Emma
France's Journey to Swimming the English Channel:
2008 Training
Water Temperature: 15.9oC
Air Temperature: 13.9oC
Conditions:
Nice and sunny, little bit breezy and lumpy
I was unbelievably nervous going to Dover today. The last two times I've trained I've got out very early, both at the same point. It has now become a huge mental block. I went to Freda to get my hat and she asked me to do 3 hours. I just said 'OK' and walked away. In my head I was thinking '3 hours - I can't do that, I'd be happy if I just broke the 2 hour mark'. Not the best mental state to get into the water with.
As I walked into the water, it felt colder than when I'd been helping on the beach last time, but once I got in and got over inevitable initial cold, it actually felt quite warm (everything's relative). Although I know it was colder, it almost felt as warm as the Lido. Overall a pleasant surprise. I still wasn't convinced I could do 2 hours, let alone 3.
When I got to the wall I was quite close to Margaret, who'd been in the relay team I swam in last year. She's a little bit faster, but again when I got to the other wall I was relatively close. I now had a decision - I could go in for a feed at an hour, or swim across and do the normal straight 2 hours. The first 2 hours is always the worst, but having an extra feed didn't seem to help last time.
I mentioned to Margaret that the next length was the point in which I'd bottled it on the last 2 swims, so she said, right then, let's do it. The people in Dover are so supportive. It must have slowed her down, but I'm so grateful, it made all the difference. It got me passed the mental barrier. After than I swam alone. I came in for my 2 hour feed knowing that I only had one more lap to do.
I'd taken it relatively easy just to make sure I could do it, so I actually had a little under an hour to do. The last hours is always a challenge too - not because I can't do it, but because you end up with a part lap, or an amount of time that you don't quite know what to do with. I didn't think I'd get a whole lap in, realistically I probably would have, but I ended up stopping all the time trying to work out how far to go. Still, none of this matters. I stayed in for the 3 hours - a definite step forwards and a huge mental boost.
Freda was pleased for me too. We then stopped and chatted about this year's challenge. She recommended a 3 person relay. I'll ask Jim & Dana if they're up for it, fingers crossed.
No training today. I did my first stint as observer for Katie Goodall's solo swim. We had to get to Chris Osmond's boat 'Seafarer II' for 0530. The swim started at 0608. She was absolutely brilliant from start to finish. She was fast, confident and happy and did a fantastic time of 10 hours 23. It was great to watch. Her support team were fantastic too.
I got home after last week's training to find my right ear started to hurt. I didn't really think much of it until the next day when the pain became excruciating. By Tuesday I had to get it seen to, so visited the GP who told me that I had an ear infection and that I needed to avoid getting water in my ear. I knew that Sharlene wanted me to swim with her on Saturday for her qualifying swim, so I was left with a bit of a dilemma. I came up with a cunning plan, that was to do kick with fins on - therefore keeping my head out of the water. So on Friday morning I did the whole session on kick to see if I could keep up with her and I could. Unfortunately, my ear wasn't getting any better, so I went back to see the GP during the day, and the GP advised me not to swim at all as, even with ear plugs in, I couldn't guarantee not getting water in my ear. So no swimming for me at all this weekend AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Despite not being able to swim, I went down to Dover. It really is fun to help on the beach, Freda, Irene, Barrie, Ruth and co are really great company. It also gave me the chance to brief and watch out for the 6 swimmers who'd come down to do their qualifying swim for next year's relay race. Josh, Sharlene, Ali, Peter, Jo and Sam came down to give it their best shot. Here they are getting in.
Sharlene & Josh are already in - very keen to get the job done!!
It was a very low tide at the start so as you can see from below, they had a very long walk before they could start to swim.
The conditions weren't perfect as it there was quite a breeze which made the water a bit rough, but the sun came out and the water was a balmy 16C.
Sam (only 12 years old), managed a brilliant one hour - that's very impressive for a first swim. Jo came out with her. The remaining 4 all managed their 2 hour qualifiers. As you can see from below Josh looked like he might actually have enjoyed it.
And there was I thinking that this would be payback for all those hard sets that he's given us over the last year!!
So that's 5 out of 12 swimmers for next year with qualifying swims in the bag already.
