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.