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!
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