Al’s Swimming

What a month…of frustration! Not that bad actually (I tend to dramatise!)  The remainder of this month saw a couple of defining events. The first was the purchase of my flat, apart from wondering where I found the time to do this, it also proved to be a master stroke. With the days slowly getting shorter, driving out to Steve’s (in Gullane) was not giving me the time I needed in the water to keep fit. It was a big call not going though - I tip my hat to Dorothy Weatherley for having me on the cusp of vegetarianism!

Back to the master stroke - I somehow managed to get a place right on the waterfront of Granton Harbour.  My own outdoor pool - okay sometimes have to share it with dogs! I’ve found that by swimming on the other side of the marina (wall in the middle of the picture) and out to the buoy (just above the boat on the left) and then swimming towards the buildings - there’s another large marker about halfway down - and back, takes me about 30 minutes. And get this, sometimes you get out and there’s an audience waiting for you to give you a round of applause! - Thank you, thank you very much (especially to Georgie and family for looking after my clothes - Oh, and that party flat across the road for the cheering the other night!)

I’ve haven’t come across many of my ‘other friends’, although got an absolute ripper of a sting on Friday. I didn’t see it, but BANG! boy did I feel it - scrapped across my forearm. Carried on swimming until my training quota (a further 3 laps) was complete, with my arm on fire for about the last 1/2 hour. When I got out, the only way to alleviate the pain was to keep my fist clenched. Why didn’t I get out straight away? Because it’s not going to be an option when I swim the channel.

Got back home and decided to leave it. I figured that the poison was in my system already and might as well see what the effects would be. About an hour later all this clear gel started coming out of my skin.  The skin on the rest of my arm was smooth, but where the sting had hit it was clammy. It lasted about 3 hours. The next day there wasn’t even a mark.

It’s been a bit of a revelation swimming out there by myself. It’s given me a ton of confidence, mainly because it’s challenged me to confront my fear of sharks front on. Swimming with someone sort of absolves me I feel. A weird sensation and not nearly as imposing as swimming by yourself. I am very aware that with this comes responsibility. I always make sure I’m close to the marina wall, or relatively close to shore (about 400 metres).  Mum - No lectures.

I’ve had a couple of times out there, where funny situations have occurred.  One, was when the tide was going out. I was able to motor down one leg of the lap (ended up a little bit further out than anticipated) and it took an age to swim back to the marker. Other times, I end up close into shore. It’s quite an experience feeling the strength of a tide carry you around. There’s also the ‘benefit’ of having the wind intensify and with that the waves strengthening during a swim. I’ve become somewhat accustomed to this now and it doesn’t really bother me.

One circumstance I wasn’t prepared for was sun glare. It was quite low in the sky and I thought I’d be able to get a couple more laps in. Got to the far end and it was ok, but coming back, everytime I looked up, I couldn’t distinguish a thing. Finally had to plot the course ‘watching’ the sun under the water. Ended a tad off course (but close to the marina) - was definitely in the Forth. Responsible.

With my preparation being complete so early, it makes for interesting times trying to maintain the fitness, not over doing it and remaining injury free. This was highlighted the other day when I was crossing the road and I demonstrated my terrestrial abilities by partially twisting my ankle. Fortunately this is not an uncommon occurrence for me, (can someone remind me my training wheels have been removed?) but I could just imagine all that training going to waste had it been more serious.

Although physically ready, the mental side is the toughest to keep in check. I’ve been feeling supremely confident about making this, in so far as, my visualisation consists of walking up on the beach. There tends to be focus on aspects of the swim, like the start, but it’s more about feelings and emotions rather than any physical demands. I’m not ignorant to dismiss that it’ll hurt. With the time waiting for the swim, your mind starts to play games with you, hesitations and worries start coming to the fore. Then there’s all the people asking when you’re going to swim, not to mention thinking about it yourself <I’ll talk more about this next time>.

To combat this, I took some time away to ‘freshen’ up, spent some time with mates and went body surfing. I spent some time down in Falmouth, Cornwall, where, yep, the water is like a bath. A terrific way to de-stress and come back ready to tackle it. It’s also been helped with the water being beautifully clear and flat when I got back too.

This month’s song has been Ave’ Maria by Pavorotti - I’ve no idea either, maybe because I was hungry.