What gets measured gets done

Without going into detail my place of occupation is AGAIN becoming more and more...how shall I put it..less of a nice place to be.

As a result, I took the day off on Friday (3rd July) with plan of going to the Lake in an effort to wash away the woes of work, at least for the weekend. Britain had been baked in glorious sunshine with the occasional electric storm for the best part of a week so there was really no excuse. Local water temperatures had been discussed online. Whilst the River and Lake would now do little for my acclimatisation, we agreed it would still be of benefit to ongoing fitness training/conditioning.

Friday was no exception weather wise, heading to Ellerton pretty much straight after the school run, I hadn't bothered with breakfast, just a couple of cups of coffee. The water looked very inviting as the sun began to peep over the tree line to East into a clear blue sky.

A few swimmers were already in the water but none that I recognised. The plan was 8-10km, hourly feeding with Lucozade sport and a tin of peaches left on the jetty, no need for warm feeds today as the sun would do its job.

Aside from the lake being extremely weedy between buoys one and two it was just 'what the doctor ordered'

The huge benefit I find from wearing the Suunto is 'What gets measured gets done' ..previously I might have gone to the lake for a planned 3 hour swim, subconsciously it would be a plod, feeds would be slower, I would have no concerns about stopping to gather my bearings or speak to anyone treading water at a buoy as they usually do. It would just be a matter of running down the clock.

Now, I am very aware that 'bobbing' and passing the time is only fooling myself, I know all to well how this will be reflected on the Suunto, and that the distance will still need to be swam, so, if I am in the water I might as well get on with it.

With a glance at the watch every 3 - laps I could choose the time to feed and keep it more or less on the hour with some minor adjustments to the route.

Three feeds later and a mere 900m to swim all was well, a little fatigued but very happy with my efforts, I had predicted 20 minutes per km, plus 3 mins, I was therefore pleased with total time of 3h:14m for 10,020m.

Cheating ?

In preparation for Sundays BLDSA Wykeham Event (just 5km freshwater, my time for which is generally about 1h 38 minutes) I returned to Ellerton on Wednesday 10th June for another 2 hour swim (6278m), whilst I was pleased with my form, distance covered and especially the recovery, it did feel like I was cheating with the water up to 16 degrees. The training will be of benefit at the afore mentioned event but will be of little use for the BLDSA Champion of Champions Event at Dover the following weekend.

Last night I was analysing the GPS route for the latest 2 hours and decided to play around with some of the additional Suunto Movescount features. Below the ever present map you will see a short animation, which is made available in around 60 seconds at the press of a button within the app, probably more usefull for the cyclists and fell runners featuring changes in altitude, but you get the idea.

My acclimatisation process must be having the desired effect if I felt like a fraud on Wednesday. Once Sunday is out of the way I will need to find some cold water for a few dips next week. Fingers crossed for Dover Harbour to be above 13 degrees for the CofC.

P.S. Just been to the 'The Mecca' for a quick dip before the school run. I was expecting the North Sea water to be 11 degrees and was strangely disappointed that it was nearing 13, the sunshine on ones back does make an enormous difference.

Related posts:
Champion of Champions 2011
Open Water Tests with Suunto Ambit 3
Pool Tests with Suunto Ambit 3

Can you see what it is yet?

I apologise if you are growing tired of looking at the GPS tracks of my training swims..KGO (previously known as KGB) clearly is, she asked if I actually think about what shape is being created as I swim and could I please make more of an artistic effort !!

To that end..here is a vague butterfly from a 2 hour swim on Friday in the wind..use your imagination for goodness sake !

Art aside I was pleased to complete the two hours in the water, recovery was good, next weekend is the BLDSA Wykeham swim which I have swam several times, it will be great to see some of the stalwarts prior to the dreaded C of C the following weekend 20 June

Time Gentlemen Please

Thursday I took an hour off work and spent it at max effort in the lake, the water was nice at 14.3c though it was rather patchy.