After the relay swimmers had gone I stayed on the beach to help the shingle stompers. It's great being there just to soak up the atmosphere and to watch people who are truly inspiring.
The relay swimmers definitely chose the best day of the weekend. Sunday was interesting to say the least!! It started off very similar to Saturday, then became very calm and ended up with massive waves and a downpour. The picture below really doesn't show how bad it was.
As you can see from the picture below - we all got quite wet on the beach too!!
I am totally in awe at the swimmers who stuck out 6 hours in this today - what an amazing training session!! As for the regular beach hands - why do they do it? They are amazing. As you can see from the photo they are still full of smiles despite the grim conditions. So why did I stay when I could have been tucked up warm at home? Well if these swimmers were prepared to battle these elements then they deserved all the support I could give. Realistically being there was the only support I could offer, but I was delighted to give that at least.
Water temperature: 15.5oC
Air temperature: 15.0oC
Conditions: Beautiful weather, but a bit windy making
it a bit rough
Well after 3 days skiving in pool competitions it was time to get back in the water in Dover. I was absolutely determined to get in and get back on track. Freda suggested 3 hours. I know I should be doing far more, but 3 hours would at least allow me to break the mental barrier that's been hitting me between 1 and 2 hours recently. Freda agreed to letting me come in after an hour for a feed, we thought that might help too.
All started well, I got in easily enough and felt quite warm. At the beginning I was convinced that it would be OK, I was even planning to come in after 3 hours and ask if I could keep going. I got through the first hour, came in for a feed and went off again. Unfortunately that's the end of the positive stuff. I swam for about 10 minutes and then hit a barrier which could easily have been a physical wall as a mental one because I totally lost the ability to swim. I was stopped dead in my tracks. Location wise it was almost exactly the same place as last time. I did doggie paddle, backstroke, even a bit of breaststroke, I just couldn't swim properly. I limped back to the beach having failed yet again.
Barrie was very kind, and pointed out that at least I'd got back in and started back after the last disaster a few weeks ago. Freda came down as well. She definitely knows how to motivate someone. She pointed out that Dana was in the water and I couldn't get out before her!! So I got back in and swam to the Prince of Wales pier and back again. All in all about 1 hour 45. Not enough, I need to break this pattern and quick.
After I got out and changed I sat and chatted with Freda, Irene, Tanya & co. I said that I'm simply not enjoying it any more. I love Dover, I love the people, I'm just not sure I can do the swimming bit. What's even more worrying is that I'm becoming OK with that. Part of what's causing a problem is that the thought of 2 seasons of this is a bit overwhelming. At the beginning of the season I was absolutely convinced that a 2 person relay was totally do-able. I would even have committed to a 2 person 2 way. Now, I'm not so sure. I hope that's just because I haven't got the 2nd person firmed up yet.
Enough of the wallowing - time to get over it and get on with the training that's needed. Next week is a new week.
A tradition was started a few years ago by a few of us that we should enter ALL the events at the Surreys. It used to be over 2 weekends, but now it's in one afternoon / early evening which makes it even more challenging. But then again I like a challenge so why not. So that's 10 events plus 2 relays!! The biggest issue is that I have to swim all the strokes and I am absolutely hopeless at breaststroke and not much cop at backstroke or fly either!
It was a very friendly gala, most masters galas are. There were also some amazing swimmers there and many records were broken.
I've compared the times to the ones I swam at the Isle of Wight Masters as this was the last short course event that I swam.
| Event | Lifetime PB | Essex Masters | Time | Comments |
| 50m Free | 0:39.25 | 0:45.69 | ||
| 100m Free | 1:21.29 | 1:35.19 | 1:37.75 | |
| 200m Free | 2:50.35 | 3:17.23 | 3:17.39 | So close... |
| 50m Butterfly | 0:47.59 | 0:55.66 | ||
| 100m Butterfly | 1:46.24 | 1:58.39 | 1:56.55 | |
| 50m Backstroke | 0:52.90 | 0:59.91 | Also so close... | |
| 100m Backstroke | 1:52.61 | 2:06.39 | 2:01.68 | That's more like it! |
| 50m Breaststroke | 0:55.23 | 1:04.48 | 1:05.11 | Why do I do this?! |
| 100m Breaststroke | 2:08.33 | 2:18.12 | Dire, really shouldn't enter it! | |
| 100m Individual Medley | 1:42.93 | 2:00.24 | 1:58.07 |
Well I've had my fun messing around in the pool. It's time to get back to Dover again
There was a small but select contingent from Guildford City - me, Alex H & Roger (Superman). Yet again it was fantastic to catch up with swimming friends from around the country. Generally the gala was very relaxed, well organised and very friendly.
