Double Dip Sunday

I woke this morning with a headache and I know I promised myself I would start training in earnest for my ultimate goal of 10k...but it's so easy to just roll over and forget about swimming. I think it's because things aren't going too well for me personally and it is spilling over into my swimming. I know I shouldn't let it, because my swimming will be with me for the rest of my life whereas my issues won't be. The saying "you are one swim away from a good mood" is so true...but sometimes, just sometimes, it doesn't work out like that.

Nevertheless, my dedication kicked in and I knew that if I didn't go for an early morning swim, I would regret it. SO I had to force myself to go. It wasn't easy...I went out of the front door three times before I had everything in my bag. Forgot my tablets, forgot my swim hat, forgot my shampoo...!!!

Eventually I got to the pool and sluggishly started to swim..it is so different to swimming in the sea and I have to say it isnt as enjoyable...but if I want the prize I have to do it. If I want something bad enough..I usually go to the ends of the earth to get it. A 10k medal is no different!

I managed to do a mile...1600m, but because I had a load of rests, I had to get out of the pool while they took the lanes out and then get back in again to do just four lengths...that'll teach me for hanging around the pool edges! LOL

my stats were:

Linda has completed a 1625m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG
Swim Time: 43min 8sec | Ave Pace: 159.3sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 23strokes/min | Calories: 417 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.61m/stroke

I didn't actually do 65 lengths, so when I edited the final length of backstroke (where swim tag got that from I don't know!) the time came in at 42min 37secs.

You know, all I want is to get round London in under 40 minutes...it's just beginning to look further away...sometimes all this monitoring is demoralising!!

Tonight I went back to the pool and swam with Bayside Tri...we had the whole pool available, so it was nice to just have one other in the same lane and for that person to be about the same speed!! Luxury!

My stats tonight were:

Linda has completed a 1600m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG
Swim Time: 40min 52sec | Ave Pace: 153.3sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 26strokes/min | Calories: 410 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.50m/stroke 

Picnic and a dip at Stokes Bay

Late afternoon and a liesurely swim and picnic at Stokes Bay with my grandson Adam and dear friend Becky and not forgetting little Harvey!...lots of lovely food and chat but not a lot of swimming...just a quick 10 minutes to the buoy and back:

yes that triangle thing and back again...the head in the sea is Adam...!

Then a big liner powered through the channel :) I will find out it;s name and post it here!

Going to start training properly again tomorrow...promise!!!

Just a simple swim with Oliver

Arrived at the Shack and had forgotten my float...Oliver saved the day and gallantly put my shoes into his float and enables my access and exit from the water to be much more elegant than leaving my beach shoes on the pebble beach...ouch!!

We did our usual swim to the 500m buoy, which I am sure kept moving to the right!! Actually we were drifitng to the left and it was extremely hard fighting against the tide. We didn't quite make the buoy as one of the jet ski was once again tearing up and down outside of the jet ski area. It's a shame but the risk is too great...one hit from them and your numbers up!

Fighting to get to the last beach hut against the tide was hard work...but as we moved towards shore it became easier...then back to the shack and out...took us about 40 minutes..so a good work out.

Came home and couldn't face the drills at Bayside..so I am ashamed to say that I didn't go

that is all....

Swollen Eye!!!

Woke up this morning and the swollen eye is still very swollen. The eye itself is fine and not sore it's the area around the eye!! Got to work and started to worry that I wouldn't be able to swim this evening, but Oliver happened to be passing and called in for a chat about swimming...that convinced me...I couldn't miss going in for a dip...it would make me feel incomplete for the day!

So the time to go arrived and my day has been terrible so what to do...? Go swimming? stay home??

I went and met Oliver, who always makes me feel better...we swam out towards the buoy at 500m, but we stopped short as a jet ski was up and down around the buoy...we headed for the sandbanks and then back to the shack...about a mile in all.

I feel guilty that I haven't been in the pool, but I suppose that will change tomorrow when I turn up for Bayside Tri drills :)

Cooling off at Hill head

Oh my God, it is so hot...it's boiling and there is no let up!! So the sea calls all day..beach, beach, beach is all I can think about as I work in the relentless heat in the van. It's so uncomfortable at times..

So i arrived at the Shack and swam with Shona, Claire and Jeannie...we went out to the 500m buoy and back again. It took about 35 to 40 minutes. Finally...cooled down :)

Unfortunately my Zoggs predator goggles decided to leak and I came away with a very swollen eye!

its 28 degrees and rising!

