Finally I’m Swimming!

Yeah I know that a few weeks ago I said that I had entered the Sharkfest event in San Francisco and that I would be posting regular blogs, the truth is that I haven’t been into the water… until now…

On Sunday morning at 6am I finally went swimming in La Jolla Cove with Corina. I haven’t been swimming in the ocean for a few years and it was a bit of a shock. A couple of years ago I had a bad experience swimming while on vacation and I nearly drowned, I haven't really been in the ocean since. I am an ok swimmer, not fast but not too slow, I have good technique but at Napoleonic 5’4’’ I will never be too fast (actually Napoleon was an unnaturally tall 5’6’’). I have swam in lakes in the cold and wet summer of England and that was the last time I did any real distance swimming outdoors.

Adrenaline is a funny thing… I had waited for my first swim until Corina deemed the conditions right for me to get back into the water, Sunday was the day. I wanted to get it over with early so I found myself squeezing into my wetsuit before most people were out of bed. Yes the water was cold, I was expecting that, yes I was a wee bit nervous, I was expecting that, I wasn’t expecting to freak out every time I saw a piece of seaweed! Ever since I told people that I was going to do the Sharkfest people have been telling me about shark attacks… I didn’t think that this had gotten into my head but it obviously had…

I managed to swim as fast as Corina, but I was swimming on pure adrenaline. I would put my head down and swim for 10-20 seconds and then freak out because I saw something in the water below, get an adrenaline rush and swim faster. After a burst of sprinting I would run out of breath and then need to stop, after catching my breath I would restart, see something in the water and then freak out and then start the cycle again… My first swim only lasted about 20mins. I only went a couple of hundred meters, which is ridiculous, but at least I broke my duck.

Did I enjoy it? No. Will I do it again? Yes.

I really enjoyed lake swimming, no waves, no Alan eating wildlife, and I know that Corina loves swimming in the Cove. I will overcome my fears and I will get used to ocean swimming again.

Alan

Sharkfest

I have a small obsession with the Golden Gate Bridge, I am from Newcastle Upon Tyne and we have quite a famous bridge there: The Tyne Bridge, but the Golden Gate Bridge has always held a unique fascination for me. It has been over 12 years since I first saw that wonderful red structure spanning the bay in San Francisco, Corina and I were on honeymoon, it was my first time in the USA and I remember being awestruck by this bridge that I had seen a million times on TV. On a recent trip to San Francisco to celebrate our anniversary I took over 1000 images of the bridge… trust me I am obsessed, and I think that it is one of the most beautiful and iconic sights in the world. 

I studied geology at university, I graduated with an honors degree and in my final year I spent a great deal of time studying the fault patterns on the West Coast of the USA and the infamous San Andreas Fault. Maybe it is because I know that San Francisco will suffer a catastrophic earthquake, maybe it is the history of Alcatraz and Angel Island or the beautiful vibrant city overlooking the bay, there is something magical about that bridge. When I first started to date Corina she had this sweatshirt from a trip to San Francisco that had the Alcatraz Triathlon motif on, I always thought swimming from Alcatraz was insane! 

There are dozens of triathlon races that start from Alcatraz and race through San Francisco, and I have often thought about doing them. I have always wanted to swim in San Francisco Bay and when Corina and I wrote down our lifelong ambitions this was one of mine. We have researched the various races and accompanied swims that take place in the bay but never really got down to actually doing it. Most of the swims go from Alcatraz to the presidio but don’t go under the bridge. Then last week I saw the email from envirosports which announced the inaugural Golden Gate Sharkfest a 1.6mile swim from the South Tower of the bridge to Sausalito…

The plan is that myself and a bunch of other nutters will be dropped off by ferry into the water and then will swim under the bridge to Horseshoe Cove on the north side of the headland. The cut off time is 80mins, this should be achievable but I have not been in the water for 2 years! 

The race happens on October 22nd this is the Saturday following the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco that Corina is running and two days after my 37th birthday! So the timing couldn’t be any more perfect, we took this as fate and a good omen. I get to watch my wife pick up a Tiffany’s necklace finishing the Nike Women’s, I get to spend my birthday in one of my favorite places and then I get to fulfill a lifetime ambition by swimming under the bridge HOW FANTASTIC IS THAT?

I will be Blogging about my journey towards Sharkfest, so please sit back in the warm and dry and enjoy the trip with me!

Alan

Stop and Smell the Roses

It started as a normal friday morning. The alarm went off at 5am. Some sleepy curses, then grab my wetsuit, into the car and drive to La Jolla Cove. It was still dark when we arrived, but the water was very calm and the visibility good. Cold as usual at that time of the morning. Damn, looks like I’m going to need to do this after all. As it got a little lighter my swimmer friends arrived and we speculated as to how cold the water was going to be. Someone suggested it was 59F, why am I doing this again? Dipping our toes into the water, yep, it was cold. Sure this is a good idea? But off we went.

By the quarter mile buoy I’d warmed up enough to appreciate the calm clear water and stopped several times to watch the fish below. After the half mile buoy my friends took me back via the caves. What a wonderful sight, swimming through the middle of the caves. Then as we emerged at the other end we were joined by 8 (!) sea lions. They played in front of us in the water, swam along side us, darted under us and laughed at how slow we were. Why did I drag myself out of bed at stupid-o-clock and go swim in a cold ocean? That’s why!

Most of the time training sessions are completed rather than enjoyed. We have targets for them like building an endurance base, improving our lactate profile, getting practice at race pace etc. Sessions are designed on paper to meet an ultimate goal of completing a race, getting a new PR etc. And it’s that big goal that gets us out of bed and out to go training. Most of the time that’s it. It’s not always fun, sometimes it’s hard and a drag. But sometimes everything comes together. The weather is perfect, the company is great, your body feels wonderful and exercise just flows out, or some other magical event you can’t plan for happens, like swimming with sea lions. It’s then that you know why you really do it. In those moments the rest of the world ceases to exist, it is all about the moment and you don’t want that moment to end.

You can’t plan to have those feelings going out to a training session. They are spontaneous which makes them more special. If you go looking for them too hard you will never experience them. I have had them in many different situations, and they don’t require beautiful Californian weather and scenery. Some of my most memorable moments have been running through fresh snow, feeling the crunching under my feet, the falling snow muffling all sounds around me. Riding along Edinburgh harbor in the dark, watching the sun come up over the Firth of Forth. Doing a long scenic ride with Alan and stopping for an ice cream from the only shop in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.

Of course I wish every training session was like that, but they aren’t. Yes, we still need to do those hill reps and those long tempo runs that burn our lungs. Because in order to be able to forget about your body and really appreciate the wonderful surroundings you are in you do need a certain level of fitness. Plus, if you don’t go looking for those wonderful moments they are so much more special when they arrive. Just make sure you stop and appreciate them!

Corina