Stroke after Stroke - Day By Day

It's been a month since my last posting. I can't believe how fast the days and weeks are passing me by. There are less than two months left for training before my English Channel Swim!

I question myself - 'Have I done enough training'? 'What is enough training'? I don't think any swimmer knows the answer - every swimmer has their different opinion and own ways of training. I am happy, strong and confident with my tough training sessions and fitness level, so I guess this is what counts the most....to me.

The pool's broken-down heater had not been replaced and until just recently, we (not many of us) have been training in cold water which has been terrific for our English Channel preparation. The heater has since been replaced and the water is nice and warm so we will now be swimming more in the ocean and river for acclimatisation to cold water.

After Saturday pool sessions, Selwyn and myself train in the Swan River with Pauline or Max paddling along side carrying feed and drinks for us. One day was very special - Barbara Pellitt accompanied us on our swim. She travelled 1 1/2 hours from the country to swim in the river with us - and brown jelly-fish or 'Man-O-Wars'. Crazy, but this lady has swum most everywhere and is used to all sorts of conditions and marine life. After the training swim, the four us sat over coffee and discussed all areas of open water swimming mainly, of course, the English Channel. Barbara has a bank of information and we thank her for sharing all her experiences with us.

Hillarys Mariner swim - We place our clothes in a black plastic bag (just in case it rains) and drinks and feed on the small beach area of the harbour. At the moment huge earthworks are underway and most of the sandy area is fenced off to the public beach. We wade into the rather cold but calm water and swim south to the rocks for a starting spot at the end of a small jetty. Its approximately 250metres from this starting point to the other sandy shallow end. This swimming area is protected by the vast numbers of cafes, restaurants and shops, so the aroma of coffee and food is a tease and I can't help but notice the 'normal' people walking along with their families all bundled up in their winter clothes.

Hillarys Mariner - start training at jetty end and finish shallow end (250metres)

We had the whole mariner to ourselves, except for some cheeky seagulls trying to steal food from our eskies. The water is approximately 16-18C except for some cold patches of water to swim through - Brrrrr.

How lucky for us, the clouds seemed to disappear quickly leaving the rest of the morning with sunshine and the water flat calm. Some areas of the mariner is clear enough to see schools of small silver fish and sometimes a fish or two jump out of the water.

Selwyn and myself swim 12 lengths (about an hour) hop out for a feed/drink, wade back in for the next hour. Another day of training - four hours in the pool and two in open water. We have had another great training session and exit the water pleased with our efforts....good! A cold shower and then enjoyed a nice hot coffee with my sister Judy and cousin Sue. Sitting in the sunshine, so warm on my back, I could have stayed in this spot all day.

Most Saturday mornings we train at the pool for four hours and during this time the members of two teams training for the English Channel this July come and join us - we all train under coach, Pauline Pratt. A mother of one of the swimmers bring in a huge plateful of warm, freshly made muffins - Yum! They didn't last long. Afterwards we all travel to Hillary's Mariner for cold open water training and it was a change and a great pleasure to have the Churchlands High School/Barracuddas team members accompany us. They are a bunch of absolutely amazing strong, committed young swimmers. They will do so well in the English Channel. Go, Go, Go!

Max paddling in Hillarys Mariner

It had rained in the early morning during pool training and when we arrived at Hillarys there was grey clouds and wind blowing strongly across the bay. The Mariner did not look inviting, over the past wintry days the harsh wind had blown twigs, leaves and the odd plastic bag was floating about, looking like huge white jelly-fish.

Upon entering the water by jumping from the jetty, we all started swimming north to the shallow end. The water was not as cold as it has been previously, just a lot more choppy due to the strong winds. Selwyn and myself swam from end to end, I am swimming in my comfort zone....not for long however, we joined the younger swimmers who were all sprinting from end to end, fast swimming to build up some body heat. Very good training which got me out of my own comfort zone. Hmmm. Thanks guys. The session would have been much more fun if we all did not receive nasty stings from the many small jelly-fish. Ugggg. OMG!!!