I average 3km an hour open water and 3.6km per hour in a 25 m pool. Today I was pleased to cover 3346m in the hour. Sometimes I get hung up on time in the water, especially when schedules and time are tight. I should learn to recall the quote from the absolute gent that is Mr Nick Adams "it's not just about how long you are in the water, it's what you do whilst you are in there"

This in turn reminds me of one of my all time favourite posts from Mr Alcatraz Gary Emich......
Don't let the pool cheat you .... Enjoy

Onwards

Saturday morning (May 30th) bright and early, before charlie returned from holiday abroad, I nipped to Ellerton Lake for a swim, knowing I would want to spend some quality time together as soon as he returned home. Much to my surprise there was an event taking place with part of the lake was 'out of bounds' I therefore chose to break a couple of the normal rules and stayed away from the rest of the water users and swam in peace at the other side of the lake. 100 minutes 13.8 degrees C

On Tuesday in the howling wind Charlie agreed to shelter on the sand whilst I had a stretch out at 'The Mecca' it was painful getting into the water, or rather it was bloody awful making my way to the water as a result of being sand blasted. I said I would swim either 45 minutes or 2km which ever came first. As is usual, I felt guilty with him being bored on the beach, though he was adamant he was keeping an eye on his Pappa!

The same agony on exit after 40 minutes and the agreed 2000m which he captured quite well on camera. Water ranged between 10 and 11 degrees C.

The Mecca

A few more outings this week, as planned to reboot the acclimatisation process. Monday and Tuesday  being same location as previous post (Ellerton Lake) where owing to slightly less craft on the water I was safely able to extend the size of the laps each day, which makes things easier mentally. Better for me to swim 4 laps of 20 minutes than eight of ten.

Mondays GPS track below shows a small loss of satellite coverage resulting in a blip..I promise I did not get out and walk that small triangular section. 60 mins again, water around 14.2C

Tuesday brought glimpses of sunshine, though with it a stiff breeze to whip up the surface mid lake, comfortable enough to push on to 1hour 20 minutes, recovery was good, so should be able to hit two hours in the next few days. Water 14.6C

Wednesday in the pouring rain brought a visit to what we jokingly call 'The Mecca for Open Water Swimmers'...Seaton Carew nr Hartlepool, yes that crowded resort NOT...even the seagulls had disappeared evidenced by the photo below.

Somewhat fresher than the lake at 9.1C. Swimming parallel to the shore for just a mile (1600m) in around 30 minutes, it was a fun swim despite being bracing to say the least. The good news being the angry seal did not show his face. Its also way closer to home at 10 miles compared with the lake at 25 miles each way. Notwithstanding the fact that the council have tidied the place up a little, it could NEVER be described as picturesque. Sky Sports Jeff Stelling may disagree.

As Joe Hunter (EC 2011) says."If you can swim for 6 hours here, you can swim the English Channel, nasty place" It is quite simply awful.

Open Water Tests with The Suunto Ambit 3

The Bank Holiday Weekend at the end of May 2015 coupled with Charlie being abroad getting some sunshine, allowed for my first real open water swim of the year, whilst Joe Hunter and I did have a little dip a few weeks ago in The North Sea, there was not a lot of actual swimming that day.

Having returned from Mexico only a week since, I am not afraid to admit I as rather anxious before heading to Ellerton Lake on a rather overcast Sunday. As luck (or bad luck) would have it, Saturday was in fact glorious in comparison.

Had my training been rather more disciplined I would still have been swimming the Eton Dorney 10km with Zoe Sadler which I had entered some months earlier. However after some sensible discussion the decision was made.. it would be a poor idea to travel almost 300 miles to Eton with insufficient training and or cold water exposure.

So off to the local lake for a somewhat delayed start to the 2015 open water training.

