Magnetic Island to Townsville Swim 8k 18th July

That was a hard swim, 8k across Cleveland Bay
No part of it was easy
Big wind swell and chop all the way
Swimming against the current near the end
Water a bit murky
A tough 8k's
Felt good to finish
And good to have experienced a longer swim in tough conditions

The start was a bit rushed. Not helped by my allocated paddler not showing up at Picnic Bay and me being the only swimmer walking up and down the beach 15 minutes before the start looking for another paddler. Luckily a couple of youngsters had shown up as reserve paddlers and they got me a start

Anyway those hard maintenance squad sessions in the cold & windy outdoor pool at Sans Souci the last few weeks must have been good preparation. I was able to keep going at a consistent medium-slow pace for the whole 3 hours. Feeling ok at the end. Time 3:07:52.
And some other solo swimmers finished behind me, so I'm happy with that result.

Picnic Bay

Reef

Helicopter Photos: Karen Uhlmann

Leader at marker

Last stroke

And the Last shall be First

12 months of swimming tragic

Extract From oceanswims:
Distance Tallies 2009/10
"Fine ocean swimmers, indeed ...

The 2009/10 season is done. And the winner, who swam a greater distance than anyone else of the 39,730 swimmers included in our season tallies, is... RICHARD ... regular oceanswims blobber ... in Sydney. Richard tallied 91.7km over the course of the 2009/10 season, which ended on May 31. Then followed three Western Stray'ans, Rod .. (89km), Michael .. (78.9km), and Jenna .. (75.9km), closely followed by last year's talliest, Tacoma Jim .. (74.9km)."

April Swims

6 events completed in April:

- Culburra 2k
- Shellharbour 1.2k
- Mollymook (2+0.5) 2.5k
- South Curl Curl 2k
- Terrigal (2+1) 3k
- Coogee-Bondi 5k
2 swims called off on the beach:
- Tamarama-Clovelly (big surf & shark sighting)
- Bondi (big surf)
Total April swims = 15.7k

March Swims

5 events completed in March:
- Lake Macquarie 3.8k
- Manly (1+2) 3k
- Cronulla (1+2.3) 3.3k
- Balmoral 1k
- North Steyne 1k
Total 12k swum in March

Should get close to the 100k mark by May
There's 25k of oceans swims around NSW in April
The calendar starts getting compressed this time of year with ocean swims on every Saturday Sunday and public holiday
I'll have to look at doing all of them

February Swims

Mona Vale ... Surfwatch Australia's Michael Brown … said he was "certain" the attack was made by an adolescent great white. hahaha


With today's swim at Long Reef cancelled, February turned out to be a rather quiet month of ocean swimming, although I have been doing a little more distance in pool training.

Only 3 swims this month:
- Cole Classic Manly 2k
- North Bondi (1.5+2) 3.5k
- Malabar to Little Bay 2.7k
Total distance 8k

I had a pre-season goal of trying to clock up 100k in open water swims this season. Will get close, but it's looking unlikely now, unless I can commit to doing a couple of long ocean swims (5k & 10K) in April & May. Won't get either of those without lots of pool training. Back in the pool training Monday, hope the shoulders can hold up for another 3 months.

January Swims

6 Open Water Swims this month, mix of ocean and freshwater:
- Newport 2k
- North Bondi Classic (2k+1k) 3k
- Avalon 1.5k
- Penrith Bridge to Bridge 3k/5k
- Lake Glenbawn 5k
- The Big Swim Palm Beach to Whale Beach 2.5k
Total swims distance in January 19k

Lake Glenbawn Classic 5k

An unlikely winner


















Lake Glenbawn Classic - 5k open water swim - Australia Day 2010 -
Giant eels, small waves and an unlikely age category winner.

The locals at Aberdeen warned me about the legendary giant eels "as long a telegraph pole" that live in Lake Glenbawn. But I wouldn't see them, as they retreat to deep water when the water is warm. And they were right about the warm water - I'd say a balmy 25c on average. Air temp in the mid-3O's on a hot summer day in the Upper Hunter Valley. A perfect setting for a lake swim on Australia Day 2010.
The Lake Glenbawn Classic offers a choice of 3 events - 1k (one lap), 3k (3 laps)or 5k (5 laps) around a rectangular course. Being built for comfort (I ain't built for speed), I opted for the longer 5k swim and lined up in the water to start with the small contingent of green caps and blue caps.
The water was muddy close to shore where the red earth had been churned up by swimmers feet and the wake of boats, but further out the water was clean with good enough visibility.
I found myself swimming on my own in clear water for most of the course, a welcome change from some recent crowded ocean swims in Sydney. Just me, my thoughts and the deep green water, and a glimpse of a water safety paddler or boat every time I turned to breathe. Arms hurting after 3 laps, I had a fleeting thought of following the 3k swimmers as they swam past the turning buoy to the finish.
But continued onto a 4th lap ... straight into a headwind that had suddenly come up and was churning up a one-foot chop on the lake. Swallowed water a few times as I lifted my head into the chop to spot the next marker. It didn't taste too bad. Slow going the last 2 laps with the headwind, finished strongly once the finish line was in sight.
This was a lovely swim and well run and organised. I enjoyed spending 2 days in the Upper Hunter Valley. My prize of a handcrafted plate for winning my age category was unexpected and appreciated. Thanks to the Scone Swimming Club for their hospitality at Lake Glenbawn.

