2014...NY, here we go!

Happy New Year...here we go for the best year of swimming yet.

2013 did not end to well as for the first time in the year i got sick...I suppose 2014 has not started to well either! But with 52 days left in the bag its not a big deal...rather now than in a few weeks.

I couple of days rest will do me the world of good before the Sydney swimming trip anyways.

Up we go again...

Today was the first set of the increased resistance and speed phase. The 5km i just completed feels like i have just slogged through 15 in rough seas...!

A lot of the work was 200's and 600's with the band or a bloody sponge dragging behind me. If you ever want to feel like your 20 kegs heavier give this a go.  However, that is exactly the point of the next two weeks training seasons, too work the big muscles and continue getting used to swimming tired. I should come out the other end with increased stamina and mental confidence of knowing i can keep going when tired...that is the plan anyways!

 

Vald Swim - Balmoral

Went for a swim with the Vald Swim group today at their Rottnest Qualifying event.  This was going to be my backup qualifying event just in case the National Capital Swim was canceled. So after a week that consisted of 20km resistance training (sore arms) and a stinking hot night with broken sleep i woke up feel more exhausted than when i went to bed....not good when i have 1 and a half hours of swimming ahead.

The conditions when we arrived were nice although everybody was talking about the wind. I soon found out why as i turn right around the exposed headland and 'smack' straight into a 40km/h headwind and 'my favourite' wind blown chop. As a group of us battled down the first leg we were unknowingly heading for the wrong turn buoy. See the map below, we were 150m north of the actual turn buoy. Because of the chop and tiny buoys meant for calm weather it was hard to navigated.  We were soon corralled to the right buoy but there had gone 5 minutes and a lot of energy.

The rest of the swim went well and on the final leg i decided to head a little bit further out to take full advantage of a strong tail wind.  The final 2km flew by as i turned for home and finished in 1 hour 32 min. About 7 min slower than i planned to swim.

The most pleasing part of the day was how much i had left in the tank. I could have easily done that again and then again. Although, with the wind and chop increasing i was glad to call it a day and hop in the car and come back to Canberra. 

Resistance Training - First Week

The first two days of full-on resistance training are over and i am hurting. Those 12km of band, a hand paddle work is just the start of the pain for this week.  With 20km more to go to complete this weeks schedule its going to be a world of hurt come Christmas week.

The reason for the resistance work is to prepare my body for those tough last km and also if the conditions are rough.

Thrown in the middle will be a leisurely 5km swim on Sat morning in Sydney with a mate who is a 2 time English Channel Swimmer...very exciting!

Injury...

oh no my neck is playing up again after doing a extended set of heads-up or sighting swimming yesterday...off to the massage guy this morning for a fix.

Tomorrow i am back in the lake for practise with Pauline; one of the support paddlers for Rottnest. We are going to practise all the necessities; feeding, directional support, timing, position, etc. I am so lucky i have supporters that want to practise, it should make race day so much easier.

Only three weeks until i get to Bondi for 2 weeks. Can't wait to get into the ocean morning and evening.

Rest before the Storm

Today is the last day of rest before its back into a gruelling 2 months of training. I have found having a week off is as tough as the hardest week of training. The body takes a few days to power down and relax after months of training, however the hardest part is dealing with effects of not having elevated levels of endorphins. The brain gets used to all these good (happy) chemicals and then to essentially switch them off is rather tough.

So the food bottles are ready and the swimming kit packed...i am ready for the 300 odd kms of predominantly resistant training that lays ahead.
   

Qualified...!

After a few months of hard training and relaxing by the pool in Fiji I qualified for the Rottnest Swim
last weekend.

The National Capital Lake Swim in Canberra was a race was from one end of the lake to the other...a total of 9.3km. The qualifying time was a generous 4 hours and I came in under that at 2hr 38min.

The race distance itself was a formality it was more about preparing myself for up to 3 hours in the chilly waters of Lake Burley Griffin. The lake temperature had been increasing nicely from early Spring until last week's downpour sent it plummeting. In places it would have been no more than 17 degrees, which after an extended time feels more like 10...!

