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!!

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 :(

Getting really fit begins!

Yes today is, two weeks before I have my first event at Bournemouth, 9 weeks before I swim the Great London Swim, 11 weeks until I swim at Blenheim Palace and just 12 weeks until the 5k swim at Eton Dorney....time has suddenly become important to me and I feel the panic rising. I want to lose a few more pounds before the 5k swim, in fact I would like to have reached my 100lbs lost goal and also swim 5k.....what an achievemnt that would be!!

To that end I have added an hour a day of walking to my regime. This will also help to strengthen my legs, although you wouldn't think so today! After doing an hour at the steady pace of 3mph my hip is hurting bad and the tablets just aren't touching it...I can't wait for my first swim  so that I can get some relief!!

First swim done...in my new goggles..zoggs predator...oh the feeling of being able to see clearly...I even did some sneaky sighting..but was concentrating on my swimming really...wanted to get some good results! I came home, a bit despondent as I had lost count at 50, so my fate was in the hands of swimtag!!

And wow...I am happy...!

Linda has completed a 2000m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 51min 14sec | Ave Pace: 153.7sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 25strokes/min | Calories: 518 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.50m/stroke

 For my second swim of the day:

Linda has completed a 2050m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 54min 32sec | Ave Pace: 159.6sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 25strokes/min | Calories: 531 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.45m/stroke

And in the last few lengths, I was able to sight...albeit half drowning, half sighting...but it's a start I wasn't trying to breathe while looking down the lane...!

Calories eaten today:          1580
Exercise calories burned:   1342

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???