The plan was to complete at least 30 minutes whatever the temperature with a view to swimming outside most days this week in an effort to jump start my acclimatisation. On arrival I noticed a few wet suit swimmers entering and leaving the water but their numbers were very low.

Standing in speedos at the jetty I attracted the usual comments regarding the lack of neoprene as I waited for a group of four divers to make their exit.

Then it was the usual easing of oneself into the water. Feet, knees, waist then drop down to the neck before a little breast stroke to the first buoy, get control of the breathing and off into front crawl. First thoughts were 'ouch thats a little fresh' (after 30 degrees C on holiday). A short shuttle back and forth to one of the orange buoys then into laps.

I had configured the Suunto to its Open Water exercise mode, with just a few clicks I was able to switch from normal day / time mode to Openwater, Locate GPS signal and press start to begin recording data. Extremely simple on screen instructions and no doubts of the device being in operation (unlike the Finis Hydro Tracker which is situated on the back of the head, the indicator lamps of which can be difficult to see at best)

As you can see from the image above I have the Suunto set up to show, total distance (top) total time (middle) and temperature (bottom). The user can personalise to show whatever information you wish, be it pace per 100m, swolf, lap time, heart rate, you name it, the combinations are pretty endless. This just happens to suit my requirements. 

The swim it self was fairly uneventful, I had a minor mental blip around 30 minutes but decided to complete a few more laps and aim for the hour. The water was around 14degrees, I was breathing rather heavily but coped ok with the water so long as I kept moving. Once out recovery was good, the odd shake but nothing to speak of which was reassuring.

Soon as I got home I downloaded the session via bluetooth transfer in less than a minute and was able to analyse the data via the 'Suunto MovesCount App' on whichever device i.e. laptop, iPad, iPhone etc.

I was already familiar the mapping from  Gavins 'Ambit 2' which we had utilised on two of last years Windermere swims. I was not disappointed, except that I need to spend less time sight seeing and more time swimming

In summary I was delighted with the Suunto 3, the ease in its operation, how it performed and the data provided post swim. I much much prefer it to the Finis Hydro Tracker.

Less and More

School holidays always present added logistical considerations, what with working shifts, child care and now the Easter break, it will come as little surprise that the last week has been a little stop/start in terms of training, however..every cloud...

Monday I managed an hour in the pool at Total Fitness, though I haven't been back since. I didn't get back to the water 'til Thursday when I had a really nice swim at Ellerton Lake (with Amanda Bell and Jo Charlton) the temperature had settled to a steady 55f, I got into a nice rhythm swimming 5 laps in the desired 60 minutes.

The facebook group I mentioned on a previous post, were then invited to a Sea swim at Seaton Carew on Saturday 16th, the day was fine and warm, very little breeze and glass like water conditions,joined by 3 other swimmers (Amanda, Kate, Phil) and Charlie armed with the camera for evidential purposes, I swam for another 40 minutes at 50f 10c...I was delighted that all three other attendees agreed to take the plunge without the rubber for the final two or three minutes..I just wanted them to experience the water and the freedom without their second skin. There was no complaints and everyone seemed to have a great time, to the extent that most are looking forward to more time in the salt...I told you salt is good for you!

Sunday was another gorgeous day, which allowed for another trip to the coast, this time accompanied by KGB, I entered the water alone swimming for another 47 minutes at 51f (there was a patch at 53f which felt amazing, though it didn't last!) The sea was once more glass like in appearance, I don't really like the water being so patchy as the good news is allowed followed by the bad.. which makes me clench my teeth under water and curse out loud! That said I am pleased with the progress and should top the hour in the sea this week all being well. I have also been nursing the remnants of an ear infection as you will notice by the cap in the photographs, it seems to be doing trick..better safe than sorry.

So... for all I only made the pool once, the increase in open water time is good, looking back on last years records I can see that I am around a month ahead, which is ideal considering the enormity of the goals that lay ahead. After all it is now less than two weeks til the swim4life (24 miles in 24 hours) closely followed by the gruesome Champion of Champions in Dover Harbour.

