A new world order

So there is a new world order but someone forgot to tell me. I turned up on Monday night last week for the 8pm session with the Stingrays and the pool was empty...like a bad dream. Similar to when you find yourself with no clothes on, maybe not! The good news is that the 8pm slot has shifted as it was really too late for the children to be finishing at 9.30pm and not getting home till 10pm......never mind the children, what about 50 year olds? So today was a challenge as now I have to get to the pool between 4pm and 5pm on Mondays so it will take some organising to get out of work in time. I got there tonight just in time to see the kids getting out! I swam, but I missed them.

Harry suggested that I do sets of 500 now in 10 minutes. This means that any time left up to 10 minutes I get to rest. Harry wanted me to keep times down to below 9. Euan timed me on Wednesday morning and Rachel and Kieran joined me. We warmed up with 10x100 IM's with 10 seconds rest. Then the sets. My first set was 8.37. Next one 8.55, next 8.57 next 9.10......damn it! Felt lumbering and slow, new swanky goggles leaked and had a tantrum throwing my goggles off. Euan said gently that maybe I could work on my self belief ....Ok Ok I can I can I can. Help!

Took off that night to stay in Stockport for a few days R and R staying with my sister. Saw Eric Clapton at the MEN arena on Thursday night and I love him so much. The concert left me breathless and I loved being with my family just spending time together. Went shopping in Manchester with my sister on Friday. It's years since we have done that together. Managed a good run on Thursday maybe 3 miles or so we reckon, and then I went to circuit training with my sister on Saturday which was great.

Home now and facing a really busy time at work. We seem to have reached the finals of the SSSC Care Accolades and this is very exciting but has generated a huge influx of work and travel. The final is on June 5th in Dundee so I'll keep you posted. Any of you mad YABBA's out there I may be in touch for a swim while I'm in Dundee. (See previous Blogs when I did the Woodhaven swim last June) Getting tougher to keep up all my training with extra work pressures

May go to Ailsa Craig on Sunday....watch this space!

Swimathon

May 10th 2009

When I said I ran to Ladybay and had no ill effects I lied to you. I ran on Saturday and spent the whole bank holiday weekend trying to pretend that I wasn't stiff!!! It was very painful and my legs felt wobbly and sore. However I had a great week swimming with the Stingrays and doing well.

However, I ran again this Saturday and this time I mean it.....NO ILL EFFECTS! This thing is working and I'm getting fitter!

The main story this week though is that the amazing Stingrays did their swimathon on Saturday for our fund.

They swam anything between 20 and 160 lengths non stop, and some of them swam further than they had before in one go. I think it made them realise how far 10 miles is! The atmosphere at the pool was fantastic and we had volunteers and parents counting lengths and shouting encouragement. Iain Dick and John Dougan came along to support us but didn't show their legs this time. I'll let you know how much the Stingrays have raised but they were awesome. I love this collaboration, and it will continue after the swim I'm sure. I get so much from knowing these young people. Please note that following this photo the kids lept up and John, Iain and I were left struggling to our feet, in my case knees cracking.

Swam at Sandhead today with Harry in the Kayak. It was fantastic to be out there again. No wetsuit now and although cold I did really well. 40 minutes with no problems. It was great to see my old buddy Ian Hannah who is training hard for a big triathlon in 2 weeks time in Lanzarote.....GOOD LUCK Ian. He's great company. The weather was stunning today and Scotland was looking its glittering best.

Back in the Driving Seat

May 3rd 2009
I got some good advice this week
'Ros, just get on with it! If we put you in the sea right now you know and I know that you could swim to Ailsa Craig. You've just got to believe it' Yeah ok then, but I'm not minimising my challenges regarding not feeling in the best of health. However having consulted the GP who also told me not to panic things really do seem to be back in hand this week.
Only managed one pool swim. Got on the rower and got sweaty a couple of times. Easily ran to Ladybay with no ill affects. Then today, I finally got in the sea at Ladybay. I loved it although it was extremely cold and I went numb, but I did really well and swam for 25 minutes.
Back? a OK
Heart? a Ok
Hormones? ***!?""*"!?

