The long way back!

So I didn't swim last night. But, before you all quite rightly give me a good telling off, I did swim this morning! Yet again I arrived home tired and once I was settled and had had dinner the thought of rousing again to head back into the dark and cold to the pool was really unappealing. I have always been an early bird and I have realised I need to try and swim in the morning and get it over with so the excuses of the day can't build up.

I am going to ask my new boss if I can work 9.45am to 5.45pm instead of the normal working hours of 9-5. They have already said that they are quite happy for me to work flexible hours so I am hoping this will be no problem and will therefore allow me to get a decent morning swim in.

So, this morning. Still being on the early train I was very time constrained but I wanted to get at least 2kms done. I had planned 10x100m off 2mins and 4x200m of 3.50mins but had to cut that to 3x200m just because of the limited time. I was definitely taught a lesson this morning! Normally these type of sets would be easy - 200m merely a warm-up distance - but it was hard hard work. My shoulders were tired certainly but the biggest difference was how ungainly I felt. People have talked before about the 'feel' for the water that, whatever your style weaknesses, the more you swim the more you 'feel' at home in the water. I wasn't convinced before but I can understand it implicitly now - before I felt in control of the water and powered over the top of it, now it totally controlled me and I had to fight for bouyancy.

Definitely a lesson learnt!!! Roll on tomorrow....

London Town!

Ok, so I arrived back at Boulmer to face the big move to London. It felt like the world's biggest hassle at the time and I have been ridiculously unmotivated to do anything. However, I have decided that enough is enough and tonight I will be facing getting back in the pool after nearly two and half weeks off. I am pretty sure the session is going to be pretty unfun given I will have lost any of the fitness I previously built up but I'm also pretty sure I deserve it and am hoping it will give me a lesson in just how important consistency is in your training.

I wrote to Wycombe Leisure Limited to ask if they would let me train at their pools for free for a month but have yet to receive a response. Luckily the RAF receives a discount at the nearby Princes Risborough pool so the moan that it is too expensive will be quashed.

I really have no excuses left so if I don't go tonight I expect you all to berate me royally!
Fingers crossed.......

Lack of Motivation

I didn't end up swimming on Monday - I was so tired from our late night trip back from Stansted that I didn't think the session would be all that beneficial. However, I did promise myself that I would go to the pool yesterday in the Ladies Only session between 7-9pm and do an uber-session to make up for it. I didn't make that either. :( Yesterday it was confirmed that, instead of all my expected plans over the next month, I was actually going to be posted to the MOD. I don't mind that specifically except all this moving round the country rather throws the motivation to swim. I like establishing a routine and, once that is disturbed, I find it difficult to push myself to just do whatever sessions I can fit in. It will be great when I start my course at the end of March and I am set somewhere so I can properly get a routine and start a build up of volume. In a bit of a slump at the moment about it all.

Holiday!

It seemed a bit foolish to have a holiday having just managed to establish some kind of swimming routine but time off is an uncertain commodity in the RAF so I couldn't really say no! My boyfriend Adam and I flew out to my parents in France for a few days of wonderful home cooked food, some golf and a bit of spoiling before making a road trip down to Andorra for a few days on the slopes. We had a fabulous Valentine's snowboarding (me) and skiing (Adam) and finished the day off with an amazing spa evening hosted by one of the hotels. I've come back with a nice ski-ing tan with the requisite sunglasses marks! We then drove back to my parents for an over-nighter before getting the last flight home yesterday. We had a fantastic time and I have come back totally refreshed and itching to get back into the routine. I am driving back to Northumberland this afternoon but will hopefully make the 8pm swim session with the tri club where I am sure I will see how much fitness I have lost over the week!

I have started a section on the blog for other sites of interest. Currently Mark Robson and Chris Pountney are on there. They are both Channel swimming this year so take a moment to have a look over their sites and appreciate their own individual challenges.

Water-polo

There was a RAFSA try-it session this weekend so I went along to play some water-polo today. I've played with the RAF team once before - the women's section is brand new. Am really enjoying the sporadic sessions - have explained that I can't commit a large amount of time to it as triathlon (and now Channel Swimming!) needs to be my priority- but it is still fun! Most of the girls are swimmers who have decided to give water-polo a try - I have played quite a lot before but not for five years so I am re-learning things too. However, today the coach has asked if I would also go and train with the boys which was nice - glad I have managed to retain some level of skill! Played three hours of polo today, 90mins before and 90mins after lunch. There was then a swim session which I thought I'd also have a go at. Didn't quite realise how tired I had become from the water-polo - managed the warm-up and then did a 400m time trial before deciding enough was enough! Was really tired and had yet another headache - maybe dehyration? Finished off with a a mini cool-down and then called it a day. Still, I have reached my biggest weekly swim total to date - 8.3kms. Not much yet but a starting point!