After a week of preparing as though i would swim Rottnest i woke up on Sunday full of enthusiasm for what lay ahead. Breakfast was consumed 2 hours before race time, I arrived 1 hour before race time, set up the kayak, topped up my food 15min before, put a layer of vaseline over my chest and back, had a 5 min warmup and acclimatisation swim, a big drink of water and then it was time to jump in for a deep water start.

At 7:45am I managed to get off to a good start as i immediately settled into a nice breathing rhythm of 4-2-4-2-4-2 . This immediately calmed the nerves and consistent 16:30 to 17:00km splits were then rolling out one after the other, something i would have never dreamt of this time last year.

We reached half way and it felt as though the race had just begun. All the endurance training was paying off and i felt a million dollars. It was about this time the sun came out and it felt wonderful and warm on my back and neck. The 20min feeds were perfect and just like training i had them down within 10 seconds. We pushed on past all the beautiful National icons and buildings and reached the 3rd transition in a nice time.

It was 500m past this point that the water got bitterly cold and it felt like i was pushing into a decent current. It was also dragging me to the right which was frustrating me no end. My split for this section ended up being 3 minutes slower than the splits before and also after that 1500m stretch. Afterwards a lot of the swimmers commented on this tough and cold section of the lake. I suppose Lake Burley Griffin does have a big river flowing in and a big river flowing out so it only makes sense there is a current i.e. we were swimming upstream.

The final 500m went by quite quick as i kicked a little harder to get warm. Even though i felt as though i could have turned around and swum back the same distance i was actually glad to get out of that cold water. After stopping exercising i was still shivering about 15min later!

There were 5 of us who completed the swim with no wetsuit...i presume these are all Rotto swimmers!

Following the swim and some lunch it was then onto the Sunday Squad swim. Another 4.5km to the 9.3km made it my longest day of swimming and a good look into what is coming up in the months ahead...It is only 88 days away!!     

Rest Week

After a few weeks of busting my bootie its rest week.  With the swims getting longer and longer I feel like i actually need this one!

Automatic Pilot

The last few weeks i have been swimming some longer distance sets. During these set i have been concentrating on switching off...lets say going on automatic pilot for 40m of the 50m pool. I have had great success and its a funny feeling just hearing the entry of the hands/arms and thats it.  Its like a bang bang, bang bang, bang bang,................

I am sure the longer distance swimmers will know exactly what i am talking about.  Doing this also made the time fly. It felt as though for a few of the sets i had just started and it was time to get out.

The issues with my neck seem to be sorting themselves out. I have worked hard on body rolling for breathing not turning the neck. Doing this also gets the arms in great position to extend back through the stroke.

My times...?  They have pulled back a bit, mainly because there is very little short sets. A 2 of 3km needs to be predominantly swum at a constant pace however, i try to up the gears every 500m for 500m then pull back to 75%.

Got a 6km set to do tomorrow then its feet up for nearly 3 days.  

8 weeks in

8 weeks into the endurance part of the year and here is the progress:

Today I practised a 5km race pace. The time was spot on where it should be...it was faster than what I used to swim 5km with flippers on earlier this year!

Rest week is coming up - definitely not my favourite week of the month. 

Week 6...tick

Week two of the second month is completed. There was lots of medium length speed work and lots of 1km sets.

Some of the 1km sets were at race pace speed. About three months ago that was 18:30 it's now mid 17s. At that pace it feels like I could go for hours.

So into week 4, same as the last two...6 sessions totally a min of 27.5km.

Food for thought...

As i mentioned before I have been experimenting with different types of foods whilst swimming. After trying out a few naturally low GI foods I have settled on one of the lowest, Potato. After blending it up and adding water potato is rocket fuel and best of all it does not hurt or bloat my stomach like gels or most other foods.