At the time I entered it seemed entirely logical to enter ALL the freestyle events from 50m to 1500m plus a novelty event of 200IM. It never seems quite so sensible when the day actually comes. I will probably never learn. The most challenging thing was to vary my pace so much between the different distances.
The gala started with a 1500m free. My shoulders hurt for the first 1000m and although I finished inside my entry time, it didn't feel great. Perhaps doing a swim like that after a very long drive is not the best. The 800m was the best race. It felt good, I felt both physically and mentally strong. Given that I had already swum 400, 50 & 100 free that day it seems that I need quite a bit of warming up.
Whenever I had a negative thought about the race I was about to do, I just reminded myself that the alternative was to be swimming in Dover - after that all the races seemed OK!!
My times:
| Event | Lifetime PB | SE LC - Feb | Time | Comments |
| 50m Free | 0:40.44 | 0:45.45 | ||
| 100m Free | 1:24.41 | 1:37.85 | ||
| 200m Free | 2:55.78 | 3:27.51 | 3:25.27 | This was the last event, probably one event too many |
| 400m Free | 6:15.20 | 7:15.62 | 7:14.02 | Only marginally faster than SE Region |
| 800m Free | 12:57.46 | 15:00.80 | 14:45.70 | 38 secs faster than the 800 split on the 1500!! |
| 1500m Free | 24:58.96 | 28:57.90 | ||
| 200m IM | 4:18.51 | 4:18.51 | 4:19.?? | Just outside the PB I set in Crawley |
I was hoping to swim a bit better than this as the last time I swam I was still suffering the after effects of the chest infection, but I suppose since I generally swam faster I should be pleased.
Next stop Surrey Masters Championships
Water temperature: 14.3oC
Air temperature: 12.7oC
Conditions: Flat & calm with an intermittent chilling
breeze
It was a very different swim today. Rather than the usual Harbour training it was the Champion of Champions competition. The plan is to swim a 5 mile swim, a 3 mile swim, and a 1 mile swim with the person with the lowest aggregate time being the winner.
I had figured out that the 3 mile swim would take a little over 3 hours and it occured to be in the lead up that I already struggle with 2 hours without a feed. 3 hours was simply not going to happen.
Each pre-defined lap was one mile. So 5 laps were required for the first race. After about 1.5 laps the leader lapped me. A little bit further on another pack of swimmers went passed. That was the beginning of the end. I talked myself into retiring early. So I pulled out at 3 miles. I was physically fine, I just had a motivational crisis! I finished 3 miles in about 1hr 30mins, I don't swim that fast, particularly not when I'm not motivated. I think the course was a little short.
Having done 3 hours I knew with certainty that I could finish the next race. This one was very different. This time I raced it. I was very close to a couple of swimmers for while, but plugged away at it and eventually passed them. Then I targeted a swimmer who was about 200m ahead. After about a lap I over took him too. In the end it all came down to a sprint finish. None of these 3 swimmers wanted to be beaten - but neither did I. I hung on to the lead. Motivation makes all the difference. This time I was faster than some swimmers who I couldn't keep up with on 5 mile swim.
The last swim was a doddle in comparison to the others. Just one lap! I ended up having a race off with one of the same swimmers as in the 3 mile race and won again. The old competitive spirit was there in force again!!
Water temperature: 14.4oC
Air temperature: 13.0oC
Conditions: Flat & calm with an intermittent chilling
breeze
Distance swum: 4,300m
Back to normal harbour training. My motivation is still very low. I discovered that whilst pool training is a great stress reliever, open water training is really difficult when life is tough. I suppose it's because in the pool you have so much to think about - counting, pacing, turns, heart rate, other swimmers etc. But in open water it's just you and your thoughts. I'm going through a really tough time at work and in the end I simply couldn't do it today.
