Back again. Apologies for not posting for the last two weeks but life has been a bit hectic this last couple of weeks.
First I would like to clear up a few queries. I have not yet swum the Channel yet as some of you might have thought. This is due to my event on facebook that I was unable to extend for more than a month so it ran out recently. Some thought I had already Swum. I wish I had though
My training is going well, over the bank holidy weekend I was down in Dover and I did a 6 hour swim on Saturday and then a 4 hour on Sunday before the weather turned horrible and the heavens opened. The PygmyHippo joined me for the last hour or so on Sunday.I was very pleased to see some of my mates that had decided that it would be a good idea to come camping in the area and spend some time with me, Thanks to all who came down, it was great to see you and spend some time with you all.
The week was spent doing a few 1 -2 hour swims in the pool and, Saturday I was up at 5 o'clock in the morning to head off for Heron lake where they were having a 3.8 km race in the lake, I thought it might be good to go and pit my swimming skills against all these triathletes who need flotation aids to swim. Well I only managed to get a third place out of about 30 people who started but I could have pushed it a lot harder as I did not really want to kill myself at the beginning and my time was pretty slow, 3.8 km in 1 hour and 8 minutes, I would expect to do that distance in less than an hour in those sort of conditions. The PygmyHippo (Spencer) did it in a time of 1 hour and 24 minutes.All in all a good swim.
Saturday I was fundraising again and managed to get some money but was lucky enough to get my cause out to loads of poeple so hopefully it will have been a worthwhile weekend.
With regards to my swim date I am assuming that I will be swimming in my booked slot which is somewhere between the 21st and the 27th of September. I am however on standby in the meantime so if the weather is good and a slot becomes available I will swim earlier. Thank you to all the peole who have expressed an interest in coming down and seeing me off and also driving over to france to be there when I hopefully set foot on France, I will endeavor to let everyone know when I swim as soon as I know a more definite date.
Till next time
Zimhippo off training
Instructions from the general
I'm the confused one scratching my chin
Butterfly training
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Monday, 18 August 2008
A English Tea Party
This weekend the training was put on hold on Sunday to recover from Saturdays Garden Party that was hosted in my honour. I did 2 hours on Saturday morning I woke at 5 am packed a few things, went by my brothers place to pick him up then off to Heron lake, 2 hours chewing up the triathletes and spitting them out in my wake. I averaged a good time, as I was not doing a long swim, I decided to sprint for two hours. I felt great afterwards and my shoulders were not too bad. I find that cold water numbs the pain but it was only two hours so I didn't expect much problems as it is usually only after about 4 - 5 hours that my shoulders start to show signs of damage.
After that I headed for The Jacaranda and goat, - a pub in a mates house to help with preparations for the aforementioned garden party (www.thejacarandaandgoat.com) We spent a fair time wrestling with a 14m x 9m tarpaulin to keep the rain off before we tore that and moved to plan B- lots of Gazebos. the party started to kick off at about 2 pm,watching the Boks get their butts kicked by New Zealand.
The theme was English garden party, the dress code was, for men, Smart with a tie and jacket above the waist, anything you want below the waist. For Ladies it was smart dress and a hat.
After the rugby The jazz pianist and soloist kicked the party off, they were brilliant. The guests entertained themselves with croquet, boules and general chit chat , accompanied by loads of pimms cocktail.
The fundraising was in the form of a raffle where you got my skills as a labourer for the day, the bidding went off very well and the person who won me, a good friend, was not convinced that I would make a great labourer so offered me up for raffle again. it all went off very well and we raised a fair sum of money. After the raffle the afrodizzyaxe band kicked off for the night. I finally stumbled home at about 2 o'clock in the morning feeling a bit weary.
All in all a great day was had by all and the Lovely british weather held off for us, no costs were incurred as, the venue, the band, the jazz pianist and soloist were all offered up by close friends of mine or friends of friends. all food and drinks were donated and brought by the guests. I am so privileged to have such great mates.
Well this week I need to get back into training as I am still on standby but I hear the Weather in the Channel is not playing nicely for us and there were a few swimmers pulled out last week as they started in very fine weather but it turned very ugly after a couple of hours. Well done to all who attempted their swims last week, my admiration for you is immense.
Till Next time Zimhippo signing off
After that I headed for The Jacaranda and goat, - a pub in a mates house to help with preparations for the aforementioned garden party (www.thejacarandaandgoat.com) We spent a fair time wrestling with a 14m x 9m tarpaulin to keep the rain off before we tore that and moved to plan B- lots of Gazebos. the party started to kick off at about 2 pm,watching the Boks get their butts kicked by New Zealand.
The theme was English garden party, the dress code was, for men, Smart with a tie and jacket above the waist, anything you want below the waist. For Ladies it was smart dress and a hat.
