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

River Nene 5km Swim

Earlier this week I realised I had a rare weekend off work, with three available days free from child care commitments. Initially, following last weeks trip to Cork, I thought this would be a great opportunity to visit Dover for the first time since September 2008. As the week progressed it became apparent that logistically Dover was going to be a no go. However as one door closes another opens.

I had been in touch with Dan Martin via twitter and he kindly invited me to The River Nene OSS swim near Peterborough, the distance from home was only going to be 170 miles so it was relatively close in comparison to Dover.

Friday afternoon once KGB had finished work we departed south, after some traffic frustration on the A19 we made good progress and arrived shortly after 7:30pm at the Castle Farm Guest House in the village of Fotheringhay . A very peaceful, picturesque location with great history. After unpacking we were collected by Dan who drove us to a nearby pub for introductions to his parents, who were very welcoming to say the least, a lovely couple who seem to run around after the big man all day long! After a good feed and a couple of pints of Guinness we were tucked up and asleep for midnight.

The plan for Saturday was to start the swim at Cotterstock for 11am, swim the 5km stretch to Fotheringhay, refuel by way of a picnic, re warm, then swim another 5km to Elton Lock. As it turned out, due to a couple of late arrivals, the laid back approach to these social swims, and some transport shuttle runs by KGB,  the start didn't actually take place til just before twelve noon.

About a dozen swimmers (half in speedos half in wetsuits) entered the water, it was a little green and murky but flat as a pancake, quite surreal after swimming in the sea on Thursday, it was more like being in a pool. I was last to get into the River as I had waited for KGB to return to the start in order to collect some kit left at the waters edge.

I jumped in the wooden jetty and soon got into my rhythm, I was sighting ahead and soon located another swimmer (Rob) in speedos of a similar pace, we swam together most of the way, the route itself was very scenic though I was not taking a lot of notice as I was more or less flat out! We had a brief stop at Tansor where Dans dad George and some others were on the bank of the river to check on everyone's welfare. The temperature on my watch was 54-55F at this checkpoint, after a few seconds of treading water we all continued on.

Around half way we swam up to a lock where we were required to scramble up a muddy bank to negotiate the obstacle, Rob and I ran around the gravel path to keep warm and dived back in. The water had been, and continued to be very patchy in terms of temperature, at times it felt freezing cold. I didn't hang around to get a reading, I was already swimming hard especially so through the cold spots.

Before long I noticed the Church of St Mary and All Saints in the distance. I knew I was getting close to the picnic stop. Moments later I spotted KGB, she had walked from the start and was taking some great photos. After another ten minutes, 1 hour 20 minutes after jumping in, I reached the cars and exited the water.

There was a great atmosphere as we all had hot drinks, picnic food and laughter. Unfortunately due to the late start we were unable to wait for the restart, so at 3pm we said our goodbyes and thank-yous and made the three hour drive home and back to reality.

Many thanks to Dan (the man mountain as you can see above) for the invite, to all the other OSS swimmers, and to the parents of Dan....George and Sue for their hospitality. Not forgetting KGB for her support, after care and photos. I will definitely return to swim the straight ten km with Dan before the summer is out.