A cold dip!

I took the plunge on Sunday 7th December and threw myself in the sea for some acclimatisation training. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the dog walkers looked a bit astonished as they broke the ice on the puddles. I wore 2 hats and a wet suit with my skin suit underneath plus boots. I couldn't find my gloves though!

Suzanne, Greg, Josh and Sam looked on and took pix, so thanks to my support crew! We just managed this snap with the HSS at my shoulder before it disappeared. It was a short dip and I barely got wet really although I told the boys to say I'd been swimming for 20 minutes! Gosh I look gorgeous, this is such a glamorous sport. Meanwhile the training is going badly. I have been overnight in Dumfries with work last week and again this week and it eats into my routine. I know its an excuse but I do feel busy at the moment with everything. I also have a nasty chesty cough and I had a nose bleed yesterday which is very unlike me. I guess I need to watch it but I feel really unfit already as I hadn't been at all consistent leading up to this.

Met Harry today and he gave me a talking to. I need to register my Concept 2 challenge this month which is 5000 meters so I'm getting on the rower today to see if my breathing is ok with this cough.

I am so excited about the swim though and I know once Christmas is over I'll get back to it. The just giving button and other fundraising developments are just so inspiring. Cameron did a brilliant article this week in the Free Press. I'll try and find out how I can scan newspaper articles onto the blog so you can see them.

I was spotted this weekend dressed as the Snow Queen helping at the village lighting up ceremony with a couple of glasses of mulled wine. By the end of the night I was calling myself the So Squeen so I'll leave you to your own conclusion. I think its the stress of being the Chair of the Community Council as well....I'm about to stand down and let someone else organise village events because I must give up alcohol at some point so I don't see two Ailsa Craigs .........

I'll check in before Christmas, so take it easy friends and enjoy the festivities safely.

Fancy a dip on Christmas Day?

Santa Hats compulsory.

December 5th 08

I am feeling much better and I have some exciting news to share with you all. Suzanne and I have called a couple of committee meetings and we have renewed our confidence and enthusiasm for the fundraising aspect of our project. We are updating the website and we will be re launching this in the press for a wider audience. This Sunday I am hoping to take a chilly dip at Lady bay so we can get some photos for the press and for Alzheimer Scotland who want to do an article for their newsletter. I have also been contacted by The Solway Firth Partnership for an article in their magazine Tidelines.

We have also found some easy fundraising ideas. One is to register with the easyfundraising site (see shopping link) You just register as a user and the charity you sign up for is the Ailsa Craig Swim Challenge. Then when you shop, a donation is sent to us. Fab eh? We have also registered with a company who ask us to send them old mobile phone handsets and ink cartridges. We then send them to the recycling company free of charge and they send us a cheque....! Look out for bins at Sun St Offices and Dumfries Crichton Hall. If you're not local contact me and I'll tell you how to do it in your area. How easy is that? Much better than dragging round car boot sales I feel! I call it fundraising by sitting on your bum!

Meanwhile I am still doing the Concept 2 challenge Series and I stand at 38th out of 83 in my category which is the 40+ age group. I'm enjoying the challenge and the December challenge is 5000 metres. It does help my motivation. Check out the Concept 2 website to find out more.

Bye for now, and keep warm and happy

November 17th

So friends, when does a lack of motivation become terminal? I have reflected on some issues regarding my own self perception recently. Am I a finely honed athlete who is strong and fit and can hold her own in a competitive field, or am I an overweight middle aged woman with no will power and no consistency regarding motivation? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. I recognise some aspects in both these characters but I would like to find a place of comfort and balance. I have lost my motivation since the Luce Bay swim and have managed a couple of swims and the rower was gathering dust. This is not unusual and if you read the blogs of some other swimmers they talk about these things too.
The factors influencing me right now are

• Extra and unexpected pressure at work requiring lots of travel and longer hours
• EB has been away for 2 weeks
• Harry is also away for a length of time
• I have a sore back
• Its winter
• I love eating too much
• People keep inviting me out........

Then I had a chat with my friend David Hislop who is an indoor rowing champion. He told me to move the rowing machine which is in my hall so that while I am rowing I can watch TV. Up to now I have been glued to the monitor and he pointed out that if you watch the clock 10 minutes can seem like an age.

So I went to the pool on Thursday morning and thoroughly enjoyed the session with the Stingrays. I felt surprisingly strong which made me realise that I have not become a slob yet!
Then I pulled the rower into the lounge ( watch that back!) and had an excellent session while watching a film I had wanted to see for ages. I was easily able to monitor my pace and time. Such a simple piece of advice and so effective. I feel much better and I'm off to the pool tonight to see if I can keep up the pace a bit. I know that all the influential factors can become excuses but they also need acknowledging so I can tame them and not feel overwhelmed.