After the rugby The jazz pianist and soloist kicked the party off, they were brilliant. The guests entertained themselves with croquet, boules and general chit chat , accompanied by loads of pimms cocktail.
The fundraising was in the form of a raffle where you got my skills as a labourer for the day, the bidding went off very well and the person who won me, a good friend, was not convinced that I would make a great labourer so offered me up for raffle again. it all went off very well and we raised a fair sum of money. After the raffle the afrodizzyaxe band kicked off for the night. I finally stumbled home at about 2 o'clock in the morning feeling a bit weary.
All in all a great day was had by all and the Lovely british weather held off for us, no costs were incurred as, the venue, the band, the jazz pianist and soloist were all offered up by close friends of mine or friends of friends. all food and drinks were donated and brought by the guests. I am so privileged to have such great mates.
Well this week I need to get back into training as I am still on standby but I hear the Weather in the Channel is not playing nicely for us and there were a few swimmers pulled out last week as they started in very fine weather but it turned very ugly after a couple of hours. Well done to all who attempted their swims last week, my admiration for you is immense.
Till Next time Zimhippo signing off
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
The joys of Open water swimming in the Channel
Hi all
It has been a while since I updated this blog but I felt the need to fill you in on how it is all going.
I label this blog "the joys of open water swimming in the channel" as recently I have come against a few hick ups. You may remember that after my two weekends of mammoth swims that there may be a chance for my swim to be brought forward to end of August, a full 4 weeks ahead of schedule. This might still happen as I am now on standby, that means, IF AND WHEN the weather in the Channel decides to play ball and my pilot manages a few other swimmers across then I will move up. Alas, the weather is not playing ball and this last tide, which we are currently in is a bit of a blow out and I believe that on one of the longest tides of the year, very few swimmers if any have got across due to uncertain weather. What! In this country, who would have believed it!!!
This now leaves me in a dilemma as to what to do, keep my training distances long as it could be a while before I swim or alternatively start winding them down as I really don't want to be swimming really long swims 2 or 3 days before I do my final swim across the channel. Decisions decisions. This is really playing havoc with my mental preparedness. The best I can hope for is that I am ready anyway no matter what.
Another inconvenience that I have come across is the dreaded tendonitis in both shoulders so I have had to curb my training anyway, I am still not taking any smarties (ibuprofen for the uninitiated) but fear that this may not last all that much longer, I was hoping to get through this without any sort of painkillers or anti-inflamatories.
I did a 4 hour swim in the harbour last weekend and I might as well just have jumped into my washing machine at home and swum as it was so rough, I don't know how there was any water left in the harbour, I thought I had swallowed it all or rather my mouth and stomach believed I had.
Well the training continues albeit slowly and not doing the long distances, I will try a long swim in the lakes this weekend as I find the cold water helps numb the pain in my shoulders, swimming in heated pools is a real pain and I get lethargic very quickly and my shoulders feel like they are on fire after relatively short distances.
Well stay well and look after yourselves.
Remember,
"A dream is all you need, your body and mind will work towards achieving it"
It has been a while since I updated this blog but I felt the need to fill you in on how it is all going.
I label this blog "the joys of open water swimming in the channel" as recently I have come against a few hick ups. You may remember that after my two weekends of mammoth swims that there may be a chance for my swim to be brought forward to end of August, a full 4 weeks ahead of schedule. This might still happen as I am now on standby, that means, IF AND WHEN the weather in the Channel decides to play ball and my pilot manages a few other swimmers across then I will move up. Alas, the weather is not playing ball and this last tide, which we are currently in is a bit of a blow out and I believe that on one of the longest tides of the year, very few swimmers if any have got across due to uncertain weather. What! In this country, who would have believed it!!!
This now leaves me in a dilemma as to what to do, keep my training distances long as it could be a while before I swim or alternatively start winding them down as I really don't want to be swimming really long swims 2 or 3 days before I do my final swim across the channel. Decisions decisions. This is really playing havoc with my mental preparedness. The best I can hope for is that I am ready anyway no matter what.
Another inconvenience that I have come across is the dreaded tendonitis in both shoulders so I have had to curb my training anyway, I am still not taking any smarties (ibuprofen for the uninitiated) but fear that this may not last all that much longer, I was hoping to get through this without any sort of painkillers or anti-inflamatories.
I did a 4 hour swim in the harbour last weekend and I might as well just have jumped into my washing machine at home and swum as it was so rough, I don't know how there was any water left in the harbour, I thought I had swallowed it all or rather my mouth and stomach believed I had.
Well the training continues albeit slowly and not doing the long distances, I will try a long swim in the lakes this weekend as I find the cold water helps numb the pain in my shoulders, swimming in heated pools is a real pain and I get lethargic very quickly and my shoulders feel like they are on fire after relatively short distances.
Well stay well and look after yourselves.
Remember,
"A dream is all you need, your body and mind will work towards achieving it"
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