Swim Hat's Here

Swim hat for Salford arrived today - Lilac! lovely!

Getting quite excited now... can't believe it's just a few days away. Also found out that BBC2 are televising the GSS, from 2pm to 3.30 - so will include my group's entry into the water.

you can look out for me - I'll be the one at the back, in the wetsuit with red sleeves.

Happy swimming

Royal Wedding

As the rest of the world (it seemed) was glued to the TV watching the Royal Wedding, some of us decided to take advantage of the quiet roads and go for a swim at Hatchmere.

Easy drive down, with very little traffic, and a lovely sunny morning. Did a few returns (without wetsuit - more fun). Was surprised when lots of the others decided to shed their wetsuits too for a bit at the end - very beneficial feeling.

Stopped for a quick photo shoot before getting out and heading home. Happy days!

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday - and I'm meeting some fellow swimmers for a dip at Hatchmere. It's a beautiful day, and as we head west on the M56 the high cloud breaks and the sun comes out.
By the time we get to Hatchmere, the sun is fully out in the blue sky - it's perfect for swimming. We don't waste any time (I've already got my wetsuit on!) and get in.
After 2 returns, I decide to shed the wetsuit and see how much colder it feels without it. I'm amazed! It's barely any colder, but feels soooooo much freer. I do another return much easier than the first two, and I'm not feeling the cold at all.

After an hour, it's time to get out - I've done 3 returns (about 900m, or 36 lengths), don't feel cold or tired. Just very happy.
Time to put on the bunny ears for a real Easter swim, and then time to get out and dried.

Drinking my juice when a swan decides I'm the most likely to feed it and wanders up to me - I'm a bit scared of swans (too many run ins) so I'm walking backwards, and it's following me. Fortunately, it gets distracted by James, who is now offering it grass (thank heavens!)

Great day - can't wait for the next one!

In the swim again

My wetsuit is, well, wet - or rather damp still from last night's swim - but there's a rumble going on down at Pickmere, so I'm up early and full of beans. The day is starting georgeous, blue sky, sunshine - so it's roof down and head south to the lake.
We get there just before 10, and meet up with the others - one of the things I like most about this outdoor swimming is the people you meet. They're all so lovely and friendly and encouraging.
Some swim a couple of miles, and some do less, and I probably do least - but I'm in, practicing, and again it doesn't feel cold at all!
Get out and let the sun dry me off, mostly, before getting changed at the car - always get a few funny looks from people who clearly think we're all mad - but we don't care, we've had our fix for another day...
take care

Catching up

So, it's only a few weeks to the Great Salford Swim, and so far I hadn't been outdoor swimming this year.
Not worried about the distance (did 75 lengths last week, well over a mile) but not sure i'm used to the cold water enough.
It's the Thursday before the long Easter weekend, so I join the queue to leave the office at 5 and hightail over to Hatchmere to catch a swim - arrive a bit later than everyone else (who managed to get there at 5.30, for me it was nearly 6!). Still, it was a lovely evening so in I get.
It didn't feel cold at all!
I didn't swim for very long - the others were soon getting out, but at least I know the temperature shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks to Acky for the picture - and to Ray and Acky for drink and chat afterwards - perfect end to a perfect day!
take care,

just keep swimming

Thought I'd better do some distance training last week - so off to the local pool. It's adult's only lane swimming on a Sunday, so that's ideal when I just want to plough up and down the pool.
I got in at 4.15 and just kept swimming, swimming until 5.30 when they made me get out!
I wasn't counting how many lengths (I find I loose my rhythm when I do that, and it's not as relaxing), but I timed a length and was doing about 1 per minute, so it looks like I did about 70 - 75 lengths.

As Dorey would say... "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming"

And We're Off

Having been swimming in a cold, cold pool on my holidays last week, I thought it was time to start thinking about whether to do a Great Swim again this year. I looked at the Great Swim website, and then just couldn't help myself! So, Salford it is, but much earlier in the year - mid May in fact, which gives me about 12 weeks to get back up to fitness and acclaimatised!

