In Norwich, waiting for new baby to arrive. Due date was yesterday, still no sign. We take little E out for a swim at the Riverside Leisure Centre in Norwich - a very attractive modern pool with a sweeping asymetrical curved roof, clad in cedar wood. Inside it has a large trainer pool in which I swim about 50m with E in her new float filled swim togs, then her Dad takes her out and I do another 200m in the big pool:
250m
Friday, 14 December 2012
Back to basics 29th Oct Day 72
Local pool, steady lengths. 20 x 25m 500 m
dreaming of the sea..........
dreaming of the sea..........
Sea swimming 27th Oct Day 70
Getting out and dressed again was hard!
To warm up I walked over to Durdle Door and back. Beautiful.
A pool to myself! 26th Oct Day 69
It's Friday afternoon and I get the chance to swim at St Edward's pool (the private club in the school grounds). A friend is going to the gym and signs me in on a guest pass. It's a gorgeous afternoon yet I have the outdoor pool to myself for 30 mins or so. Lots of people use it in the summer, but find the walk outdoors to the pool too challenging. I find that the slight chill in the air only makes the water feel warmer: it is the contrast in temperature I like - getting warm after being chilled is lovely! One swim lane is in full sunshine. I swim 30 lengths (x 20m) and get some instructions from the life guard. My front crawl shows some improvement today.
600m
600m
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Steady as she goes! Monday 22nd Oct Day 65
Local pool. 500m. Was really getting into a steady rhythm today, yet it is still exhausting. I find it fascinating that although the process of moving through the water feels so effortless - I'm not aware of any sense of hard work or strain in my arm or leg muscles -it's not like running for a bus - when I get to the end of the pool my heart is hammering and I am gasping for breath. This must be respiration at work - I just need more oxygen, a lot more oxygen, to get to my muscles to get to the glucose and make energy. (George has spent half an hour trying to get me to understand the difference between breathing and respiration and I think I've got it! I still can't do it adequately.)
Monday, 22 October 2012
.....and now my first comment! 20th Oct
Thanks, Joe! (see day 43, 30th Sept,' Not swimming but banding.....'
All I need now is a follower!
All I need now is a follower!
1st donation for KEEN! 20th Oct
Thanks, Tony, for getting my fundraising for KEEN off to a very good start, and for your encouraging comment for my swim (keep your chin up.........)
Day 62 19th October 550m with no goggles
Forgt my goggles so I can't practise 'proper' swimming, nor do underwater swimming which I always enjoy. I do a mixture of strokes including an old favourite, a sort of side-stroke that I taught myself years ago - its a slow but very comfortable way to swim with your head above water. I also do backstroke and a splashy front crawl with my head up, so it's rather ungainly* but covers the distance.
20 lengths of 25m = 500 so that's another 1/2 km and as well I do a further 2 lengths to cover the odd 50m .
(not 5m as I mistakenly put in my previous post).
*Wondering if a swimming stroke can be ungainly: not sure of the derivation: it's from gegn (O.E) apparently, meaning 'straight', so actually my backstroke is far more ungainly than my front crawl, however splashy the latter!
20 lengths of 25m = 500 so that's another 1/2 km and as well I do a further 2 lengths to cover the odd 50m .
(not 5m as I mistakenly put in my previous post).
*Wondering if a swimming stroke can be ungainly: not sure of the derivation: it's from gegn (O.E) apparently, meaning 'straight', so actually my backstroke is far more ungainly than my front crawl, however splashy the latter!
Sunday, 14 October 2012
12th October Day 55 Friday wind-down
A great way to start the week-end and wind down after a busy week: a swim in the pool. I alternate breast-stroke and front crawl - 2 lengths of each - with a couple of back stroke every now and then to give my back a rest, and use different leg muscles. My sense of direction is not very good with back stroke, though, and I keep hitting the lane rope. Still relaxing though. 600m!
A reminder that I'm aiming to raise money for KEEN: I have now swum nearly 6k (5,950m) of the 138k from Oxford to Cambridge. Only another 132k and 5m to go! As well as a personal challenge for me I am hoping to help raise some money for the great work that Oxford students do with local children and young people with special needs:
£3 will buy face paints for 10 children at Zig-Zag
£5 will pay for the squash at Allsorts for a term
£20 will pay for materials for an evening of science experiments at KEEN Teens
£100 funds one of GrEAT's legendary pub quiz evenings
£500 will fund the annual KEEN Olympics, including large marquee tents and medals for all participating atheletes
Please go to KEEN's website for more info, and to www.justgiving.com/LizTreasureSwim to donate.
Thank you!