Here is my formula:

• I weigh 90kg so if the books are right i require ~90g of carbs per hour whilst swimming.
• A medium potato contains 30 grams of carbs
• One medium potato equals 160ml after pureeing
• I add 140ml of water to make it runny and a pinch of salt and ginger
• It takes 10-15 sec to put it down, no chewing required
• Each bottle is 20min or 1km worth of energy

I have been practising with it for a few weeks now and it's working well. I will also trial other foods as backup or as treats. Next it's onto the liquid requirements. I already have 140mls from the potato drink so I doubt if it would be much more than that.

Week 5 completed

I managed to get this weeks 27.5km done even though I was away for work Mon to Fri.

This week should b easier!

work is getting in the way

A week of work in Melbourne is getting in the way of this weeks training. Its Thursday and I have only done 11km...its going to be a long weekend.

Month 2 - Build and tempo

Here we go 3 weeks of building...90km of tempo and endurance sets. This months goal is to slightly improve the times but its main focus is on tempo i.e swim constant speeds over the entire sets... eliminating the peaks and troughs.

Yesterday was another pb over 500m - 7min 59 sec. A build set: 150 easy, 300 mod and 50 hard.

The essentials

One of the guys in our swim squad who has swam the Rottnest Island Event (and the English Channel too) told me early on to start organising early so 1. your don't miss out, 2. it does not cost you an arm and a leg, and 3. so closer to the time its all about swim preparation not organising the people to support you.

Sound advice and i now have everything in place. a support boat and captain, 3 paddlers, a person who looks after food and drink and Andrew who is coming along for on the fly training and motivation. I was lucky to have a fantastic contact in Perth but even still it took a few months to get all this organised.  So my advice having been through it is yep, start organising your support crew and equipment as early as you can.

He has also told me to give every support member two tasks. One primary and one support. It is inevitable that someone is going to get sea sick and if they cannot perform their duties at least the swimmer (me) will know things are covered off.

Rest week or frustration week?

They call it a rest week...but I think these weeks where swimming half the normal distance is actually harder than the 'on' weeks.

I know it sounds strange but i feel lazy for not training and my energy levels are suffering from lack of endorphins.  However, i am constantly telling myself these rest weeks serve a good purpose... i.e to freshen up both mentally and physically for the next 3 weeks of hard training.

Next week I start a month of tempo training where the goal is to swim constant speeds over longer distances...can't wait!!!

Onto week 4...the half distance week and bit of a rest !

In reflection its amazing what the body can do with just a few weeks of solid and focused training. Just three weeks ago I was swimming about 16km a week swimming and averaging in the mid 17min for each. Now, with determination to get out of bed early,  the right guidance and a 30km training program designed specifically for my goal I am consistently swimming mid 16mins...I even managed a 16min 17sec on Sunday immediately backed up with lots of 500m squad swims all below the 8min 10sec mark.

However, all this training has not come without the usual side-effects: physical tiredness about 3 hours following the session, ongoing mental tiredness and a slight lactic acid buildup later in the week. In addition, i am eating quite a lot...about 1/3 more than normal and sleeping about an hour longer per night.  However, all the side-effects have got slightly less over the last three weeks.  

So what conclusions can I take from that?  My body is slowly adapting to the increased training, I am building endurance, the speed is coming by default and my body is asking for more the fuel to do what i want.

What do i expect as i move into the second month...the times are not going to come down like they have but i am hoping my endurance continues to build; thus i should start to feel a little less tired.  

Bondi Ocean Swim Practise

Last week i had a swim at the beautiful Bondi Beach.  A bit chilly getting in but once i was out past the breakers it was glorious conditions. The water was crystal clear and their was lots of marine life around...swimming at its purest!

The swim did show another weakness of mine...swimming into the rising or setting sun.  Each time i swam to the east the path i took was rather erratic. Heading east all I could see was a shadowed smoke stack and by the image below you can see i got caught in a few return rips (the spikes closer to the beach).

On the other hand going back the other way the path is very tight as Iceburg's was clearly visible across the entire bay; easy swimming!