It may be obvious to many of you why I've chosen to do this for Dr Kershaw's this year. Dad died in this hostpice last year not long before I did my swim, and so I wanted to do something in his memory, and for a cause now so close to my heart.

So this is where I'll be logging my thoughts for this year. If you want to see what happened last year (where were you?) then you can read last year's blog.

Swimming in the rain

I know I've now done my mile swim, but I've developed an addiction to outdoor swimming! So when someone suggested a dip in Pickmere on Sunday morning, of course I said "yes". It'd been nearly a week since my last fix, and frankly, I was aching for an outdoor swim.
I hadn't bargained on the weather though - when I got up on Sunday morning the rain was relentless. I checked my phone to see if the swim had been called off - but I should have guessed! Calling off a swim because of rain just doesn't enter the heads of the diehards who swim in October!
I met a friend and car shared to Pickmere - she was already in her wetsuit, and had even filled up at the petrol station, much to the astonishment of other customers!
Then it was into the (cold) lake and off for a swim. The others did a mile swim, while I did a smaller circuit, trying to avoid ducks landing on my head.
The rain continued, but we were already wet, so it didn't matter. I trod water for a bit watching the raindrops splash onto the surface of the lake - very hypnotic!
After a while, I was looking across the lake and couldn't see the others - the rain was making a misty layer on the water. And then they came - black triangular arms rising out of the water like shark fins! Quite eerie!
The others were Acky, Nez and Michelle (who took the photo, and very bravely swam without a wetsuit). Thanks to them all for the company!
I really enjoyed getting home and into a hot shower - and then cursing that the sun came out all afternoon!

And finally...

So yesterday I finally completed my measured mile.
As I set off up the quay, I really didn't think I'd be able to do it, but by the time I got to the swing bridge, the self doubt had made way for hope, and at the end of the first quay, determination had blocked out everything else.
It took me 1 hour 16 mins and 2 seconds - but than's not important. Neither is the fact that I finished 1356 out of 1366. The important thing is that I finished!
With much help from family and friends who walked the whole course with me, giving me encouragement all the way, and from other swimmers - who are the most generous and supportive group of people you could wish to meet.
So here I am, with wetsuit rash, an aching back, a medal and a huge sense of acheivement! And £3,000 in the bank for Alzheimers! Thanks to everyone - you've really all been great - I really couldn't have done it without you.
Take care,

Swimming in tears

I did a mile swim in the pool on Sunday, just to check I still could. I'm doing the Salford Swim, and to be honest, I haven't done any training for ages, possibly months.
If you've been reading this blog, you'll know I had a bit of a "medical incident" at the end of May, which was initially diagnosed as a stroke, but turned out to be nerve damage in my brain. 6 weeks off work, no driving, and rest. So that was most of June and July gone by.
Then my dad became ill - he'd also had a couple of suspected mini stokes, but his too had been mis-diagnosed. Then on August 6th, after he'd got suddenly very bad, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. The cancer had spread from his lung, and was causing these stroke like symptoms.
He was really looking forward to coming to the lakes for the Great North Swim, but in the end was too ill to make the journey. He was really proud of me, of doing the swim and of the money I was raising.
I was thinking about this as I swam my mile in the pool. At about length 50, I was imagining what it will be like when I finish the mile, now being swum in Salford. How lovely it will be to climb out of the water and be greeted by my family and friends. And how sad it will be that dad won't be there. That's the point I started to well up, and then I really started to cry.
He lost his brief but intense battle with cancer on September 15th, just 5 weeks after being diagnosed and just 6 weeks before his 71st birthday. By the time I get in the water on Sunday, I will have been to his funeral, and will have shed many more tears.
I'm hoping I can get round most of the mile without breaking down - I discovered on Sunday that crying makes you sniffle, and then water goes up your nose, and the tears fill up your goggles.
So, I will be getting round that mile, and whilst I will be raising money for Alzheimer's, I'll be swimming for my dad.
Take care - life is short.