After last nights 5k event, I didn't intend to swim this eveniing...but the heat in the van just laft me boiling and so the thought of coling off in the sea became ever more appealing as the day went on....I'm glad it did as there was a quite a few of us swimming at the shack today...!

This is the route we followed:

This was kindly supplied by Giles who was amongst the swimmers.

5k at Fordingbridge!!!

I haven't been swimming since Saturday and at work today in the boiling heat, I just needed a swim so badly. Cooking in a small van is really no fun in this heat!! I dream of jumping into a cold pool and cooling right down! Today was no different, except the pool is totally unappealing and for some reason I didn't fancy the sea.

In the back of my mind is the thought that September is just around the corner...and with it comes the 5k at Eton Dorney. And I still feel ill prepared. So the thought of doing a 5k in the lake at Fordingbridge started to mount in my mind...an 80 mile round trip for a swim? Yes, definitely worth it...!! So the idea kept springing to mind as I carried on through my day and I justified the travel and the time...and decided at 2:30pm that I would do it...

Rushed home from work and put on the coffee machine (new gadget!) and filled up my sports bottle and put some fruit in my cool lunch bag...filled up the flask with coffee and hey presto...I'm ready to go!!

Off i went and joined the mad exodus leaving Gosport at this time...the beginnings of rush hour, not a good time to go...but the time i had to leave to reach the New Forest for the start! Th traffic was horrendous and I ggot caught up in even more traffic at Ringwood...at last I turned into the lakes and felt a bit nervous...I had never been here on my own before...and suddenly doing 5k in a big lake on my own wasn't so appealing!!

But like a lamb to the slaughter I signed in, paid my money and got changed...the first upheaval was that we were going to swim in the wake board lake which is "500m approximately" according to Ben from try tri. Down in the changing room it was the main topic of conversation, nobody seemed very happy and for some reason my only worry was..where do we enter the water. Thinking back in all of my events this has been a worry...how to get into the water!! I don't understand why, but I remember when the Great London Swim changed venue just two days before the event...I immediately stressed myself out worrying about how I was going to get into the water!! I messaged the organisers, asked the question on facebook...but never got an answer...then on arrival in London...my first priority was to see a wave set off and see people finish...just so I knew how to get in and out of the water..LOL...must be my "thing"!! I digress...but in the changing room I never got my aanswer becaue nobody knew the answer, having never done it before!

With the wetsuit on my body temperature rose and I had to get out of the changing room and get in that water as quickly as possible! But there was a gathering on the bank and I was told that the swim was back in the big lake and the buoys were being put out...I walked to the end of the pontoon just dying to immerse myself in the lake...I was so hot...Couldn't wait for the buoys to go out...and everybody else felt the same...we all got in!!

As I swam to the first buoy, I did wonder whether I should go ahead with this...it was hot, I felt as though I couldn't be bothered with any more added stress....but I know what I am like and I know I would have regretted it...so I set the pink watch and began the first stroke of my very own 5k event.

I started fairly slow and gradually increased pace as I warmed up...I felt quite strong and the conditions were good...there didn't seem to be a lot of weed this time and I was careful turning at the bouy as I didn't want to set off any cramp.. As I was coming up to the end of the first lap I decided I wouldn't stop...and only stop every two laps...but I would check the time on the watch..My first lap was 13mins something. I am saying something because I didn't have my contact lenses in so I could 't read the seconds on the pink watch! I immediately started the second lap and in my head I am hoping that the next lap will be the same pace so I am looking at a time of 26 something or 27 something...again this lap went well and I didn't feel the need to stop, so in my head I am telling myself...stop at halfway...at Eton Dorney that's what you do...stop after the first lap which is half way..so on the final leg of the second lap I decided not to stop but keep going and see how I get on. As I passed the buoy at the end of the second lap, I checked the watch and it said 26 something. That gave me an enormous boost!! I carried on an my brain was then working out the goal for the end of the next lap...I seemed to be averaging 13minutes something per lap, but didn't know how much the something was! it must have been below 30 though....so the next lap shoud be 39or 40 minutes....it was 40 at three laps down! I was going well and felt fine and strong, no cramp so all was going well. The next lap was the fourth and as I started I had in my mind to have a short rest at the end of it, just as if I was at Eton Dorney...but when I completed it and saw my time was 53 minutes, i decided I would rest after the next one.

