Sunday January 31st 2010


Hello friends it has been a long time and I have had time to reflect on my achievement. I must admit that I have had feelings of 'burn out' as the swim became very intense especially the stop start nature of things as we waited for the right conditions. On the day we were confident and excited and it never occurred to us that we would not succeed. We had trained hard and we were ready. I did not feel daunted by the task ahead.


Only after 6 wonderful hours when the unexpected swell pushed us so far off course did the pain and doubt begin. Everything hurt from my head to my toes and my mind was wandering. I knew that Harry would stop me if I went completely batty and he kept pulling me back to reality. I nearly gave up and I tried to concentrate on knowing that the minute I stopped swimming the pain would end. Some people live with pain forever.....

Things that went well and that I was pleased with were
My body worked really well
No back pain until the difficult last 2 hrs
Goggles perfect
Eyes no pain or problems
Stamina great
Attitude and atmosphere unforgettable
The Crew were perfect
The seal was magic, magic magic.
The welcome on the beach was amazing
I just hope I have thanked everyone to helped me.

Overall I never expected the whole thing to take off the way it has. The support has been phenomenal and I have had a great deal of publicity and I hope that continues if it means we can increase support for Alzheimer's and Dementia

2009 was the best year of my life.


Here's why

• I saw Eric Clapton live with people I love
• I won a National Social Work Award with my team
• I went to tea with the Queen (Queens Garden Party Holyrood Palace Edinburgh
• I saw the Eagles Live with people I love
• The Spooky Men came to Stranaer and stayed with us
• I became 50 and we had a great party
• I swam Loch Rannoch (9 miles)
• I swam 17.5 miles in 8.5 hrs an achievement I had worked towards for 3 years
• I went to Terry and Elizabeths wedding
• Our dear friends Claire and Jacqui got married
• I attended the ISA experience

2010 so far

• I was invited to Parliament
• I raised over £12 000 for Alzheimer Scotland

and what next.....you'll have to wait and see

I am so proud and excited to have had such a great year. Talk again soon x x x x x

Is this the end?

Wednesday 23rd September
It has been a busy and buzzy few days as I come to terms with the end of the project. I was back at work the following Monday and I felt unreal, emotional and happily tired. My arms were very sore and I had the best physio session ever with David who sorted out my shoulders and back mainly. He and Harry warned me that there are chemical changes that happen after a swim like that! Toxins have built up in my muscles and I will miss the endorphins which have been flooding my system with the amount of intensive training I have been doing. I ventured ointo the pool on Monday and swam for an hour and a half. I felt strong and it was lovely to see the Stingrays who had waited so patiently for me on the beach. They were lively and excited and gave me a boost. I did sets of 200 IM's which felt good but I guess may have been a bit much as I had difficulty waking up the next morning.
In fact this week has been more challenging than last week, as I feel the emotional drain and the stress of keeping up with the demands of my job. Luckily I love my job, so it's no hardship!
I have been asked some technical questions about the swim. I will try to upload Harry's swim log from the day which is very interesting. It shows that I dropped my stroke from 64 strokes a minute to 50 after only 3 hours. That was unexpected and I would have been worried about that if I had known. However I managed to maintain that stroke pattern for the rest of the swim which I am pleased about. I did not drop below 49 at all.
So what now?
I am going to see if I can keep my level of fitness up, maybe lose a little weight and shape up. This means that I will need to up the intensity of anything I do, but reduce the length and time of sessions. So a little and often and be careful of myself.
I am stressed about making sure I thank everyone and I think I will spend the rest of my life thanking you all. It's also expensive as now I feel I have to sponsor everybody....for ever....take note!
The administration of the fundraising continues and we're not closing the fund yet. We are asking that you log onto www.easyfundraising.com or follow the link on this website, register with the Ailsa Craig Swim Challenge and then shop away! Many retailers like Amazon, Ebay and Tescos will give us a percentage of what you spend! Costs you nothing and we make money for the fund. Tell your friends and we will then close the fund at the end of December to give everyone a chance to do their Christmas shopping......SPREAD THE WORD! It's been set up for a while but we just forgot to broadcast it.....I wonder why???