I attempted to get out after about 1hr 30min. Barrie reminded me that it's all in the mind, and he's right. I just wasn't in control of my mind today. He encouraged me to swim to the Prince of Wales pier and back which I did. Although not far, it was a huge struggle mentally.
As I got out I decided that perhaps open water swimming wasn't the sport for me. I should stick to helping on the beach and observing. Freda clearly had other views and took me for a drink and a chat. She really is a fantastic support. I need to hang on long enough to find out whether things improve as the stress at work subsides.
Watch this space....
Next week - GB Masters at Manchester
I have been absolutely shattered all week. It's probably a combination of issues:
Whilst the weather is MUCH better than last year, it's still not great. When we arrived in Dover there was light drizzle and light wind. The harbour was fairly flat - no washing machine today, but the wind chill was very noticeable.
Sharlene joined me today for her first taste of the harbour in advance of our relay race next year. She did really, really well. As it was her first swim, Freda told her to go to the ferry wall and back. I swam with her, and once she got used to the cold we were off. We got back to the beach area and I asked her if she was ready to get out or if she wanted to or whether she wanted to complete the lap. She decided to complete the lap and ending up swimming for about 55 mins - a very impressive achievement for the first swim. I reckon she'll have the qualifier cracked in no time at all. She finished the lap knowing that she could have done more.
One of the really good things about swimming with her was that it broke up the first 2 hours and made it much easier. Also the peer pressure of Sharlene knowing that I had a target of 4 hours and would still be waiting meant that I absolutely had to finish - what kind of example would I be setting otherwise!! So I did manage it.
Sunday saw another of next year's relay swimmers come down, this time Tracy. Tracy has been swimming in her parents' unheated swimming pool to acclimitise - keen or what!! She managed 1hr 40mins - another awesome start.
I on the other hand am still struggling with the exhaustion from last week and I told Freda this. I got a classic response - well you'll have another long swim today. But when it came to it, she must have taken pity as she said 3 hours - we've got to take into account the fact that you've been ill. It felt a bit like wimping out, but I'm very glad she reduced it as I really struggled with the cold again. I'm sure that having cold maxim at the feed didn't help. I've still got a long time before the swim, so let's hope we can build it all up in time.
I was so shattered after the swim that I had to pull up in a service station to have a power nap and I couldn't make it home in one go safely.
I missed Dover last weekend as I was officiating at a gala. Swimming really is a sport of extremes - last weekend sweating round a very hot poolside, this weekend shivering by the sea!!
The weekend started in a really nice way as Dana came down to the beach ,before everyone started, wearing her chains and as President of Surrey County Water Polo & Swimming Association she presented Freda with her Honorary Life Vice President award for all her services to Open Water swimming. Freda was delighted. It is an award that is long overdue.
Back to the matter in hand. I have got a lot of catching up to do. The maximum that I have swum so far is 1hr 15min. Today Freda asked me to do 4 hours!! OK so I didnt actually manage it. I did 2 hours and had spent the previous hour shivering. Last year at the same time I also struggled with the cold. I know that when it warms up I'll be fine. So this year I chose not to beat myself up about this.
Sunday I was told '4 hours' again. This time I reminded myself that the first 2 hours are always the worst both physically (because there's no feed until 2 hours to warm you up) and mentally. I was determined to do at least 3 hours to build upon what I did yesterday. When I got to three hours I knew that I could do just one more lap and I ended up completing the 4 hours. I caught up!! Well for now at least!
It always feels so much nicer to have done what is asked rather than the feeling of failure of wimping out.
I can't believe what a difference a week makes!! Last week, the weather was glorious and I felt like I could have swum forever. This week..... well lets just say, was not quite so delightful!! It started by being very rough getting in as you can see:
The temperature of the water was 0.3C warmer, but the air temperature was 1.7C colder and there was a very strong wind. As a result the water was very rough but it was the wind chill that caused the problem. Freda said to the soloists to do 5 lengths, but no more than 1hr 40min. Because I'm still recovering and only only swum on one day so far this season, Freda told me to do less. In the end I did 1 lap (2 lengths) and it took far longer than last week. I was in the water for 1hr 5mins.