I am going to Bondi for a week in January to do my final ocean preparation before Rottnest Island.  The plan will be to swim 7-10km each morning and 2km each afternoon when the swell picks up.

Week 3

Its the third week and things are getting a little easier even though the KMs have increase to 27.5 per week but the session count has not. This afternoon i actually set a PB for a km at 16.23...not bad considering we did a 6km pyramid speed set last night and a 6km session this morning.

Today i entered the qualifying race for Rottenest, the National Capital Swim. The swim is from one end of the Lake in Canberra to the other. I did the swim last year and it was tough. The water is cool and as strange as this sounds you swim into the current the whole way. The swim starts at the dam and finished 9.2km away at the mouth of the Quenbeyan River. Last year it felt more like i had swum 11 or 12 km not 9ish.  Anyways, 2 December is the date and i need to come in under 4 hours to qualify.  I don't see this been an issue as my goal time is 2 hour 45 minutes.

Into week 2 and its all about food

I was told to expect an increase in food consumption but I never thought my body would want this much. At the moment the diet after an average two session day goes like this:

• Breakfast
• Bowl of muesli with milk, yogurt, banana and honey
• Coffee
• 1 apple
• Mid Morning:
• 2 Apples and an Orange
• Lunch
• Medium plate of pasta
• an Orange
• Mid Afternoon
• 2 Glasses of flavoured milk
• Dinner
• Normal Dinner with a little meat and lots of vegetables
• Evening
• Glass of milk

Milk and fruit and colourful vegetables are the main foods I use for recovery. This is combined with a good amount of water seems to replenish the energy levels rather quick.

I am currently experimenting eating different foods on actual swim days so when I have it closer to the mark I will write a post about it.

Week 1

Holly hell...I managed 27.6 km this week..

I feel great for having achieved that time in the water but my body is tired beyond tired. Even sleep is hard. I have never had black rings around my eyes before so its all new territor But my body will get used to the 10km per week extra and i know things will get easier throughout this journey.

I am not convinced Narelle is totally over the impact this week has had on my body but I am sure as time goes on she will see it and give me some more

So Tuesday it is into week two. The same schedule as week one although I am going to get an ocean swim in this week as we are going to Sydney for the All Blacks game.

First morning session

Its 545am and -2 outside and I got 5.7km set ahead of me.  What am I thinking...?

#thiscouldbethehardestthingihavedone#

Oh Jesus is what it takes?

Oh wow I just got my Rottnest training schedule...

In summary per week for August:
- 12 hours 30 mins each week in the pool
- 26 km
- 5 main speed sets
- 3 long swims sets
- 1 double set AM and PM (Wed)

This is 9 km more than what I am doing currently each week..ouch !

"Nothing great comes easy"

Back into it

After 4 days off it was good to be back into the pool for training. The session was only an hour long and concentrated on speed work...something I need to focus on as I look to quicken up my stroke.

One tough day in the ocean!

We woke up to a strong wind and forecast 2 to 4 foot wind blown chop in the channel between Magnetic Island and Townsville.

The ferry ride over to the island was bumpy. That did not leave many, including the locals feeling confident about the day ahead and in the hours that followed I certainly found out why.

From the first stroke we headed right into the teeth of a now 30 kph wind and chop that just did not have a pattern to it. The first 3 kms was fine as I managed to find a wonderful rhythm. At one stage I was up toward the front of the main pack as I even broke out in a hum much to my paddlers delight.

All was going good until I got rolled by a wave set I did not see coming. It was there I accidently swallowed a few mouthfuls of water. From there until the 7km mark it was downhill as I struggelled to regain any type of rythym. My stomach was now doing laps and it was not long until I was creating a serious burley trail.

Over the next 2km four of these trails fed the sharks. Everything i tried to drink or eat from there on came straight back up within seconds. I was now getting very anxious as I knew I would have to do this swim without any drink or food, something I have never done before.

