I got back from Jersey on Saturday, then on Sunday morning I headed off to Swan Pool, where Dan Earthquake was organising a six hour swim under the auspices of the Sandwell Lifesaving and Channel Swimming Club, with the support of the Birmingham Lifeguard Club. I wasn't sure how I would manage at the end of a fairly heavy swimming week, but couldn't pass up the opportunity. I did the same event last year, and the conditions were absolutely vile for almost the whole swim, but we were lucky to have relatively mild weather - gentle sunshine and almost no wind for most of it - until the very end, when things darkened over and it started to chuck with rain.
I started off gently, but was feeling pretty good, and when I stopped for my first feed at two hours, I saw that I was several minutes ahead of my times for last year, so decided to try and push on a bit. I managed to keep the same slightly upped pace pretty much throughout, although my arms were feeling the strain by the last couple of hours, and they certainly still had the previous week's swimming in them. But nevertheless, I managed to cover half a mile more in the time than I had last year (12.5 miles this year), which is very gratifying.
Many thanks to Dan, and to all the people who observed the swims and were out in kayaks keeping us safe, even in the driving rain. Much appreciated. And many congrats to Ali Longman (a student at Warwick Univ), who smashed the women's course record for the 6 hour swim (previously held by me at a very modest 12 miles), totalling 15 miles!!! She is amazing, and I would put money on her getting across the Channel this summer.
My arms have been a bit sore since the swim yesterday, especially my right, but I think it's more slight overuse than injury - this is my first 20+ hours of training in a week for a long time, so it's bound to have some effect. But I feel good for having done it, and it's nice to have my second 6 hour swim of the season done and dusted, ready for my next challenge - Ned Denison's swim camp in Cork ... some serious time in the (cold) water awaits.
Monday, 7 June 2010
Jersey swim camp
Off to Jersy from 30 May - 5 June for the Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club's swim camp. Run by Sally M-G, this was a mix of a handful of visitiors like myself, and lots of local swimmers. The camp is very different, say, from the Swimtrek camp, which has a very clear focus on the Channel and is structured around the 6 hour qualification swim. Instead, this camp involved a much wider range of abilities / open water experience, and one of the most amazing aspects of the whole week was seeing people achieve their goals and push themselves beyond what they thought they could do. It doesn't matter whether you break 15 minutes for the first time, or 2 hours, or more - nothing compares to that feeling and you can see it on people's faces.
We swam a couple of times a day, mixing up pool sessions with sea swims in various locations around the island. The weather was a bit grizzly at first, and combined with the fairly cold sea temps (c. 13 degrees), it was hard to push up swim times, and there was plenty of post-swim shivering. But later in the week, we had three days of blistering sunshine and were gradually able to push up the amount of time we spent in the water. I peaked last Thursday with a four hour swim in St Catherine's Bay. The temperature of the water was hugely variable, ranging from 13-15 degrees, and it was hard to pass from icy cold patches to deliciously warm bands and back again. But I was pleased to get some distance under my belt, and was feeling pretty comfortable by the end, which was a good boost to my confidence after the struggles I was having earlier in the season.
Other highlights of the week included a hilarious night swim - a 20 minute play swim where all we could see was the different coloured light sticks that everyone had tucked into their goggle straps. Lots of fun, followed by delicious hot chocolate and cake. And then there was my favourite swim of the week - a two hour swim in St Catherine's Bay on the very last day. It was hot and sunny, and after completing my four hours the day before, I decided to take it easier, and had a glorious 2 hours in glass-flat water. I swam with Kasia (another visitor, and Channel aspirant, who went on to break three hours), and local swimmers Heidi and Guy (who both did 2 hours for the first time), and it was peaceful and wonderful. This brought me to a total of 18.5 swimming hours for the week, which felt pretty good.
The final highlight was the club itself - it is an extraordinary group of people, highly committed to swimming, and having successfully incorporated a wide range of ages and abilities in a genuinely inclusive and supportive way. And these people really know how to have a good barbecue, too.
