The week started as normal, with a BRJ coached pool session. It was a pretty tough session which covered all elements of swimming from technique drills, endurance and finally sprints. I led the lane and surprised myself, especially during the sprint set. I figured I would be in a lot of pain when I woke on Tuesday but thankfully, I wasn’t so my swim buddy and I set off for our longest swim so far. Swimming from The Brampton Mill pub to the St.Ives Bridge, which was 12km and of course we stopped for sandwiches or in my case a cookie half way through!
It was a really lovely and peaceful swim; the weather was a little odd as when you took a breath one side it was glorious sunshine but when you took a breath on the other side the sky was grey. The good thing was that it did mean the river was quiet and we saw very few boats. The swim involved getting in and out at some locks, which was tricky but thankfully my swim buddy had towed my walking stick in her tow float, and I had my shoes in my tow float so I could manage the short walks. One of the locks we got out at there was also. a perfectly placed bench where we stopped for a rest and had something to eat. Val was sensible and brought sandwiches, I just had a Belvita Cookie!
We kept swimming through Houghton, Hemingford and on to the St.Ives lock. Thankfully, we managed to find a way to get out near the lock so that we could get round it. The final bit of the swim was actually a little exciting, when going over the St.Ives bridge I have often thought it might be fun to swim under it and it was finally happening! Plus, it meant I was completing a swim that I had wanted to do for over a year. Going down the last stretch of river, going pass the pubs and cafes and under the St.Ives bridge was incredibly satisfying and we managed the swim in 5 hours (including stops).
I missed out on my Wednesday swim as I was originally supposed to be doing my SEQ Level 2 Teaching Practical course but at the last minute was told I wasn’t allowed to do it. So instead of my normal Wednesday swim I managed a nice steady 5km on Thursday after my usual personal training session. Friday, I travelled down to London to stay at a friends because Sunday was the wonderful Henley Outdoor Swimming Festival.
The friend that I was staying with is not only a friend but is also my counsellor and has helped me more than I will ever be able to explain so whilst I was at hers we did a bit of tricky work together, which took it out of me BUT I had Henley to look forwards to on Sunday!
Henley was awesome, so awesome it has its own post!
Stats for the week:
Pool Swim, 1 – 1750m
River Swims, 3 – 12061m
Weekly Total = 20.246km