But these pauses also gave me time to refocus and get some words of encouragement from my brilliant support paddler, Matt. People asked me why I bring my own paddler to these events and today it provided exactly why. Matt knew I was having a real tough time and after decades of friendship he knew exactly what to say to get me through it. I knew he had my best interest at heart, something that is extremely comforting when u are out there feeling sick and all alone.

About the half way mark I decided my race was not about the end time any more; it was now about finishing. With Rottnest at front of mind proving to myself I had the mental toughness to overcome a mid race setback became my new goal.

I slowed my stroke as I started to remember all the advice I had recieved from Susan, Andrew and Luke. After a few mid race drills I started to get some rythym back and the last few kms went by far easier than the ones before. As i rounded the last can I actually started to feel like food again as a second wind kicked in.

After its all said and done, my time was nowhere near what I wanted for this race but on a positive note i proved to myself during this race my fitness is now sufficent to easily swim 8.5km in trying conditions...now to double it!

 

The neck...

After a few days off to loosen up the neck I was able to get in a nice practise swim at Tabrook Public Pool this morning. I start with 5 x 100s, then a 500, a 1000, 5 x 100s then another 500 before warming down. It appears as though there were a number of the compeditors doing the same as myself this morning.

With my creaked neck feeling 75% better now tomorrow i am will get a salt water swim in.

Here is a photo of the course from Magnetic Island.

Are u kidding me

What are the odds of getting a creaked neck 4 days before my race? Thank goodness for my physio neighbour!!!

All practise swims are now off...

The hard work is finished

After months and months of hard training I have nearly reached my first progress point on my way to Rottenest....very exciting! My first goal is to finish and everything else including times will take care of itself.

Today was my last squad swim before Townsville and it so happened I was swimming in the same lane as an English Channel swimmer...now that is inspirational. I watched him every time he passed and his stroke was silky smooth. Watching him actually helped me lengthen my stroke.

The week that was...

A swim of 8.5km in the morning and a squad swim in the afternoon of my birthday saw good progress in my swimming stamina. The 8.5km swim was done in just over 2 hrs 30 min and every 100m completed was well under the goal time.

With only 3 weeks until Townsville to Magnetic Island swim i am thinking that i have well and truly done my preparation work.  I suppose only time will tell.

Thursday was a short course swim and it was an hour of painful conditioning, but event that is getting easier. 

75th in the Tally

NSW season tallies were released in late May. I came 75 in NSW with 32.1km and it was pleasing to see i was the 1st ACT swimmer.

http://www.oceanswims.com/images/downloads/distances_2013_nsw.pdf

Should be about another 20km next year.

Laps laps and more laps

Pretty boring time of the year for an ocean swimmer! It's just training training and more training. Most weeks it about 15 to 17 km of predominantly leg work and sprint work. This is aimed at providing the foundation to the big push as I head into spring / summer.

Starting to think about the magnetic island to Townsville swim in late July. It's a nice length of 8 km in beautiful Queensland water.

Back into it...

After a 6 week break it is back into hard training. The last two weeks have been hell but i have pushed myself to get my fitness back and i am now doing the required 15km per week goal. This distance is the mark until September when its raised to 20km before going to 25km per week in November.

Its only 9 weeks to the Townsville Swim...!

Whilst away i had a few swims but one of the more spectacular was in the UAE.

I am out there somewhere!

Stanwell Park Swim

Wow what a nice swim...!

Nothing but blue water and towering cliffs on a sparkling Sydney day. Swimming with Christian today; it was his longest Ocean Swim and it was nice to be a part of it with him.

We arrived early after a drive down the coast from Sydney. Registration was simple at a small friendly surf club and we were soon on the bus to be driven around to the Sea Cliff Bridge where we were to start from.

The rip has got half the pack going way left!

The start was a sprint into a beach that dropped off into deep water immediately. There was little swell so the start was rather fast and some of us on the right side managed to catch the edge of the rip. There was a strong pull once we got about 300m out which pulled the swimmers well to the left of the first buoy. I was lucky as starting on the extreme right allowed me to see the swimmers before i got pulled off course...more good luck than skill.