Thanks to Sally, and everyone else for taking such good care of us....and especially to Wendy, Chantelle and all the others who ferried me and the other visitors around to various activities. I'm really looking forward to being back in Jersey at the beginning of July for my Jersey to France swim - fingers crossed for some decent weather.
We swam a couple of times a day, mixing up pool sessions with sea swims in various locations around the island. The weather was a bit grizzly at first, and combined with the fairly cold sea temps (c. 13 degrees), it was hard to push up swim times, and there was plenty of post-swim shivering. But later in the week, we had three days of blistering sunshine and were gradually able to push up the amount of time we spent in the water. I peaked last Thursday with a four hour swim in St Catherine's Bay. The temperature of the water was hugely variable, ranging from 13-15 degrees, and it was hard to pass from icy cold patches to deliciously warm bands and back again. But I was pleased to get some distance under my belt, and was feeling pretty comfortable by the end, which was a good boost to my confidence after the struggles I was having earlier in the season.
Other highlights of the week included a hilarious night swim - a 20 minute play swim where all we could see was the different coloured light sticks that everyone had tucked into their goggle straps. Lots of fun, followed by delicious hot chocolate and cake. And then there was my favourite swim of the week - a two hour swim in St Catherine's Bay on the very last day. It was hot and sunny, and after completing my four hours the day before, I decided to take it easier, and had a glorious 2 hours in glass-flat water. I swam with Kasia (another visitor, and Channel aspirant, who went on to break three hours), and local swimmers Heidi and Guy (who both did 2 hours for the first time), and it was peaceful and wonderful. This brought me to a total of 18.5 swimming hours for the week, which felt pretty good.
The final highlight was the club itself - it is an extraordinary group of people, highly committed to swimming, and having successfully incorporated a wide range of ages and abilities in a genuinely inclusive and supportive way. And these people really know how to have a good barbecue, too.
Thanks to Sally, and everyone else for taking such good care of us....and especially to Wendy, Chantelle and all the others who ferried me and the other visitors around to various activities. I'm really looking forward to being back in Jersey at the beginning of July for my Jersey to France swim - fingers crossed for some decent weather.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
First Dover weekend
I made my first trip down to Dover this weekend....happily coinciding with the warmest weekend of the year. I timed the drive down really badly and ended up crawling round the M25 at a snail's pace, getting very hot and bothered. But I slept like a log and woke up feeling fresh and ready to go, arriving down at the beach by 9.30, ready to submit my paperwork and get the card which everyone needs in order to be able to swim. Hats off to the beach crew - they've done a great job of setting up the new system, which goes like clockwork.
Cliff Golding brought everyone to order with a whistle, and announced that for only the second time in 20+ years, Freda was absent due to illness (although we were assured that she'd already phoned several times, and he wasn't convinced that she wasn't watching us via the webcam). I really hope she's better soon - it didn't feel quite right without Freda there. He announced that the relay swimmers would do 2 x 45 min swims, and the solos would do one swim of 5km or 1.45, whichever came first. I got Vaselined up and made my way down the beach to the shoe-bag, dropped off my shoes (now adorned with sunflowers for easy identiifcation) and hobbled my way into the water. In spite of the promise of sunshine, it was a dark, cloudy day, and the water looked rather uninviting; as I waded in, the cold bit at my legs - it was 10.8 degrees, I was told. But in the end, there's no way out, so in I plunged. This first ten minutes was not the finest moment in my weekend - I struggled to regulate my breathing in the cold, and my stroke was awkward and poorly timed at first as I adjusted to the temperature. This led to the inevitable inadvertent mouthful of sea water, which I accidentally swallowed and then threw up, along with breakfast. I spent the next 20 minutes feeling very sorry for myself indeed and trying to think of excuses to get out, but fortunately, the imagined shame of it was just too great, so I gave myself half an hour to reassess my situation. Of course, by the time I'd finished my first full lap, I was feeling heaps better (and the sun had started to sneak through the clouds, which really helped). The second lap was better, and I completed the 5km (2 full laps, plus up to the sloping wall and back) in 1.40 before staggering back up the beach to begin the frantic shivering and slow rewarming.
