This morning we had a 4km set ahead of us. It was pretty laid back, nothing too strenuous - 1500m warm up, 4x 50s, 100m, 4x50s, 100m, 5x 200s and finish off with a 1000m cool down. We were reminded by our coach Vlad, that's it's not about the muscle anymore..it's all about the mind. This is where I confess and say that I got out after 3km. I couldn't finish it. For the whole time by mind was whirling with negative thoughts, I was convincing myself that I can't do this. It felt damaging and so I just got out. I know that's OK as it's best to acknowledge those thoughts, deal with them and then move on. I just thought I'd share this as now is probably the toughest time for me at the moment, it's the hardest part of the whole challenge!
If you know me well, you'll know my habits leading up to something big. I'm very good at planning and organising (hence Event Manager!), but I do get nervous and stressed on the final run up to an event, a big swim, a dinner that I'm hosting... I start to lose focus and doubt myself. My body tenses and this has a knock on impact with my health. I am incredibly lucky with this particular challenge to have THE Steve Hopkins by my side who has been a tremendous support in reminding me to relax and trust myself!
So my focus over the next 9 days is...keeping the focus!! I've taken a day off work tomorrow to enjoy myself. I'm not training in the morning so I can have a sleep in! I've then booked a facial and hair appointment and I have a date with my gorgeous boyfriend in the evening. It's going to be a opportunity for my mind & body to rest. I have to trust myself that I can done all the preparation required and I am able to achieve this. There's nothing else to worry about!
Keeping the focus!
It's been a busy few weeks in the swimming world for me. Quite a few little landmarks passed in my journey to the Rottnest Channel. Here's one of them...
To fully qualify for a solo entry of the Rottnest swim, I had to swim 10km non-stop in less than 4 hours 15 minutes. This is because they have to ensure you're capable of completing the stretch in the allocated cut off times. Admittedly, I was quite nervous before this swim. It was the longest distance I would have covered since swimming the English Channel in 2007.
Steve and I ventured down to the ABC (Andrew Boy Charlton) pool early on a Saturday morning where we met several others also about to embark on their time trial. I felt incredibly special to have my little support team (aka Steve Hopkins) with me - who watched the entire swim and timed every 100m split. Check out my split times here
We tackled the 10km swim by breaking it down into chunks - 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m and so on up to 1000m and back down again. This covers 10km! I used this swim as a way to also try out some different feeds. These included gels, bananas, jelly chumps & energy drink. I discovered that anything that takes longer than 3 seconds to chew and swallow is definitely not going to work..so it's pretty much gels all the way! I might pop a honey sandwich or two into my feed box for the Rotto swim in case I get real hunger pangs but gels are great to get an energy hit...fast!
Just completed 10km!
I was delighted to complete this 10km in 3 hours 9 minutes. A great result - a lot faster than I was expecting. What you have to bear in mind, however, is that this is in the pool where there are no waves and every 50 metres there's a wall to push off from! So...take 3 hours 9 minutes and add another hour at least for the ocean. I'm not expecting to complete Rotto in less than 8 hours (and that's on a good day!).
It was a great landmark to pass and I felt great at the end of it. Only 8 weeks before I wouldn't have been able to do 2km before getting out. Getting my fitness levels up to speed has been a big part towards this 10km, but the main driver that kept me going, and turning around at each lap (200 of them!) was my mental strength. I didn't want to get out..not once..even with the wall and steps RIGHT THERE. This means more to me than swimming 10km..it proves to myself that I have the mental stamina to do this 20km Rottnest Swim..and that's 80% there!