The picture below shows how 'lumpy the water was':
The water didn't feel cold, and swimming towards the Eastern Dock wall was a bit lumpy, but got gradually flatter, must have been the effect of the cliffs sheltering that end of the harbour. As I swam towards the Prince of Wales pier I started to feel really cold from the wind chill. My hands started to go numb and I started getting cramp all over the place - ankle; hamstring & stomach.
I then collided head on with Kevin Murphy right by the Prince of Wales pier!! What are the chances of that in such a large expanse of water! That end of the harbour was really rough. So I turned back and headed for the swimmers beach. You only have to have a look at flags in the photo below to see just how windy it was. The wind not only caused the rough water, but also caused very significant wind chill and made it so different from last week.
Once out of the water the it took a few minutes for the shivers to start, but then they lasted for about an hour. I also started getting cramp in my quads. I think that was enough for today. Luckily I know, from last year's experience, that I will be absolutely fine once the conditions improve, and given that my swim is not until September, time is very definitely on my side.
What I would like to know though, is why do I keep getting cramp. This was not the cold water, as I've been getting cramp all week, all over the place. Perhaps it's something to do with steroids for my chest. I must find out. EDIT - I later found out that the cramp is a side effect of the medication that I've been put on to sort out my chest issues, so hopefully a short lived feature!
Next stop - Champion of Champions event - 14th June.
It was another glorious day in Dover - how different from this time last year!
I really shouldn't be swimming yet as the Respiratory Consultant advised I stay out of the water for a few weeks until we get my chest problem under control. But on the basis that the steroids I've been put on seem to have had a dramatic impact and I have all but stopped coughing and the water looked so inviting today, and I'd already had a sneaky practice in Brighton on Thursday I thought 'why not?!'
I said to Freda that I'd try just one short swim. So she gave me a yellow hat (relay swimmer). The red hats (soloists) did one full lap plus the distance to the prince of wales pier and back again. The yellow hats were given the slightly shorter distance of one full lap (although I don't think any of them actually did a full lap). I was a bit concerned given the temperature of the water as to whether I'd be able to do it, so I got in a little nervously.
The water felt really warm (it was actually only 11.6C) with some really cold patches (they did feel like iced water and were quite a shock!). It was much easier to get into than Brighton and within a few metres there was absolutely no question as to whether I could do what was asked, in fact fairly early on I was already planning to ask if I could do more. As you can see from the picture below, the water was as flat as the pool. The swim was simply delightful and I felt like I was flying. I got back to the beach and asked if I could go to the wall and back again.
Once out there were no shivers (not sure that ever happened last year). There was a 45 minute break before we went back in again. This time all the yellow hats were asked to do what I had done (again I don't think they did). It was another fabulous swim. A brilliant start to the season. I'm fairly sure I could have 2 or more hours in the water today without an issue. I'm also sure that if the conditions were the same in the channel that a relay would definitely be possible on a day like today.
What it taught me was how it's not necessarily the water temperature that I struggle with, but the combination of cold and wind. Long may this weather last.
The company I work for had it's Group Finance Conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton today. It was a long, but useful day, and we had a bit of free time between the end of the conference and the evening meal. Most chose to prop up the bar, but since it was such a glorious day and the hotel is situated on the beach front just opposite the old pier, it would be rude not to go for a quick swim in the sea. It would be my first of the year.
I was a little apprehensive as the respiratory consultant had said I should leave it a few weeks in case I inhaled some water and went straight back to square one, and also the steroids have left me more prone to infection, but it just had to be done!!
There were loads of people on the beach, but absolutely no one in the water. I got in fairly carefully, it was cold. Cold enough to take my breath away. I struggled with my breathing until I managed to get my face it, but then it was OK. I'd watched the water before I got in and had figured that the tide was running from the new pier towards the old pier so reckoned that I would have to fight the tide going towards the the new pier and would then whiz back.
The water was extremely clear. So clear it was hard to believe it was the UK. I saw loads of star fish, I've never seen those in the UK before. I thought that you only saw star fish where the water was really clean, if that's true, it's a really good sign.
According to the concierge it's about 0.75 miles between the piers, so I did about 1.5 miles. My hands were getting numb towards the end, so I was ready to get out, but it was a lovely first swim of the year.
Well the 2008 open water season started in style in Dover this weekend. And what glorious weather we had. The sun was out and the water very calm. What a contrast to this time last year!!