Sunday started much more positively - brilliant sunshine and a cloudless blue sky. The water wasn't much warmer, of course, but it felt SO much better having the sun on my back. Every time I went down to Dover last year I made at least one beginner's error, and I began this year in a similar vein - on Saturday, I hadn't greased under my shoulder straps, and had developed huge welts at the base of my neck that were REALLY sore. Irene slathered them in globs of Vaseline on Sunday, but I think I'm going to be paying for that for some time - at least the pain of the salt water hitting the chafed spots took my mind off the cold water. This was a much better swim for me all round - a straight two hours, but with no real problems. As always, it took me an hour or so to settle into my rhythm, but the time flew by. I was a bit slower than yesterday and was probably dawdling a bit too much, but it felt really nice to just swim in the sunshine.
I really feel like the run up to my Channel swim has started now. Not that I'm keeping count...but it's exactly 12 weeks today to the start of my tide!
In the mean time, the lakes here are warming up splendidly - Swan Pool was a toasty 16 degrees last night, and I had a lovely 90 minute swim under clear blue evening skies. I probably need to start spending a little less time enjoying the scenery and more time pushing myself a bit, but sometimes it's nice just to paddle.
Cliff Golding brought everyone to order with a whistle, and announced that for only the second time in 20+ years, Freda was absent due to illness (although we were assured that she'd already phoned several times, and he wasn't convinced that she wasn't watching us via the webcam). I really hope she's better soon - it didn't feel quite right without Freda there. He announced that the relay swimmers would do 2 x 45 min swims, and the solos would do one swim of 5km or 1.45, whichever came first. I got Vaselined up and made my way down the beach to the shoe-bag, dropped off my shoes (now adorned with sunflowers for easy identiifcation) and hobbled my way into the water. In spite of the promise of sunshine, it was a dark, cloudy day, and the water looked rather uninviting; as I waded in, the cold bit at my legs - it was 10.8 degrees, I was told. But in the end, there's no way out, so in I plunged. This first ten minutes was not the finest moment in my weekend - I struggled to regulate my breathing in the cold, and my stroke was awkward and poorly timed at first as I adjusted to the temperature. This led to the inevitable inadvertent mouthful of sea water, which I accidentally swallowed and then threw up, along with breakfast. I spent the next 20 minutes feeling very sorry for myself indeed and trying to think of excuses to get out, but fortunately, the imagined shame of it was just too great, so I gave myself half an hour to reassess my situation. Of course, by the time I'd finished my first full lap, I was feeling heaps better (and the sun had started to sneak through the clouds, which really helped). The second lap was better, and I completed the 5km (2 full laps, plus up to the sloping wall and back) in 1.40 before staggering back up the beach to begin the frantic shivering and slow rewarming.
Sunday started much more positively - brilliant sunshine and a cloudless blue sky. The water wasn't much warmer, of course, but it felt SO much better having the sun on my back. Every time I went down to Dover last year I made at least one beginner's error, and I began this year in a similar vein - on Saturday, I hadn't greased under my shoulder straps, and had developed huge welts at the base of my neck that were REALLY sore. Irene slathered them in globs of Vaseline on Sunday, but I think I'm going to be paying for that for some time - at least the pain of the salt water hitting the chafed spots took my mind off the cold water. This was a much better swim for me all round - a straight two hours, but with no real problems. As always, it took me an hour or so to settle into my rhythm, but the time flew by. I was a bit slower than yesterday and was probably dawdling a bit too much, but it felt really nice to just swim in the sunshine.
I really feel like the run up to my Channel swim has started now. Not that I'm keeping count...but it's exactly 12 weeks today to the start of my tide!
In the mean time, the lakes here are warming up splendidly - Swan Pool was a toasty 16 degrees last night, and I had a lovely 90 minute swim under clear blue evening skies. I probably need to start spending a little less time enjoying the scenery and more time pushing myself a bit, but sometimes it's nice just to paddle.
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
This is more like it...