With four laps completed in 53 mins and something, I was feeling spurred on...it was now all count down...I was past the half way mark. I started to work out what my final time may look like and if I completed it in the same time of 53 minutes...then it would be 1 hour 46 minutes. I would be thrilled with that!! My first bout of cramp happened on this lap as I went around the third buoy. I had changed to breaststroke to negotiate it and the change of kick caused the cramp to start. I managed to carry on swimming with just my arms and tried at the same time to stretch my foot,..it seemed to have worked and I took extra care around the next buoy so it wouldn't happen again. The time on the pink watch was 1hr 6 mins something when I finished the lap and again I didn't stop, only momentarily to check the watch..three laps to go I thought...it's not too far now. I just kept going and the cramo set in again, but again I managed to stretch it out. This lap was completed and the watch said 1hr 19mins and something.

I was now starting the penultimate lap and I felt good as I told each buoy as I passed it that i would only be passing it again one more time...again I got cramp on this lap, and again I managed to stretch it out...the pink watch showed the seventh lap completed in 1 hour 33 mins.

At last the final lap...could I possibly do this in 1 hour 45 mins and something??  I desperately wanted to and tried to up my pace on the final lap. It wore me out and as I passed the last buoy on the home straight I looked at the pink watch and it said 1 hour 41 mins...and something...I looked a the finish and tried to do reach it in double quick time...the cramp was becoming unbearable..but it was sheer determination that got me to the finiah, where I could see that I had done it in 1 hour 46mins and 38 seconds...i wanted to cry..I was quite overcome, I had done it in a time that I would never have dreamed of!!

I still had to get out and the 20 or so meters to the pontoon were the hardest of all...rhythm now broken, myself exhausted...amazing...!!

I sat in tha car once I had changed and drank a couple of cups of coffee and also a cold drink...and felt as though I had finally accomplished something. I had to be better than average now!!

Gutted!!!

Just been checking the information on my Pink Watch...and my efficiency is 59...wasn't quite sure what that meant so checked it out on the website...it means average...I am average..!! I don't want to be average!!!

AVERAGE!!!!

Sea Swim v Pool Swim

This week I have done more swimming in the sea and only been to the pool on Friday to train with Bayside Tri...I have to admit that when standing on top of hot ovens at work, the idea of a sea swim is far more appealing than getting into a crowded pool full of lane rage. It just has a feeling you cannot match in the pool and that is the freedom. Come and go as you please, plenty of space...beautiful view...what more can you ask for? The only thing is, I just swim, I don't practice anything I have been taught as my stroke depends on the state of the sea...sometimes the waves crash over your head and bilateral breathing goes out of the window as you can only breathe on one side, unless you want a mouthful of sea water each time. The benefit of the pool is that you can train in a controlled environment, albeit constrained into one length roped off..walls each end..lol. I think they both have benefits and I have always believed that I should learn it in the pool and then bring it outdoors to the sea, lake or river.

Today I intended to go for a sea swim, but my Grandson decided he didn't want to go at the last minute...but there was time to get to the pool for the final session...so that's what I did. Fortunately there wasn't many there and I got a whole lane to myself! Brilliant..! Only wish my stats were as brilliant though! :(

Linda has completed a 1650m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 41min 45sec | Ave Pace: 151.8sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 27strokes/min | Calories: 433 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.43m/stroke

I just can't see any improvement in my swimming at all..the only thing I have improved on is the distance I can swim now...ie the two 5k swims I have done, but other than that, I haven't improved my times at all. Perhaps I am just feeling a bit demoralised with the way I have everything recorded, times, strokes, DPS, and it's taken all the enjoyment out of it...perhaps I'm being negative!!

This evening I went for a walk along Stokes Bay...very pleasant, had my friends dog and he went running up to a young lady who came out of the toilet block..she had just been swimming, but I hadn't noticed her earlier as I walked from one end of the beach to the other...but anyway, we had quite a conversation in the short time I was talking to her....she was lovely to talk to, I gave her a lift home as she was staying just around the corner from my friends house. Hopefully I meet her again, her name was Anne. 

Which brings me to the other side of swimming...I had always felt fairly lonely swimming, particularly as I was doing it mostly at the pool and any interaction ended at the nods and hellos from the regular swimmers. This year I have changed that and joining Bayside Tri was the beginning..training with like minded people is so much fun...we all have the same goal..to get better, faster and win medals..lol...moving on from that came The Shack Sharks at Hillhead and then came the lovely people at Shore Road..it doesn't have to be lonely at all..thankfully! 