By the way, since EB has been away, the central heating broke down, the car broke down, there was a huge rat in the chicken coop, the lights in the chicken coop went out, Flo the cat went missing....she's back! and so I have had a great deal of stress........... Come back all is forgiven!

So, things are looking up and I will keep you posted. I understand some of you are reading this as I have had some complaints since I have stopped writing. Sorry!

I will write again and let you know some of my times as some of you seem interested in the technical side of things

Bye for now

Back in the Pool. Concept 2 challenge

Saturday 4th October
Well after all the outdoor adventure its time to knuckle down and do indoor things. I must say that after all the excitement, my motivation dipped. I have reflected on the big swim and there are a couple of things I have pondered. One thing is that I am amazed at the power of the brain. My back troubled me throughout the swim but even if it hadn't I believe my experience would have been the same. One moment I would feel really strong and comfortable and at one with nature and literally the next second my body and soul would be screaming at me in complete panic! So from 'Yup I could do the channel if I wanted, probably both ways at this rate....' to 'I can't do this, I feel sick and I'm definitely going to faint!' Fighting the demons is surely the biggest challenge.

I also know that I just can't go any faster. I just get there in the end. I can't....I mean it. I'm still just a woman who is the wrong side of middle age and who has historically and hysterically battled with weight and whose motivation and willpower is about as consistant as the stock market. Give me a break I can't go any faster OK?

So back in the pool the consensus is that I need to concentrate on speed. Harry and Linda, the stoic coach of the Stingrays, stood above me on the poolside last Thursday morning chuntering about how I could go faster, I just don't know how.

So here's the plan. I will be doing speed sessions in the pool twice a week concentrating on 500 meter sets. I'll log my times at the risk of boring you senseless. Then a third session in the week will be slower stretchy distance work. I need to buy some new hand paddles which are a better deign than the ones I bought in 1982 apparently. All this will be supplemented with indoor rowing.

I have signed up to the Concept 2 challenge in order to increase my motivation on the rower. This is a series of challenges which you can sign up to on line. Septembers challenge was to row as fast as you can for 4 minutes, and you then log the distance you covered in that time. I managed 982 meters and came 49th out of 64 women in my age group which is the over 40's (just!) Octobers challenge is to row 2000 meters as quickly as possible. This morning I logged 8 minutes 57 seconds and then decided I could do better. So I tried again and did it in 8 minutes 46 seconds. I guess the challenge works then, as normally I would have done it once and then gone to lie down with some chocolate!

Take a look on www.concept2.co.uk/challengeseries

Can I keep this up as a winter plan? What do you think? I'll keep you posted.

By the way we are having a fundraising meeting on Wed 8th Oct at Bar 12 in Stranraer at 5.30pm. I'll do an update on how our summer went and then update plans for some events leading up to the big swim.

Stairhaven to Sandhead

Saturday 20th September

Felt great after Loch Ryan. It boosted my confidence and I loved swimming with Scott on the boat. I swam with the Stingrays Tues and Thurs morning this week and we did sets of 5oo and 400. Thursdays session was really hard and I struggled to keep up and I think I found it really hard to be in the pool again. I just can't seem to go any faster although I know that is not my focus or who I am. I managed 400 in 7 mins 3 secs which is OK I think.

So after a few phone calls I found myself planning the big swim on Saturday. After talking about it for so long it seemed like a sudden and unexpected thing to happen. I felt extremely tired after Thursdays swim and a busy at work. I wondered if a big swim was wise....

I did not contact the Coast Guard as all I could find was the emergency number. I was also concerned that Luce Bay is labelled a bombing range so I tried to find the number for West Freugh. Couldn't find the number but did find out about the West Freugh Incident which happened in 1957! This involved a mysterious sighting of UFO's. Look it up it makes fascinating reading. I added to my Risk Assessment..'Risk of Alien Abduction' Action..'Make sure you sell your story!'

Anyway, we had a boat and Harry was all set with the Kayak and Ian was up for it, so it was all systems go!

When we got to Stairhaven, the wind was up more than we had expected. It was overcast but visibility was improving. There was tension in the air as some loyal spectators gathered on the beach and Harry was very keen to get going. Thanks to El, Elizabeth Carrie and her dogs, and Marlene for seeing us off. Bobbi and crew were a little late, so the tension increased. Finally all greased up and suitably nervous, Ian and I waded in. As we set off the cold gripped our bodies. It was rough almost immediately and the water was peaty and quite brackish. Soon Bobbi caught up with us and I realised I was swimming further than I ever had and with 5 men. Nadav and Harry in the Kayak and Bobbi and Robert in the boat. Ian set the pace and I knew I had to preserve energy rather than try and keep up.