A reminder that I'm aiming to raise money for KEEN: I have now swum nearly 6k (5,950m) of the 138k from Oxford to Cambridge. Only another 132k and 5m to go! As well as a personal challenge for me I am hoping to help raise some money for the great work that Oxford students do with local children and young people with special needs:
£3 will buy face paints for 10 children at Zig-Zag
£5 will pay for the squash at Allsorts for a term
£20 will pay for materials for an evening of science experiments at KEEN Teens
£100 funds one of GrEAT's legendary pub quiz evenings
£500 will fund the annual KEEN Olympics, including large marquee tents and medals for all participating atheletes
Please go to KEEN's website for more info, and to www.justgiving.com/LizTreasureSwim to donate.
Thank you!
Saturday, 13 October 2012
another wet Monday in the pool 8th Oct day 51
Nothing exciting, no babies, just a good 30mins of exercise in my local pool.
500m including several successive full lengths of front crawl!
500m including several successive full lengths of front crawl!
Olympic swimming! Day 49 5th Oct (late posting!)
George has the day off school (it's closed to students for staff training) so we go to Norwich to see Katie, Stefan and baby E. Not a bad journey - just over 4 hours via London and Cambridge. Katie is on maternity leave from work again, ready for the next baby, so free all day (Friday) with baby E. We go to the park nearby, and then I go for out for a coffee at Stephanie's Cafe - a regular haunt of mine - great coffee (thanks Karen!) and George has a much needed haircut, leaving Katie to have a rest while Nell is asleep (can't keep calling her baby E as she approaches 2 yrs of age and sisterhood!).
After lunch we all go to the nearby UEA sports centre, and the Bernard Matthews olympic size pool. (B'ootiful!). Kate keeps an eye from the gallery while George, Nell and I head for the water.
I swim 20 lengths! Not, I hasten to add, of the full 50m length! There is a movable gantry (with starting blocks on) dividing the pool in half, so I'm doing 25 m lengths, some of them involve swimming while pushing Nell in a sit-in ring. George is brilliant with her - there's a lot of laughing and mucking about. He also gives me a demonstration of good breathing technique for the front crawl, before taking Nell to meet Katie in the changing rooms, as she can't stay in too long as the water is quite cool - intended for serious swimming - so they get out earlier leaving me to complete my lengths.
20 lengths x 25m = 500mt
After lunch we all go to the nearby UEA sports centre, and the Bernard Matthews olympic size pool. (B'ootiful!). Kate keeps an eye from the gallery while George, Nell and I head for the water.
I swim 20 lengths! Not, I hasten to add, of the full 50m length! There is a movable gantry (with starting blocks on) dividing the pool in half, so I'm doing 25 m lengths, some of them involve swimming while pushing Nell in a sit-in ring. George is brilliant with her - there's a lot of laughing and mucking about. He also gives me a demonstration of good breathing technique for the front crawl, before taking Nell to meet Katie in the changing rooms, as she can't stay in too long as the water is quite cool - intended for serious swimming - so they get out earlier leaving me to complete my lengths.
20 lengths x 25m = 500mt
Day 43 30th Sept Not swimming but banding
I'm so glad I went for the outdoor swim yesterday. Usually on a Sunday morning I'm out at George's football match, but today I'm indoors all day: 9am rehearsal in the band hall in Temple Cowley, and then off in a coach to The Hawth Theatre in Crawley, with City of Oxford Silver Band to compete at the SCABA (Southern Counties Amateur Bands Assoc) Annual Autumn Contest. It's like Brassed Off! But of course in real time, so there is a lot of time spent in the bus and sitting around in the bar/cafe waiting for our turn to queue up for Registration and entry into the backstage area shortly before our performance. Identification is taken very seriously - I have to present a pre-registered photo ID card to be checked off against our band's list. This is to prevent bands substituting much better players - perhaps from bands competing in the higher sections - for the less good members of the band. I'd be a prime sub - subbed out on the bench. But as it happens, our two best 3rd cornets (there are no 4ths, only solo, rep, soprano, 1sts and 2nds above us) are unavailable today - Terry is on holiday in Europe, and Carrie is running the Loch Ness marathon! That leaves me as principal 3rd cornet supported by Brett, who is much more experienced a brass player than I am, but usually plays horn, and has stepped in to fill a gap before going back to uni for the autumn term.
It is not just I.D. that is taken seriously, but anonymity too.The bands are not named, only referred to by a number which is randomly assigned to them, as is the order of play. In the theatre or concert hall where the bands perform there is a 4 sided tent rigged up inside which sits the adjudicator throughout the performances in each section. The adjudicator only knows the number of the band playing, and cannot see them to recognise individuals, or from their uniforms, to know which band is on stage. Thus the judging is neutral and supposed to be objective, but it can also be, maybe as is a result, extremely harsh!