It was not long and i had turned the final buoy and was heading back into Stanwell Park Beach. The swell had picked up a little and with two sandbars to navigate through it meant staying alert. I got a nice push from the first wave and then i was in the 'no mans land gutter'. The undertow meant swimming was a waste of time and it became a game of patients. I managed to get two or three breakers into the shore but to my surprise and even though i was only 5m from the shore i could not stand up yet. So again i hung around, this time going backwards before a nice breaker came and put end to my swim.

A short run and i was done in 41 minutes. Unusally, when i downloaded the gps course i had covered 2800m - an extra 400m. It was clear that the current was dragging me to the left, i would correct then it would happen again.

Saturday "Across the Lake" Swim

Swimming right to the end helped pick up a few spots

After a quite week with only one training swim it was a long drive up to Newcastle for the "Across the Lake" swim. The swim is 3.8km directly across Lake Macquarie.

We got to registration nice and early and we were greeted by the coffee van...what a life saver! Coffee first, then registration and then a quick sit down before we were ushered onto the ferry. The boat ride was fantastic as we were crossing the lake as the sun rose in the direction we were about to swim. We were all excited about what was going to be and I know we were all picking out those important navigation points.

We had about an hour wait as the ferry shuttled the punters across the lake. Lots of discussion about past swims, what to expect in here and two guys who were interested in the training i was doing for the Rottnest Island swim. I got the feeling that they were interested in taking on the challenge too...

The start was a casual affair with a guy on a microphone counting down and then we were off.  To everybodies surprise here was only one wave - which meant 350 swimmers all taking off together in a trashing match to rival the best i have ever seen.

To avoid the derby I took it wide for the first 500m before settling into a fantastic stroke rate and soon i was with a pack that obviously was willing to work together. For the next 3000m we touched each others feet and set a nice pace across the smooth lake. Then the last 300 was an all out sprint and it was soon clear who were the guys training for longer swims. As seen in the photo two of us were able to break away from the pack that helped us all the way...oh well that is the sport of Open Water Swimming!!

Ended the day with a nice time of 1 hour 5 minutes for the 3800m. That was good enough for 5th in my age group and my best finish for quite a while.

Off for a nice lunch of beans and toast before heading back to Sydney and start preparing for the Ocean Swim on Sunday.  

The week that was...

Three long hard training sessions this week with lots of sprint work and two nice long swims where I could find that groove.

Started to look into chartering a boat for next year this week and it is not going to be cheap. About $2500 is the going price for the day.  I expected $1500 but not a thousand more! Oh well, it not as though swimming is an expensive sport year round.

The week ahead is one hard training session then back it off on Tuesday and Wednesday as I have two races on this weekend; Lake Macquarie and Stanwell Park.  

Swap a swim for a run

It's no secret I hate running so why would you find me in the Canberra Fun Run today? Easy, because Narelle was doing it, I have never done a fun run and the fantastic guys and girls associated with Sri Chinmoy are org it; that means pancakes afterwards!!!

After coming out of the blocks like a rocket I managed to limp around the beautiful 4km lake course in 21.13. That placed me 13th in the open males which is pretty good for this old guy!

After all that huffing and puffing I still prefer swimming any day.

Broulee (Beach to Breakers)

Our chasing pack has a nice lead on the main pack

The day started at 5am this morning with a cup of coffee from McDonalds as we headed to the coast for the 1.4km Beach to Breakers ocean swim.

We got there at 7:45am and proceeded to register. The lady told me that the Open Swim was for the elite swimmers only so i decided to just enter the age division. Bummed about not being able to swim twice i thought i would put everything into the one swim.  I got held up on the first buoy but after that it was flat out and i came in under 24 minutes. That is pretty good for me.

Waited around for the presentation and i must say what a wonderful clubhouse and members.  This is one of the most friendly clubs and well run events i have participated in...well done Broulee SLC. Our wonderful friend Pauline won the 60's female and i won a random draw prize...a very nice tee shirt.