Friday's Double Dip

My first swim today was at Hill Head. I met up with Oliver and  we decided to swim to the furthest bouy, which Oliver had been told was 500m away..the tide was high, but going out. We were both in skins and set off towing our floats behind us. It took about 14 minutes to reach the bouy and we chatted for a short while upon reaching our destination. I noticed we were drifting quite fast and it was going to be a hard swim back...so we set off...after a few minutes I stopped and noticed a boat coming out of the sunlight. I was a little nervous as I hadn't been out this far before, preferring instead the safety of parallel to the beach swimming. I signalled to Oliver to look out for the boat and carried on swimming. After a short while I stopped and looked back, to check Oliver and where the boat was...it was directly behind Oliver and was a Police launch...one of the occupants waved, so I waved back and then all three waved..lol...Oliver was not far behind me so I carried on heading for shore. The launch stayed behind for a while and then moved passed the jet ski area and into shore, where it stayed until we both reached shore. It was a hard swim back but it was completed in about 18 minutes...We both laughed as we imagined we had contraband inside our floats...but actually I had my beach shoes :)

As you can see from the picture it was a cloudy day...but it was still fairly warm in the sea

My second swim was at Gosport Leisure Centre with Bayside Tri. Incidentally, I am now the proud owner of a Bayside Tri hoodie :)

The swim was quite tiring with lots of drills, and as always I was last in the intermediate lane...but although I will never be as fast as my lane buddies..they do make sure I push myself and never let me feel that I am holding them up...cheers chaps!! I think they all have events this wekend so Good Luck to them all...!

I had a mental block in the pool with the Pink Watch and couldn't remember how to set it!! So I've relied on swimtag for this session:

My stats in the pool:

Linda has completed a 1725m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 44min 36sec | Ave Pace: 155.2sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 23strokes/min | Calories: 457 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.62m/stroke

Reflecting on my first open water swim Great London 2012

I remember vividly where it all began...I was working for British Gas and had become a "swim champion"...not quite as grand as the title suggests, but my passion for swimming meant that I and others, were champions for British Gas while they sponsored British Swimming. We worked with local clubs and schools and held galas, in particular for those clubs that would never reach national levels, but were still dedicated swimmers. We would regularly meet weekly to discss upcoming events. It was during one of these meetings that the subject of the Great London Swim came up. British Gas was having it's own wave and we as employees would get a discount for ourselves and a friend in that wave.

The idea appealed to me, not only because I was more than capapble of swimming a mile, but also because it was outdoors. I fancied taking the challenge....so I entered...without a friend..lol It gave me the incentive to keep swimming, but little did I know what I was letting myself in for...!

Here is an account of that day....it's actually an email to a friend who replied saying he had tears in his eyes reading it..he was so impressed with my achievement...!

"It was a memorable experience.....and I did it in 57mins 11secs...the water was warm, the wind was high and the whole thing was tough from start to finish....but it was a very emotional and proud moment when I swam under the gantry...only equalled when I phoned my Dad and told him I had done it....it must have been the toughest physical challenge I have ever done...it was frightening and lonely....but I was determined to finish.... I just kept thinking of all those hours in the pool, all the training, and I think that is what gave me the guts to complete it...I did it and I feel incredibly proud.

It didn't help that I arrived at the docks at 12:15pm sheduled to swim at 1pm. But I had parked a mile or more away. I walked as quickly as i could in the scorching weather, carrying all my gear to get to the start. I had left Caroline in the carpark getting the ticket. When I was almost at the start, I noticed people walking down to the start area wearing their wet suits. But I hadn't seen anywhere to get changed. I stopped a couple and asked them where the changing area was and they said it's by the finish line and it will take you 15 minutes to get there....I had already passed it!! I told him I was due to swim at one and his wife looked at her watch and said you won't make it, it's 25 to now. I was gutted, out of breath from rushing and just started to walk slowly back. then I saw Caroline and I said to her, if I can change around here somewhere I will be able to make it. So I ended up getting changed behind a van!! So I got to the start area and saw Kathy the other swimmer from Southampton ~there were only two of us doing it ~ Had a couple of puffs of my inhaler as my chest was tight and that was it....into the climatisation pool and off to the start.

