.  OK, let's do it.

So first things first.  7.00a.m. the phone rings and its Essex Radio for an interview, asking all the very same questions I've been asking myself all week.  But, with one exception.  "And, Lorraine, where exactly will you be meeting today, so that we can broad cast it to all our listeners to encourage people to pop along and cheer you on".  "Oh, thank you Mr Radio man, we will be meeting at the Arches, just adjacent to the pier".  "Well, thank you for your time this morning Lorraine and we wish you good luck".  Bye.

Back to facebook, and 2,000 messages later - Er, Lorraine, we are not meeting at the Arches, adjacent to the Pier !!!!!!    Ooops a daisy, never did have any sense of direction. Funny thing was tho, that while I was running up and down the beach, some old boy stopped me and said "Some daft bird on the radio this morning directed everyone to the pier".  No way, I said !!!!!   Idiot !!!!!   So funny.

Didnt have the heart to tell all my fellow Redcaps that I had also pre-recorded a radio interview with Southend Radio the day before directing them the wrong way too.   L.O.L.  You gotta laugh ain't ya.

Almost ready, 10, 9, 8, 7.........

Final pause for the camera and its almost time

Done it, and whats more, no heart attack, and Im still breathing

We raised just under £200 for that brief moment of madness and got a full double spread in the Southend Echo.  But I wonder how much we would have raised if I had advertised the location correctly?  Who knows !

Echo article - Chalkwell water club takes its annual winter Thames dip

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....

Bournemouth Pier to Pier swim September 2011 + the weeks ahead.

No races in August for me, so a time to get some serious open water training in, whilst the water is still warm.  I've been having fun with the Redcaps.  We did a 4hr sea swim a couple of weeks ago.  This saw us swimming against a fast tide and strong winds for the whole 4 hours.  Just when I reached the 1/4 mark and whilst I was frantically trying to keep my head above the waves whilst treading water and taking on fluids, I said to Derek, "God that was hard against the tide, it should be easier going back, shouldnt it", but he reliably informed me that because of the strong surface wind, it will be even tougher going back.  Cheers mate.  But he was right. My arms couldn't clear the waves and after 2 hours of gulping and struggling to hold it together, the 5 of us, me, Ben, Derek, Tongie and Helen, reached the half way point.  Oh how easy it would have been to call it a day.  But no, we were on a mission.  If we are to succeed in next years Charity Challenge, then we need to practice.  Fail to prepare then PREPARE TO FAIL!!!!    No doubt the challenge will take us more than 4 hours so before this open water season is out, we had to see what it felt like.  Tongie and Helen decided to call it a day at the half way point but the others soldiered on.  Ben and I managed it non-wetsuit.  Tough cookies !

Been in the River Chelmer a few times and over to the lake at Heybridge too, so getting in plenty of variety whilst leading up to my September races.

Chalkwell Redcaps, lazy river swim - Great turnout albeit just me and Ben in this photo.

August also saw me organising a bank holiday dip in the River Crouch.  Just a quick posting on facebook resulted in 15 swimmers turning up.  Again, a few were going for 4 hours but as I made the mistake of trying out a new wetsuit, by the 1hr stage, my neck was sore and I knew I couldnt continue.  Somehow, tho, just a quick 'Im quitting' statement from me, resulted in all of them quitting !!!!!!  Oh the power!   So back to mine for a BBQ instead.  Great day, great company and great fun.

I've been training with some triathletes on Mondays and Wednesdays down at Burnham on Crouch.  This water can be dangerous.  I had nightmares last week that the platoon that you have to lift yourself onto to get out, sucked me under.  The tide is so fast that you can feel your legs going under the platoon whilst you try to find the strength in your arms to pull yourself out.  Its so deep that you have nothing to lever yourself against. It goes without saying, that my exit from the water has to go down as the most un-ladylike exit you will ever get to see !  The triathletes on the other hand just do an almighty press up and they are up.  I kind-of do a pull, fall flat on me chest, squeel, then twirl me legs round the sides whilst shouting "I'm OK !

I'm sure Andy is asking "Did she get sucked under?"

 . 

To all my friends who think I'm mad, - couldnt think of a better way to spend my evenings - thank you.

My travelling companion who is just about to do Henley Full Iron Man this Sunday - Go Andy Go

That's it for another night, 5 in and 5 out.  Result, didn't lose anyone out there tonight

September 4th saw me and Chris heading off to Bournemouth for the Great Pier to Pier swim.  This is the first race since Chris has decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  So instead of a golf bag in the boot, it's a dry bag and wetsuits.  Sunday morning when we woke up in the hotel room, his first words were "W.T.F".  His normal Sunday routine of a lay in, spot of golf, lunch, and chill had a rude awakening.  It was 7a.m., it was windy, it was chucking down with rain, and he is about to run into the sea with 1000 other competitors - all to keep me company.   aww, bless.   