Weeks of rehearsal culminate in our 11 mins on stage playing our chosen piece - a very dramatic composition called Olympus by Philip Harper. For most of it the 3rd cornets are playing with the 2nds, or in harmony along with some of the lower instruments. There is one short section in the middle however where we get to play the tune, albeit an octave down from the 2nds, but we do have a bit on our own! The audience wouldn't notice if we went a bit wrong (quietly), or dropped out, but the adjudicator would. He or she has the score, and if the 3rd cornets are not heard playing their bit it will be noted, and marks deducted! So we have to go for it, especially as the composer's instruction at that point is to play with cup mute in. So we need lots of puff to make any sound at all (the swimming is doing great to help with my lung capacity) and we have to be really careful not to drop the mute (made of metal) on the floor as we pick it up and put it down. Scary stuff!
There are some dodgy moments, (not only for 3rd cornets!) but we get to the end without any major disasters, Brett and I pleased with our efforts and, as we come off stage, the band as a whole seems relieved. It could have been worse! Now comes the long wait until the results are announced. Time for a drink or two.
A rep from each band has to go up on the stage to receive the results while all the rest of the players sit in the auditorium. The adjudicator is finally ready to deliver his judgement, which is fairly positive about the bands placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and scathing of the bottom two bands (there are only 5 entered in this section). We really don't know how we measure up. Waiting to go on stage earlier we could hear the band before us over the intercom, and felt sure at the time that we could easily sound better than them, but when you get on stage, under the lights, in a very different acoustic, it is really very hard to play your best, or to know how it is sounding. So when he finally announces the prizes, in reverse order, and says that in 3rd place, and winner of the Bob Whitehouse Memorial Cup, is Band number 4, City of Oxford Silver Band, we erupt in cheers. Only 3rd, but saved from ignominy! Poor old bands number 3 and 5, did he have to be so harsh? We don't win the David Chappell Trophy for Best Back Row Cornets (perhaps if Terry and Carrie had been here?) but we go home pretty pleased with ourselves.
On our way back through Bracknell we pass the sign for Coral Reef swimming pool - on my list for another day - but I'm asleep.
It is not just I.D. that is taken seriously, but anonymity too.The bands are not named, only referred to by a number which is randomly assigned to them, as is the order of play. In the theatre or concert hall where the bands perform there is a 4 sided tent rigged up inside which sits the adjudicator throughout the performances in each section. The adjudicator only knows the number of the band playing, and cannot see them to recognise individuals, or from their uniforms, to know which band is on stage. Thus the judging is neutral and supposed to be objective, but it can also be, maybe as is a result, extremely harsh!
Weeks of rehearsal culminate in our 11 mins on stage playing our chosen piece - a very dramatic composition called Olympus by Philip Harper. For most of it the 3rd cornets are playing with the 2nds, or in harmony along with some of the lower instruments. There is one short section in the middle however where we get to play the tune, albeit an octave down from the 2nds, but we do have a bit on our own! The audience wouldn't notice if we went a bit wrong (quietly), or dropped out, but the adjudicator would. He or she has the score, and if the 3rd cornets are not heard playing their bit it will be noted, and marks deducted! So we have to go for it, especially as the composer's instruction at that point is to play with cup mute in. So we need lots of puff to make any sound at all (the swimming is doing great to help with my lung capacity) and we have to be really careful not to drop the mute (made of metal) on the floor as we pick it up and put it down. Scary stuff!
There are some dodgy moments, (not only for 3rd cornets!) but we get to the end without any major disasters, Brett and I pleased with our efforts and, as we come off stage, the band as a whole seems relieved. It could have been worse! Now comes the long wait until the results are announced. Time for a drink or two.
A rep from each band has to go up on the stage to receive the results while all the rest of the players sit in the auditorium. The adjudicator is finally ready to deliver his judgement, which is fairly positive about the bands placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and scathing of the bottom two bands (there are only 5 entered in this section). We really don't know how we measure up. Waiting to go on stage earlier we could hear the band before us over the intercom, and felt sure at the time that we could easily sound better than them, but when you get on stage, under the lights, in a very different acoustic, it is really very hard to play your best, or to know how it is sounding. So when he finally announces the prizes, in reverse order, and says that in 3rd place, and winner of the Bob Whitehouse Memorial Cup, is Band number 4, City of Oxford Silver Band, we erupt in cheers. Only 3rd, but saved from ignominy! Poor old bands number 3 and 5, did he have to be so harsh? We don't win the David Chappell Trophy for Best Back Row Cornets (perhaps if Terry and Carrie had been here?) but we go home pretty pleased with ourselves.
On our way back through Bracknell we pass the sign for Coral Reef swimming pool - on my list for another day - but I'm asleep.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
End of season swim Day 42 29th Sept
End of Hinksey Outdoor pool season. It closes tomorrow for the winter, and I’m going to be elsewhere, so today is
the last opportunity. My mate Neil and I meet for a swim at 3pm, in the autumn
sunshine. There are a dozen or so swimmers. The water is lovely, the setting
very pretty, and despite being out of practice with breathing technique I
manage 16 crossings of the 33m wide pool.This is a leisurely swim, I can’t even do one complete length of front
crawl – just have to change to breaststroke whenever I mess up the breathing,
but I keep going, enjoying the sun, and the sound of the wind in the trees and
occasional passing train – the only traffic noise. Lovely. If it wasn’t such a
long cycle from North Oxford I would come here a lot more – driving here and
back does detract from the experience. Worth it occasionally – like today.