Penrith Bridge to Bridge Swim 5k & 3k

Penrith "Bridge to Bridge" 3k Open water swim, with a 5k swim-through
Overcast sky, Water was warm about 27c
First lap 3k - was hard, shoulders and arms hurting
Settled better for the 2nd lap
Times were slow, I didn't prepare for this race or have any race plan, More of a training swim, just turned up on the day and swam the distance
3k Bridge to Bridge time 1:06:59
5k time 1:55:29

December Swims

Only 3 open water races in December, no swims in Sydney for the last 2 weeks of the year
- Bilgola Big Swim 1.5k
- Bondi to Bronte 2k
- North Curl Curl 2k
Total distance December swims 5.5k
There's more on next month, I'm looking to swim in 6 events in January
Need to put in some distance in training for a couple 5k open water swims end January

November Swims

November was the start of the ocean swimming season in Sydney and a busy month of swimming.
I competed in 6 events at quite different venues & conditions.

- Cook Community Classic Cronulla Ocean Swim 1.5k
- Sri Chinmoy Capital Swim Canberra Lake Burley Griffin 9.5k
- Berry Rickards Endurance Swim Penrith 5k
- Toowoon Bay Ocean Swims (2k + 1k) 3k
- Dawnys Cockatoo Island Harbour Swim 2.5k
- Coogee Island Challenge Ocean Swims (2.4k + 1k) 3.4k
Total distance November swims 25k

Penrith Berry Rickards 5k Endurance Swim

This is a great open water swim.
A race against the clock for the youngsters, and a test of endurance for the oldies.
A perfect day out West yesterday morning, not a breath of wind on the mirrored lake surface. The water was a little weedy as you would expect in fresh water, otherwise clean and not too warm.
Congratulations to all who completed their first 5k endurance swim or 10k swim-through.

I made a bit of a mess of this race. Might have underestimated the level of conditioning needed to complete 2 long-distance swims in 2 weeks. Knew I was in trouble about 800m into the race, shoulders hurting. Slowed down to a more relaxed pace and struggled to the 5k finish line in 1:49:15. No chance of completing a 10k swim-through today.

Canberra Lake Burley Griffin - A Personal Challenge

Happy Swimmer

Scrivener Dam After Sunrise

Start Scrivener Dam Boom

Team Meeting before the Start

Finish Grevillea Beach

Team Discussion after the Race


Spot the Newbie











On Sunday 8th November 2009, I swam the length of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra in the Sri Chinmoy National Capital Swim. A distance of 9.5k.
It was the first time I attempted to swim this distance.
I finished 7th in my category, solo swimmers under 50 no wetsuit, and 11th overall (out of 11 solo no wetsuit finishers!)
All solo finishers were presented with trophies, so it was also my first trophy for an open water swim.

Thanks to excellent help from my paddler Peter, some great coaching and endurance training from Coach Chad, and priceless advice on long-distance swimming from Helen, there was never a time when I doubted that I would complete the race.
Thanks to my training buddies at Sea's The Limit who kept me honest in the winter morning training squads. Especially Suzie, who swam behind me every lap at training, thoughtfully tapping my toes every time I slackened off. And Joanne, who bravely continues to swim in my lane, after I accidently knocked her out in the pool while reaching for the finish of a 100m target swim.

My time 3:45:37 was 10 minutes under the target time I had set myself for the race.
My swimming pace would have been around 3hrs30, I was still feeling strong at the end, so I could probably have done without the 15-odd minutes wasted at long drinks breaks and stretching my legs at the transitions.

The race comprised 4 legs for the relay swimmers:
Leg 1 - Scrivener Dam Boom to Weston Park, about 1.8k. Winding part of the lake through bushland. I started strong and settled into a relaxed rythm. I was enjoying this. The water was warmer than I expected, about 20c-21c. Time 38 min, 5 minutes under my target.
Leg 2 - Weston Park to Yarralumla Bay, about 2.8k. Surprise! As a single skull rower travelling backwards didn't see us and passed between me and my paddler. Luckily Pete yelled out and the rower lifted his oar and missed my head. He didn't know the rowing course was closed. After about 4k into the race, starting to feel the distance, a bit sore in one shoulder and a little leg cramp. Time 66 minutes for this leg, overall still 5 minutes under target.
Leg 3 - Yarralumba Bay to Commonwealth Place Jetty, about 2.9k. Stopped at the beach at Yarralumba Bay for a couple minutes for a drink and to stretch my legs. Feeling ok as I set off again, back into a strong rythm. Long section in open water to the first bridge, in the widest section of the lake. It seemed like I was making slow progress. Couple of stops for a drink. Time 82 minutes for this leg, starting to fall behind target.
Leg 4 - Commonwealth Place to Grevillea Beach Finish, about 1.9k. Not far to go, feeling good, started stretching out and going harder, put on a bit of a sprint finish, big smile as I stood up in the water and crossed the finish line. Time 39 minutes for this section (a reverse split!), so I picked up 10 minutes on my targeted finishing time. Probably means I could have gone harder in the middle of the race.
It was a lovely swim and conditions on the day were perfect.