Oh happy day - the sun is out, and the water is warming up even as I type. I went to Swan Pool on Monday evening and it was just beautiful - gentle evening sunshine on my back, lovely still water, tweeting birds... this is how swimming should be. I was so happy, and felt like I could swim forever. The warm weather's supposed to extend into the weekend, so hopefully I will have a gentler induction into the Dover training weekends than those hardy souls who started at the beginning of May. What a fair weather swimmer I am!
On a very different note, I was interviewed this morning by a features writer who is writing a piece on my Channel swimming research for the Guardian's "Research notes" section. I don't think I did a great job of explaining the project and definitely need to get better at that. But what really took me by surprise was his interest in the whole weight-gain issue - lots of questions about my own (fairly modest) weight gain - how much, what I ate, how I feel about it etc. In one sense, I don't mind talking about it because it's an important part of the process (for me, as a not particularly fast swimmer, anyway), but it's also a bit weird to think about that going into a national newspaper! From a research point of view, it's fascinating to see what captures people's interest and it really makes me realise just how potent the whole issue of body size is in this current fat-phobic moment of anti-obesity obsession, but it's also very strange to me for my own body to be at the centre of these discussions - in my previous research on obesity, I was very much able to set myself outside of these debates. It's an interesting experiment for me - this whole project is such an adventure.
On a very different note, I was interviewed this morning by a features writer who is writing a piece on my Channel swimming research for the Guardian's "Research notes" section. I don't think I did a great job of explaining the project and definitely need to get better at that. But what really took me by surprise was his interest in the whole weight-gain issue - lots of questions about my own (fairly modest) weight gain - how much, what I ate, how I feel about it etc. In one sense, I don't mind talking about it because it's an important part of the process (for me, as a not particularly fast swimmer, anyway), but it's also a bit weird to think about that going into a national newspaper! From a research point of view, it's fascinating to see what captures people's interest and it really makes me realise just how potent the whole issue of body size is in this current fat-phobic moment of anti-obesity obsession, but it's also very strange to me for my own body to be at the centre of these discussions - in my previous research on obesity, I was very much able to set myself outside of these debates. It's an interesting experiment for me - this whole project is such an adventure.
Monday, 17 May 2010
Brrr...brrr...brrrr...
Okay...enough with the cold. It's May 17th, and quite frankly, I feel like we're owed some decent weather. You expect the beginning of the open water season to not be particularly warm - frantic lakeside shivering, followed by spilling hot soup all over the inside of the car because you're shaking too much to get it successfully from flask to cup and then cup to mouth is all part of the ritual. But I had to defrost the car windscreen on Tuesday morning before driving to the pool, which is just ridiculous, and Bosworth is still stubbornly hovering around the 11-12 degree mark. But the forecast promises some wate-warming sunshine this week, so I live in hope.
In the mean time, I have recovered from my previous wobble and am now back focussing on the task at hand. I went up to Swan Pool for the first time this year last week and managed an hour in 10 degree water, which felt like good progress on my part... although this also let to the unfortunate soup-in-car incident. Tomato soup too - the car looked a bit like I'd been slaughtering livestock in it. And then I went to Bosworth on Saturday (a balmy 12 degrees) and did the full two hours. I think I probably stayed in a little bit too long and this is probably the coldest I've been; it was only after a couple of hours under the duvets at home that I felt properly warm again...but then again, I was really overtired, so was looking for an excuse to go back to bed anyway. But it felt good to have stuck it out, and it was definitely made easier by the sun poking through half way through the swim.
On a very different note, I managed to set new PBs for 50m and 200m last week, so things feels like they're coming together generally with the swimming. (No need to alert the swimming authorities about the toppling of these PBs - I am still thoroughly mediocre when it comes to any speed-related task).
So, it's all good. I feel focused and enthusiastic, and physically, I'm feeling great with no injuries. And to today is exactly 3 months to the start of my tide!!!! In honour of this, Bob (the campervan) has been hosed down, scrubbed up and stocked with food, ready for my first trip of the year down to Dover this weekend.