I claim 500m.
Day 39 Wed 26th Sept Karlo
I leave work at lunchtime today to drive to Gloucester for
the funeral of a very dear friend, Karlo. A keen sportsman, he played football
for Dynamo Zagreb in his youth, later becoming an enthusiastic golfer. I think
he would have approved of my sporting attempt, and particularly my efforts to
raise money for KEEN and their sporting activities with children with special
needs. His professional life as an Educational Psychologist was devoted to
helping school kids and and their families. A hero to them, and to his family, and to his friends. It was both a very sad and joyous and beautiful, occasion, with sunshine and torrential rain.
Awash with music Days 35/36 22/23 Sept
No time to swim this week end. I'm recording a cd with my choir, Jubilate, in Keble College Chapel. It's a fantastic experience, recording wonderful music. We often do live performances here, and now we have the chance to rehearse and record some great music spanning 4 centuries or so - from William Byrd to Morten Lauridsen, including The Light of the World written for us by our conductor, Simon Whalley; we first sang it last Christmas in the side chapel that houses* the Holman Hunt, filling the candle-lit chapel with gorgeous music.
Adrian Lucas and his team from Acclaim Productions are recording us on very impressive looking equipment, and the attention to detail is superb. During breaks we have the surprisingly enjoyable experience of hearing ourselves played back. Can't wait to hear the cd - a programme of Advent and Christmas music - on sale in time for Christmas!
* usually houses - the painting is currently on loan to Tate Britain
Adrian Lucas and his team from Acclaim Productions are recording us on very impressive looking equipment, and the attention to detail is superb. During breaks we have the surprisingly enjoyable experience of hearing ourselves played back. Can't wait to hear the cd - a programme of Advent and Christmas music - on sale in time for Christmas!
* usually houses - the painting is currently on loan to Tate Britain
Monday, 8 October 2012
Day 32 19 Sept Not swimming but planning
I take a late lunch break to meet Nathan Webster, the co-ordinator this year for KEEN. He's charming, efficient, and very encouraging, quickly helping me to set up my www.justgiving.com/LizTreasureSwim site so that all the HARD WORK I'm doing swimming can help raise some money for the marvellous work he and all his student colleagues do for the young athletes they support in Oxford. Last year he walked from London to Oxford in 24 hours to raise money for KEEN. At the rate I'm going - just over 4k in over month - it would take me nearly 2 years! I know I'm in this for the long haul, but I am going to have to speed up a bit!
17 sept Day 30 A wet Monday afternoon in the pool
Back in the local swimming pool, working on breathing for front crawl. I'm struggling - don't seem to be able to breath out enough quickly enough to be able to breath in again! I keep going though, even if it is rather ungainly and spluttery, and reckon I do 400m.
The end of a long week. Day 27, Fri 14th Sept
My first full week back at work after extended hols! After being indoors all day for a week it's great to have the chance of late summer sunshine on a Friday afternoon to get in another swim in the lake. My mate Neil meets me there and I remove my top layer of clothing while he puts more on in the form of a wetsuit. Yes, he may be a wimp, but it does mean I have a swimming companion who will be able to stand the cold of the fresh water. He's all for swimming across the lake, but not being as confident I suggest we go around the edge - it's very deep wherever, but this way I'm always close to land.
We reckon we do about 500m. Heaven.
We reckon we do about 500m. Heaven.
Swimming in Beer! 6th Sept day 19
Today we are heading back upcountry, but not before getting to the sea again.It's a gorgeous day. Beer sounds inviting for (a second) breakfast and a swim. It turns out I DON'T swim in Beer today. I have swum here before when the tide was further out, but I didn't like the way the beach was steeply shelving today, with an ominous swell in the water. No other swimmers, and Wilf happy to go with my decision after my recent scare. We have a scrummy breakfast at Chapple's on the beach, and then head off round the coast to Branscombe where the sea is more welcoming. Wilf dives into the water for his bracing 5 mins in the cold, and then has a sleep in the sun, while I, in contrast, get in slowly, but once there aclimatise and don't want to get out. It is perfect sea swimming - not the fun and exhilaration of jumping breakers, or body boarding, but simply lovely swimming back and forth across gently rolling waves of silky water with the white and green of Beer Head in one direction, and in the other, the red cliffs further west. I easily swim 500m and reckon I could have doubled that today, but time presses.
We have a quick sandwich lunch at The Sea Shanty beach cafe, and it's brought to us by Joe, the son of our friends, earning some money before returning to uni. A very nice way to finish our stay in Devon.