There has also been some other excellent news...swimming alone in cold open water for anything more than a couple of hours can be soul destroying, hence I am grateful to the other swimmers joining me at this early point in the season. However, better still is the my new find - Peter Windridge France, he is an English Channel aspirant with a slot booked for this summer with CS&PF Pilot Lance Oram, he only lives in Leeds about 60 miles away. In an ideal world we will be able to meet up and perform our longer training sessions together which I can tell you makes a massive difference.

Open Water Swim North East England

There seems to be more and more events and information being made available relating to swimming on the Internet, only for one to be re directed to a facebook login page, I therefore made the decision against my better judgement to reactivate my account just recently. The next logical step after last weekends OSS swim was to create a group for those local to me, for support/advice/general communication and planning. I have done so and called it Open Water Swim North East England.

Without further ado future swim meets were being scheduled, starting today at noon, that said the only other anticipated participant was delayed to the point of non attendance. Having already arrived at Ellerton Lake, I decided to take the plunge solo, a brief mental battle followed as I edged into the water, (it was way harder than Saturday being alone this time). The sun was shining, so I set myself the goal of two laps, to double the previous effort from five days ago, to my delight I was feeling good so continued for a further lap and half exiting the water after 45 minutes at 52F. A great step forward. I am looking forward to another dip this coming weekend where all being well I should top the hour.

Double Dippers

Training and plans for the year ahead are progressing well, I finally had a telephone conversation Andy Williams regarding our joint venture for the summer, that being the two way, 21 mile, Windermere swim..we have agreed on the broader issues and intend to rendezvous in the Lake District soon to iron out the finer details. Basically we will be swimming the lake both ways non stop together, utilising two safety/escort boats. Having spoken to Andy (who also a swimtrek guide) I am now really excited about this major challenge.

Training wise I continue to build both time and distance in the pool in preparation for the first obstacle of the year..the 24 hour 24 mile swim for life at Guildford Lido which is now only a matter of weeks away. Last week was consistent in the pool with no real side effects (other than usual chlorine issues) as previous I will avoid boring you with the break down of each session, you can however leave a comment if you want to be enlightened!

Monday 28 March..6500m @Total Fitness
Tuesday 29 March..3500m @David Lloyds
Wednesday 30 March.. 2500m @Total Fitness
Thursday..rest day
Friday 1 April..10,000m @Total Fitness ..a mind numbing set!
Saturday 2 April..1000m @Ellerton Lake
Sunday 3 April ..6900m @Total Fitness
Total 30,400m

A pleasing week for me, however if you think I am making the effort, check out Sally Goble who is also entered in the swim for life, she recently swam 12 one mile repetitions in the lido! quite frankly putting me to shame, you can read her write up here. Awesome swimming Sal, see you soon.

Saturday finally saw KGB and I venture back to Ellerton Lake for the first time this year where we met the ever jovial Sarah Tunnicliffe and several OSS swimmers, arriving at the car park slightly behind schedule around 11am we received lots of hugs and greetings before briefing the swimmers/making suggestions as to what route to take, then the moment came to enter the frigid water. 

This was to prove a major shock to the system, normally my initial dip of the year is just jumping around in the sea getting my skin accustomed to the chill, today however was a straight forward jump in and get on with it type approach. My breathing took some controlling after entry, however I eventually managed to get into my front crawl and the accompanying brain freeze! One lap for starters at 50f 10c, before exiting the water, coloured up like a lobster, ready for what Sarah describes as the calorie free window, much cake and hot chocolate later I managed to persuade several swimmers to take a second dip. Even talking some into shedding the rubber..This was by far easier on the system, with little if any breathing issues, still had the ice cream headache but that's normal for me at this stage. Double dipping is definetely the way forward.

Overall a great start to the outdoor season thanks to the organisational skills of our friend Sarah.