For the first 500 meters I was panicking, I was battered by the waves as the wind was so strong, i had swallowed half the Thames and was on the verge of raising my hand for assistance! I tried back stroke, but I was veering way off track, but the 10 minutes or so swimming breastroke diagonally to get back onto the course did help me get into a rythmn. It was hard and I just kept thinking "what the fuck am I doing?" I wanted to cry, because I wanted to give up. I felt helpless basically, like at any moment I could drown, it wasn't like going for a run or for a walk where you can stop, sit down and gather your thoughts and ask for help if necessary. It was just like you had to keep going because your life depended on it and also the kayackers never felt like they were close by. In the end I tried to focus on the canoes and imagined that they were 2/3 pool lengths apart and in my head started counting the lengths as i do in the pool. Each bouy became 10 lengths, although I don't know if they really were!! I continued straight down the dock past the half way bouy and thought it would now get easier, after all i was now on the final leg home. the next bouy meant a turn to the left another 100meters across the dock and then another left turn down to the finish.  While I was swimming across the dock after the first turn, I passed a couple of swimmers in blue hats from a previous wave and that did encourage me. Then came the turn to the final straight to the finish and i thought I could see the finish, but it felt like miles away. I also thought the wind would be with me so I would be pushed along with the wind. This part must have been the most despairing. I swam and swam and swam and didn't seem to be getting anywhere, The wind still felt the same, and I wondered if I was swimming against a tide...I was phyically worn out, I was just so tired. I turned over on my back and started doing back stroke, the sun was beating down, but I did have specially purchased for the occasion swimming goggles on...and I remember looking up to the sky and seeing a plane overhead and I wondered where it was going and if you were in it...although I knew you were probably well on the way to the carribean or possibly already there! I just felt so lonely, there were very few spectators along the side at this point, but I could hear some shouts of encouragement and then I just turned over and started swimming again and just thought oh well, you have to keep going you can see the finish and I just kept thinking of all those long hours in the pool, that it is a lonely sport, you can't chat to people while you are swimming, and I just had to get on with it...so I plodded on and on and then as I got closer to the finish the people in the next wave the green hats, started passing me, they were so fast!!!...and then finally I swam under the gantry and I just thought I've done it....and I felt very emotional and proud, but there was still another 20 feet or so to the exit area and thankfully there were people there to help pull you out of the water, as my legs felt like jelly!! I felt completely disorientated. Would I do it again next year? As I was swimming the course, I thought no there is no way I would ever do this again, but on reflection I think I would. I know what to expect now...I know the fear and the lonliness and the sheer physical exhaustion, so perhaps I could deal with them better on a subsequent swim...don't know...but for the moment I feel really proud of my achievement and I allowed myself a lie in with no swim this morning!!"

Even reading it now makes me feel emotional...but it also shows me how far I have progressed...that was just one mile....just 1600m...I am now aiming for 10km. But each journey starts with a step and I have never forgotten the pride I felt and the emotion inside me, as I swam under the gantry and knew I had done it. Even my time didn't matter...what mattered was that I had finished.

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Swimming at the Shack...

Well today was another hot one...and once again I heard the call of the sea. It is becoming such a routine now...finish work, sort myself out and off to the beach. What on earth did I do before?

Also today one of my friends posted this link on facebook and I have shared it on my facebook page and also I will share it here...its called "Coming in Last" and tells the story of an ordinary Mum who challenges herself to do a 5k run. The same can be applied to swimming or any other discipline...someone has to come in last and it doesn't matter if it is you!

Also today I have thought about doing a 3k swim as a stepping stone to the 5k in September. There is one in Marlow which has caught my eye...but sometimes you wonder if its really necessary to do these events. At the back of my mind,  is the thought that I have only ever done the Great London Swim twice...the first time was an ordeal..and perhaps I should post my thoughts on that swim soon. It serves to remind me of the utter despair I went through and yet as I swam under the gantry, the emotion was real. I never thought I was going to finish. The fact that I did showed me just how much guts and determination I actually have.  The following year was much smoother and more enjoyable. But the following year I had the benefit of knowing what was going to happen!! I will give the Marlow swim some thought. It's the week before the London swim...hmmm serious thought needed :)

Back to tonight...my visit to The Shack was eventful. I arrived on time, started getting ready...there were four of us again. Oliver had said he was coming, but he hadn't arrived yet and I was in the boot area of the car. I collected everything I needed and shut down the boot and locked the keys inside...FFS!!! What now? The car was locked...oh hell you're only one swim away from a good mood....so that's what I did...swam and swam and swam and got nowhere as we chose to swim aggainst the tide first...it was tough going!!