The first weekend is always popular, this year was no different. There were 44 solo swimmers, 20 relay swimmers and Sally Goble had about 20 teenagers training for a relay. All in all a lot of swimmers!!
Unfortunately I was not one of the swimmers this weekend. My respiratory consultant advised me to stay out of cold water for a few weeks. Inhalation of water would put me back to square one in my recovery. Also the steroids that I'm on leave me more prone to infection. So I did the only sensible thing and helped out on the beach instead. It was great just to be there.
I got a bit of sunburn - shows just how warm it was.
Freda is doing the training slightly differently this year. Rather than setting a time that we must do, it's based on distance. It makes a lot of sense. Because of the good weather, Freda was able to set a much longer swim than normal. I am slightly concerned that by the time I get into the water in a few weeks, that they'll be up to back to back 6 hour swims!!
A few of us entered the Essex Masters championships as a friendly fun gala, which it certainly was.
Warm up was a bit hair raising, there were a lot of swimmers in not a lot of water. I did about 100m and gave it up as a bad idea.
I still have a really big issue following the chest infection that I had. Any level of exertion leaves me coughing my guts up and today was no exception. The first few events I simply struggled to breath, by the last event of the session I was just about OK, but then had to repeat the pattern for the 2nd session.
The starts were an experience too. The starting end was the shallow end. I really didn't like diving into 0.9m from blocks. I didn't actually hit the bottom, although I thought I would. However, as soon as I tried to do a dolphin kick after the start my feet would hit the bottom. I must have done my all-time slowest starts at this gala.
Results were as follows:
| Event |
Lifetime PB |
Entered Time |
Actual Time |
Place | Comments |
| 400m Freestyle |
5:55.21 |
7:15.62 |
6:52.55 |
3rd | I really struggled to breath in this event. But it was faster than the 400m LC at Crawley |
| 100m Backstroke |
1:52.61 |
2:10.00 |
2:06.39 |
2nd | Purely a novelty event to ensure I had swims in all the decathlon categories!! |
|
100m Butterfly |
1:46.24 |
1:57.17 |
1:35.72 |
1st | Although the time I swam was slightly slower than the Isle of Wight swim, I really didn't try on this event. Instead I saved a lot of energy for the 200 free that was approaching rapidly. |
| 200m Freestyle |
2:50.35 |
3:25.86 |
3:17.23 |
3rd | This was the only event that actually felt OK and it was 8 secs faster than Isle of Wight. |
| 100m IM |
1:42.93 |
2:00.63 |
2:00.24 |
3rd | Marginally faster than the Isle of Wight swim |
| 50m Breaststroke |
0:55.23 |
1:05.00 |
1:04.48 |
3rd | Definitely a novelty event! |
| 100m Freestyle |
1:21.29 |
1:35.72 |
1:35.19 |
3rd | Again very marginally better than the Isle of Wight. |
The Isle of Wight Masters Meet has to be one of the friendliest meets in the masters calendar.
I was really looking forward to this meet to test out how the speed work had been going, problem is that my training has been seriously hampered by the chest infection that started on New Year's Eve and has resulted in the most aggressive taper I've ever done!! On the basis that I still have some major coughing fits, I probably shouldn't have swum. But as I'd already booked and paid for my hotel room and ferry I thought I'd go along and see how I felt on the day.
I was right, I probably shouldn't have swum. The problem was I had to sign in for the 800 free before warm up, and it wasn't until I tried a warm up that I was to be able to assess how things were. Fortunately I was seeded fastest in my heat, which took the pressure off a bit. Just as well as I finished 15 seconds outside my entry time which was also my 800 split from the Barnet 1500 that I swum before Christmas. That is a time that I should have been able to beat. I got a stitch from about 500m. When I got out I felt very ill, I can't really describe how I felt, but it wasn't good. My lungs hurt - if that's possible.
The good thing was that the swim did clear my lungs out a bit, and although the performance didn't get any better for the rest of the meet, I didn't feel quite so ill after the rest of the races. I did get 1 PB in a novelty event - 25m breaststroke - but that was only because I've never swum it before!!
