Giles's Swim for Charity
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I await a call from Alex, when it happens I will meet him at a local marina and float around in my new wetsuit - step one in cold acclimatisation. For obvious reasons people are not allowed into the water in our marinas. But, if I go as "part" of the dive team who have permission, I'm OK
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On Friday night I am going to the beach to give this open water stuff a go….
I'm sure someone has told you, but open water is a fair fair bit harder. Currents, chop, timing, breathing etc all go out the window. Also when there's no line on the bottom it's really difficult to swim straight. I used to be a life saver and always struggled to swim in the ocean but would do laps for a few hours a week in the pool. Be easy on yourself, it's really difficult in short
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Yeah, I know. But the good news is that I'll be wearing a wet suit and obviously saline water is more buoyant, so at least I can't sink when I panic…..On the swim itself, I'll be shadowed by Kayaks, so I just need to sight them rather than the destination, so hopefully I'll be able to sight on the breathe stroke. But to sum - I'm shit scared.....
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That's probably a healthy respect of the sea. A Kayak will still be difficult to sight if you're swimming with your head down. Imagine you'll probably work out a routine to look up after every 10th stroke or so, so you'll never be too far off course. Try swim eyes closed in the pool and see where you drift after a few strokes, it helps work out that when you do stick your head up you should be looking to the <insert direction="">for kayak. You'll be fine, just don't poop in the wet suit :D</insert>
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Nice.
You're on your way to becoming a ocean swimming superstar, aren't you?
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Today, I swam properly in the sea for the first time….I did 50 minutes, but as my computer has not arrived yet, I can only guess distance. I reckon about 1/2 mile with the tide and the wind and then 1/4 mile against both.
Impressions:
- Actual swimming in the sea is easier than in the pool
- Spotting or sighting is a skill I seriously need to improve upon quickly. I reckon I swam 20-25% further than I needed to.
- I like the flotation the wet suit gives me, but it may prove too hot on the actual swim
- Swimming in anything, is seriously stupid after a "candle at both ends" week in Japan and a long flight home....
