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...

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

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

Todays walk and swim

Continuing with the hour a day walking, but was a bit stuck on where to go..in the end i decided to just walk for half hour and then turn round and come back...it was fine doing it that way, but wasn't sure how far I had travelled, perhaps not quite a mile as my hip is still hurting today. But nevertheless an hour outside moving is good for the mind and body.

Tonights swim was tough. The pool was busy and there were five people in my lane which in a 25m pool is uite a lot when we are are all of different abilities and strokes. So kept stopping every two, but used it to do some sprinting, which is good.


Linda has completed a 1475m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 36min 5sec | Ave Pace: 146.8sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 26strokes/min | Calories: 390 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.56m/stroke

Calories eaten today      1598
Calories burned today     736

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

One Mile Swim

This afternoon I did a one mile swim at Gosport Leisure Centre...or at least I thought I did...but swimtag shows I did 65 lengths instead of 64...I thought I had done 64 and I am gutted that I didn't do a sub 40 minute...nope it was 40mins 30secs..so disappointed. I was hoping it would be sub 40 and then I could concentrate on learning to sight. But it isn't which does set me back again as I won't be happy until I can do the sub 40.

The only thing I am pleased with is my DPS which was 1.76m...that shows that I am gliding more in the water and consequently my strokes per minute have come down to 22...but as usual I am still not satisfied!! Off to sulk now :(

Stats as follow:

Linda has completed a 1625m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 40min 30sec | Ave Pace: 149.5sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 22strokes/min | Calories: 419 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.76m/stroke

Friday Coaching Session with Bayside Tri

Gosport Leisure Centre seemed a distant memory as I drove into the carpark!! I really must get my bike out and ride to the pool...it is only 1.5 miles away! A distant memory because I haven't been there since Sunday!! I don't know...what with lakes and the sea, the pool isn't quite as attractive...but I do know that I am best practising things in the pool and taking them outside to the lakes and the sea!!

Tonight, I did feel stronger and since moving into the intermediate lane, I do feel I am pushing myself a little harder. It started with 12 lengths warm up, front crawl, breaststroke, front crawl...then into touching hips and head, which I find relatively easy as I do naturally swim like that anyway. Not exactly touching my hips and head as I swim, but I am naturally quite tight to the body...then came the harder one swimming catch up with fists...always feel like I am drowning doing this...only when I try to breathe...I just seem to sink. I do know why though! It's because I am not kicking and letting my legs drop...oh well, something to work on!

Then came the kick drills...this I am hopeless at!! 4 lengths front, 4 lengths one side, 4 lengths the other...then came the drill which I feel I have improved on the most...the 3, 5, 7 breathing drill. Whereas back in February when I first joined the group I was breathing every other stroke..and couldn't even do bilateral breathing...I feel I have come a long way! Tonight the breathing sets went well...of course it could have been the four puffs of ventolin I had before I had before I got in the pool..!!

Then it was slow up, sprint back sets...and I seemed to be a lot faster. It could be because I haven't been swimming as much this week, so I am more rested or just that I have improved a lot. It's very difficult to work out which sometimes!!

Stats for tonight...doesn't include kick drills:

Linda has completed a 1575m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 39min 44sec | Ave Pace: 151.4sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 23strokes/min | Calories: 423 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.66m/stroke

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???

An evening at the New Forest Water Park ~ Monday 23rd June

Tonight I spent the evening at the New Forest Water Park at Fordingbridge. I have to say this is probably the best one around! The setting is beautiful and the facilities are good...nice hot showers and somewhere to buy a drink (alcoholic or otherwise) and have a cooked meal! The large lake tonight was closed, which was a bit disappointing, and we had to swim in the smaller lake. It wasn't very pleasant getting in...I'm always afraid of falling in or slipping up. But there was a friendly helping hand from a fellow swimmer to aid the entry...very gallant I must say!!

This has to have been the best swim I have done in open water this year, although less than a month since my visit to Eastleigh Lake...I feel I have improved immensely. There was some discussion as to how distance of a circuit of this smaller lake, but in the end the general opinion was 250m. I did do about 12 circuits, one in skins! (not allowed but hey it was a beautifully hot evening!)

Mark was trying to teach me to sight...but I can't get the hang of it...I will just have to practice, practice, practice!! As with all things eventually it all falls into place and you wonder how you ever couldn't do them in the first place. I have 3 weeks until my first event..The Bournemouth Pier to Pier which is 1.4 miles in the sea. 2.25km. I am hoping to do it in around an hour. I am trying to get as much sea swimming in as possible, in order to cope with waves, tides etc.

But tonights training was excellent...beautiful surroundings...next time...CAMPING!!!

Double Dip Day!

Two swims today....felt good after first swim, so went back for more. Trying to build up my stamina...

The stats for my first swim at 4:30pm are:

Linda has completed a 1800m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 45min 33sec | Ave Pace: 151.9sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 29strokes/min | Calories: 504 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.32m/stroke

Theses are the stats for my second swim of the day at 8pm with Bayside Tri Endurance session:

Linda has completed a 2075m swim at Gosport Leisure Centre with SWIMTAG

Swim Time: 51min 4sec | Ave Pace: 147.7sec/100m | Ave Stroke Rate: 24strokes/min | Calories: 532 kcal | Ave DPS: 1.64m/stroke

I did have to force myself to return for the second session, but that was because I had settled on the comfy sofa and didn't want to get up. But knowiing how important this 10k is to me, gave me the push to move myself back to the pool and I'm glad I did!