Coming in Last

Coming in Last

Hill Head with the Sharks

A scorcher of a day today...looked forward to my swim with the Sharks...spent 40 minutes battling the waves, felt strong and the swim was good!
Wore the new beach shoes...wonderful getting in the water...no stones to hurt your feet...but I wasn't as elegant getting out...found it difficult putting the shoes on...and I fell over...lol

c'est la vie!

No swimming today!!!

Well arrived at the Shack raring to get back into the water...still on a high from yesterdays epic swim....but we were greeted by a load of kite surfers in the swimming area and it was too dangerous to swim....

SO UNFAIR!!!! I wanted to wear my new beach shoes...

Bournemouth Pier to Pier July 13th 2014

I never set an alarm to get up...but for this morning I did. I tossed and turned all night, worrying about all kinds of stuff, none of it swimming related. I knew I had to get up at 6 O'Clock and when the alarm sounded...well I was already awake, but I just pressed snooze. I just didn't want to get up!! I repeatedly pressed the sonooze button until eventually I had no choice but to get up and then I had t rush about getting ready...Always always last minute!!. Had to leave home at 7:45am to be at Richards house for 9am.

I drove down and wasn't excited or even fearful. Usually I feel sick with nerves before an event like this....Anyway it rained on the way, big black clouds, lots of torrential blasts of rain and then the satnav took me to Richards address. I parked up and was greeted at the door by him in his wetsuit and his wife still eating breakfast...but they are a lovely couple and make me feel very welcome.

I got changed into my swimming kit and gathered up the hat, wristband and luggage tag. Sue drove us to the top of the hill overlooking Bournemouth Pier...this is my first view of the Pier and in the far distance you can see Boscombe Pier and that is where we have to swim to....

There are quite a few waves in the sea....but i know from experience that the depth is not huge....the beach is lovely, flat and sandy and suddenly I feel nervous...and the old feelings have returned. The adrenalin is starting to pump and i suddenly start to worry about stupid things which just won't happen...but nevertheless the fear part of me, keeps saying it will be too much...I will get cold, I will get cramp and I will have to get out...I can't visualise reaching Boscombe Pier!!

As we neared the pier there were lots of swimmers in wetsuits milling around and a few wthout but not many. Registration over and time to hand your luggage to the man with the van, who will drive your luggage to Boscombe Pier...I feel like asking for a lift too..lol

I apply as much aqua glide as I possibly can to my neck and a little over my face as that always dries up in the sea. Also I take four puffs of ventolin...then my luggage is handed over and i'm left with my hat and goggles...!! It's all about to happen, no turning back.

A young girl asks me if I need any help pullling up the zip of my wetsuit, but I thank her and say I'll be ok. I don't want anyone doing up the neck as I now am becoming paranoid about it. I remember the swim earlier in the week with Mark, where I ended up having to take it off because my neck hurt me so much,. If I get to that point today, I will have to exit the water.

Richard and I stood on the sand for a short while and then I wanted to acclimatise myself in the water. A quick dip and I made sure I was used to the temperature...the waves were rolling but not huge, so made the decision to go further out to sea. We were chatting on the sand again when one of a group of girls next to us, which included the young girl from earlier caught my eye and we both smiled, laughed and said hello...she was Celine from Beyond the Blue and I had been swimming with her the week before at Shore Rd. It was nice to have a friendly chat before the start as it helped my mind think about nicer things!

The safety brief went ahead and then the claxon went off and the people at the front ran into the water, while the rest of us walked slowly behind...

Richard and I walked slowly out to sea, until I was up to my shoulders...we then decided to turn left and swim...unbelievable...thought I was at a January Sale...I was pushed, barged, kicked, people swimming over me, umder me and around me...shocking!! :) Next year I will be last !!

