January Swims

January - Busy month of swimming
6 Events completed, about 20k total:

- Newport  2k
- North Bondi (2+1) 3k
- Penrith Regatta  2k
- Penrith B2B  5k
- Glenbawn (5+1) 6k
- Big Swim 2.5k

Looks like I've had some benefit from doing more squads with Chad and covering more distance in the pool
Hopefully building up some swim endurance in my shoulders from the longer fresh water swims
Not feeling tired after the longer swims now and recovery is quick

The Big Swim Sun. 30th January

The Big Swim Palm Beach to Whale Beach, about 2.5k
Conditions were good for an ocean swim -
Loved the waves breaking at both beaches at the start and finish, Fun riding the rip to carry us out to the first buoy, Challenged by big chop around the headland, Cooled by a refreshing patch of colder water half-way, Pushed by the friendly swell towards the finish

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this ocean swimming now

I enjoyed every part of this swim
Was able to swim quite hard at a consistent speed the whole way
Looks like I can hold a reasonable pace now for 2 to 3k

The start was busy with a large number of swimmers in my start wave. Not bothered by the other swimmers swimming into me and accidentally grabbing at my legs. Just kept a straight line and held my elbows out a little to protect my goggles and gently push them away when we bumped.
Time was a few minutes faster than last year
And did much better in terms of finish position (overall and category)

Lake Glenbawn Classic 5k 26th January

Tough swims yesterday
5k swim with a 1k warm-up
The lake was looking good, fuller with more rain, but causing the water to be a little murky with some floating debris.
The forecast 40c weather arrived, together with warm water surface temperature.
Well done to the the organisors and water safety in managing this swim without incident

Statistics for Glenbawn:
- Air Temp. = Scorching
- Water Temp. = Warm
- Wind strength = 0 knots

Surprised my time was slower than what I expected. 6 minutes slower than last year and I thought I went harder. The warm water might have taken my strength (was measured at 28c but we swam through some warmer patches). It felt like the course may have been a little longer this year. Maybe an extra 100m per 1k lap.
We'll call that one a training swim

Penrith Bridge to Bridge 23rd January

Penrith "Bridge to Bridge" 5k fresh water open water swim
Water was warm 27c
Good swim, was able to swim at a consistent pace the whole way
Looks like I've had some benefit from Chad's tough squads the last 2 weeks
5k Time 1:46:21
Five minutes faster than my time for the 5k swim at Penrith in November

Bulk Week

Covered some distance in Training this week
Pool training - long sets, short breaks about 13k
Harbour swim Sat. 10k
Penrith Regatta open water race Sun. 2k

Total swim distance this week 25k

Penrith Regatta 2k Open Water Swim

A feral swimmer in Penrith Lakes

I did this swim last weekend for the first time. A 2k fresh water swim in a straight line down the Sydney Regatta Centre.
Good swim. The water was clear, the weed was short, water temp a little warmish 25c.
A highlight of my warm-up swim was being eyeballed by a large carp that had come up to investigate.
A 2k straight swim in fresh water is tougher than it looks! Gotta keep your head down and go hard the whole way. No excuses to slow down to look for turning buoys or to stop for a drink.
I'm backing up at Penrith this Sunday for a more cruisy Bridge to Bridge endurance swim. There might be a couple of stops and a few slow strokes on that one!

Manly Training Swim - Bold & Beautiful 10k Harbour Adventure

Watch out for the ferries

Coffee Break at Little Manly

Paddler and water safety inspector

"Bold and Beautiful Swimmers" 10k informal swim Saturday 16th January

I arrived at Manly this morning expecting to slog it out for a few hours in the surf.
Instead I was treated to an Odyssey of harbour beaches, led by a man and his dog.
After 2 hours of swimming, I was running low on energy, and actually quite hungry.
So imagine my surprise when we arrived at the Quarantine Station, to find a swimmers picnic of fruit, drinks and lollies prepared by BB supporters.
Feeling re-energised after the treats, I didn't even object to Brendan's irrational suggestion to keep swimming a few hundred extra metres south to Flagstaff, instead of heading home the way we had come.
The sweet coffee surprise at Little Manly also hit the spot.

A cruisy long swim together as a group, stopping at every beach along the way.
Time in the water about 3.5 hours