This week, I will be in the pool with the Stingrays tomorrow night, wednesday morning at 6.30am and then Harry and I are going to be at Sandhead or Port Logan on Sunday for a really good long swim.
I will row at any chance I get although I am away for work one night this week.
Ta Ta for now

A slump!

April 29th
I know I've been a bit quiet but I have had a couple of weeks of severe doubt! Not feeling at all well and facing some medical challenges hasn't helped. It seems like a clash when others around you seem to be feeling the same. On a positive note, I can tell you that the Stingrays taught me to tumble turn which has been a liberating experience. However, sometimes I forget to do them, I can't do them in the shallow end in case I hit my head and I definitely can't do them with flippers on. I will work on these issues by talking about them.....
So, I am over it OK? I will do it, I can do it and I will not be intimidated by those who are worthier than I and much more dedicated to their sport. I say this with admiration, not criticism or bitterness......no no no.
I can do it
I can

A fantastic boost to our funds

April 12th 2009
Easter Day
I have has some health problems and have not been swimming this week. Had some really good sessions with the Stingrays the week before which were good, and I have kept up with my rowing this week and upped the pressure a bit. The challenge with Concept 2 has now finished so I have to work hard at keeping my motivation up. However having increased the rowing I have enjoyed it much more and I can feel the benefits.
Harry is back which has really given me a boost and he has enjoyed reading the blog which has kept him up to date. We had a chat yesterday about my back which is in fact holding up at the moment.

Here's a story about cooperation and opportunity.

My friend Veronica who is raising money for an amazing project in Kenya which is called the Tara project had organised a couple of events to raise money which I had attended and donated some raffle prizes. Veronica reached her funding goal and asked me last Friday if we would like the bag packing session she had booked at Morrisons on Easter Saturday. I accepted immediately and tried to round up some volunteers at the last minute. Many of my friends were away, but we managed. We packed bags for 4 hours. I 'd like to thank Veronica, Jane, Thomas, Gina, Chantice, Kaitlin, Jane, Katie, Vicki, James, Anne, Dave, Lesley and EB for their hard work. Suzanne was away but came up to the house with buckets and stuck on posters and tops. Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to announce that we raised £1003. Can you believe it? A wonderful boost to our funds and great timing because it seems that many people had seen the article and photo of me with the politicians on the front page of the Free Press. People wanted to speak to me about the swim challenge and seemed interested in what we are trying to achieve.

At one point, my legs were aching and I hate supermarkets and shopping so it was in fact my worst nightmare. However I enjoyed meeting people and we all agreed it had been a highly successful event.

I'd rather be swimming though...any day

Diary of a middle aged swimmer

March 29th 2009

I have had an interesting week which has helped things along somewhat.

Monday

Felt no ill effects from the run to Lady Bay the previous day so I'm very pleased. Got to the pool in the evening with the Stingrays and we did 3900 meters. It was a tough swim as after a warm up of 900 meters in sets of 12, we did 30 sets of 100 meters on 2 minutes, all freestyle. Now, in order to meet the time, I need to breathe unilaterally as I can really get into the rhythm and pull strongly. Unfortunately I could feel the tweak in my back and I worried that I was damaging it. The minute I try bilateral breathing I feel my stroke weakening and I feel like I lose my speed. I need to ask Harry and David my physio how to stretch afterwards to combat the bias. However, I did seem to keep up my time and on the sets where I alternated my breathing I actually didn't lose as much time as I thought. Euan the coach thought my stroke stayed strong.

Tuesday

Got up at 5.50am but went back to bed as I knew I hadn't had enough sleep, so I chose to miss the early swim session. I was really pleased with my back though, and the body felt good. I knew I had a challenging week ahead work wise, and I got to work feeling refreshed and strong. Had a fantastic African drumming session as always in the evening.

Wednesday

Left for work at 6am and drove to Dumfries to work with a new group of people facilitating a challenging seminar. Got home at 7.45pm and got straight on the rower for which I feel very proud. I did 20 minutes.

