Stokes Bay sans Wetsuit!!!

Haven't done any swimming since Monday..and tonight I am swimming at Stokes Bay with Bayside Tri..lets hope I can see a lot of improvement from two weeks ago..when I sadly brought up the rear. I have been searching for a 5k training plan online and the only one that is appealing is the one I can't see! It's the 2014 swimathon 10 week training plan to a sub 1hr 40min 5k...! Now I know that I won't be reaching those dizzy heights by the 21st September, but it would be intense which as a fairly experienced swimmer is what I need!

My entry pack arrived yesterday for the Bournmouth Pier to Pier...this brought about an OH MY GOD moment, which passed quite quickly as I remembered I did have a swim buddy...but even so there is always that fear in the pit of your stomach, which surfaces every time I think about it...lol...Still nerves are good!!

I put a message on facebook last night in a group I belong to called Beyond the Blue based in Bournemouth....a real bunch of characters...their posts make me laugh so much!! Anyway my post was asking for advice about swimming a practice run for the Bournemouth Pier to Pier with a friend on 8th July...but they are happy to do one on the Sunday the 6th...so I will go to that one and then do a repeat on the Tuesday...well then I will be very experienced won't I ?? No excuses on the day :)

Just got back from my sea swim at Stokes Bay...it was a wet one tonight, not actually raining when I got there, but it had rained just before arrival. There were only four of us tonight, Erika, Eric and Stephen. I was horrified when I went to put my wetsuit on and found I hadn't brought it!! Immediately I visualised it hanging on the back of my bedroom door...decisions, decisions...do I go home and get it, or do I go without it? In the end I decided to go without it!!

We walked down to the waters edge and then off came the flip flops...for those who don't know, Stokes Bay is a pebble beach and they hurt your feet!!! The walk into the sea really hurts your feet...so the lesser of two evils was to just get in and boy did it take my breath away!!  Wetsuits really do keep you warm...I just wanted the comfort of my wetsuit enveloping me, like a pair of arms, giving me a big hug...lol...never felt like that before, I can assure you!! So no time for chatter, had to keep moving in an effort to warm up..we swam about 1200m and I brought up the rear yet again...but then I felt it was time for me to get out....

The upside of no wetsuit is that you keep moving, so my sea swim today was no stops! LOL Took me about 35 minutes I think!

I am still cold now, but came home to a lovely salad...why did I choose salad today of all days???