Brave husband, wearing a wetsuit instead of carryout a golf bag. x.

He's off.  His first ever open water race.  500 competitors in the yellow wave

Now, where is he ?

By Jove, he beat me to the pier and I was walking!     Well done Hubby. x.

My turn now.

Red cap wave, another 500 swimmers getting ready to race.

3rd lady home.  Brilliant.

And so that't it.  First race of September done.  Next is the 5k Swimfest at Lakeside this coming Sunday where lots of Redcaps are competing and then off to Scotland for the last in the Great Swim Series.  For Scotland, I am going to swim beside Chris for his 1mile at 8.00a.m. and use it as a warm up for my 2mile race at midday.  Got a feeling that Strathclyde Loch is gonna be pretty cold so I hope Chris doesnt hang up his wetsuit after this one.

I'm back in the pool now too as I've lost all sense of speed throughout the winter Channel training routine.  And only being outside, it's hard to get that speed going again. My goal of 40 x 100m swim and rest off 90 by April next year seems impossible right now.  I managed 10 the other day in a 25m pool and then headed off to an old 36 2/3 yard pool to try to do it again.  Clearly it wasn't happening.  Managed them in batches of 3 and was really frustrated at how bad your speed can get if you don't combine your open water training with pool training.  Obviously, I've had an excuse, as I wasn't able to train in the open water this past winter whilst coaching my channel buddy.  At the pool, my long time swimming buddy Gray was on hand to give me a ticking off.  "Will you stop beating yourself up woman".  Give it time.  Go back to basics and pick it up from there.  Sharpen up with sprints, 50's, do some drills, etc. Take some decent rest whilst you get your speed back, then bring the rest down.  Of course, I knew he was right.  But I needed to hear it out loud.  So I appreciate his advice and now with a slightly amended training plan,once I have these two races out of the way, I will see what October brings.

And just today, I heard from Karen, my water slave.  I wasn't sure if she was resting up and trying to forget about the Channel ordeal, or whether she was leaving me alone so I could concentrate on my own swimming. Either way, I knew I had to distance myself and go it alone for a while.  And so, now I know.  For all our mutual friends out there, having handed her notice in at work, she is spending a few months setting up her own business.  Hopefully, once the initial administration is all done, she will be back swimming again.  And yes, she's gonna give it another go in 2013 so watch this space.

July 2011 - Southend Great Pier Swim/Hubby is converted !/My training plan for the future

Now that my year of assisting Karen in her quest to conquer the channel is over, it's time to knuckle down and decide what I want to do with my own swimming.  No doubt if it wasn't for Karen, I would probably have returned as a pool swimmer, but now having the bug for open-water swimming, I realise this is where my future in the sport lies.

So decision time.  Do I become an open-water swimmer content with challenges and raising money for charity or do I get back to racing.  Having done all the Great Swim series so far this year with Gold or Silver results in my category each time, (and this without any training), I guess the 'pull' towards seeing how well I can do next year, if I get a years winter training under my belt, is quite strong.  But on the other hand, I felt so proud conquering the 24hr charity challenge and raising a whopping £1,625 for Help4Heroes, and also being part of Karen's channel challenge, that the desire to conquer lakes/seas etc. is also strong.  So, that's it, decision made - I will do both!

Train hard to produce a fast 1mile, 2mile and 10k race time which should give me enough stamina to conquer perhaps Windermere next year, or the latest Chalkwell Redcap challenge which we are contemplating at the moment: -  Southend, Essex to All Hallows, Kent, back to Leigh on Sea, Essex and all before you run out of water - so a highly tuned, precise swim against the clock.  See : -

http://www.h2openmagazine.com/readers-swims/southend-essex-to-all-hallows-kent-to-leigh-on-sea-essex.html


The chap that has achieved this swim actually won the Great Southend Pier swim this year, to which I came in 6th overall and 1st in the ladies over 45 category. And I am sure he won't mind me saying that at 57 years of age, is a remarkable achievement and which finally, has stopped me from telling myself, that at 53, perhaps I am too old to return to swimming with such high ambitions.

So just 4 weeks into my 'serious training', I have found a new group of tri-athletes to hang around with on Mondays and Wednesday at Burnham on Crouch.  A fast flowing stretch of water at the majority of times, which led me to having palpitations the first time out with these guys.  Having been used to swimming at 2min/100 metre pace for the past year, bit of doggy paddle here and there, to suddenly being in a situation where six strong tri-athletes all say, OK re-group at that boat over there (1/2 a mile away at least), and to have to swim my guts out continuously for 1/2 hour to keep up, I realised, jeez I have become unfit.

I've also hooked back up with my old club the Blackwater Triathlon club from many moons ago and have been welcomed to the lake session on a Saturday morning where I self-discipline myself into doing timed laps /drills etc.   Add this to having the privilege of swimming with some very fast swimmers from Chalkwell Redcaps in the waters of Southend on Sea, plus 1 pool swim a week to work 'off the clock', and my training plan is falling into place.  I have set myself a target to lose 1.5 stone and be able to swim 40 x 100's swim and rest off 90 by the start of the open-water season next year.  High standards for me, maybe not for others, but if I set my mind to it, I know I'm capable of doing it.

