77 days left

Where does the time go?

I am sure that when I last looked there was ages to go until I have to take on this little adventure. It seems that time disappears in my life and we are galloping through this year, but In my mind we still have ages to go. This may answer the question as to why I am the King of procrastination!!!  if it was not for the last minute - in my life  NOTHING would ever get done.

So where are we at?   Flights booked, Hotels - for the swim booked. Time in Philledelphia booked so we just have a few days in between to take care of. I have been told that I NEED to get this sorted and we are not going to go with Zimhippo normal modus operandi - just rock up and see what transpires - live by the seat of my pants - be spontaneous. If past history is to go by, this is a bit of a gamble. Some of the best times in my life have happened on the spur of the moment with no planning BUT, some of the most expensive ventures in my life have also happened due to this "take it as it comes Attitude."

Training

In the last two weeks I have been pretty consistent with my training. I am generally doing 3 - 4 days of gym pool training ranging between 4 -6 km then on the weekends I have joined up with the Nemes Nutters at Charlton Lido for a 6 - 8 km session. it is a great pool to train in and not too busy on a Sunday at 9 am. Can be a bit nippy getting from the changing rooms to the heated pool, but once in, it is nice and toasty.

last week at the Lido I managed to do 7.6 km and all my 1 km times were between 15 min 20 and 15 min 40. I did not feel at all tight around my shoulders when I finished and I was not out of breath at the end of each Km - good signs to me. This was all followed by a coffee and chocolate and then on the way home I worked on my nutrition. Being a supreme athlete (NOT), it is imperative to eat well. So on the trip home, My car just happened to find itself outside a couple of eating franchises. I now had to make the decision of Macdonals burger and Fries or Steak Pie, Sausage roll and crisps. The latter won and I tucked into a fully fat free - well, at least in my mind - steak slice and sausage roll washed down by coke and crisps. Who says I do not eat well?  If you ask most endurance swimmers, the food of choice will be Macdonalds burgers. the Greasier the better. At least after a really good set.

I then entered into a week where I was on call at work, Never something to look forward to, it really puts a spanner in the works when it comes to training. Albeit being on call, I did manage to sneak out and do some short sessions after work and on the way home. generally between 3 - 4 Km but only managed to do 3 times. I then snuck back to the Lido on the Sunday for a bit of a longer session. Joined up with the Nemes Nutters. I did my 500m warm up then into 4 x 1000m. This is where I had a bit of a breakthrough. 1st one was done in 15 min 40 seconds. followed by 100m EASY swim, whilst waiting for my fellow lane swimmers to catch up. Next one done in 15 min 23 seconds - 100m EASY. Third was done in 15 min 08 seconds - 100m EASY.  

Whilst swimming that Easy 100m, I thought, lets try and get Under 15 min per 1000m. bearing in mind, I do not think I have ever gone under the 15 min mark - in a 50m pool. I can regularly do it in a short course (25m) pool. If I have, it was MANY MANY moons ago. I let all the people in the lane know that I was going to give it a try. This way, when I come steaming up behind them, or swim over them they do not get too annoyed. they were all happy so off  I went. At the half way point I was 4 seconds ahead of schedule. at 900m I was 8 seconds ahead of my prescribed time. I put the afterburners on AKA started using my legs and finally came in at 14 min 48 seconds.

I had done it, My shoulders were a bit tight but not screaming out at me. I think I might have swallowed half the pool and may have coughed up a lung on the last effort but surprisingly I was not that out of breath. At this point I slowed it down a bit and just cruised the last Km before a warm down.

So that was one goal achieved and I was pleased with both the time and the speed at which I recovered. Another milestone that I have achieved this last week is too finally go below the 100kg Mark (220 pounds - 15.7 stone) Again I cannot remember the last time a scale read 99.6 kg when I poured my chassis on it. This has not really been a goal of mine but I am glad to be there. I just have to be careful not to slide out of the Obese category all together and into a normal BMI. With Britain now classing obesity as a disability, I might lose my right to a disabled parking badge. I would then have to walk at least an extra 200m to the shops!!!!.

This week I will be back into full training for the next 4 days and then I need to help my support crew get to grips with a kayak, and build on her knowledge of the vessel that she will have to sit in for 8 hours. My main focus is keeping her occupied supporting me rather than beating me with the paddle. I will need to devise a logbook for her and she will be taked with monitoring my every move.it will also give her the opportnity to work on her fitness for this event. I can tell you that kayaking 40 miles is no small undertaking. It can be pretty gruelling dependant on the wind and the waves so over the weekend I will be messing about ON the water rather than IN it. So, if anyone is near the river Wey, be afraid, be very afraid, ther will be a few hippos in the area.

Once again I would like to thank everyone who have helped put me on this amazing journey. Colins IT have been amazing in their support as have many other people who constantly offer moral and physical support, My training parttners - the Nemes Nutters. They are just that - NUTTERS - probably the reason I fit in so well with them. My travel Agent Rudi keyser, Support crew Audra. I am certain that there is a list far too long to mention who hae helped me along this route, helped me when I have fallen, kept me focused with words of encouragement or verbal pick me up. You are all amazing. I am jsut very priviledged to have you in my life.

Till the next post I wish you all well and I look forward to your support on facebook and my blog.

Thoughts of the Day

Don't give up what you want MOST for what you want NOW

93 days to D day

An interesting 10 days

The count down continues and 10 days seems to have just disappeared, and with it, January 2015!! I must admit that, for me, it has been a pretty good 10 days, for a number of reasons, but the main one is that I seem to have found my SwiMojo. It had gone walkabout for about the past 2 - 3 months with me not feeling the love for my newly adopted deodorant - CHLORINE and my new, improved shampoo and conditioner, now being sold with extra itchy scalp components. Well, I have now learnt to love one and live with the other and my training now continues in earnest with me putting in my biggest week of training for about 3 years. In total, over the last 10 days I have clocked up just under 40 Km.That in the past would have been my total for a month. I have had two days off from swimming in that time and my average set in those 10 days has been 4.2 km per session.