Almost forgot..thanks to Clare Woodhead for taking the photos

Final Prep.

In anticipation of the looming target for 2010, I spoke in detail with my hand picked crew of Mark Pashby (Skipper) Sarah Tunnicliffe (Feeder) KGB (photos and video), sending out a number of emails to identify roles, timings, feeding plans, meeting locations etc etc. With the logistics taken care of, I decided to attempt three hours at Ellerton Lake on Wednesday 18th August.

Arriving at the lake I was disappointed to see around twenty plus divers who would be using the lake at the same time...this would not be a problem as such. I just find it a little unsettling when suddenly greeted by an under water swimmer at close range.

The plan was to swim three x one hour sets, coming into the wooden jetty to feed on maxim and jelly babies after the first and second hour. This was to be my longest swim of the year, as usual the first hour was the hardest, however after the first feeding I seemed to drift into a better mental zone and had no problems completing the planned time in the water at 64F, except for the monotony of swimming loops in a relatively small lake.

Job done..forearms a little achey, other than that no real side effects.

All set for Windermere 10 and half miles next week.

Pash and Bash

Mid July there was a post of the 'Channel swimmers Google Group' from a person requesting advice re wetsuits having recently re-found the swimming bug at 44 years of age, there was some confusion as to the sex of the person (private joke) named 'Pash'. The good news was he or she lived in North Yorkshire and therefore a possibility arose of a potential training partner.

I responded to the email with my tuppence worth of advice and being that we live in reasonable proximity offered to meet up and swim if required. I also suggested a swim at the upcoming 3km Two Bridges event in the River Tees where the temperature will be gentle enough on the skin for a relative new comer to open water swimming. 'Pash' eventually identified himself as a male of the species and agreed to visit Ellerton Lake on Saturday the 7th together with one of his mates.

We were set to meet at 9am so it was an ealryish start for me to drop Charlie at his Granmas before driving the 25 miles or so to the lake, Pash (Mark) arrived bang on time with his friend Daz, we had a brief chat about the likely temperature, the route we would swim, method of entry and what to expect in terms of marine life/weeds/sunken objects of interest to divers including a tailors dummy! Then we stripped for action.

On arrival at the jetty we spoke with a number of wetsuited swimmers who were also having their first visit, a similar briefing took place before we took the 'commit commit commit' option of the running bomb into the water, the temperature was 64F. Both Mark and Daz soon came to terms with the temperature and we headed off to the top of the lake where we swam for an hour. It turns out Mark and I have a similar military background, I felt the three of us got on really well and expect many more swims to follow. They both coped brilliantly for their first time. Thanks for driving up boys, it was great fun and nice to have company for a change.

That concludes Saturday morning.........following the 'Wild swimming' show with Alice Roberts on TV this week KGB and I arranged to have a swim at Gormire Lake near Thirsk North Yorkshire, Sarah Tunnicliffe gave us detailed directions and a map which led us perfectly to lakeside.

The views from the lake and the location itself were quite breath taking, the ideal place if you fancy a butt naked skinny dip.!

KGB and I tentatively stepped into the water, onto hidden tree branches and a very silty weedy bottom, after what seemed like an age the water was deep enough to actually swim, we swam in the murky green water as the sun began to set, the water was 65 degrees F.  

Post swim as we dressed at the waters edge I thought it would be fun and a blast from the past to play of the rope swing (we call it a 'tarzy' up north) I was having a great time, it had been years since I had done this sort of thing, Kelly wanted me to go higher and higher and she attempted to get the ideal photo for the blog.

She was still part dressed snapping away with the camera as I gave my best push off over the water surely this was sufficient time for the picture to be taken....however the trouble was just brewing, you see, what goes up must come down, I was now inbound to shore making speed towards the tree on which the rope was secured. I tried to take evasive action to no avail, BANG, full force into the tree, my lower legs taking the full impact before I fell to the floor. Believe it or not KGB continued to snap the photos despite her creasing up with laughter. I was in agony, the wind had thoroughly been taken from my sails, as I laid in a heap gasping for breath.