Chris & I doing a 5k straight swim from Westcliff to Thorpe Bay with about 15 Redcaps - Brilliant.  Chris pulled out at the Pier and walked back to Westcliff by himself to get the car, much to the humour of on-lookers, whom one referred to him as looking like 'James Bond'.  No wonder he loves wearing that wet-suit.

15 Chalkwell Redcaps out for a challenging afternoon.

Chris has also finally given in and realised that if he wants to see me at all from one week to the next, he had better get in the lake/river with me.  So, I am chuffed that I also get to swim with him once at week down at Marsh Farm or in the River Chelmer, (albeit I do wish he would keep up!).  I have even persuaded him to enter the Southend Pier Swim, Lakeside SwimFest, the Great Scottish Swim and Bournemouth Pier to Pier.  Well, saves him getting bored on the sidelines being no. 1 photographer.  I do hope he manages OK.   Memories of Sheffied Masters 10 years ago when I entered him in the 200 f/s to give him something to do while he was there, still relives nightmares of him coming in last and me hiding in the changing rooms for a couple of hours till he calmed down and had the chance to forgive me for putting him in the wrong heat!.

With his new kit all purchased, he comes home from his 'preferred past-time', the golf course, to relay further stories of how his golfing buddies have been taking his new found sport less than serious.  They see it as a perfect opportunity for 'micky taking'   Jealousy will get you no where guys. I know you are all secretly wanting to dress in neoprene !  Anyway, the constant jibes soon changed to 'Chris is your man' when a fellow golfer decided to throw a tantrum at the 14th hole and hurl is very expensive golf club in the air, only to see it land in the pond.  Nothing that Chris would be familiar with of course !!!!!!

Yes, these photo's were taken at the 14th, at Langdon Hills Golf Club.  Not what you would usually expect to see.   With no thought for safety whatsoever, he dived in, much to my horror, as I remind him he should have done the traditional life-savers jump into unknown waters!

However, much underwater searching did not retrieve the golf club and I do believe, his golfing buddies take his new sport a little more seriously now having realised how quick he was to jump into the lake after a golf club!  Which begs to question whether he would be so quick if he saw me in trouble at the lake!

Me & Colin Corby just before the start.
As long as I continue to beat him, I am a happy bunny

 So now back to Southend.  A beautiful sunny day, hardly any wind and a brilliant race which forbid the use of wetsuits for the racers.  The buoy spotting was not good tho.  A 3k long stretch with only two large buoys and several very small unsiteable ones and just a simple instruction to swim either side of them till you get to the other end, left most swimmers probably covering all sorts of different distances.  And as for the instruction for the finish, well - "racers have to swim between the two orange buoys".  Hello! there were a dozen of them - all over the place.  The first thing my lovely friend Ann said to me when I finished, was "Why did you go the long way round".  "Did I".

Well, hubby certainly looks the part, doesn't he?

 
Chris was in the challenge event which meant he left, so I thought, 15minutes after me, with wetsuit.  I guessed, knowing his speed that I would be waiting about 1/2 hour for him.  1 hour later, a very exhausted hubby crosses the line.  Little did I know he was in wave 3 so didn't leave till 45mins after me, by which time I had already come to the conclusion that he had been airlifted out of the sea and was on his way to casualty and that perhaps I shouldn't encourage him to race (memories of Sheffield still all too familiar).  So a relieved wife finally stopped pacing the beach and was delighted when he announced he enjoyed the experience and will still race at Bournemouth!

Friday just gone saw me doing another epic challenge swim.  Organised by Ben Jacques who decided swimming 5k was just not challenging enough, he decided that if we timed it just right, we would be against the tide for 2.5k towards Southend pier, and against it to get back to Chalkwell again.  We had to leave at 4.19p.m. precisely !!!!  It was choppy, we all went non-wetsuit and were battered and bruised by the waves by the time we got to Westcliff.  A stretch of water here which is particularly torturous as the waves bounce off the leisure centre.  Next re-group was at the pier where we all stupidly thought, swimming back would be easier as the tide felt fairly static at that moment - Wrong.  The lifeguards were called out by a member of public who thought we were in trouble which was a bit embarrassing as we tried to explain to the 3 lifeguards, "No, we actually enjoy doing stuff like this and despite the fact that we are struggling, we would actually like to carry on".  2.5 hours later 3 very tired swimmers finally emerged back at the Crowstone, speechless and too tired to even contemplate drowning Ben for his crazy idea.  We are all strong swimmers but 2.5 hours to do 5k - that's how hard it was.

So, I am now on an unforeseen rest period as I think I have 'pond tummy'.