In the scrum, I lost Richard...I found a clearing and stopped...I looked back and could't see him, took my goggles off and looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen. So I turned and started to swim. It was an awful first 200m as there was just too many people...I was weaving in and out and around everyone...I moved closer to the jet skis so that I was out of the way and swam from there...I felt good and strong in the water. I was sighting other swimmers rather than the pier...I couldn't see the pier it was just a line on the horizon, my main worry was keeping clear of the other swimmers. I swam for quite a while and the pier was becoming a bigger line in my misted goggles...and at one point I stopped completely and lifted my goggles to see...The pier looked like I was about half way, but when I looked at the pink watch it said 17 minutes...So I reckoned on time I was only about a quarter of the way, so head down and carried on swimming...I did front crawl all the way, only the occasional breaststroke to get around people...all of a suddden I seemed to be at the groynes...I must have been swimming diagonally....great sighting eh? I stopped again and lifted my goggle ans the pier didn't seem far away at all....I reckoned it was about 20 lengths of the pool. I was feeling very confident, very strong, wasn't tired and put my head down again and upped my speed slightly...in no time at all, I could see the pier and the swimmers to my left were standing up and wading in...I felt a rush of emotion...I had done it, it was over. I felt very proud of myself..stood up and could hear the shouts and screams of my family amongst the line of people along the beach

 This is the finish line...you can hardly see Bournemouth Pier...its the whitle building in the far distance! You can see the jetskis in the water...they are bringing in the first swimmers!

I am swimming in the background here...somewhere! Actually I think I am the one to the left swimming...its time to get out!

This is me and I have a big smile on my face...I've done it!!!

My smile is even bigger when I look at my watch and see the time...I just couldn't believe it and thought it wsn't working or i hadn't set it right ... duh!!!

While collecting my medal, I hear someone ask for the time...a lady says "ten to"...my brain starts ticking again...we started after 10am, I waited until I was in position to swim and then set the watch so HEY!! YEY!! It's right...I did it in 43 minutes 41 seconds...an unbelievable time...so fast...I am now so proud!

I am greeted by Vikki, John and Adam...I am pleased to bits at my performance...I am on a high!!

Looking back down at Boscombe Pier...you can see Bournemouth Pier in the far distance....what a swim!!! So proud!!

Just don't want to do this Bournemouth swim!!!

It's Saturday...I'm having a bad day in my personal life and it's spilling over into my swimming. Well no swimming today it's a rest day...but i need to get my mind focussed on tomorrow...but i'm not looking forward to it at all.

I've even eaten a large chinese meal..well special fried rice and curry sauce. Not something ive done in a long time...it's almost like I am deliberately sabotaging my efforst tomorrow. I think deep in my heart I just don't want to do it...!!

Then I think..."Oh just get on with it...do it and then you never have to swim in the sea again!" But then I remember my neck is still sore...that I will suffer in the water tomorrow...so now I'm wondering if I should do it in skins...but I don't think I will last an hour or just over in the water without a wetsuit...

Not sure what to do...watch this space.... :(

Friday Night is Bayside Tri Night!

Gosport Leisure Centre was the venue and once again I was in the intermediate lane with Andy and Tony. I was always at the back but being the sportsmen they are, they didn't seem to mind and enjoyed the longer rest they got while waiting for me to regroup! LOL

I did enjoy the swim, but was aware that it would be my last swim before Sundays Big Swim in Bournemouth! I noticed tonight that I was feeling much stronger at the end of the session, compared to how I felt at the start! Wore my pink watch...but I'm not sure I've got the hang of it as it didn't seem to be recording much..lol Also wore my swimtag...results as follows:

Linda has completed a 1375m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 35min 56sec | Ave Pace: 156.9sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 29strokes/min | Calories: 369 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.32m/stroke

Swimming with the Sharks

Met up with Tom and exchanged chill floats....I am now the proud owner of my very own chill swim float :) It is a saga, but eventually it arrived safely into my hands and now I will never let it go !!

So tonight was a swim in quite rough waters with Jeannie, Oliver and one other whose name escapes me right now..lol..it's an age thing!! I am feeling very confident in the water now, and was able to use my new pink watch to time myself...35 minute swim, about 1k I would say, but not too sure... Deborah was at the shack and she had completed a 6km swim from the Isle of Wight to Hillhead Sailing Club the day before...she was on a high and brought some birthday cake which was very nice!!

After the swim I went straight to Zumba and danced for an hour...feeling tired now...so must be bed time!

8th July...another swim at Shore Road

Another practice swim at Shore Road for just Mark and myself. Suffered terribly today...my neck from last nights swim is extremely sore...so much so I ended up taking the wetsuit off in the sea and putting it into my borrowed chill float. I was amazed how cold I immediately felt despite the fact I thought it had filled up with lots of water as I didn't have the neck done up! I was freezing and moved into shore and almost walked all the way back...not a good day for swimming!