Some time later I hobbled to the car, the picnic was cancelled as I envisaged a trip to Accident and Emergency. Today, Sunday the swelling is quite funny yet the pain is intense, its going to be fun trying to work tomorrow in this state. Believe me the photograph does not do my injury justice.

Ellerton Eeeek

Yesterday (July 14th) I returned to Ellerton Lake with Chris Pearson and three Tri girls , they were all clad in rubber and thought it highly amusing that I should be swimming near naked, despite the lake being 67 degrees F. We had an excellent interval session, again I managed to talk them into shedding the rubber for the final five minutes. Much to their amazement they enjoyed the freedom . I told them if they swim me then that is a condition to which they must sign up!! If you want a giggle click on the link above.

We were only in the water 70 minutes but the quality was good, we experienced a thunder storm at one point which was strange though the lake itself remained glassy flat.

Today I returned to the Lake with Charlie in his new wetsuit, he was terrified but I am delighted that he eventually summoned the courage to jump from the jetty (twice) and joined me in the water, its a great start so I just hope he fancies returning some time soon.

A very relieved Charlie..a little cold, a little scared and not impressed. Well done Charlie,believe in yourself x

Glow in the Dark...!?

  Pleased to say I have had some consistency with five swims last week all of which were outdoors, Monday 22 June I visited The North Sea at Seaton Carew, alone as usual now, I noticed on arrival the sea was looking a bit angry. I was on the verge of forgetting it without safety cover but talked myself around and waded into the water. I had no choice but to dive straight into the breakers and fight my way to about 300 metres from shore where the water was more swimmable. Once out there I checked my watch and headed North along the coast to my regular turnaround point, the swells were big and pretty much head on, the short leg is typically about 8 minutes however due to the conditions it was 15 minutes before it was time to head South, similarly the Southbound leg is around 20 minutes but today it was closer to 35, just shows what a massive impact conditions can have on an open water swim. I was very pleased to have stayed to swim and felt great exiting the water after an hour at 57f.

Tuesday Morning was the opposite in comparison, flat sea, sun shining and company in the shape of John F, timings were back to normal albeit I was swimming back and forth to John to check on his welfare, 75 minutes today at 57-58f, and a very creditable 55 minutes for John, what a difference a day makes.

Thursday I couldn't get to the beach 'til 4pm after work and to be honest I was tired before I even set off, having missed Wednesday I wanted to try at least a dip, so I was delighted to notice the glassy conditions and high water, another hour alone and no problems with the water temperature.

Friday was going to be a reconnaissance day. I drove to Seaton purposely at low tide, intending to walk the route to the North Gare of the River Tees in order to check for hazards before attempting the swim in the future, I walked past some scary looking iron groins that were covered in rust and the remains of a shipwreck from the 1800s only the wooden ribs of which can now be seen as the remainder has long since gone..

   About another 1500m South my attention was drawn what appeared to be a rocky outcrop at the base of a beacon, it was producing large amounts of white water covering an area of about ten square metres. I spoke with a local fisherman who was beach casting and was informed the white water was in fact discharge from Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, now that was a worry, the turbulence created was of sufficient concern for me to call the power plant and ask some questions; they advised me not to swim near the discharge outlet which was described as effluent, amounting to millions of gallons 24/7 365 days a year, the water they pump out had been used as a coolant and enters the sea at no more than 30 degrees C, no wonder the fish and seals like it down there! Mark Potter from  British Energy said it should be fine if I can stay a few hundred metres away......yeah right, I had visions of him sat there eating doughnuts with his feet up like Homer Simpson at the Springfield power plant, laughing at this glow in the dark swimmer.