Off for lunch to Mossy Point and then we drove back to Canberra. I had the itch to swim some more so i went off to Dickson Pool and pushed out 3.2km.  A very nice way to end the day!  

6 killer 1000's

A huge work out tonight with 2 x 1km warmups then 3 x 1km time trials then a 1km warm down. Buggered, but happy I did not have any negative thoughts or pain in my shoulder!!! Although this is the first time I have ever felt physically sick from a session!!!

I started enquiring about charter boats in Perth today...even though its 360 days away I feel as though I am really working toward something special.

Finishing the week off

Yesterday I finished the week off with a baseline swim.

It was really windy so I got to practice sinking into the water as I swam into the breeze. I learnt this skill last year and its extremely effective. Good practise for those hard slogs into the coastal breezes we swim with. Lots of fun....

The week ahead is pretty much he same as last Tuesday / Thursday squad training, Sat a race in Batemans Bay then Sunday a nice long session by myself and my iPod.  

Up'ing it

The last few weeks have been killers in terms of hard pool sessions. The outcome is a comfortable raising of my base to about 4.2km per session. This feels comfortable and I don't feel overly tired the next day which is nice for my workmates!!

Today was cold and raining and there is nothing better than swimming on these days. Actually it's probably my favourite conditions to swim in. The pita pata on my back and the warmness of the water below is so relaxing.  I pushed out just over four km before deciding that I also wanted to go to swim squad. So off I trundle to kick out another 60 hard laps.

So the 7km training session went something like this:

1. 1km warm up
2. 500 pull buoy
3. 500 paddles
4. 1km medium speed hard pull
5. 1km medium build
6. Sighting and duck diving practise
7. Warm down

An hour later:

1. 600 warm up
2. 600 builds
3. 8x75 kick, drill, freestyle
4. 4x50 max 25 mod 25
5. Repeat 2
6. Repeat 2 again
7. 400 warm down

Until Saturday, then I do it all again!

Hard training days ahead

A hard training day on Tuesday with 3.8km done at nearly full pace. Can expect the same on Thursday!

5km in the lake - Sri Chimnoy

An early morning swim in the Sri Chimnoy 5km Lake swim. A beautiful morning treated us this morning along with lots of smiling faces. Nt sure if the smiles were for the lack of wind or the warm water.

I took a safe start and decided for this event to stick behind two swimmers going stroke for stroke. They gave put me in a great position however, on the last buoy of the first lap they took off in a strange direction. I decided my tow was was end and off I went in clear water.

I rejected food and a drink at the 2.5km mark as I was feeling pretty good. I made good time but about the 4km mark I hit an energy wall. I should have had that drink and a mouthful of gel. I was also feeling dehydrated from the warm water. Anyways I have learnt that i can last about 4km in warm water it hour refuelling.

I finished in 1 hour 36 minutes which is an improvement on the Penrith regatta swim two weeks ago.

A Tough Training Week

A huge week of training with two tough squad swims and one hard session of kicking and build sprints at Dickson Pool. Should leave me in fantastic condition for the 5km'er on Sunday in the lake.

3 Events in 3 Days - Monday

Done...!

Onto Penrith early in the morning to compete in the 5km flat water swim.

After a turbulent start amongst 300 other swimmers i managed to get some clear water at about 500m. The next 3 km was fantastic and i managed to myself into a very nice stroke pattern and rate. After a quick drink and feed it was into the second half. After two events in the previous two days I felt fantastic and did the lap easy; could have easily done the whole thing again!

I finished in 1 hour 35 minutes which was an average swim and 8 minutes above where i need to be this time next year!



   

3 Events in 3 Days - Sunday

Made it...even though i was 100m off

Off to Palm Beach for the annual Big Swim from Palm to Whale Beach.

A day of big surf greeted us with the NE swell running at 4 to 5 feet and the waves at 6 to 9 feet. A tough day and in the earlier 1km race a lot of swimmers came out vomiting; not a nice confidence builder before my race. I knew i had to be switched on today so i picked my line, and along with a few others we ventured out into the angry ocean. I got out very easily by diving under and most importantly taking my time to get out past the sets.