We have a quick sandwich lunch at The Sea Shanty beach cafe, and it's brought to us by Joe, the son of our friends, earning some money before returning to uni. A very nice way to finish our stay in Devon.
Day 18 5th September Falmouth Ho! Go, Megan, Go!
Wilf and I got toTipton near Sidmouth late last night, a stopover on our way to Falmouth to see an art exhibition. It's the BA Degree Finals Show of our niece, Megan. (Daughter of our brother Patrick who died of a brain tumour in his early 40's. I often think of him when I swim, or walk or climb. He was up for any outdoor adventures. I think he would have approved of my challenge)
We leave Tipton, after breakfast with the friends who have put us up, and after 4 hours driving round the top of Dartmoor, taking various diversions, get to Falmouth. We grab a quick lunch at a beach cafe with Megan and her mum who is over from the States for the exhibition. The sea looks beautiful but there's no time to swim, sadly. Another time! We walk up through exotic gardens to the exhibition site, spying tiny clay sculptures in the tree branches and roots.
Megan's main piece is a cave-like structure that she has sculpted from clay and branches, a copy of one she constructed on an eco site in the wilds of Cornwall - eco art in a Green landscape. We have fun exploring it, inside and out.
Another exhibit - by Clare Thomas, one of Megan's friends - is a floor sculpture of a sea creature made of brightly coloured rubbish, Clare has been cleaning beaches - recycling junk and making the sculpture out of selected debris. Her words spoke to me:
You, who live by the sea, it is
a small thing to close your gate behind you and head to the beach. and once there, it is
a small thing to walk into the cold water or
lie on the beach, feeling the press of pebbles.
And once you have sunned yourself enough, and
let your body float in the sea enough, and
sunk your feet into the sand enough, it is
a small thing to pick up a few pieces of plastic, or foam
and take them away with you.
If we have souls, surely your soul will remember
the touch of air and water and pebble and
hold them for dark days later.
And if there are spirits, surely they will see you and remember
that you took care of something greater than yourself.
And if there are gods of small things, surely what you have done
will sustain them for just a little longer.
I leave the sea of Falmouth, glittering turquoise in today's bright sunshine, reluctantly. But we have a long drive back to Sidmouth. It's a quick journey and we have time for a swim in the river Otter before dinner! We walk past the local cricket pitch and along the riverbank upstream of the weir where it's deep enough to swim. I've learnt some tips - I remember to check I'lll be able to get out of the water further downstream. It's almost impossible(for me) to swim upstream, however slowly the river seems to be flowing, so you've got to be sure that you have an exit point from where you can walk back up stream to retrieve your clothes! I only went about 100m - a very easy swim - and stayed in quite a lot longer working hard to keep my place against the current, enjoying the late evening sunshine through trees across the fields.
Dinner with our friends at The Pea Green Boat on the seafront in Sidmouth. Fabulous.
We leave Tipton, after breakfast with the friends who have put us up, and after 4 hours driving round the top of Dartmoor, taking various diversions, get to Falmouth. We grab a quick lunch at a beach cafe with Megan and her mum who is over from the States for the exhibition. The sea looks beautiful but there's no time to swim, sadly. Another time! We walk up through exotic gardens to the exhibition site, spying tiny clay sculptures in the tree branches and roots.
Megan's main piece is a cave-like structure that she has sculpted from clay and branches, a copy of one she constructed on an eco site in the wilds of Cornwall - eco art in a Green landscape. We have fun exploring it, inside and out.
Another exhibit - by Clare Thomas, one of Megan's friends - is a floor sculpture of a sea creature made of brightly coloured rubbish, Clare has been cleaning beaches - recycling junk and making the sculpture out of selected debris. Her words spoke to me:
You, who live by the sea, it is
a small thing to close your gate behind you and head to the beach. and once there, it is
a small thing to walk into the cold water or
lie on the beach, feeling the press of pebbles.
And once you have sunned yourself enough, and
let your body float in the sea enough, and
sunk your feet into the sand enough, it is
a small thing to pick up a few pieces of plastic, or foam
and take them away with you.
If we have souls, surely your soul will remember
the touch of air and water and pebble and
hold them for dark days later.
And if there are spirits, surely they will see you and remember
that you took care of something greater than yourself.
And if there are gods of small things, surely what you have done
will sustain them for just a little longer.
I leave the sea of Falmouth, glittering turquoise in today's bright sunshine, reluctantly. But we have a long drive back to Sidmouth. It's a quick journey and we have time for a swim in the river Otter before dinner! We walk past the local cricket pitch and along the riverbank upstream of the weir where it's deep enough to swim. I've learnt some tips - I remember to check I'lll be able to get out of the water further downstream. It's almost impossible(for me) to swim upstream, however slowly the river seems to be flowing, so you've got to be sure that you have an exit point from where you can walk back up stream to retrieve your clothes! I only went about 100m - a very easy swim - and stayed in quite a lot longer working hard to keep my place against the current, enjoying the late evening sunshine through trees across the fields.