A full Report

The Start

I promised a full report and I think I'm just about ready to share my experience although my brain isn't working very well. I think I am recovering well until I try to lift my arms.....don't lift your arms then!!!!!!

We left Ailsa Craig on the morning of September 12th at 8.20am. That was a special moment for me as the boat dropped me off and I swam to the rock all by myself. I scrambled onto the beach and there was just me, a grey seal and a large cormorant. Such peace and serenity. I stopped a while and breathed it in. I saw my trusty support team on the boat waiting for the start of the day we had waited so long for. We agreed that I would swim for 2 hrs and then have a stop and then hourly stops from then on.
It was a bit cloudy and Ifelt chilly and unsure for moments but overall I felt positive and strong. The water temp was about 15c and it was calm. It soon became clear that I had company. Seals! Especially an enormous dog seal we called Big Ed as his head was almost as big as my body. He was probably about 11 foot we reckon.

Big Ed swam with me for 7hrs. The last time I saw him was about 2 miles from the beach and he raised his huge majestic head and disappeared. He touched my toes and swam underneath me. All the time there were other smaller seals around me. It was spritual, magical, and forever with me.

Hours 3 and 4 were good and I felt the privilege of being out in such beautiful waters with amazing wildlife seemingly looking after me. The boat crew seemed happy and the atmosphere was wonderful. Hour 6 we felt optimistic as we thought that we were on the final stretch and we could see the buildings and the beach.

Unfortunately we were then caught in an unexpected atlantic swell which came from the storms we had last week. The swell caused us to be caught and pushed way off course, and we ended up getting stuck for about 2 1/2 hours. It was very frustrating and for the first time I honestly thought I was going to fail.

I was in agony and my shoulders and back in particular were very painful. In fact I can say that not one part of my body did not hurt. Then I remembered my friend in the village who had fallen off a roof the previous Monday and I thought....that's real pain, this pain will stop when I finish the swim....keep going.....keep going!

There were about 200 people on the beach and the drummers were drumming and the piper Andy was piping and the crowds were cheering and I couldn't hear any of it. I didn't know if I could stand up and I felt disappointed because I knew I had been in water much longer than we had planned. I had lost perspective though and I wasn't sure exactly what had happened. I heard almost immediately that I had swum 17.5 miles and it had taken me 8 hrs 27 mins and 44 secs.......oh boy that was some atlantic swell!!!!!

The reception was fantastic and everyone was crying.

The relief of completing the swim washed over me as I soaked up the love and support I received. Thanks to everyone who helped me to acheive this goal and the most important thing is that we continue to raise money for a cause which is crucial to the lives of carers and those who suffer from this wicked disease. We are lucky and just look at the faces of the crew as we celebrated months of hard work and determination. I'll add some more footage soon.

This is not over!

I did it!!!

Completed the swim in 8 hours and 25 minutes!! and even managed a leap as I reached the beach!!

Conditions meant that by the time we'd got to the beach I'd swam 17.5 miles!

Will write soon.....am resting my weary arms!

Thank you for all of your support, it really did keep me going.

xxx

We're Off!

ALL SET TO GO!
At last we're off and we have a confirmed date. Saturday 12th September is the date of the big swim at last, at last. The weather looks good and we have plans in place. Sadly not all our plans have worked out as the crew have changed due to availability and selfishly some people have other commitments........I know. My Mum warned me once that you just can't have it all.......I know
I am beside myself with excitement and I really believe that this is it.
For those of you who want to be there when I finish we are due to leave Ailsa Craig at 9am so we will hit the beach at Girvan anytime after 2.30pm. Collect at the snack kiosk just off the A77. Use my mobile phone number for updates. If I answer the phone take that as a bad sign.....There will be volunteers on the beach from about 12 noon onwards. We hope that South West Sound will broadcast my progress.
To stave off the adrenalin rush I have decided to share a quick check list with you

For pain;

1. Head .................. check
2. Neck ...................check
3. Shoulders............check
4. Back....................check
5. Hip......................check
6. Knee....................check

Everything seems to be in working order and in fact I feel great. The above parts of my body are the most dodgy and need extra attention, so I'll take extra care.

