Great training weekend

This weekend I did a four hour swim at Manly on Saturday and a three hour swim at Balmoral on Sunday. Both swims went really well.

On Saturday I started at Shelly Beach in Manly and headed up to Curl Curl, with Anna & Margie paddling next to me. This took about 45 minutes, then we turned round to head back to Shelly. Anna tells me I managed about 200 metres in 10 minutes as there was such a strong current running against us. I was completely oblivious to this and just vaguely wondering quite how far out to sea we were (it seemed we were a good 800 metres offshore.)

It took 50 minutes to get back in to Shelly for a feed, then up to Queenscliff and back (another hour) before a final trip to Curly and back. Four hours in total. Beautiful conditions, squillions of fish (can there possibly be a more beautiful place to swim than Cabbage Tree Bay??) and several sharks (the non-bitey type.) The water was about 17 degrees in the bay but probably 18 degrees once off shore and I wasn’t in the least bit cold, as long as I kept moving. A delicious swim, with two wonderful paddlers. Thank you, ladies.

On Sunday it was down to Balmoral for a chilly three hours in 14 degrees. The water was beautiful but it’s amazing how much my pace slows down in that temperature; I only managed the beach – baths – beach route 4.5 times in three hours. Anna swam with me for the whole three hours. The woman is incredible.

It was a really positive weekend and I feel ready for the big one next weekend – 7 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday. At this stage, the swell looks favourable (ie. practically none!)

Incredible English Channel swim

At the weekend, Jackie Cobell successfully completed a solo crossing of the English Channel in 28 hours 44 minutes, a new record (if you can call it that.) The plot of her swim (see picture that someone posted on the Channel group) shows what an incredible and amazing achievement this was.

The well wishes and posts on the Channel site show just how inspiring Jackie's swim has been to so many people, seemingly far more so than when someone completes a fast crossing. I know when I start whining at nine hours, I'll think of Jackie and remind myself that you just put one arm in front of the other, all the way til the feet hit sand. And whining isn't going to get you there any faster (and just annoys your support crew.)

A quick crossing seems out of reach of most of us; either we don't have the technique / physique / time to devote to ever getting that fast. But when we see someone who doesn't have those qualities but instead demonstrates perseverance, tenacity, stamina - things that can and should be within reach of us all - then that truly is an inspiration.

Gosh, look at me all tired and emotional.....

Magnetic Island to Townsville swim

Most of the gang post-swim

Last weekend we headed up to Queensland for the Magnetic Island to Townsville swim. We had 11 swimmers from Sea’s the Limit take part in the 8 km swim. This is only the third year the swim has been run without shark cages. Previously, they only had enough cages for about 10 swimmers; this year, there were over 100, so it’s certainly picking up in popularity. The sharks didn’t bother me half as much as the talk on the island of a rogue croc which came ashore in Picnic Bay a couple of weeks ago.

There was a fair amount of wind for the swim and it was quite choppy – I actually had waves break over me in the middle of the bay, which made it a tough outing for the paddlers. I really enjoyed it although I found the 22 degree water way too warm for swimming hard.

We had five swimmers – Justine, Mick, Suzy, Katya, Michelle – for whom it was their longest swim to date and all finished in remarkably quick times. We also had four ‘podium’ finishes – Chad, Anna, Katya & Michelle. It was a great result.

The following day the bay was like a millpond – no wind and completely flat. Isn’t that usually the way. We spent the day exploring the island. There was a lot of brown algae in the water which meant some of the bays looked pretty unattractive and certainly not for swimming. But then we arrived at Radical Bay. Ahhh, bliss. It was stunning. I got straight into the water and swam – not because I felt the need to train, but simply because it was so beautiful. It’s been a while since I remembered quite how much I love swimming but for that half hour, I swam just because I wanted to.

Back in rainy, cold Sydney and down at Balmoral Beach on Wednesday morning, our swim was delayed while we waited for the thunder and lightning to pass. At one point we were about to get in the water, thinking the worst of the storm had passed, when a massive lightning bolt lit up the sky. We sat it out a little longer…. We finally managed to squeeze in half an hour before we had to go to work – it was 13.6 degrees. That 22 degree water from the weekend seemed a distant memory.