Dinner with our friends at The Pea Green Boat on the seafront in Sidmouth. Fabulous.
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Day 17 Sept 4th The Lake
My bro Wilf comes to Oxford from Edinburgh via train. He arrives at my house on foot having walked 2 miles up the canal from the station. I offer him a cup of tea and a swim in the lake We cycle/jog ( me on the bike, him jogging) the half mile to the lake north of the ringroad. It's an old gravel pit hidden behind houses, the only access through their gardens. I'm lucky enough to know M and N who live there and allow me to swim. Bliss. Fed by a small spring it's fairly clear and fresh, abundant with waterlilies. Wilf and I have our togs on underneath jogging gear, so its easy to go through my friends' garden and slip out of clothes and into the lake. Magical.
I reckon I do 200m back and forth the north end of the lake. Haven't got long unfortunately as I have to get down to Keble College Chapel for a choir rehearsal, before Wilf and I set off to Sidmouth.
I reckon I do 200m back and forth the north end of the lake. Haven't got long unfortunately as I have to get down to Keble College Chapel for a choir rehearsal, before Wilf and I set off to Sidmouth.
Friday, 5 October 2012
day 11 29th september Paralympics!
Back home, lots to do that requires sitting in front of the tv on a regular basis. The Paralympics are fantastic aren't they? captivating, exciting and awe-inspiring. I'm hooked watching swimmers of all shapes and sizes breaking record after record. I don't get near any water myself for nearly a week.
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Day 9 (27th August) Didn't we have a loverly day....
we went to Margate! First time ever for me. Visited the Turner Modern. Beautiful space and views, shame about the cladding that gives it the look of an out-of-town storage depot. After seeing enough of Tracy Emin's bits I go for a swim. Quite a contrast as most of the bathers are Asian males, one or two women wearing hijab. I feel underdressed in my tankini ( a very practical choice for discrete changing and disrobing on beaches and river banks but still uncomfortably revealing in some circumstances) and am glad when I have waded out far enough to cover myself in the water. I swim a distance towards the harbour wall with a view of a wind farm, and back towards the other natural arm of the harbour - a rock formation. 4 times, about 100m each? so 400m
Earlier we had breakfast in the Harbour Cafe - lovely! - and now we eat fish and chips from Peter's on the harbour front. Perfect.
Earlier we had breakfast in the Harbour Cafe - lovely! - and now we eat fish and chips from Peter's on the harbour front. Perfect.
You have to admit you have a problem.... day 8
I find a copy of The New Yorker in the bathroom and laugh out loud at the cartoon: It's of a therapist on holiday, on duty as a volunteer life guard on a beach: To man in water, in difficulty: 'Yes, I can help, but first you have to admit you have a problem'
Oh the synchronicity of life.
Today I drive a party of rellies to Whitstable. 4 of us (3 sisters and a sister-in-law) go for a swim, well eventually, after a very long wade out to anything approaching deep enough water. Not the most enjoyable water either, rather muddy/sandy, but there is an interesting view of windturbines, and encouraged by our example a woman on the beach comes out to join us and we all have interesting chats as we sedately swim around. Difficult to calculate distance covered. We are out quite a long time, so at least 400m
Later: back at the farm, it's a beautiful evening. I go skinny dipping in my bro's pond (a small lake fringed with water lillies, and home to various fish and ducks).My brother walks past on his way to put the geese to bed. 'Is thaat a ruddy duck in the pond?' This is the life! I remember to calculate some distances: we reckon a swimmimg length is about 15m and I do 10 of these, plus extra, so I claim 150m
Oh the synchronicity of life.
Today I drive a party of rellies to Whitstable. 4 of us (3 sisters and a sister-in-law) go for a swim, well eventually, after a very long wade out to anything approaching deep enough water. Not the most enjoyable water either, rather muddy/sandy, but there is an interesting view of windturbines, and encouraged by our example a woman on the beach comes out to join us and we all have interesting chats as we sedately swim around. Difficult to calculate distance covered. We are out quite a long time, so at least 400m
Later: back at the farm, it's a beautiful evening. I go skinny dipping in my bro's pond (a small lake fringed with water lillies, and home to various fish and ducks).My brother walks past on his way to put the geese to bed. 'Is thaat a ruddy duck in the pond?' This is the life! I remember to calculate some distances: we reckon a swimmimg length is about 15m and I do 10 of these, plus extra, so I claim 150m
Faversham Day 7 25th August
I'm staying at my brother's farm in Kent. I lead a family party to the swimmimg pool in the centre of Faversham. It's lovely! there is a beautiful outdoor pool as well as an indoor and baby pool. I am with George, my nephews J, J and J, and baby E. We all have great fun playing with the baby, helping her get up the steps to the baby slide, and catching her in the pool. I manage 2 lengths of the outdoor pool (20m length) so 40m only today.
