The year that was...

A lot of kilometres covered in 2014.  A quite winter saw me me miss out on the 1000km mark.

With a lot of base building in 2015 I guarantee this distance will be past about September this year.  

100 x 100m Boxing Day Challenge

DONE...with hand paddles from 5km too...

Last Swim for 2014

Vald Swim 10km event at Balmoral...better time this swim

Not the best result for my first event

My first event for the new swimming season produced a time i was not expecting.  The 2 hour 40 min 9.5 km swim was definitely not what i wanted, but after some sole searching and reflection it really should not have been unexpected considering we have been concentrating on picking up my speed and not spending time on endurance.

The first 5km saw exceptionally good 1km split times but that is where it ended and i came home with a very 'dry sail'.

  

Easy lake swim today

First swim back after a slight shoulder injury. Everything felt good, no pain and i managed to get through just under 8km in just over 2hours.

Back into the pool tomorrow for some more long distance speed work.

Niggle...

First shoulder niggle for the year has seen a 3 day hiatus from the water. Up until then the training has been uninterrupted with good improvements seen, especially lately in the 1km pool splits and 100m sets.

I have been lucky with my shoulders so far but i put that down to a lot of shoulder strengthening and stretching exercises. Once or twice a week, depending on which week in the phase it is, i am in my garage gym. I have about 20 exercises to do that takes about 90 minute to complete. About 15 of the exercises use bands are focused on the shoulders and associated muscles and the rest on my core and lats. To ensure improvement I keep track of all the exercises i do, here is a screenshot.

 

I suppose injuries are all part of this journey and it how they are managed that will be the key to getting back in the water ASAP.

Time Trail...

After a week of only a half training it was nice to get into the pool today and measure how much all this work has improved my swimming.  My time in today's 1km time-trial saw an improvement of just over 20 seconds...obviously the training is working.

This month is all about speed training again, then two 10km swims and then a few weeks off over Christmas.  

Rest Week

After 3 gruelling weeks of nose to the black line and nose to the weight training equipment it's now time for a rest...or half week.

This week is all about letting my body catch up, rest, consolidate the training whilst giving me a chance to focus my efforts elsewhere i.e. Family, garden, cleaning etc.

2 days in to rest week and I feel like I am a spring all wound up with this energy I usually expend. It's hard to sit back, relax and ignore those feelings.

A Sunday afternoon set

It felt so good to knock out a decent set today at Civic Pool. About half of the 11km was speed work, a quarter one arm drills and the rest continuous swimming at 75% (that's my favourite part of the swim). Best of all, even toward the end my times were holding steady, meaning there is still lots left in the tank.

This coming week is the 3rd 'on week' of the monthly program (I call it cranky week). I do 3 'on weeks' in a row, each comprising of about 25km swimming, one weights session and one Pilates session. The 4th 'off week' is half the swimming distance, Pilates and no weights...the 4th week is the most important week as the down time is letting my mind and body rest and consolidate that hard work, thus becoming stronger!

What has happened?

Lots of swimming and strength training is the answer to that! Since my last post I have swum two series in Samoa, done lots of technique work, done lots of upper and core strength work and in the last few weeks been back in the lake for a few cold water swims.

What's all this work for...........The English Channel in August 2016!!! Yep I have decided it's time to challenge myself for the ultimate prize, to become a channel swimmer!

Since July I have expanded the Rottnest team to include a sports Phycologist, a nutricitionist and an open water swimming coach.

With the long term goal is in place we have lots of sub goals (10km events) that are focused on enabling me over the next 22 months to build a mind and a body that can swim that haloed stretch of water.

It's all very exciting...overwhelming, tiring and bloody scary...buts it is the right time in my life to complete this challenge!!!