It was rough rough rough! and there were many debates about the route we would take. Should we go to the left of the platform or to the right? We ended up going to the right and then swimming past some amazing ruins of some chimneys which are something to do with the war. I'll find out more about them. The sun came out quite a lot which saved our bacon and boosted our morale.

Ian is a gent and waited for me but I was worried about that as I knew the cold would get him. I loved it when I saw Ian supping tea on the boat. I stopped one time and everyone asked me what was wrong. I told them I was having a wee and that they were not to look! (Bobbi rang me today and told me never to wee in front of him again as he was embarrassed) We plodded on mapping our progress with the platform and the chimneys. I had few songs in my head this time as I had to keep my wits about me.

We swam along the shore for a while and I could see people looking...they must have wondered. So, with Ian ahead I struggled onto the beach about 5hrs and 20 mins after we started. There is some dispute but we reckon it was about 10 1/2 miles!

I knew we were going to make it and I feel it is an amazing acheivement. Thanks so much to Harry and Nadav who had a really rough ride battling those waves side on. I was worried when I saw a big breaker hit them side on! Also Bobbi and Robert who were great. Ian is a very modest man and a superb swimmer and I enjoyed his company. Thanks as ever to EB and the support crew on the beach. Terry and Elizabeth, and Scott and Margaret.

Oh by the way someone asked me the other day if we had any more eggs since our first excitement....er yup! Some people take them and give us a small donation for the swim so our clucky girls are contributing bless em

Loch Ryan

Sunday 14th September
We had a wonderful break in Cornwall where very little swimming took place due somewhat to oppressive life guarding techniques, but also because I enjoyed walking and jogging on the cliff paths for a change.
It has been difficult to get going after the holiday, especially as work has been tricky on my return. My pal who lost his foot is doing really well and will be back at work next week which is a testimony to his courage and attitude. Unfortunately there are other problems now which means a few extra responsibilities which is stimulating but busy. So I struggled back to the pool last week and found sessions with the Stingrays very difficult.
However I worked through my usual doubts and connected with Harry again. He is away for a few days and encouraged me to try Loch Ryan in his absence. After some tooing and froing I contacted my buddy Scott who has a boat at Loch Ryan and after looking at conditions and tides we decided to swim from the Stranraer Marina to the boat slip at Kirkcolm. I wasn't sure at all as I had felt so unfit in the pool.
Ian decided to swim a short way with me, so we set off at 8.15am. We had the lovely Dawn on board who volunteered to be the lifeguard for the day, so our Risk Assessment was complete
I managed just under 4 miles in just over 2 hours. Scott was awesome and I trusted him implicitly. I loved the swim and I felt really strong. In fact, I have just spoken to Scott and I think we should have swum back again. I think I am up to it and we'll see if we can fit that in. The temperature was fine and I did not feel at all shivery. I wore my aqua skin because of the treat of jelly fish and guess what....yup, they sting through it. I only have one small sting though so I think it protects me a bit.
I'm thinking of my channel swimmer pals who I have been visiting on blogs, and it has been the worst season for 28 years. Maggie was defeated by appalling conditions and some never even got to start! Also the Windermere BLDSA event was aborted after only 20 minutes or so for the first time ever. I was hoping Maggie was going to join me yesterday but she couldn't make it. We will swim together in the next couple of weeks. The channel is awesome but we are surrounded by the most wonderful Scottish and Irish seas and yesterday I was reminded about how awesome it is to be out there in the beautiful ocean. There are adventures to be had! It was also the Great North Swim yesterday and it sounds like a magnificant event. Our great nephew Ryan Bishop swam it, and came first in his age group and 15th overall. He is only 15! Watch this one, he's good! Also Maggie told me that a woman from Dundee swam the Irish channel on Friday. Lookout guys, it's all happening.
Plans now are to have a meeting for fundraising soon, and at least two more sea swims if we can before we are defeated by cold.......

Sorry friends I have been locked out of my blog for complicated reasons so here is what I have been up to. Photos will be added when I get back from a short break in Cornwall. I have lots of exciting plans to share with you soon..........