Calm after the storm
It's a calm see today, and I'm back in for a swim. 560m
end of our sea wall to last house in the village and back. I swim there and back, moving round other bathers and boarders, dodging the occasional ball or blow-up raft, watching the activity and enjoying the feel of the water, while all the time keeping a check that I'm in my depth! Once I'm out of the water I dry off by pacing the distance I've swum, making it approx 280m there, and 290m back, (maybe my legs have shrunk)so I take the lower estimate and double it.
end of our sea wall to last house in the village and back. I swim there and back, moving round other bathers and boarders, dodging the occasional ball or blow-up raft, watching the activity and enjoying the feel of the water, while all the time keeping a check that I'm in my depth! Once I'm out of the water I dry off by pacing the distance I've swum, making it approx 280m there, and 290m back, (maybe my legs have shrunk)so I take the lower estimate and double it.
Day 4 (22 Aug) Not waving but drowning
OMG too much water!
Over the channel to stay with family and friends in Audresselles, seaside village near Boulogne. Beautiful day, can't wait to get in the sea. Much debate with George whether or not a swim here will count as it is not directly between Oxford and Cambridge. Everyone else has been in and out of the sea all afternoon. By the time I arrive they are out and dressed and it's just me that wants to jump in the increasingly wild waves that are being whipped up by a strong wind that has driven most of the people out of the sea and away; there is one group of wet-suited body boarders nearby. Great fun being tumbled up the beach watched by a line of my family on the sea wall. After a while I decide to get out beyond the double layer of crashing breakers to try for a swim in the rollers. Suddenly, surprisingly, I find myself out of my depth (I know this bit of beach well and I'm cautious in the sea, always checking the depth of the water); I'm trying to get back in, and feel that I'm being pulled further out in my attempts. I had been in line with the body boarders and now I'm getting further out, and starting to feel exhausted by the effort.
I'm scared. I try not to panic, needing to use my energies to ride up and over each roller while I assess my situation. I'm not sure if I'm overreacting. Can I swim for shore? If I wave will my family think I'm waving or drowning? Should I shout? What will they think or do? what can they do? Perhaps at some level remembering you should try to swim across the current, not directly against it I turn to face diagonally towards the shore, towards the boarders, and while doggypaddling with one paw, raise my arm to get attention. Can you see me? Can you see I need help? Yes, she does! A girl, a teenager, I don't really think about how old she is, just that she looks very confident in the water, smiles and starts towards me, then suddenly turns away; a surge of fear hits me until I realise she is alerting her friends before turning back to me with strong confident strokes, never taking her eyes off me. Within speaking distance I want to be sure she understands, 'Aidez-moi? Can you help me?' 'Yes' she says, simply, beautifully and smiles encouragingly, 'It's ok. It's ok'. The relief is enormous. I wait for her to tell me what to do; she takes me firmly by the arm and kicks out for shore with me in tow, still able to ride the water with legs and one arm free. Her friends arive (another girl and a guy) with a bodyboard which I grab hold of eagerly. 'Mm, euuh, get up? uhm, get on?' the girl says, any doubt about the meaning of the English words irrelevant as I get a strong shove onto the board from my rear end, As we hit the breakers they try to hold us all steady, but I get caught sideways rolling off, causing anxiety to my rescuers as another breaker is about to crash around us. I just have time to take a breath and point my arms to the beach, happy to be tumbled up it, ungracefully, to the waiting feet (and arms) of George and family, waiting with towels and offers of hot chocolate. How far have I swum? Feels like miles, but I'm too exhausted and relieved to care.
Over the channel to stay with family and friends in Audresselles, seaside village near Boulogne. Beautiful day, can't wait to get in the sea. Much debate with George whether or not a swim here will count as it is not directly between Oxford and Cambridge. Everyone else has been in and out of the sea all afternoon. By the time I arrive they are out and dressed and it's just me that wants to jump in the increasingly wild waves that are being whipped up by a strong wind that has driven most of the people out of the sea and away; there is one group of wet-suited body boarders nearby. Great fun being tumbled up the beach watched by a line of my family on the sea wall. After a while I decide to get out beyond the double layer of crashing breakers to try for a swim in the rollers. Suddenly, surprisingly, I find myself out of my depth (I know this bit of beach well and I'm cautious in the sea, always checking the depth of the water); I'm trying to get back in, and feel that I'm being pulled further out in my attempts. I had been in line with the body boarders and now I'm getting further out, and starting to feel exhausted by the effort.
