Saturday 18 September 2010

Testing the Water


Last night I didn't sleep too well as I knew we were swimming at Salford Quays this morning.
The session was from 7.30 until 9.00, we were up with the larks, rubbered up and into the waters of Ontario Basin at 7.48. Woo hoo!
I decided to wear my swim socks, but the water was surprisingly warm. In fact, I quickly realised that I'd rather have been swimming without a wetsuit. I know it's an aid to buoyancy - you aren't going to sink when you're wearing one - but it certainly interferes with my ability to swim as efficiently and really tires me out. Next year I think I'll invest in a thinner one. In the meantime I'm considering whether to cut the suit's legs off just above the knees to give me a bit more control when I'm swimming breaststroke.
Anyway, the whole experience was fantastic - I'm so glad we did it. Where Windermere is sweet, brown and translucent, the water today was sweet and green. At one point I thought I saw an eel swimming in front of me, but decided not to dwell on this as eels are a bit snaky and I didn't want to think about them too much.
The course was 400m, and 4 laps equals a mile - the length of next Sunday's swim. We decided to do 2 laps - which felt like quite an achievement after our limited outdoor swimming this summer.
When we got out we were buzzing, home for a high carb breakfast - I was ravenous - then the exertions caught up with me and I spent the afternoon sleeping!
A couple of pool swims, another trip to the Quays next Saturday, then the real thing next Sunday. I'm looking forward to seeing the venue taking shape this week!

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