My open water swimming experience started shortly after signing up to swim to the Isle of Wight in 2013. I'd done it on a bit of a whim, deciding that it seemed like a great idea to swim across the Solent. I remember being nervous, mildly terrified and not entirely sure of what to expect. While I had done open water swims in the sea and lake before, it was a different experience when you could actually see how far away the finish line was.
That swim gave me the bug; it was a great sunny day and the water was not only warm but calm. I managed to swim to the Isle of Wight in an 1 hour and 13 minutes. I thought this was a pretty respectable time. I was informed a few weeks ago that I was still the fastest Aspire swimmer over 16 to swim there.
Yep that's right, the fastest swimmer for Aspire over 16. I felt pretty good about that......
Hang on! Over 16? Turned out I wasn't the fastest anymore: I'd been beaten by both a 12 year old girl and a 15 year old. Now I'm not sexist, there are lots of female swimmers who are far quicker than me and I'm fine with that. But my pride was a little bit dented to find out that I was slower than a school girl. She had swum to the Isle of Wight in 1 hour and 5 minutes, which is a seriously fast time. I'm not sure who she is and I doubt that she will read this but I doff my cap, well done!
As most of the regular readers of this blog know, I work for a certain successful F1 team that has been doing rather well the last few seasons. That, unfortunately, makes me slightly competitive and needless to say, I wanted a chance to redeem myself. Luckily a place became available to do it again, and this morning I found myself back in Gosport ready to kick that little girls as.... No wait, thats my competitive side coming out again. I found myself back in Gosport ready to see what several years of swim training has done for me, albeit with a slight shoulder injury (I'm getting my excuses in early).
I had a lot of ribbing on the way to the start line, as you would expect. But I found out that I would once again be paired up with my lovely kayaker from my first crossing. It was great to see a familiar face, although she wasted no time in telling me that my time had been beaten by a 12 year old girl so I better swim my socks off. The weather wasn't as nice as as the first swim, it was a bit choppier and the sun wasn't making any attempt to show itself through the copious cloud coverage.
That swim gave me the bug; it was a great sunny day and the water was not only warm but calm. I managed to swim to the Isle of Wight in an 1 hour and 13 minutes. I thought this was a pretty respectable time. I was informed a few weeks ago that I was still the fastest Aspire swimmer over 16 to swim there.
Yep that's right, the fastest swimmer for Aspire over 16. I felt pretty good about that......
Hang on! Over 16? Turned out I wasn't the fastest anymore: I'd been beaten by both a 12 year old girl and a 15 year old. Now I'm not sexist, there are lots of female swimmers who are far quicker than me and I'm fine with that. But my pride was a little bit dented to find out that I was slower than a school girl. She had swum to the Isle of Wight in 1 hour and 5 minutes, which is a seriously fast time. I'm not sure who she is and I doubt that she will read this but I doff my cap, well done!
As most of the regular readers of this blog know, I work for a certain successful F1 team that has been doing rather well the last few seasons. That, unfortunately, makes me slightly competitive and needless to say, I wanted a chance to redeem myself. Luckily a place became available to do it again, and this morning I found myself back in Gosport ready to kick that little girls as.... No wait, thats my competitive side coming out again. I found myself back in Gosport ready to see what several years of swim training has done for me, albeit with a slight shoulder injury (I'm getting my excuses in early).
I had a lot of ribbing on the way to the start line, as you would expect. But I found out that I would once again be paired up with my lovely kayaker from my first crossing. It was great to see a familiar face, although she wasted no time in telling me that my time had been beaten by a 12 year old girl so I better swim my socks off. The weather wasn't as nice as as the first swim, it was a bit choppier and the sun wasn't making any attempt to show itself through the copious cloud coverage.
Told you I was getting my excuses in early.
About partway into the swim, I was attacked. This time not by a seagull but by a big clump of seaweed. It got trapped in my goggles, round my neck and shoulders. It took me a good few strokes to get rid of it but at least it wasn't a jellyfish. That was pretty much it. It was a nice uneventful swim. I had a little bit of shoulder pain in my 3rd kilometre but it wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was the best that my shoulder has felt for the past month or so.
This swim was brilliant! It might have been overcast but it is such an experience to get out into the open water and swim to a different island. I mean how cool is that? A whole different island! It's not that long a swim, so if you want to do a nice challenge why not give it a go? Don't be fooled, it is not a competitive swim. It's only crazy fools like me who treat most things as a race - everyone else is nice and normal. Aspire do several swims per year, all the info is on their website, you can use the link at the top of the page.
About partway into the swim, I was attacked. This time not by a seagull but by a big clump of seaweed. It got trapped in my goggles, round my neck and shoulders. It took me a good few strokes to get rid of it but at least it wasn't a jellyfish. That was pretty much it. It was a nice uneventful swim. I had a little bit of shoulder pain in my 3rd kilometre but it wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was the best that my shoulder has felt for the past month or so.
This swim was brilliant! It might have been overcast but it is such an experience to get out into the open water and swim to a different island. I mean how cool is that? A whole different island! It's not that long a swim, so if you want to do a nice challenge why not give it a go? Don't be fooled, it is not a competitive swim. It's only crazy fools like me who treat most things as a race - everyone else is nice and normal. Aspire do several swims per year, all the info is on their website, you can use the link at the top of the page.
Anyhow, it is nearly time for the big challenge. My slot opens on Tuesday the 9th of August, hopefully the weather will be kind and I'll get to go that week. I'll post tracking information on the blog, twitter and Facebook when the time comes. Thanks for reading!
Oh, I almost forgot. I swam it much faster than my previous time, 1 hour and 8 minutes. Yes, that's still slower than a 12 year old school girl but I did find out that she was wearing a wetsuit. So overall I think I win...
Oh, I almost forgot. I swam it much faster than my previous time, 1 hour and 8 minutes. Yes, that's still slower than a 12 year old school girl but I did find out that she was wearing a wetsuit. So overall I think I win...