The New Mile

I've just found out that the Great North Swim is officially cancelled for this year. This leaves me with the options of deferring to next year or cancelling altogether!
I can't bear the thought of either of these, and decided to see if there were still places free for the Great Salford Swim.

Unbeliveable! There are still places! I've signed up for 2pm - better get some more training in quickly!

Third Time Lucky

After my two previous failed attempts to swim an alternative mile (and earn some of the donations I've already had from people) I was even more determined to get in the water today. It had been a lovely sunny day, and the evening was still and bright - perfect swimming conditions!

Out came the O/S map, and the search for a suitable spot began - we needed somewhere not too far away, close the road and safe to swim in (so rivers were out - they need a good recce first). Then we saw it - Yew Tree Tarn, just by the road to Coniston.

Bag packed, we were out of the door and in the car - wending our way south west and upwards.

The tarn was lovely - with a big layby for easy access, and still water, just the right depth.

In I got - heaven!

I'm not sure how far I swam, the tarn isn't very big so I was basically swimming up and down the middle of it. It was so peaceful - pure therapy!

I got out as the sun was going behind the fells, a big grin on my face and a sense of achievement in my heart.

Second attempt

Yesterday evening, after the failed attempt at swimming Buttermere, David and I went for an evening stroll up one of the tributaries leading into Lake Windermere. I found a great spot for a swim, and couldn't wait to get back into my wetsuit.

Judging from the OS map, it looked like I could swim about 1/2 mile in the river, meaning that if I doubled back (current allowing) I could get a mile in. Part of me is determined to do my promised mile in cold murky water - I've got hundreds of supporters who've all donated good money to make me do this, and I really don't want to let them down.

So, tonight I got into my wetsuit and added a big fleece, and David and I followed the footpath to the river. The first section we walk along is shallow and slow flowing - no good for swimming, but great for wildlife. A flash of blue streaked low above the water - kingfisher! Brilliant!

A bit lower down, another river joins the one we walk along, and it gets deep enough to swim in. Just a little further and there's a "beach". Perfect. I discard my big fleece and enter the water - a bit cold, but not too bad. Towards the centre is plenty deep enough, and the water is so clear I can see the bed easily.

I spot a swan and give it a wide berth - David is on the bank watching over me, but I don't fancy tangling with swam just in case.

Around a bend in the river and I'm now heading into the wind. It's not as bad as Buttermere, but makes it hard going. I'm quite far fron the bank now, any closer in and my feet hit the ground. And then I get thwarted - again! The river gets wide and much too shallow to swim in. Lying on my belly I can just about do commando crawl, but certainly not front crawl! I turn round and swim back upstream. I'm not going to be able to swim far, but I've enjoyed being in the water all the same. I swim about for a bit, up and down the same section, before deciding to clamber out and head for home.

Try again another day!

Making Amends

With today's swim cancelled, Jess (one of the OSS people I know) and I decided to attempt our own alternative mile by swimming the length of Buttermere (approx 1 mile).

We set off, full of enthusiasm and determination. The water wasn't too cold, and quite clear. All was going well, and then the wind picked up. The water began to get quite choppy, with white crests on the waves, and the cross wind made it hard to breathe. I decided to swim on my back for a bit (one advantage of being the only two swimmers in the whole lake - I wasn't about to bump into anyone!). I'd not done many stokes when I heard Jess shouting me. The wind was blowing me off course, and I was heading straight for some trees on the bank!

Back on my front, I corrected my position and got back to where Jess was, but by now the going was really getting tough, and I was getting tired. I knew that at this rate I wouldn't be able to get far, and it looked as though conditions were worse around the headland.

We heard shouts from the shore, and I looked up to see a group of my friends and neighbours who'd come up to the lakes to support me on my swim. I waved, but couldn't shout to them, the wind was sucking the breath out of me.

I swam a bit more, concious that I was holding Jess back (I'm not a quick swimmer, especially after the big break in training) and realised that I wasn't going to be able to swim the length of the lake. I decided that discretion was definitely the better part of valour, and suggested to Jess that we called it a day, before we got into trouble (with only a shore buddy and no boat, this was possible if we got round the headland and into really rough water). Jess didn't seem to mind, so we swam to shore, letting the swell carry us to the beach.

