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

Training for Townsville

Townsville from Magnetic Is. (doesn't look that far!)










Last week of building distance in training for the swim next weekend, 5 training swims, total distance 20k
Starting to get a good "feel" for the water that comes after swimming every day (almost). Stroke feels easier, can maintain a consistent solid swimming pace in the water for about an hour before starting to slow down.
So all the 100m & 200m target swims in the pool at Chad's "maintenance" squad sessions starting to pay off, just in time.
Still a few weeks away from peak swimming fitness, I might have underestimated the rigours of winter training. Feeling more confident.
Colleen from Magnetic Island Swim called to confirm my paddler for next week. She said the race is starting on an incoming tide, so it would "carry us across" the channel. Here's hoping.

MS 24-Hour Megaswim 26th-27th June

Report from the organisers:
"The 3rd annual 24 Hour Mega Swim has been the most successful and enjoyable yet, and was a fantastic weekend all round - plenty of smiling faces pool side amongst our 437 swimmers.
Participants from this year's 24 Hour Mega Swim have fundraised a record breaking $192,012 so far - more than any other Sydney Mega Swim has ever raised! This money will go a long way into providing Go for Gold Scholarships to people living with multiple sclerosis to help them follow their dreams."

Team results:
19th Seas The Limit Rebels 76.2k Points 411.6
21st Seas the Limit 89.3k Points 333.2

Seas The Limit Rebels have collected a total of $2,632

Distances (kms):
Adam 4.8
Bev 1.4
Claire 2.7
Cormac 6.4
Harriet 3.1
Jo 3.3
Justine 3.6
Kurt 6.8
Mike 2.9
Murray 6.4
Nathan 5.2
Pete 3.4
Richard 5.4
Rodney 5.0
Rosie 3.3
Suzy 10.5
Others STL 2.0
Total Team Distance Swum 76.2 kilometers

Winter Training

Coogee Beach this morning (almost)



I can see why open water swimming is mostly a summer sport.
The water at the beaches is getting cooler. The days are short. It's harder to get up early for training. Even training at night in the heated outdoor pool is tougher with the cold air temperature.

Anyway, it's too late to back out now.
I've entered the Magnetic Island to Townsville (Queensland) swim in 2 weeks.

I enforced a month off in May to get some protection and rest after a busy last season, then lost a couple weeks in June with the usual winter head colds
Getting back into it, though
I clocked up about 18k in training this week, including 3 of Chad's tough squads and a 3k non-stop swim in "freezing" 16c water at Coogee this morning
Thanks to the small group who stopped and waited for me to catch up halfway to the island. Usually they leave me on my own 100 yards out the back doing the rearguard shark patrol.

Will have to work hard next week to clock up some distance, before tapering a little next week.
In terms of fitness I'm about where I was at the end of last season (the Coogee- Bondi 5k swim), maybe a little slower and a bit stronger.
Not quite where I wanted to be before an 8k journey swim, but it will have to do
I might be able to bluff myself into making it across
Looking forward to it, actually