Another weekend, more open water training - but this time in the form of a race! Actually, three races: the Champion of Champions event held on Saturday 16th June in Dover Harbour consisted of a 5 mile event, a 3 mile event and a 1 mile event, with about 75mins between each in which to warm up, gobble some food and commiserate with fellow competitors about the dreadful conditions. Actually the conditions could have been worse - but more on those later.
The course for the three races was essentially a square of 1 mile, with the first leg parallel to the beach travelling east, the second aiming directly out from the beach, the third travelling west parallel to the beach and the last leg parallel to the west harbour wall, travelling towards the beach. The weather was windy, which was creating a lot of chop, particularly in the second and third legs. At the start of the five mile race, everyone quickly settled down and I soon found myself in a pack of 4 along with Katherine, whom I have swum with in Dover before and never managed to stay with over time. By the third lap it was just Katherine and I - one member had broken away ahead of us, and we had dropped the other swimmer. At times I couldn't see Katherine as she was taking a different line, and the wind and the chop was getting stronger - so much so that I wasn't convinced I was going anywhere on the last lap - but we always seemed to be neck and neck. However on the last lap, by dint of being a little luckier on the line I took and a massive kick for home I managed to come in 3 mins ahead. I was really pleased with that race - I felt strong throughout, my toes were a little cold but nothing to write home about, and my fingers had only just started to cramp. It took 2hrs 32mins, which is incredibly slow for 5 miles...unsurprisingly, the start of the second race was delayed whilst they moved the outer buoys back into position - we had effectively swum closer to 6 miles than to 5. No one complained about the delay - more time to warm up!
The three mile race was almost a repeat of the first stages of the 5-miler. Katherine and I quickly formed a pack with Jennifer and swum together. I put in a sprint for the finish along the sea wall (where the current was running really high and you felt like you were speeding along!) and managed to come in ahead of the other two. Again, I felt strong.
The one mile was a reminder of what I lack - sprint speed. Everyone went hell for leather, which is a gear I don't really have, so I got well and truly whipped on that one! However, on aggregate my time of 4 hours 7 mins brought me home as the 5th lady. I'd forgotten how good racing is as a training exercise - I worked so hard to keep up with the others around me, and my competitive spirit wouldn't let me just coast home. I'm sure that was worth at least 6 hours of trundling up and down the harbour. It also exposed me to conditions I might ordinarily find frustrating - lots of chop and wind, and currents - but because it was a race we all just knuckled down and got on with it. In addition, the water temperature was never an issue (it was 14.8 degrees) which is allowing me to believe that I may actually be able to cope when the time comes after all...
Sunday I had a lovely rest day - the last rest day on a weekend until after the attempt, which is now only 5 weeks away. I am starting to feel a bit more excited than scared, but next weekend I will have to do long back to back swims, so there is plenty of opportunity for my confidence to come crashing down again! This training lark is a real roller-coaster.
Away from swimming (yes, there is life away from swimming), Bug is teething so we are up two or three times a night, Matt has had a nasty fluey-cold-thingy and we've had the Dormouse (Paul Ambrose, Australian elite triathlete who sleeps like a baby, which is more than I can say for Bug) staying with us, so life goes on, regardless of Channel dreams!
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