Training Diary
January 23rd, 2008Training Diary
| Date | Location | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb - Apr | 2 x week | About an hour each time | |
| May - Aug | 2-4/week | Started swimming for 1/2hr in morning | |
| Aug | Inner hebrides | 5 days | Swimming b/t 1 & 3 kms/swim. up to 2/day |
| Sept | 5x/week | Mostly morning sessions (1/2 hr). Normally big session on Mon night ~4km | |
| Sept 16 | Isle of Annan | 1hr | Accompanied by about 15 porpoises! |
| 17/9 | 1hr | 20 x 100 on 1:50 - to gauge how my fitness is.Verdict: Normal | |
| Oct | 5x/week | 2x Mon, Tues & Thurs morn & Fri night | |
| 26/10 | 1.25hrs | Alternating 10mins slow, 10 mins fast | |
| Nov | 5x/week | ||
| 10/11 | Gozo | 1hr | Swimming up coast by harbour |
| 11/11 | Gozo | 1&1/2 + 2hr | Swim in nice cove |
| 12/11 | Gozo | 2hr + 3hr | Up coast and able to surf waves. Told this is the limit for a channel swim. |
| 13/11 | Gozo | 6hr | You get pretty hungry! |
| 14/11 | Gozo | 1hr | Swim from Gozo to Comino |
| 25/11 | Gullen, Scotland | 20 mins | Not as warm as Gozo. Make that absolutely freezing |
| Dec | 3x/week | Incorporating very light weights, esp utilising the rotator cuff (shoulder). Had Xmas and NY off | |
| 2008 Jan | At least 5x/week | Pool extends morning hours, so now i can start earlier and go for longer. Oh joy! | |
| 3/1 | 1.5hrs | 10,15,10,5 slow/fast. Happy New Year! | |
| 18/1 | Malaga | 1hr | First open water swim of the year. Swam circuit |
| 19/1 | Malaga | 2hr & 1hr | Swam down coast, then circuit |
| 20/1 | Malaga | 1hr | Swam down coast |
| Feb | 5x/week | 2x Mon, Tues & Thurs morn & Fri night | |
| 19/3 | Lahinch, Ireland | 30 mins | First 'cold' open swim. Ended up swimming down the coast and back. Took about an hour to warm up afterwards. Extremely hungry |
| 30/3 | Gullane, Scotland | 20 mins | 5 degrees! Felt colder than week before. Yep. Pretty cold |
| 30/3 | Warrander | 1 hr | Training with squad to add a bit of variety to training. Wearing shorts with pockets at front |
| 5/4 | Gozo | 20 mins | 3 laps of Xlendi Bay |
| 6/4 | Gozo | 1 hr | Swimming up coast by harbour - swam in Stinger suit |
| 6/4 | Comino | 2 1/4 hrs | Swam around Comino. Beautiful swim. Blue Lagoon and finishing(!) were the highlights |
| 7/4 | Gozo | 2 & 3 hrs | Swam along NW coast. Millions of jellyfish at the end of the 3hr swim |
| 8/4 | Gozo to Malta | 1 1/4 hrs | Taken out to sea due to Jellies. Wonderful deep blue. Felt like swimming through space |
| 9/6 | Gozo | 6 hrs | Swam a bit too slow to begin with and got cold, but after I sped up it was pretty comfortable |
| 13/4 | Gozo | 1 & 2 hrs | Swam up SW coast. First to cove where did 6 hr swim in Nov. Nearly made it back to Xlendi Bay on 2nd stint |
| 19/4 | Gullane | 30 mins | I thought a couple of weeks ago was cold! Been snowing and run off in bay. Couldn't feel feet nearer end of swim. Lips blue. |
| 20/4 | Warrander | 1 hr | |
| 3/5 | Loch creran | 25 mins | Not too cold. Millions of Jellyfish. First sea swim by myself |
| 4/5 | Loch Creran | 25 mins | Still millions of jellyfish.Swam further, but still the same time in water |
| 5/5 | Portabello | 20 mins | Very warm for time of year. Will continue to train at Gullane, because it's colder |
| 9/5 | Gullane | 40 mins | Should have stayed in for an hour. An hour will be the minimum I go into the water from now on. Very annoyed with yourself! |
| 11/5 | Gullane | 1:20 | Felt quite comfortable. A lot happier to have sent the time in water |
| 18/5 | Lake Windermere | 4:40 | Start was quite cold. Needed to change to clear goggles, b/c of light. 2nd half was a lot warmer even though ran out of food. Quite sore at the end. Trying to go too fast. |
| 24/5 | Dover | 3:30 | Nice day, but choppy water. Quite hard work. |
| 25/5 | Dover | 3:30 | Very nice day. Calm water. A pleasure to swim in. |
| 26/5 | Dover | 1hr | Grotty day, rough water, good waves. Knew it was going to be difficult, so that made it easier b/c I was prepared. |
| 3&4/6 | Gullane | 1hr | Gentle swims after Dover. Keeping used to water temperature |
| 5/6 | Gullane | 2:15 | Needed to clock up a longer swim. So did. |
| 7/6 | Gullane & other bays | 1:50 | Swam towards an island for an hour. Stopped & turned around. Realised we were lost. Had to get out to see where we were. Swam the rest of the way back to Gullane. |
| 15/6 | Firth of Forth | 4:10 | Started late, weather overcast, but water calm. Lots of jellyfish. Made it in good time, but could have finished earlier. Need to remember to flavour feeds in future. |
| 21/6 | Dover | 1:45 | Just a gentle swim to reacquaint myself. PLus arrived late because the ABs were playing |
| 21/6 | Dover | 1hr | Night Swim |
| 22/6 | Dover | 4hrs | Very comfortable swim. Felt I could have stayed in as long as I wanted. Got a birthday cake as a snack |
| 25/6 | Gullane | 40mins | Got washed up on rocks. Ended up with cuts and scratches all over. |
| 3/7 | Dover | 1hr | Warm-up swim with relay team |
| 4/7 | Relay | 13:10 | Dance to France with El Treko. Stoked! |
| 26 & 27/7 | Gullane | 3hrs each | A relatively light workout, but also a step up from the rest of the month. Preparation for Lake Zurich |
| 3/8 | Zurich | 7:27 | Water was warm and it was great to get a long swim in. Could have swum back. Must control emotions when getting close to finish |
Training is at Glenogle pool (Save the Pool!) unless other wise stated.
f/s = freestyle (front crawl)
Normal sessions consist of either of the following: 1hr f/s (may change in pace) or 1/4hr f/s,kick,pull,f/s
I’ll describe ‘milestone’ sessions - those that I was (or was close to) being physically ill
Judges decision is final.