The break has mentally refreshed me and I now feel ready. Whatever I have to do to get across that Channel, I will do.

Training at extremes

Yesterday morning at Balmoral: 14 degrees.

Yesterday evening at the pool: 29 degrees.

Somewhere in the middle would be just fine.

So the coach says....

.... "You're tired. You need a rest mentally." I heed his advice - as always - and postpone my six hour swim planned for this weekend.

This was, I now discover, merely an excuse for him to thrash me physically in the pool. A MONSTER 8.2 km session last night (in a 25 metre pool, no less.... I have a sore knee from so many tumble turns.)

The scary thing is... I sort of enjoyed it.

24 Hour Megaswim

Last weekend was the 24 Hour Megaswim at the Olympic Pool at Homebush. The event runs from midday on the Saturday to midday on the Sunday. Teams can have up to 15 swimmers, with only one swimmer per team in the water at any one time.

Sea's the Limit club had two teams participating and the team I was on had 14 swimmers. Each person swam for 15 minutes, and then had 45 minutes rest, then back in for 15 minutes, and so on for a certain number of hours. All our swimmers did at least five hours, and some did a stint on the Saturday before coming back for another session on the Sunday.

The main point of the event was as a fundraiser for MS Australia. Our team managed to raise $1,546.00.

There's a good chance in September that I'll have to get up in the early hours of the morning to get to the marina, probably having been too nervous to get much sleep beforehand, and then have to swim for several hours, so I also wanted to use the weekend as a training session. And so, I wanted to see how I would handle swimming whilst tired and physically running on empty, whilst still being safe in comfortable warm surroundings. And I was definitely running on empty by 6am!

My first swim was 7.45 - 8.00pm and I continued in that timeslot each hour until 8am. I managed 1 km in each 15 minute slot. I thought this pace might start to fade during the night, which I'm sure it did a bit, but by the morning, to my amazement, I seemed to be getting faster. Chad did point out though that I was probably helped by having had two days rest in the lead up because of a shoulder injury. Incredibly, the shoulder held out all through the night.

At 8am, Chad came back, followed by Anna and Millie. Amanda was rostered on again at 10am and Ben, who was due to finish at 10am, continued through until midday. So we had far more swimmers than we really needed and so dropped down to ten minute stints, followed by 200 metre sprints for the last hour.

The team racked up a fantastic 89.5 km over the 24 hours and there were some amazing achievements across both teams. Suzy was there for the whole 24 hours and swam an incredible 10.5 km on no sleep - and smiled all through the night. Katya, when not swimming laps in the event, was over in the public pool pounding out extra laps to notch up 10 km. Rodney & Bev knew the Sea's the Limit Rebels team were short of swimmers and did the unsightly shift of 2am - 8am (and brought pumpkin soup with them!) Others who covered off the night shifts were Mark, Pierre, Jacques, Margie and Ben. Thanks for your efforts. And thank you to Ben & Jo who drove me and my car home so I wouldn't wrap myself round a lamp post in my exhausted and delirious state.

Needless to say, after a long, hot shower, I slept the rest of Sunday, waking only to devour a fantastic roast dinner cooked by John, and then had another nine hours sleep.

It's a great event for MS Australia and a great atmosphere, and I hope very much we can put a team together again for next year. Although I don't think I'll feel any need to queue up to swim 17 hours again.

Coldest day in 61 years

Apparently yesterday was the coldest Sydney day since 1949, with a low of 3.2 degrees recorded at the airport. It certainly felt like it standing in nowt but a cossie on Balmoral Beach at 6.30am.

Air temp: 4 degrees. Water temp: 14.8 degrees. A one hour swim. Other crazies to take the plunge: Anna & Millie. Take a bow, ladies.

Breathe to the left: beautiful sunrise. Breathe to the right: nearly full moon. Looking straight down: crystal clear water. Magic.