Catching up...

OMG it's been such a long time since I wrote in here and no doubt you are all probably thinking...she's given up!

I haven't, i now have less than a month to swim 10k..lol

Perhaps I had better recap on my journey to here...I last wrote in here in August.

I was under a lot of stresses and strains and although I lost my mojo for writing this blog, events sort of took over, and I know that is no excuse!

But I have emerged a much stronger person.

I did do my 5k swim at Eton Dorney in September. I completed it in 2 hours 5 mins and 4 secs. The boost to my confidence was second to none.

About a week later, when I was at the pool...I was struggling a little bit, feeliing lethargic...but I told myself..you are a 5k swimmer, you can do this and the surge of pride and knowledge that I can do these things pushed me just that little bit further!

So that was my longest swim completed. It is still my longest swm and I have to swim 10k in four weeks. If I said I wasn't nervous that would be a lie. I am incredibly nervous!

Since that swim I formed a new friendship with someone very much like myself. It's amazing in life how when doors close, others open. Sometimes there is little bit of effort to opening the door as it hasn't been opened before and sometimes it opens like it is well oiled and used daily. My friendship with Carol was the latter.

We went away for a swim in Dorset...Durdle Door to be exact and slept in a Pod. Pod Number Three is one I shall never forget as that was where Bimbel was born. More about Bimbel on a post dedicated to it..! It deserves it..!

For now, this is just to let you know I am still here, and I will be updating regularly! Oh by the way...I am still the same height and weight!! Some things just don't seem to change lol

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!!!

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!!

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...

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???