7th July ~ Swimming in Fordingbridge Lake

I had made myself a promise the last time I was at Fordingbridge that I would attempt a 5k swim...just so that I would know that I could do it. Now I know I can, as I have done it in the pool...but I needed to be sure that I could do it in open water in a wetsuit :)

Today I received the lovely gift of a pink poolmate:

Another Gadget to learn how to work!!

Now although the name does imply that it is for use in the pool you can time your laps in open water too....!!

Fordingbridge is a 650m circuit so I worked out I needed to do 8 laps plus another 100m .......and now I am writing this and questioning my maths...and the maths of my Oxford graduate in mathematics, swim buddy :)....or perhaps I am tired or my brain is just not functioning...anyway I am off to ask Mr Google the size of the lake..lol 

Well back now and it's definitely 650m...so 5k would have been 7 laps plus another 450m. But Mark and I actually did 8 laps and another 100m..lol Oh dear, we are not very clever are we???

The uspide to the miscalculation is that we did it in 2hours...so our time would have been under 2 hours if we had worked it out correctly...so there is always a bonus!!

Here is a panoramic view of the lake:

Each lap was completed in under 15 minutes, and there was a bit of rest time to add in too, but in all it was 2 hours with the rests included...so happy with that and of course it means that in my head I now know I can do it....thank you Mark !!

Swimming at Shore Road with Beyond the Blue

What a great bunch of people to be swimming with. I met these wonderful people in a facebook group called Beyond the Blue...a group of people who swim at Shore Road. One of them with the grand name of Marisa Aqua Nut (Channel Swimmer!) organised some practice swims for the Bournemouth Pier to Pier. Unfortunately I ws working during the three she arranged, so posed the question to the group about me doing one myself and Marisa came straight back and organised one for the Sunday I was free.

So today I set off with my grandson Adam to Shore Road to swim with them...

 

Why the pensive look? Well it did seem that the building we were swimming to was so far away!!

It was a 2km swim and I completed it in roughly one hour. The big day next week will be just over 2.25k. Definitely left Shore Road today feeling much more confident....and with a VERY sore neck :(

Training with Bayside Tri

Tonight more drills with Bayside Tri....but I did enjoy them :) For some strange reason... lol :)

Anyway...here are the statistics :)

Linda has completed a 1450m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 37min 50sec | Ave Pace: 156.6sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 23strokes/min | Calories: 389 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.63m/stroke

Back in the SEA!!!

Well it was another scorching hot day...the hottest day of the year so far..! After I finished work and did a few things that I had to do...the sea was beckoning....yes I needed to get in there and swim, swim, swim!!

I didn't get home until 5:30pm and immediately asked if anyone from the Sharks was swimming tonight...and Oliver said he was....! so not time to stop, quickly put swimsuit on and grabbed wetsuit and into the car!! Deborah was there with our new swim hats....couldn't resist a photo....!!

 

It was rough in the sea, but I must admit that I am no longer worried about being out of my depth, or indeed having waves crashing over me....I powered through them and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. There were four of us in all swimming, but two got out early on and Oliver and I weren't quite sure if we were just stupid or just tough cookies!! We decided then to also go back to shore :) I suppose we must have been in the water about 30 - 45 minutes, but not too sure.

When I got home, I then went for my walk for an hour and immediately after that, it was in the pool. I was going to just do a leisurely swim in front crawl....but someone got in the lane and was hot on my toes....he is a regular there...Mr Splashalot...and swims quite slow..in fact my breaststroke is faster than his front crawl...but today he thought he was on fine form and exhausted himself trying to overtake me but we hit the wall together and of course he was then too slow on the way back...he turned into a bloody nuisance!!!

Anyway....swim tonight:

Linda has completed a 1250m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 29min 38sec | Ave Pace: 142.3sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 27strokes/min | Calories: 339 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.54m/stroke

Calories eaten today:         1400
Calories used in exercise:  1341

Walk and Swim

Just a walk and a swim tonight...hip still hurting quite bad.

The walk was pleasant an hour at 3mph pace, sun was shining and the water was shimmering...good for the soul!

The swimming was laboured...too many in the pool once again!

Linda has completed a 1225m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 31min 54sec | Ave Pace: 156.3sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 26strokes/min | Calories: 340 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.43m/stroke

Total calories eaten:           1799
Total calories for exercise: 1006