The table below shows the results of the various events that I entered:
| Event |
Lifetime PB |
Entered Time |
Actual Time |
Place | Comments |
| 800m Freestyle |
12:13.67 |
14:20.21 |
14:34.03 |
4th | As the entry time was based on a 800 split in a 1500 race I should have been able to beat this time. |
| 200m Freestyle |
2:50.35 |
3:25.00 |
3:25.86 |
4th | I did 3:19 in training recently, this event really shows the impact that being ill and / or missing training has had |
|
100m Freestyle |
1:21.29 |
1:35.00 |
1:35.72 |
5th | My start was dreadful, I went virtually to the bottom of the pool, I probably could have gone a second or two faster. |
| 100m Butterfly |
1:46.24 |
2:00.00 |
1:57.17 |
4th | Although a long way outside my pb, this was faster than I though I'd do given that my training has not been focusing on fly |
| 50m Butterfly |
0:47.59 |
0:55.00 |
0:54.32 |
5th | Bizarely, probably the closed to my pb! |
| 100m IM |
1:42.93 |
2:00.00 |
2:00.63 |
3rd | Definitely a novelty event! |
| 25m Breaststroke |
0:30.00 |
0:29.48 |
3rd | If you've ever seen me try breaststroke, definitely a novelty event. I made the most of the start to minimise the distance I actually had to swim! |
When I arrived a the gala I offered to help as an official between swims if they needed me. As a result I ended up as starter for most of the sessions which is always fun. It was particularly amusing to start the very next heat from the one I'd swum in complete with hat and goggles and dripping wet. It's amazing how hard it is to catch your breath long enough to say 'take your marks'!! Still being female don't we have an inbuilt ability to multi task?!
Next stop - don't know - really need to get the chest infection sorted.
The focus of training over the winter has been to get some of the speed back that I lost last year. So I thought that a few galas a long the way would be a good way of tracking progress. So this was the first gala of the year. The only problem was that I've still not managed to shake the chest infection that I've had since New Year's Eve. I seem to spend most of my time having massive (and I mean massive) coughing fits. I wasn't sure if I could finish any of the races as a coughing fit could prevent me from finishing.
I entered my old favourite events: 200, 400, 800 free. I would also normally enter 200 fly and something else that fits into the programme. However, when I entered the meet I didn't think I was fit enough to actually finish a 200 fly race (good call as it turns out), so I entered the 400 IM instead (what was I thinking!!!). The something else that also fitted in was 200 IM.
It's really hard to know how I did as most of my pbs were set in 2005 when I was swimming at speeds I can only dream of at the moment. So I think it's probably best to use this gala as my new long course baseline and to compare between events. So here's how I did in the freestyle events:
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Nothing to write home about really, but it's a start. It looks like the 800 might have been quite good if I could have breathed the whole way through as it started out faster than the 400 but I spend most of the race wheezing.
I did get a pb in the 200IM though, but that only because I haven't swum that event since 2003!
Overall 4 medals out of 5 events plus one relay is a reasonable result.
I'm really hoping that I get over this infection soon as it is really starting to seriously impact upon my training now. Fingers crossed that all will be sorted in time for the Isle of Wight meet on 22nd and 23rd Feb
Well I'm back in training again after a rather nasty bout of flu. The GP had advised that I start back gently when I'm well enough. I was really expecting to have lost all the benefit from the training over the Christmas break and was really dreading the upcoming galas. It seems, however, on this occasion that all is not lost.
Friday was the first day that I was able to stay awake all day, so I thought I'd give training a go on Friday night after 11 days out of the water. I was pleasantly surprised. I felt strong in the warm up, and managed a very respectable (for me anyway) 1:35 for the first 100m free. OK, so things did deteriorate by the end of the session, but I did feel a sense of relief, all was not entirely lost.
Saturday's training session was not quite as pleasant. I didn't feel as good in warm up, but that may have been because I knew what was coming. It was arguably one of the hardest sessions that I have ever done:
800m warm-up (including some kick and various strokes)
2 x 200 Fly (yes that's fly!)
3 x 100 Fly pull
4 x 75 Fly kick
We then repeated the above on back, then breaststroke, then freestyle. I just about survived the 2 x 200 fly, but then my should went on the 3 x 100 fly pull. Backstroke though painfully slow was pleasant. Breaststroke was bearable until the kick - I can't do that to save my life!! My lower back went. Freestyle was just survival at the end.