Hungover swimming?

On Thursday night I went to my friend Katie's graduation from Cranwell. It wasn't too late a night and I didn't drink that much but unfortunately still enough to feel ropey on Friday morning! As I rarely drink, even the five drinks or so I consumed through the evening were enough to dehydrate me and make me feel really tired. Luckily I was off on Friday so could have a lie in, rehydrate and refuel! I really had to force myself into the pool and, once in, I had to force myself to complete the session. I did a short set of 2.2km but for most of the time was plagued by a splitting headache. I have been suffering from headaches quite a lot recently - I'm not sure whether the new routine has made me deficient in something perhaps? Unfortunately in Friday's session it may well have just been the drinking and the late night! Going to keep an eye on it and if they continue I think a trip to the Docs might be in order.

Relay news

So, as I mentioned in my first post, I have also been offered a slot with a relay team. The team is headed up by Damian Westray and, conveniently, is also piloted by Eddie. I think it will be fantastic experience - not only the event itself but also the training. I can imagine that, having set the goal, actually committing yourself to learning how to train, what nutrition to use, how to complete your qualifying swim etc. would be quite daunting and it will be great to have the support of a team, especially one containing members who are already successful Channel crossers, whilst I am learning.

There has, however, been a few admin problems. I start my professional training on the 31st March with a view to completing it around the end of September. Which is the date of our tide. Hmmm. The RAF were initally not very keen with me committing to something which may interfere with a critical time professionally which, begrudgingly, I can understand. However, I have written to the Air Commodore in charge of RAF swimming and hopefully, with his support, I will be allowed the time to complete the relay. We have confirmed with Michael that the relay does not have to be formalised until the fortnight before our tide so I have been bought some time for a while!

Swim frustrations!

Another session at the Cranwell pool yesterday. I thought it would be hard to fit swimming in whilst I am down here but I actually think that this may end up being my best swim week yet thanks to the abundance of sessions available. Compared to Friday where I had a nice serene swim I did find today much more stressful. It was funny because only that morning I had been reading an article in Zest about when sport actually turns from being good for you to being bad if you get too competitive/stressed about fitting it in etc. I was down at the pool early to try and get as long a session as possible only for them to not open the gate until nearly ten past 12. Argh! Then for some reason (I think namely that they are too lazy to put all the swim ropes in) the lifeguards only put three ropes in and then make people swim in clockwise circles round the space. SO annoying especially when you are doing timed sets and trying to swim efficiently. Anyway, in the fast lane we can normally negotiate with upto three people that we'll just swim up and down sticking to our own mini lanes within the ropes. This was working well until we were interrupted at 12.30 (who comes halfway through a session?!!) by a fourth and had to revert to swimming in circles which never works when people are different speeds and doing different things. My greatest annoyance soon reared its ugly head - pool etiquette!!! Why do people not let you past at the end of lengths?? And, more annoyingly, why, having insisted we swam in big circles round the lane, did all three of the other swimmers decide to stop for a chat thus spreading themselves over the entire end of the lane and not leaving me anywhere to turn!! They weren't even dissuaded by some very forceful tumble turns! So, anyway, anyone who actually bothers to read this rant - please, please show courtesy -let people overtake you at the end of lengths or if they tap your feet and, if you are going to stop for a chat, make way for the people still swimming!
Moan over!!!

It's official!

Got an email from Eddie this morning saying my cheque has been received and the No.1 slot on the 13th-18th August 2009 has been officially reserved. For me!! He has also contacted Michael Oram at CS&PF to get me registered with them - I don't think I have to become a member etc until the end of the year but if I do the relay I need to be at least an associate member so will probably get all the membership paperwork in asap. Membership lasts for two years anyway so there's no problem.

Another short swim at lunch - 2.2km but if I can at least keep squeezing these swims into the day then the miles will mount up I'm sure!

Mark Robson left me a comment today - he is aspiring for a solo in 2008. So,'Hi Mark' and good luck for the swim! These blogs are a great way of finding other people with the same foolish ambitions!!