I finally started to feel normal in the pool this week. I had a big training week to get through in terms of mileage for each session. It was quite a shift from what I have been used to, but I respond really well to following a program and was able to tick off each session by breaking it down into sets and just getting my mind prepared to tick off the boxes.
Work was a little more spread out, although I still had the same amount of work, somehow it seemed more manageable. Perhaps my body is adapting to the increased demands being placed on it. I finished my pool sessions on Thursday and had a training camp planned in Balito to do another 20km to finish the week with 40km in the bag with a road trip to CT and rest week planned when I got there.
Incentive is a wonderful thing and so is following a plan. I had planned this training weekend last year already, but only on paper, so I was a bit unprepared for it when I realised it was this past weekend.(this was 2 weeks ago) I hadn’t organised anywhere to go and stay and it was a long weekend! Whoops! A snorkel day in Balito at Thompson’s bay inspired me to set up camp in Balito and I my training partner and he husband stay in Simbithi so I was in luck.
The timing of the camp was actually perfect, although it is early in my training preparation, my body was hurting and I had a lot going on in my head about Hawaii and the way forward with regards to sponsorship proposals and how to create a profile. I had a few doubts about the sanity of going forward with the swim in terms of the fundraising involved and the effort that would take, the training is relatively easy.
I set off early on Saturday morning before the holiday makers set in, Thompsons bay is a beautiful 100m tidal pool next the well known hole in the wall beach in Balito, a perfect setting for some long slow swim sets. I had the entire pool to myself for my first hour of training which was amazing! I saw parrot fish, flute fish, a resident octopus and at one point an eel which completely freaked me out! By 7am the locals started joining me in the pool and it was quite nice to have some fellow swimmers to train with for a bit. It was quite a tough first session. I had hoped to swim 10km, but decided to call it a day after 8km as I was tired, my body was hurting and I started feeling a little niggle in my shoulder.
I headed to Simbithi where I was warmly welcomed by Rentia (Wayne was playing golf) a shower and some food. After a short rest I headed out to chat with my sports psychologist about my doubts and the way forward with my fundraising strategy. It was a very helpful productive and refreshing chat and I came home feeling a lot my prepared with more clarity as to the way forward. The rest of the day was spent reading, eating, chatting and watching sport. I opted to stick to one session day for my first training camp. I have a long way to go still, no need to rush!
Sunday I started a little later as I was only doing 6km, the water was perfect again and this time I had a resident octopus to greet me at the end of every 200m how cool! Wayne came and joined me for some of the session which was fun. The rest of the day was spent pretty much the same as Saturday, with a mandatory power nap. Today was the final day and I was greeted with glorious much needed rain to train in. I LOVE swimming in the rain and although it affected the visibility, it was wonderful to swim in 25C water with the cool sea breeze and fresh water rain droplets coming down. Unfortunately the rain didn’t last long, but I enjoyed it while it was there. A friend joined me for some of the session today and we ended off the session with a buffet brekkie which did not go to waste!
It was the perfect spot for some quality rest and recovery
The weekend was a great start to my training for the season and I was blessed to spend it with an incredibly generous and inspiring couple. We had some good chats about dreaming big and how to go about making it a reality. It was the perfect spot for some quality rest and recovery mixed with a bit of slow steady swimming. I learnt a lot from Wayne and Rentia about endurance training, recovery and got some valuable sponsorship advice.
Overall it was a fantastic weekend and the first of many to come!