Yippee, she is still with us !. You will be forgiven for thinking that my ‘little water slave’ has sunk to the bottom of the ocean and is laying down there amongst the seaweed. I had decided not to do another update myself until she had swum back to the surface again but I am pleased to say, we are back in business.
The only excuse for not keeping you well informed on the progress is for sure, a good one. We are too busy working full-time and swimming. But as the date is almost upon us now, just four months to go, then I agree, its about time we stepped up the pace on the sponsorship side too. Your support is really appreciated and if you would like to make a donation please remember to log into http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Karensbigswim and I promise, we will do our very best to find the time to keep you updated on the training progress. The running total is not moving much at the moment but rest assured, money is being collected and we are so grateful to all those that are pledging.
So this update is to reassure everyone that after a small period of hibernation, we are both very much alive and kicking and the schedule is back on target. In fact, we are even going to attempt a 24 mile open air swim on April 30 in Guildford next month so we can see what it is like to swim through the night in freezing conditions. I’m gonna do it with Karen and hopefully we can motivate one another to complete the challenge. This challenge is for ‘Help for Heroes’, another very good cause. Details can be found on http://www.2swim4life.co.uk/ and if anyone would prefer to sponsor this cause, rather than the channel charities, please leave a comment on the blog and I will send you details.
So what are we up to at the moment. Well each week consists of 5 swims and several gym workouts, and as soon as the water temperature has stepped up another degree or two, then we will be outdoors again to do more. Straight from work, with not even a quick pop indoors to let hubby’s know we are still alive, our week goes something like this: Tuesday’s is always two hours of disorientation swimming. This consists mainly of long distances constantly breathing to one side (to practice avoiding swallowing water if we hit some huge waves), lots of somersaults to get used to the big swells that bring on sickness and lots of treading water to practice feeds. We mix all these up and the end result is ‘I feel sick’. Mission accomplished. Wednesdays is always 2 hours of long distance but splits. So for example 30 x 100, very little rest and off times that are hard to meet. Thursdays : 2 hours of kicking and drills, not too stressful because we need to save the energy for the Fridays. Fridays : 4.5 hours of continuous swimming. Karen is hitting her 8 mile target in this time and this is as far as we can get with the time available. Sunday’s : 2 hours similar to Wednesdays. Hard broken distances but usually 200, 300’s and 400’s with the rest periods being active rests, so kick or slow swim before picking up the pace again. We are swimming the channel each week in distance plus a bit more and her times are coming down. Gone are the days back in August last year when she could only manage 3 x 100 off 2.15 before we needed a bit extra rest. She can now swim continuously off 2 minute pace for each hundred without any slowing up. So great progress for someone not of a swimmer background.
So that’s it folks. It’s all still happening and no news means we are busy training.
So, I’m off to the pool now to do what I do best. Shout at Karen. Back soon. Glug Glug….
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