From now on I am resting, eating loads of chocolate cos Harry says chocolate helps you to float and stretching and trying to get loads of sleep if I can. I have re painted my toe nails as suggested in an earlier blog so

Toenails.........................check

I may check in again on Friday, but if not keep in touch and I will give you a full report AFTER THE SWIM!

Loch Ryan Double

At last we managed something amazing! I swam across Loch Ryan and back avoiding ferries in 3 hours and 6 minutes. We were very pleased with the time. We think we may be able to register this swim so I have filled in the BLDSA form and here's hoping we have at last gone into the record books. We believe Lord Stair swam across Loch Ryan in the 1950's but we're not sure if he swam back again. Not sure if anyone else has done it.

The crew were as follows. Kayak, Harry Waugh and Emily Lawson who I have known since she was a bump and at 25 made a stunning debut on a sea kayak. She is an accomplished rower and took to the kayak like a duck to water (sorry about that one!) Harry Drysdale on the sailing club rescue boat. Reassuring and professional. Shore support, David Lawson, brother to Emily, very patient and thorough. Also the coast guard were on hand, saw us off and met us on the other side. Then they greeted me with a space blanket and loads of encouragement. The sailing club let me use their hot showers and it was the best shower in the world.

When we left the Wig slip at 11.30am, the water was calm. By the time we returned 3 hrs later it was raging. The wind whipped up and the waves were crashing over my head.

As we approached the beach on the other side I had figured that we would not be going back. I thought it was too rough and that the ferry was due. After a quick consult we realised that we could do it and it was worth a shot. There is nothing more motivating than seeing a very big boat loom at you on the horizon!!!

Once we had crossed the shipping lane I felt better but I still didn't want it tickling my feet..................

Thanks also to Gill for cooking the best Nut roast and trimmings I have ever tasted!!!!

We are still hoping to attempt Ailsa Craig next weekend.

Please cross everything you have to sort the weather out

Thank you

What Next?

As August rushes to a close and another neap tide fades into the distance with the wind hammering the Irish seas I realise I have a lot to be grateful for. I am now 50 years old and I have had a wonderful couple of weeks surrounded by friends and family from all corners of the country and indeed the world. We had a superb party on the 15th to distract us from the disappointment of the swim being postponed. In fact we were able to relax and enjoy each others company. Yonni rocked the house and we celebrated both EB and I turning 50 as we danced to the early hours.

A week full of guests we then walked and explored and talked and drank and ate and celebrated life. Everyone worked together to cook and keep the house and we had a great week.

On Saturday 22nd The Spooky Men from Australia arrived and they ran an unbelievable workshop for the drumming group in the afternoon. They bought a magic quality with them which warmed our souls and raised our spirits even higher. That night they raised the roof at the Millennium Centre to an amazed and delighted crowd. We made £154 in the raffle that night and the Spooks gave us some of the profit from the door takings. A great night all round. We put the Spooky men up, 10 stayed with us and the other 16 were dispatched with our friends nearby. All agreed that they were the most gracious and generous guests. We drummed and danced after the gig until the early hours. Check them out on U tube or their website for further info. Unfortunately their tour is ending soon, but they'll be back. http://www.spookymen.com/ www.myspace.com/thespookymenschorale

Through all this excitement I still managed a couple of big long swims in the pool, some jogging and rowing. A huge amount of will power was required, but I've come this far and actually all the people inspired me to keep going.

So what now?

The next neap tide is September 12th, 13th and 14th. We are all set to go! The long term weather forecast looks hopeful but sssssh don't tell anyone just in case....so Harry and I and Andy went out today even though the weather was blustery and foggy. The sea was beautiful. A stunning colour and amazing fish today. We swam at Port Logan and managed a couple of hours. The temperature was good and I felt strong. Sadly I was stung immediately by Jelly Fish on the back of my legs and my feet and I think I will suffer tomorrow. . However I feel we boosted our confidence today, and the mood is better. This week I'll be in the pool tomorrow night and I hope to do 6000 meters. Then Wednesday we plan to go out on the Kayak after work. Pool Friday night and then we may try Loch Ryan across and back at the weekend. Certainly we'll do a big swim somewhere. I'll row inbetween and stay happy, and I hope you do too