From there it was into the 2.5km race around the cliffs to Whale Beach.  The NE'er was pushing us toward the rocks so all of us took a deeper arc to the turn buoy. Navigation was difficult today as the swell was significantly larger than the buoys so it was important to time my looks at the top of the swell.

I was feeling strong and full of energy at the large buoy. I have been working lots of kick training so my little motor was powering me ahead.

The real fun started on the way into Whale Beach. I could hear the waves crashing before i was in the zone so i knew I was in for it. I managed to get into the first wave and over i went, around i went and out the other end i popped. I knew i had about 6 seconds to pull myself together. I ducked under the next wave (far to big) and then managed to ride the next wave to about 20m from the shore. To my surprise i could stand up...I ducked under the next few waves then caught a nice folder into the shore. It was not without the slight panic moments but I managed to keep my goggles on my head - unlike 90% of the punters...!

A great day had by all and a true Ocean Swim test.    

3 Events in 3 Days - Saturday

Kane and Narelle before the Swim

Wow...what a weekend. Started off on Friday, the day after we got back from Thailand, with a long car journey to Sydney. An accident along the way made the 3 hour journey near 4.5. However, after a lovely evening with Bjorn and Fi we ventured off to the race; The Sydney Harbour Australia Day Swim. A fantastic 2.2 km course in and around the coves of Sydney Harbour.

The gun to start lets rip and we are off. There is a decent harbour swell coming in from the north so we get bumped around from the left a little in the first leg.  Then the fun started as that northerly swell was hitting the walls lining the harbour and bounding back. So not only did we have the northern swell we now had this random chop hitting us from the side, front and back.  Not easy to swim in at all...but great fun none the less.

One last obstacle for the day.  The forth turn buoy came loose and floated to away.  It occured as i was coming up to it. I did not know what was happening which meant i was actually chasing it. It seemed forever, and was forever, until i reached it and then it dawned, it was untethered. Had a great laugh with the life savers and continued on my way.

The last buoy is where all the visual excitement happens. With the last turn negotiated my sight is now the big white sales on the Sydney Opera House. WOW WOW WOW. What an honour to swim toward the Opera House on Australia Day!!!

Been a long distance swimmer I had lots of kick left for the last 500m so i motored home passing a few tiring swimmers along the way. My time was 39 minutes for the 2.2 km...not bad but i would have wasted 2-3 minutes chasing that bloody loose buoy.    

Unpack just to pack again

Nearly home from Thailand... Enough time to unpack the bags before jetting off to Sydney for the Australia Day swim at the Sydney Opera House and the Big Swim at Whale Beach. Looks like its going to be wonderful conditions to both swim and celebrate this wonderful country this weekend!  Can't wait!!

Andaman Sea - Open Water Training

7 days of hard technique training in the open water off Thailand. Lots and lots of 550m sets (20km so far) with a concerted effort on improving my sighting and navigation techniques in open water. The water has been quite flat so this has enabled me to cover lots of Kms.

It is a shear delight to be out in such a beautiful environment, each stroke reminds me of why I am addicted to this sport!!!

Side Lined

Side lined since wednesday with an ear infection...bummer

From 'Open Water' to 'Ocean'

In I go...along with 206 others!

After deciding to challenge myself with open water swimming i have been looking forward to this day. Today was my first competitive Ocean Swim. The event was held at Newport Surf Club and the ocean was 3 foot swell and 4 foot waves at 6 second intervals.

After a rough start with lots of kicks, whacks and shoves from 207 compeditors I managed to navigate around the 800m course in 13 minutes 44 seconds...not bad for my first ocean event.  

Australian Institute of Sport Swim

I went for a training session at the Australian Institute of Sport today. For some unknown reasons all my times were fantastic; either the pool was not 50 metres or it was the presence of all the wonderful swimmers that train and have trained in that pool that spurred me on. A wonderful swim and well worth the entry fee.