The masters class at my gym still keeps me motivated and they are a great bunch to train with on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I would like to join them in the mornings during the week but, sadly, I have my doubts. dragging this body out of bed in the morning is proving to be a challenge.

The highlight of the training was when a fellow Scar Swimmer organised a nice little swim at Charlton Lido on the East side of London. That is about an hours drive from where I am on the west side. So I left the house at 7.30, Air temp was 2 degrees Celsius and I was soon driving through a snow blizzard. I thought to myself, " This has to be up there with one of my no so bright moments!!!" Anyway, I had made a plan so I was going to see it through.

After 1 hour 15 min of driving I had parked, thrown lots of change at a parking machine, thrown more money at an a pool attendant and made my way to the pool.

I could not even see the end of the pool as the steam rose from it into the cool 2 degree air. I then bumped into the Lifeguards - who were dressed as if they were trekking to the North Pole. Eat your heart out all you lifeguards in the tropics, who wander round in t-shirts and shorts and bikinis. These guys at the pool are the real deal. I challenge any of you - and them for that matter, to do a length of swimming with all that gear on - WITHOUT SINKING!!!!

I got changed into my signature orange budgie smugglers and headed out of the changing rooms. it was like opening the door to a freezer!! I found a locker for my kit, threw some more money at it then headed to the lane, where I joined up with Mark - my fellow SCAR swimmer, Sam, Adrian and a few others. Jumping into 24 degree water never felt so good. We started with 500m warm up then we went onto 5 x 1000m swims. My times were pretty constant at about 15 min 30 secs for 1 Km, but times varied a bit as I had to swim around other swimmers. One guy who got in had a wetsuit??? in that temperature???   Thankfully he did not hang around for as long as we did.

After a 500m warm down, then off to the change rooms for a shower followed by a well deserved coffee and chocolate and a catch up with some more of the "Nemes Nutters". I had good catch up with Lisa Williams - who will be swimming the channel later this year. As we were leaving we took the opportunity for a bit of a photo shoot outside the front of the Lido. Apparently, no cameras allowed in the pool areas - well ones that they know about.

All in all a great 6 km swim and thank you to Mark for organising it, I look forward to the next time that we can hammer out a long swim in such a great venue. Let's just hope I do not drown, Would not want to put my life in the hands of a lifeguard dressed to go to the North Pole.

Further Planning done.

Going back a few weeks, I met up with a Friend who I had only ever met through good old fashioned banter on the Interweb. At Parliament Hill Lido we finally met and got chatting and he mentioned to me that he was in the travel industry and if there was anything that I needed with regards to travel arrangements to drop him a line. Rudi Keyser of  The Travel Club, I bet you rue the day that you offered that help. Even if I did assist you after your 950m in 4 degree water.

After two days of emailing incessantly to get the travel side of my trip to Arizona done, Rudi was a star, it was just my procrastination and the price hike by the BLOODY operators that came back to bite me in the bum. and put paid to my fantasy of drifting through Arizona in a Convertible sports car. It will now have to be the cheapest nastiest box on 4 wheels  for transport - unless anyone out there has a good deal on car hire in America! I still have to look for that deal. Thank you Rudi for helping out. Thank you also to Audra for helping out with this and kicking my procrastinating behind into action. She really does have an uphill struggle ahead of her. Learning how to kayak AND having to keep me in check. She has my sympathies

Accommodation for the swim is now booked and I still need to decide where to spend three days post swim. I understand that America is a bit bigger than the UK so I am sure that we will find something to do. After that it will be a couple of days on the East side of that little country.

The Focus for the next three months.

All in all we are getting there and will soon be on a plane to America. If the speed at which January has vaporised has anything to go by, that will most likely be pretty damn soon. With My SwiMojo back I will keep my original plan of swimming at least 4 consecutive days a week and upping my distances that I do in each set. 

Thankfully, my body is holding up remarkably well, my shoulders are very loose and relaxed at the moment. I still have wonky knees when I do breaststroke legs so will steer clear of that for the time being. I did have a bit of a twinge in my neck after Saturday but that is due to me holding my head to high whilst in the pool. If I do not, I will end up swimming over the odd wetsuit boy so I have to keep my head up a bit. In open water I swim with my head much lower down as I do not have to sight the end of the pool or buoys or wetsuit boys

If the worst comes to the worst I am certain my support crew will have a big enough arsenal of drugs to fend off even the most obstinate of bodily ailments. Even the American ones. Which of course are bigger and nastier than the ones in the Thames!

The one thing I am slowly getting my head around is the constant swimming in Chlorinated water. I must admit that I now have the skin of a crocodile - there is not enough body cream in the world to tackle this! - hair like dried straw and the constant aroma of Chlorine; I do not even think bathing in essential aromatic oils would get rid of it.

The Journey continues in earnest and I look forward to where it will take me next and whom this world will bring into my life. If last year was anything to go by, I really embrace what the future holds. On that note, one of my friends who continues to inspire me is due to unveil his next expedition, Lewis Pugh Expeditions I look forward to following him upon his next quest. From what I have heard about it so far, he is piling on the weight and has gone from 85KG up to 95 KG and still growing. I hope he is not becoming a sumo Wrestler!!!!

Happy reading and I wish all of you success in all that you are preparing for. JUST KEEP FOCUSED!