I'm scared. I try not to panic, needing to use my energies to ride up and over each roller while I assess my situation. I'm not sure if I'm overreacting. Can I swim for shore? If I wave will my family think I'm waving or drowning? Should I shout? What will they think or do? what can they do? Perhaps at some level remembering you should try to swim across the current, not directly against it I turn to face diagonally towards the shore, towards the boarders, and while doggypaddling with one paw, raise my arm to get attention. Can you see me? Can you see I need help? Yes, she does! A girl, a teenager, I don't really think about how old she is, just that she looks very confident in the water, smiles and starts towards me, then suddenly turns away; a surge of fear hits me until I realise she is alerting her friends before turning back to me with strong confident strokes, never taking her eyes off me. Within speaking distance I want to be sure she understands, 'Aidez-moi? Can you help me?' 'Yes' she says, simply, beautifully and smiles encouragingly, 'It's ok. It's ok'. The relief is enormous. I wait for her to tell me what to do; she takes me firmly by the arm and kicks out for shore with me in tow, still able to ride the water with legs and one arm free. Her friends arive (another girl and a guy) with a bodyboard which I grab hold of eagerly. 'Mm, euuh, get up? uhm, get on?' the girl says, any doubt about the meaning of the English words irrelevant as I get a strong shove onto the board from my rear end, As we hit the breakers they try to hold us all steady, but I get caught sideways rolling off, causing anxiety to my rescuers as another breaker is about to crash around us. I just have time to take a breath and point my arms to the beach, happy to be tumbled up it, ungracefully, to the waiting feet (and arms) of George and family, waiting with towels and offers of hot chocolate. How far have I swum? Feels like miles, but I'm too exhausted and relieved to care.
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Monday, 20 August 2012
Day One: Sunday19th August
20 lengths (yay!) in my local pool - Marston Ferry in Summertown, Oxford. 25m length pool, so my first 500m completed
I learnt to swim a doggy paddle as a kid, and a passable head-above-water breastroke - very useful for wildswimming. I have always enjoyed mucking about in water, but thought I'd never learn to swim properly until this year when I decided learn a proper breathing technique for the front crawl. It's working!
Day Two: Monday 20th August
Swam 25 lengths of the outdoor pool at St Edward's outdoor pool, Oxford. this is a 20 m pool, so that's my next 500m, so the first Kilometre completed! only another 137km to go!
Today was fun. I was accompanied for some of my swim by Katie, younger sister of my son's best friend. She is 8, swims crawl faster than me, but I beat her at breaststroke! She can do butterfly! I think that is a Never for me, but then I used to think that about front crawl.........the lifeguard saw how hard I was working on my crawl and gave me some really useful feedback on my leg kick technique - I did some practice using a float and only kicking, and now I actually move forward instead of backwards!
20 lengths (yay!) in my local pool - Marston Ferry in Summertown, Oxford. 25m length pool, so my first 500m completed
I learnt to swim a doggy paddle as a kid, and a passable head-above-water breastroke - very useful for wildswimming. I have always enjoyed mucking about in water, but thought I'd never learn to swim properly until this year when I decided learn a proper breathing technique for the front crawl. It's working!
Day Two: Monday 20th August
Swam 25 lengths of the outdoor pool at St Edward's outdoor pool, Oxford. this is a 20 m pool, so that's my next 500m, so the first Kilometre completed! only another 137km to go!
Today was fun. I was accompanied for some of my swim by Katie, younger sister of my son's best friend. She is 8, swims crawl faster than me, but I beat her at breaststroke! She can do butterfly! I think that is a Never for me, but then I used to think that about front crawl.........the lifeguard saw how hard I was working on my crawl and gave me some really useful feedback on my leg kick technique - I did some practice using a float and only kicking, and now I actually move forward instead of backwards!
Oxford to Cambridge swim
All started as I swam in the Cam at Grantchester on Saturday: this is where I would like to end up - hopefully when my daughter and her family have achieved their goal of moving here from Norwich. I drive/train/bus from Oxford to Norwich every other Sunday, to see my family and help a bit with childcare. Cambridge is significantly closer than Norwich, but even so it is not an easy journey. No direct trainline, a tortuous bus journey, and driving is - well driving! The long way round via M25 is 170km, the more reliable long way round to the north is 162km on the A14, and the shortest, as the crow flies, is 138k involving so many roundabouts the bird must be as dizzy as me!
I've taken up swimming recently; I'd been about to sign up to do a charity 'Swim the Channel' - 22 miles (or over 1,400 lengths of a 25m pool) but had realised that it would take me so many months to complete that I'd miss the sponsorship window. So why not set up my own, even if it is going to take me 2 years instead of 6 months!
This is how it works: every bit of swimming I do now is towards my swim from Oxford to Cambridge: lengths in the pool are to be counted and recorded. I am also going to do as much wild swimming on the journey as possible; so: I am looking for tips and recommendations for outdoor swims between the two cities. And if you know of any private swims - pools in back gardens? please ask if I can swim them and let me know. Also: I have decided to raise money for KEEN a charity and joint organisation of Oxford and Oxford Brookes Universities, which provides sporting and recreational activities for young people with special needs in Oxfordshire. www.justgiving.com/LizTreasureSwim
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