Finally I reached the North Gare and explored some rock pools where I saw more star fish than ever before, the water was crystal clear too, the walk back to my swim area was a long one around 45 minutes so it would be a long swim but not one I fancy doing alone just yet. I settled for another hour alone and headed home.

Even more contrast to these swims was Saturdays visit to Ellerton Lake, I had arranged to get up early after night shift to swim with Chris Pearson and his tri friend Sarah, I was tired but the weather was great, the others started first before I dived into the 67f water, the warmest I had experienced since 2007, we swam some intervals and generally worked hard for 75 minutes, I even managed to get them to shed the rubber for the final ten minutes, I dont think Chris will be converted to speedos but Sarah seems to be very tempted.

Other news I have entered the BLDSA Derwent Water 5 mile event at the end of July which will be a nice stepping stone to Windermere 10 miles and future swims of double the distance!!

Ellerton Lake

When I was involved in triathlon, a colleague of mine (Darren) took me swimming to Ellerton Lake near Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire, its a reasonable size lake with lots of activities in terms of paddlers, divers and the odd swimmer. I haven't visited this place for well over a year, for one thing its 25 miles away, not far I agree but with Bishopton Lake 3 miles from home and Seaton Carew less than ten it seemed a little pointless. Bishopton however is now a little busy albeit the staff there cannot do enough to help, and the Sea is dependant on having Kelly keeping a watchful eye on me and my equipment. That said, yesterday I was 'allowed' to go for a little swim on my own, the only trouble was that a number Jet skis were hogging the surf and I did not feel at all safe, I kept the swim short and headed home before too long, my watch surprised me when it bottomed out at 55F, I had expected it to be much closer to 59F, maybe it was due to all wind that must have backed up a lot of water. It was still good to complete a couple of kilometres in the cold.

Anyway...a couple of days ago I was informed by Darren that lots of 'Tri' people attend the Lake at Ellerton on Tuesday evenings for a two hour session, I figured it would be better than a 2 hour pool swim and have opted to attend tonight. I have no idea how warm the water will be but will report back later today with how it went. I have arranged to meet another Channel Aspirant there too who is just formulating his plan .......................................................................................................................................

Been back from the lake around an hour, having filled my face with Indian food I thought I would update as promised before I start my Guinness!

We arrived at the pre arranged time to find only a few cars parked up, a few people were in the process of squeezing the bodies into wetsuits, glancing across I made eye contact with a man I had never met and was soon introduced to Dave Neal, who had recently emailed me with an interest in local open water swims..after some brief intros we stripped to our speedos and began our swim. It was my plan to swim loops of the lake perimeter, however we soon got caught up in some very dense weed, we therefore made our way to what looked like a pre planned swim course marked out by a number of white floating barrels.

Initially we swam to the small jetty where KGB was waiting with her daughter Lottie, Dave and I had slightly different speeds, so we decided at this point to swim with the rubber clad triathletes at our own pace. At this point I set off and decided to try to use the swim as an interval type session, being that it was going to be limited time wise I swam at around 90% of my maximum and tried to focus on some well needed drills at the same time. The water was crystal clear and bordered on being too warm. My watch was reading 64F. I could certainly feel the difference between this and yesterdays water in the North Sea. I was questioning the benefits in my head but it had to be better than the pool at a ridiculous 30+ C.

After another lap of the fixed route, I swam in for a warm feed, this was more for practice than anything else, I drank it and headed off as soon as possible feeling fine after the stop. Another loop, popped to the jetty to check on the girls and said I would do one more lap before we set off home to sort children for bed. That fell on deaf ears as I was told there was time for two more laps before home time, I get the feeling KGB would have said one more than any number I may have uttered! The rain started to come down on the last lap, but the surface of the lake was like glass, the water crystal clear and the temperature too good to be true, a short session well within my comfort zone, all in all, was a nice change of venue, got the chance to meet Dave who seems keen to do more, but for the weed it was a very pleasant evening.