Thursday
A follow up seminar but local this time and I felt refreshed and relaxed. I had some concern about our plans for a photo shoot on the beach on Saturday as the weather is looking bad. It has been very windy and if there is a hurricane blowing we will have some difficulty. I sent all the people involved an email saying we were monitoring the situation.

That night we swam 3,200. This time we did kicking and 25 meters at a time. I kept up, even though we mixed our strokes and I am so slow at backstroke and breaststroke. I like to mix my strokes though as it helps my overall fitness. Euan said I have improved greatly in the last month alone. He says I look strong. We are beginning to think about 'after the swim' which will be a challenging time for me.

Friday

Back to Dumfries for another busy day and straight out the minute I got home to a charity do for the Tara Project. Confirmed arrangements for tomorrow. Did interviews on the local radio about tomorrow for

BBC radio Scotland and South West Sound.

Saturday

As forecast very windy but sunny with great visibility. I jumped up feeling excited. It was wonderful to get out all my open water swimming stuff again. Wetsuit, boots, gloves, thermos, safety blanket, thermals etc etc......

Down to the beach and there was Suzanne. It was freezing and windy and I felt nervous. My risk assessment was negative as the wind chill factor was a major issue.

Then they came, one by one my VIP's as follows

Councillor Willie Scobie

Councillor Iain Dick

Councillor John Dougan

Russell Brown MP

Alex Fergusson MSP

I had challenged them to meet me on the beach and wear their trunks to launch the Open Water swimming season(sort of) and to get some publicity for the Fundraising

I felt overwhelmed and with the high winds and one or two over excited dogs, it was difficult to talk. The Free Press were there and we took our positions on the beach. After the photo op, what could I do?

I got in and swam at least 5 strokes. A quick change in a little brick building and it was all over. Thanks to everyone who came to support me, and to Carrie for the photos.

Sunday

Completed Concept 2 challenge on rower. Washed, shopped for food and cooked.

Challenges this week have been

• Travelling for work
• Not enough rest and sleep
• Back is sore after Saturday's dip and sitting in a draught in Hall for long meeting in the afternoon. I'm cross about my back as I know that is a danger and I allowed myself to sit in a draught.....
• EB has dismantled the house and is decorating. The kitchen bedroom and lounge have been fairly uninhabitable for 4 weeks!!!! Good news..nearly done and looks fantastic.
• Harry is away and I miss him
• Cats are stressed and naughty due to disruption in house and they are into everything!

Highlights this week ....see for yourself!

It's a bit chilly on the beach today. I'm not putting on my trunks!!

Oh alright then! Iain Dick John Dougan Alex Fergusson Me Russell Brown Willie Scobie

March 22nd 2009

I feel a bit like Bridget Jones this week even though I hated the book but quite liked the film. For example....Big Pants! Diet V bad mainly toast and chocolate. Make the conclusions you wish. What are the stress factors? Well I got really tired last week and had kept the training going with almost 4000 meters per session plus at least one blast on the rower. I always thought that the more you try and train and work the better things get. Not so at this age it seems. The benefits of exercise change. I decided to take advice from those with wisdom.

Conversations I have had are as follows

• My super fit Physio who by the way has sorted my back out, thinks that maybe I'm not doing enough and maybe that's why I feel sluggish, and a rest week means cutting down the pace not stopping and eating chocolate! Oh dear
• I told my cousin I thought I was not a natural athlete and it all seems quite hard and overwhelming. She thinks I am a natural athlete and that I always have been. Natural athlete in my mind probably means slim and toned and is someone who does not think a rest week means staying in bed and eating toast and chocolate. Oh dear

So today I realised that my rest week had extended somewhat and I had slipped so easily into V bad habits, so I rowed for 20 minutes and ran to Lady bay. Let's see how the legs are after that little number then!!

Swimming full programme this week and there is a photo opportunity on Saturday to re launch the Just giving button and the sponsor sheets.

More soon