I am really moving forward in my training. I have learned where my strengths and weaknesses are and adjusting my training plan accordingly with the help of Pauline and at the same time having a great time and fun, fun is a must.

Finding fun-time in the pool

and outside the pool

A party - dressed as something starting with S. Carrol....Sweet, Senile, Senior Swimmer. Max.....Scarboro Surf Life Saver

Back on track...

My main weakness is mental attitude and am working on this every day. I also need to deal with coldness. I am no where close to where I need to be, so acclimatisation swims will need to be done soon at Lake Leshenaultia where some of us experienced the cold lake water last year. I seem to remember the most uncomfortable part of swimming cold water is getting out of it. Your body is 'warm' while you are swimming but when you stop it quickly cools down.

SO.... I need to now continue to acclimate to the cold and also some serious mental training needs to be worked on as well.

Selwyn and myself training in the cold water of Lake Leshenaultia 2008

Open water swims are just amazing whether in the ocean, lake or river. They are unpredictable which makes them fun yet tough. Put your head down and just keep swimming.

“In the sea....I can just be

I have no name....I have no number

I am weightless.... ageless
free to just be me” - annon

Just keep swimming - a breathtaking experience

Its Yuk! - Its Mentally Tough Training

Increased open water swim training is now well underway.

As well as the usual pool training and a Sunday ocean swim at North Cottesloe, two other open water training swims are now on my calendar.

After 4 hours of pool training on Saturday mornings, the group consisting of three adults (training for English Channel goals) and 12 teenage pupils from Churchlands Senior High School who are training for two English Channel teams, travel to the Swan River for extra training. This venue is not very pleasant, the water is a murky brown and we swim through hundreds upon hundreds of man-a-wars (Brown jellies) of all different sizes. I have never been stung by these horrible, slimy marine things but if you happen to swim head-on with a big one, its like banging your head against a piece of floating wood.

Its yuk!! but its mentally tough training!! and tough preparation needed for our English Channel goals - whether its a solo, two way solo swim or team of six swimmers. We will all get tough by swimming in all different kinds of conditions! But man-a-wars!?!

Training area on a calm, cloudy day - the Swan River, Perth

Wednesday morning training sessions are held at Hillary's Boat Harbour where, at the moment, a four hour swim is done to get accustomed to night and cold water swimming conditions. We commence at 5:30am, but its not quite dark as a few harbour jetty lights glitter on the water giving some magical shininess for us to see and swim through. The water here at the moment is reasonably warm, but heading into our winter it will lower to about 16 degrees. Brrrr. This is English Channel temperature - if you're lucky.

In the harbour there are a few stingers (jelly fish) and its just a matter of getting used to being stung (or kissed) every so often, move on and just keep swimming. Besides the occasional 'shag' and seagulls, there are silver fish of different sizes swimming or jumping out of the water. This morning I happened to pass a floating kiddies blue beach bucket!

Swimming these mornings I can view the sun rise, it peeps through and eventually rises over the pine trees that scatter around the eastern side of the harbour. It's always brilliant, and I am always in awe with the beauty that this time of day brings ...

As time ticks by during our training, other casual swimmers and families arrive for a swim or paddle. Nice to have extra company. Then you can smell the aroma of coffee, bacon and eggs being prepared by the many cafes around the harbour. Not fair - when you still have 2-3 hours swimming to complete.

Hillary's Mariner Boat Harbour

If there is time and energy to fit in an extra ocean swim during the week, then swimming from Scarboro Surf Life Saving Club north to Trigg Island SLSC and return is great and is approximately two kilometres each way. This is usually a rough swim with swells, rips and currents to swim through and plenty of board surfers dot the waves as well!! No stingers. What? Where have they gone!?

View from Trigg Beach to Scarborough Beach

One of my favourite venues is Sorrento Beach, just out of and south of Hillary's Mariner. From the Mariner wall to just past the third groyne is approx. 1km. This beach is handy as travel time is only 5-10min. away from home.

Sorrento Beach

Next - You guessed it.....more training of course.

Just Keep Swimming - A Breathtaking Experience