Now...all we need is some sunshine....
In the mean time, I have recovered from my previous wobble and am now back focussing on the task at hand. I went up to Swan Pool for the first time this year last week and managed an hour in 10 degree water, which felt like good progress on my part... although this also let to the unfortunate soup-in-car incident. Tomato soup too - the car looked a bit like I'd been slaughtering livestock in it. And then I went to Bosworth on Saturday (a balmy 12 degrees) and did the full two hours. I think I probably stayed in a little bit too long and this is probably the coldest I've been; it was only after a couple of hours under the duvets at home that I felt properly warm again...but then again, I was really overtired, so was looking for an excuse to go back to bed anyway. But it felt good to have stuck it out, and it was definitely made easier by the sun poking through half way through the swim.
On a very different note, I managed to set new PBs for 50m and 200m last week, so things feels like they're coming together generally with the swimming. (No need to alert the swimming authorities about the toppling of these PBs - I am still thoroughly mediocre when it comes to any speed-related task).
So, it's all good. I feel focused and enthusiastic, and physically, I'm feeling great with no injuries. And to today is exactly 3 months to the start of my tide!!!! In honour of this, Bob (the campervan) has been hosed down, scrubbed up and stocked with food, ready for my first trip of the year down to Dover this weekend.
Now...all we need is some sunshine....
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Brrrrr...
What the hell is going on with the weather? By the time I got to Bosworth at 7 this morning, the air temp was 7 degrees, and the water temp 11 degrees. Plus, there was a lovely stiff breeze whipping across the lake, and dark, low clouds threatening rain. This really isn't helping. But, I'd gone with renewed purpose this morning, after a rather lame week of doubt and general wobbliness, so in I went... although maybe not quite with the committed certainty that I was aiming for....
It felt cold, cold, cold... completely with full ice-cream headache and clawed hands. But I managed 1 hour 20 mins (c. 4km), which felt like a positive outcome after such a slack week. Ali Longman was there too, and we both spent a good half hour shivering spectacularly over hot chocolate afterwards. Then I retired to the campervan (Bob) for coffee while I was waiting for Penny. She did an hour in the water, then set off, cold and wet in her tri suit, for a 1.5 hour run. Amazing. When she got back we tucked into beans on toast before driving home. Life is better with Bob in the picture - the more comfort the better in my book .
So, a tough day, but a good one.
It felt cold, cold, cold... completely with full ice-cream headache and clawed hands. But I managed 1 hour 20 mins (c. 4km), which felt like a positive outcome after such a slack week. Ali Longman was there too, and we both spent a good half hour shivering spectacularly over hot chocolate afterwards. Then I retired to the campervan (Bob) for coffee while I was waiting for Penny. She did an hour in the water, then set off, cold and wet in her tri suit, for a 1.5 hour run. Amazing. When she got back we tucked into beans on toast before driving home. Life is better with Bob in the picture - the more comfort the better in my book .
So, a tough day, but a good one.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Nothing left but the swimming...
Well...my 6 hour certificate and my completed medical certificate have been dispatched to the CS&PF, which means that my registration and paperwork is now complete. Nothing left to do but train and swim!
And speaking of swimming....I'm finding this really hard at the moment. I've done three lake swims, all at Bosworth, since I got back from Malta, each one longer than the last. On Saturday, I managed a full two hours in 13.5 degree water, but it was a difficult swim. I wasn't as shivery when I got out as I had been the previous Saturday, but felt SO cold the whole time, and nearly gave up and got out after the first hour. It doesn't help that the weather has now taken a distinct turn for the worse, and it's only 10 degrees outside at the moment, which makes it even harder to contemplate heading off to Swan Pool tonight. I had been planning to go yesterday morning, but the weather was disgusting and I bottled out, so I really have to go today before this becomes a thing. But I'll certainly be relieved when things start to warm up!
As Penny said this morning about her Ironman training, as she headed off with Peter for a 4 hour ride (after she'd done a half-iroman distance in training on Saturday!), it's supposed to be hard. It certainly is this week.
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