June 23rd 2008
Following my victory with the YeAbbas in Dundee I felt quite inspired and at first I got straight back into the pool. However life at home was very busy with weddings and community events so things went a bit hay wire after that........ It was easy to think that the swim had been a bit of a fluke and I started thinking to myself that it was tidal assisted so very difficult to measure my time and my ability in the water. Harry and I found it difficult to find time to get to the ocean, but one Friday when the weather was perfect I was able to escape and we had the moat wonderful swim at Sandhead heading towards Stairhaven for about an hour and a half. Harry H also managed to get there and it was funny seeing the boys having such a great time in the kayak while I puffed and spluttered along beside them. Thanks to Yonni and Marnie and Pauline and her Mum who came to cheer me on but soon got bored as I disappeared into the distance. When I landed....nobody in sight as they had retired to the pub. Oh well the thought was there.
Work was also busy as a dear colleague became seriously ill quite suddenly and had his foot amputated mid calf. Pressure and worry for my pal caused things to be challenging. I certainly haven’t been bored and I like challenge, and also the extra hours meant that at times I could escape for a quick dip!

July 7th 2008
We managed to get to Port Logan one Wednesday after work, and when I left Stranraer the weather was sunny and still. By the time I got to Port Logan, Ian was in the water and Harry and his grandson Nadav were in the Kayak. By the time I changed, the wind was howling and the rain had started. It was cold as I waded into the water to catch up with them. Ian had been in the water for at least half an hour and was feeling the cold. We set off towards to fish larder building across the bay and I saw a couple of jelly fish. After one round I had been in about 40 minutes and Ian got out. Harry also said he was cold but that Nadav was willing to do another circuit with me. As I swam round waiting for Nadav, I felt a slight sting on my arm. In preparation for Coniston Seniors I was only wearing my swim suit and hat and goggles. I seemed to be coping with the extreme cold, but the sting made me feel that we should give up for the day.
Three days later the stings came out fully and my left arm was stung badly. I also had been stung on my feet. I met with Harry and we discussed the jelly fish and realised that this is a major hazard. A fisherman I know said that the Jelly fish were really bad at this time of year. Harry and I began to discuss the possibility that I may do the swim in June 09 which is 3 months earlier than planned. This means I will have to get in the ocean in April to become acclimatised.
Harry and I went to Sandhead a few days later and I was taking no chances. I wore my aqua skin and tarbies on my feet. I must have swum through 60 jelly fish that day. They got my wrists but I coped and we had a long swim.

Sunday July 20th
The swim at Coniston Lake on July 19th had taken a lot of planning. Our friends Claire and Jacqui were coming up from Berkshire on their way to stay with us for a week. Also Ruth had come from Sheffield for the weekend. EB and I had booked into the Black Bull which was famous for its beer which with hindsight may not have been wise....
We arrived on Friday night and Saturday was spent walking around Coniston and checking out the lake. We spoke to the guy who was in charge of boats and he seemed a bit stressed by the whole thing. He confidently told us that the boat called ‘Pat’ was the easiest rowing boat to manoeuvre. He seemed to think that all the rowing boats were being towed to the start which was the other end of the lake in a private water park. It all seemed a bit confusing to us, and we also had fallen out of touch with our boatman Jim. We realised that Jim was probably not coming and so EB and Jacqui were the boat crew whether they liked it or not! It was great to see Ruth who said she was there to spread her wide knowledge of swimming technique having been practicing the Alexander technique on her living room floor....thanks mate, I couldn’t have done it without you.
Saturday morning brought a moment of magic as I forced down a heart attack breakfast while feeling the stirrings of serious nerves. I remembered a little ditty from Jonah -Man Jazz (Michael Hurd 1966) about a boatman. It starts ....’I need a boat man, that’ll carry me away, and how I hope, man she’s sailing today’ Ruth put in some impressive harmony, and Claire contributed percussion with her famous squishy hand technique. We thought it was magic, but the breakfast room seemed to empty quite quickly.
We gathered at the Bluebird Cafe and there were over 40 swimmers. The atmosphere was quite tense and I saw some very nervous looking people, especially EB and Jacqui. We gathered at 9.30am for all the briefing information and they emphasised that the water was cold today. Probably temperatures which I am used to but I have never swum these distances so this was going to be very challenging for me, and possibly beyond my reach.
We then drove to the start and stood on a rocky outcrop for what seemed like ages. The first thing we saw was ‘Pat’ being emptied of water as she seemed to have a hole......Finally the 15 minute warning went off and suddenly EB and Jacqui rushed off for a pee!! That minute it was announced that boats should be in the water!
When we set off there was a flurry of activity as everyone sorted themselves out. The water felt ok to me and eventually EB and Jacqui caught up with me. They were smiling broadly to the point where I thought they must be having a ball! The reality was that they couldn’t steer the boat at all due to a faulty oar, and she was seriously leaking. I thought I was winning as their faces and thumbs up were so enthusiastic.
The reality of the swim was very challenging and probably the most difficult things I have ever done. The water seemed heavy and dead compared to the ocean. There was the odd weed and rock, but it was dark and murky all the time. I couldn’t see anyone or anything most of the time, but soon I fixated in a couple of swimmers and I thought if I could keep up with them that would be good. I stopped a couple of times for a drink but this did not go at all well. The bottle didn’t have a good top and I had trouble getting any liquid at all and also I started getting cramp while treading water. It seemed to me that I was gradually over taking a couple of people but I was very unsure of where I was going and what would happen at the end. I wasn’t convinced that I would know when I got there! Sounds silly I know.
I reached the end after just over 3 hours and I had experienced a great deal of pain in my back and my shoulders. I felt very cold and I had been aware of cold about half way. I met a tall man when I landed who I remembered from the start and he was so warm and friendly and said I had swum a good race. This turned out to be Des Griffiths and there is more about him later. I also saw another man who made positive noises and he told me this was his 65th Coniston. I told him it was my first and he said I did well to finish. 6 swimmers did not complete due to the challenging conditions. He said the wind and weather made it a difficult year. Claire was there looking worried with my biggest fan, Dudley the border terrier and of course Ruth who greeted me with a very welcome flask of hot tea.
I was very concerned to see a man called John who I had bonded with at the beginning being taken into an ambulance. It turned out that he had completed the race but had suffered terribly from the cold and collapsed at the end. He recovered well and we had some contact afterwards which reassured me that he had made a full recovery.
I came in 26th and if you follow the link to the BLDSA website you can see the results on the swim reports link. This race was the Coniston Seniors
We went home almost immediately as we had a long drive and my core temperature rose hugely once we ate a curry on the way. It tasted great.

