The Tears .... Have Started

I always knew there would be tears involved with channel training, just didn't expect them so soon or for the reason they occurred.

Sunday was not a miserable day in Dover but not exactly the nicest day either. Cloudy, howling cold winds and some adhoc wave motions. But on the plus side it wasn't raining and Freda was feeling particularly nice by giving us only a 1 hr swim to start with. 1 hour done with the only problem a claw in each hand by the end - out to shake & rattle for 1.5 hours before going in again. Only an hour again - woo hoo.

As with all second swims it's easier than the first - you're still a little cold and the initial temperature adjustment isn't as much. I was powering along through the waves with one lap down and only 23 mins or a short lap to go when 'bang' something fair and square hit me in the forehead. I popped up to find it was another swimmer who had been on the other side of a wave and I hadn't seen him, nor him me. There was no arm contact just one large flying head butt at each other. Now this man was 6ft something and a rather large steam train to have a head on collision with. I was shocked, dizzy and with an immediate headache the tears started to well in my goggles. We exchanged the are you ok's 'yes' - 'yes' - right crack on and keep swimming. The thing that startled me most is we had 1km in length and about 100m in width to play in yet we managed to smash head first into each other.... How???

As I swam past the swimmers beach with my tears filling my goggles I thought to myself I could just hop out now it would be ok as I had a sore head ..... On second thoughts - No!! .... I want to be a channel swimmer and hopping out early won't get me to France - a quick 'man up princess' was administered by the logical side of my brain and on I swam for the remaining 20 mins the tears still filling my goggles.

Usually the tears will come from being frozen and sat on the swimmers beach at the shore begging the beach crew to let you out. I didn't expect them from a head clash.... They had to start sooner or later and I'm sure there'll be more.

All this swimming malarkey is For a Reason......

In training and attempting to complete the English Channel crossing I am doing this all for several reasons. 1) Its a personal challenge and something I never thought possible until I set foot into the Serpentine 3 years ago and 2) to raise money for Cancer related charities so I can do something to benefit others.

As I have so many friends and family spread across Australian, the UK and other countries I've decided to set up a fundraising page in both Australia and the UK. Both fundraising for Cancer related charities.

I have chosen cancer related charities as quite a few people who have had a defined impact on my life and my family have lost their battles with cancer. My grandmother Mary McIntyre lost her battle with bowel cancer in May last year and the strength that she showed throughout her life and her fight with cancer is something that is spurring me on through the training and the times when I just don't want to swim anymore. It's going to continue to inspire me during my channel attempt and I hope that with enough determination, guts and stubborness I'll get to France.

If you're in Australia and you'd like to donate to Cancer Council NSW (my chosen Australian charity) then you can find the link here:

http://www.everydayhero.com.au/kristyecswim

If you're in the UK and would like to donate to my chosen UK charity Cancer Research UK then you can do so here:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KristyMcIntyre

Many thanks for considering a donation to my chosen charities in aid of my swim!!

Road Testing the Bio-prene

Before starting my story I must explain the concept of bio-prene. Much like the thick layer of black neoprene some swimmers wear when swimming (otherwise known as a wetsuit) Bio-prene a name conceived by Mark to describe the body's naturally occurring layer of insulation that exists under the skin rendering the need for neoprene useless (aka bodyfat).

I have been working incredibly hard on developing my bio-prene - 2 breakfasts, constant snacking and large dinners. So this past week it's been time to really road test it - see if it's at a level that will keep me comfortable during training.

This week the bio-prene has been through 4 serpentine swims and 2 x 1 hour Dover swims - while a little cold and there being a shiver after each swim it's been working.

Conclusion - it works for short swims but I still haven't determined whether I have reached my optimum level to provide comfort when attempting a 6 or more hour swim in cold conditions.

Please oh please don't let that be a little brown cloud

Wednesday is a club swim night, I swim on club nights rather than swimming by myself or with friends like I usually do. The only difference between this Wednesday and all other wednesdays was I had a little bit of a dodgy tummy....


Before entering the session I had a 'man up princess' chat with myself and my tummy and told myself I would be fine.


Warm up done - no problems - next up 6 x 200 on 3:15. I usually like to do my 200s of 3:20 or 3:30 but this was man up time so off I went. First 200 down and I start to toot like a horn blower at a jazz festival - tummy starts grumbling.... Not good. Keep going this is man up time 3 more 200s and the toot power is pushing me along nicely with not too many tummy grumbles. By the 5th 200 my tummy decided it was not happy with the toots becoming more frequent and a little more powerful to the point I had to look around in horror to see if I'd left a little brown cloud behind.... thankfully not.... Cue bathroom break....


Get back in this time it's 6x100 got through those with not too much problem then all of a sudden it starts happening again.... This time have I, have I, really, no .... Nope no brown clouds .... Time for another bathroom break.


After questions from coach Norm as to why I'd exited the pool twice during his session - I got told I could hop out. But no this was man up time and I was back in for the rest of the session.... Thankfully with no further incident. 


Now if this was Dover training I would have sucked it up and coped with a possible brown cloud - but that kind of behaviour will get you kicked out of a pool....


Needless to say next time I give myself a 'man up princess' chat with a dodgy tummy I'll be making sure I'm in Dover Habour and not the local swimming pool

Toning the six pack below the keg

This week I decided that developing my core strength and some light weights/stretching through my shoulders & back would be of benefit to me on a weekly basis. Let's face it even though I'm carrying a keg around my middle there should be a 6 pack underneath there somewhere.... just begging to get out and the best way to ensure it was still there after my swim was to complete weekly core workouts.

So off to the gym on Wednesday morning I went. I completed a 15 min TRX class (stretching and body weight exercises on long bands) and a 15 min ab class. Not much, however by the end a few things had happened. Firstly I was ravenous and continued to be all day, secondly there was a weird burning sensation across my core and thirdly by the afternoon a hunched foetal position over my keyboard was the only comfortable way of sitting. Surely, 30 minutes of body weight and abs exercises could not be that bad, I had core strength, well I used to until I stopped with the core exercises 6 months ago.... Really was this going to hurt this much.... .

Stupid question.... It hurt!! Alot!

Thursday brought an uncomfortable ache across my core with the only relief being in a hunched seated position and Friday was even worse. By Friday I could hardly move, walking upright was an issue, laughing well that was incomphrensible. Friday evening my usual swim night, was a painful first 500m and resembled something like a half stretched front crawl snaking down the lane. After a proper stretch out my swimming returned to almost normal and while slow I managed a decent session. I still can't laugh and if someone were to poke me in the belly I think I might cry!

So why am I telling you this?  Moral of my story, stick with the keg. Its not aesthetically pleasing but attempting to return the muscles below back to six pack condition in one work out was STUPID. The benefit of hindsight teaches me that it will take 3 days for the pain to subside... Just in time for my next core work out..... 

Stay tuned for the effects of next weeks core sessions, maybe I should try two in a week....