Jess said that it was like swimming in the sea, with the strong swell, and that it was the hardest outdoor swim she'd done. So I didn't feel quite so bad about stopping. We trudged back to the car in our wet wetsuits, and went in search of a nice hot cuppa.

Gutted!

I've just received a text to say that the Great North Swim has been postponed. Currently, it's not certain if it will be rescheduled for this year or cancelled until 2011. After all the build up, I'm gutted. I'm also concerned about letting down all my sponsors and supporters - so far I've raised about £2,700 - so I'll have to think of something.

Just Relax

One of the great things about outdoor swimming is the view - especially a sunny sky. So when I'm not trying to go as fast or as far as I can, I like to lie back and relax...
It's important to wear a hat so your ears don't get cold, but it's a lovely feeling!
take care

Gadding About

Gaddings Dam was on the agenda this bank holiday. It's the first time I've been, but I'd heard a lot about it. The climb up to the dam is about 250m, and I have to admit, I had to stop half way up as I thought I was going to be sick - it was really tough going for someone as unfit as me (and a little worrying, given the swim is now only days away!).

With the huge support and help of David, and the encouragement of a group of fellow outdoor swimmers, I finally made it to the top, into my wetsuit, and into the mercifully flat water.

But boy was it cold! about 13 degrees, which is enough to make your feet go numb after about 10 mins.

It stayed lovely and sunny, and I stayed in probably longer than I should have (I think because I was dreading the decent down the big hill).
The walk back was tough going too - with some quite big steps - not good for arthritic knees! But at least the walk ended in a pub - with lunch!
What a great day out!
Take care,

Birthday Suit

I decided to splash out (literally) on my own wetsuit, since I'm enjoying the outdoor swimming so much. Bill and Freddie (my in-laws) have kindly bought the suit for my birthday present - and here I am modelling it at Gaddings Dam on a lovely sunny bank holiday Monday.

Calm waters

There is nothing like an after work swim on a calm, sunny evening. This is Hatchmere, on a still night in August - the peace and quiet are hard to beat.
There were a few of us swimming that evening - about 5 or 6, which is nice company while still being peaceful.
After the swim, David and I stayed for a picnic, and watched hundreds of geese fly over to their resting place for the night - pretty well the only noise we'd heard all night was their honking!
Take care,

Howling at the Moon

Last night I joined the Outdoor Swimming Society for a Full Moon swim at Hatchmere. It wasn't a promising evening, with lots of cloud cover and only the occasional glimpse of sky. We arrived at the lake just before 9 - to find one swimmer already in the water. Others arrived just as we did, so by the time I'd got into my wetsuit, there were 3 or 4 of us getting in.
David, who came with me but remained fully dressed and shorebound, waved us off, taking photos of the big moment (Splash!).
I was swimming pretty slowly - much slower than everyone else, as I'm still feeling pretty tired. I was determined to do 4 trips accross the lake and back though, as this would be almost a mile and great training.
Trip 1 - can't get into my rhythm at all and I'm finding it hard to breathe properly. I have to talk myself into not panicking.
Trip 2 - getting the hang of it, feeling much better and getting a rhythm going - lovely to have company on the back leg of the trip (thanks to Vic and Nez for swimming so slowly and chatting!)
Trip 3 - begining to get dark - finding it harder to see the sign on the opposite bank that we're swimming towards, but keep going anyway. David's put lights on the beach so we can swim our way back to shore easily.
Trip 4 - it's raining! Oh well! I'm wet anyway.
David's managed to gather up the bags and put them under a tree, so our things aren't too wet when we get out. It's almost 10.30 - but it's really warm after the rain has stopped. The pub's closed and so we can't have a celebratory drink - I managed the 4 trips I set out to do - although I swam the shortest distance I'm perhaps the proudest of my swim!
It's almost midnight when I get home - and by the time I've rinsed my wetsuit and had a shower, I fall into bed very tired!