Sunday August 4th
Funnily enough I felt very unsure of my capabilities following the Coniston Seniors race. I didn’t think I had done very well and I felt tired and that I had been pushed to my limit. It seemed like quite a costly and gruelling effort for all concerned and there was doubt in the camp as to the wisdom of repeating the exercise. I was due to swim in the Coniston Senior event on Aug 3rd and I had very mixed feelings about entering.
However on Wed 23rd July I had a day off and Jacqui and I decided to take her Kayak out with Harry. It was beautiful weather and we headed off to Sandhead. I was definitely taking no chances and Jacqui and Claire had bought me some superb swimming gloves. So this time I had my aqua suit, ankle boots and gloves so the little blighters had no chance of getting me this time. Ironically I only saw 4 jelly fish this time!!
Harry and Nadav were in his Kayak and Jacqui in hers and Harry said we would swim out towards a yellow satellite buoy. It was the most beautiful occasion and a huge seal came to join us. It took about an hour and a half to get to the buoy which is huge.
On the way back the tide turned and it became challenging to get back in. I was beginning to feel the effects of the cold and I was feeling tired. The beach just did not seem to getting any closer and suddenly my vision was totally obscured by what I took to be a large jelly fish. I yelled and tensed which caused my left leg to go into major cramp. Jacqui said that one moment she was enjoying the peace of being out in the ocean and listening to the soporific sploosh sploosh of the oars and my arms, when suddenly all hell broke loose! I was yelling ‘DO SOMETHING HARRY!!’ as I had never experienced pain like it. I hung on to the front of the kayak as Harry and Nadav paddled me ashore as quickly as possible. It took longer than I expected and I had a severe attack of the shivers. Probably my first real crisis and lessons learnt. Thanks to Marlene for persuading the local shop to open up so I could have emergency mars bars!

Aug 3rd
So, I entered the veterans Coniston on Aug 3rd and met up with some old friends. Des Griffiths was there with his partner Sharon and they greeted me like long lost friends. I really loved their enthusiasm and passion for swimming. They thought I had done really well at the Senior Coniston race as many gave up and struggled with the conditions.
Jim came up trumps this time and we made a fantastic team. Jim and Nicola welcomed me into their home and I enjoyed meeting their beautiful 3 month old son Jake.
I finished the race 3rd in the womens race and 7th overall out of about 26 swimmers (see website) Jim and I may have been blown slightly off course but we worked really well together and Jim was astonished to witness one of my famous tantrums 20 minutes into the race. ' Jim I'm last' ' No you're not' 'I know I am and I can't do it' With Jims encouragement and bemusement I carried on and thank goodness I did. My demons are really strong at times and I just can't fathom it at all. Harry and Marlene came too and we had a great weekend. Harry tried to emphasised that we were not in it to win it. This was a training swim........ok? But I think I have realised that I may be quite good at this, especially when I realised that I had beaten Sally the winner of the race at the Coniston seniors 2 weeks before....fancy that?!