Sunday's session was also gruelling the warm-up was over 2,000m. The main session was hard front crawl of various distances from 50 - 200. The rep times were extremely demanding and by the end I was proper tired. I'm not sure this is what the GP had in mind when she said to get back into it gently, oh well, at least I haven't gone over the top and done the gym as well.
There's now 3 weeks until the South East Region Long Course Championships at which I am swimming 200, 400 & 800 free plus 200 & 400 IM. I need a lot of hard work and a lot of luck between now and then. Fingers crossed.
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Well it's that time of year again, time to over indulge and let all the training since I've been back go to waste.
Not this year. I decided that I would keep my training going throughout the festivities where possible so that I had a head start in 2008, especially with the SE Region / London Region Long Course Masters Meet coming up in February.
It all started well too. I decided to do the SwimClub Christmas challenge and see how far I could swim in a day. As I was the first to do it, I wasn't sure how far was 'enough', but I figured that as I'd done a 10k swimathon before that had to be a minimum, and since I'd done some long swims in the summer, realistically I should be able to do more, but how much????
I also needed to remember that my shoulder is not quite healed yet, and that this is just a challenge and in the scheme of things, it doesn't actually matter. Furthermore, I had a session booked with a trainer in the gym and I needed to save some energy for that. So I headed off to Esporta not quite sure what I was going to do. In the end I broke it down into batches of 100 lengths, short rest after the first, third and fifth 100s and longer (including a quick snooze) after the second and fourth. I finished at 15k. I was bored silly by this point, and my shoulders were starting to hurt. I could have done more, but decided that enough was enough.
It seems that enough was not quite enough as both Juicy Lucy and Kookiegal beat me, but at least I set a respectable hurdle.
And the good intentions continued. During the break I went for a 1.5 hour gym session followed by a 1-2 hour swim 3 times each week. I even managed to loose weight between over the Christmas period (even with all the excesses). I felt more than a little smug. That was until New Year's Eve when I went to do the usual session and discovered that I completely lacked all energy. I limped through the gym session, but just couldn't finish my pool session. I couldn't work it out. Not until the next day anyway. It seems I came down with a nasty virus which has completely knocked me for six for the last week. I'm hoping that I'll get back into training this week, but I dread how much ground I will have lost. I guess it could have been worse if I hadn't trained over the holiday period and still come down with the lurgy.
Watch this space.........
I was very nervous leading up to this race. It's been just over a year since I last competed. I wasn't sure I was race fit, I've only been back in training a few weeks, and I can't remember how to race. Every part of me wanted to chicken out and run, but Barnet was probably the best place to start back as it's one of the friendliest meets around. So here we go.
I'd entered 30:00, which although not quite a personal worst, is very close. Problem was, I wasn't even sure I could achieve that. When I used to race this distance, I'd have race plans, good ideas of what the splits should be at every 50m, and I had the belief in my fitness that would allow me to go out hard and hang on. On this swim I knew none of this. To finish was the aim.
In the warm up I tried a few dives, it seemed I had also forgotten how to dive. 3 belly flops, 4 with my goggles either filling up or coming off, and 2 too deep. None that were right. On the actual race the dive was too deep, but at least my goggles stayed on and didn't fill up with water. I took it relatively easy as I wasn't sure how the fitness would last, but I had enough left for a bit of a sprint finish.
STOP PRESS - I actually enjoyed it!! It felt good to compete again, it's fun. It was great to meet some familiar faces again too. What was even more amazing was the fact that my time was marginally faster than the Nationals in 2006. At least that means that I've got my speed back from last year. I just need to work on getting 2005's speed back now. I definitely intend to do a few more pool competitions over the next few months.
Well I'm back in training, hooray. Although I have weaned myself back in over the last few weeks, I've now returned properly to training, and I'm glad to be back. It's just a bit of shame that I seem to have forgotten how to swim. Considering I'm swimming in the Barnet 1500 in a few weeks, it could be an interesting few weeks!!!
An ideal week of training will consist of all the Guildford City sessions (7 hours in total); 3 sessions in the gym; and a body balance class. That's quite a tall order, and I'm not going to obsess about it, just get as close as is practical with other life responsibilities. I'm determined to enjoy the training this time around.
Watch this space.
