Al and I started this week with our first dip in the ocean - no wetsuit, of course! The water was 17 degrees in the shallows and 16 degrees further out and after the first few minutes was surprisingly pleasant to swim in. We only spent about 30 mins in there this time, swimming to a boat and back off Maraetai Beach, but felt relaxed and warm when we got out. Luke had also spent the same amount of time playing and swimming in the water closer to the beach - so, if a 7 year old can put up with the water temperature then we have no excuses!
I have been struggling with a bout of golfer's elbow - swimming related obviously, it must be 8 years since I last played golf! The physio has given me some exercises to help strengthen the joint so I am doing these 2-3 times a day.
Saturday saw our longest, and biggest, swim to date. Four hours in Rosehill Pool, covering 14km altogether - 2/3 of the total distance we will swim across the Strait. Although I was tired afterwards I still felt as though I had more swimming in me, and it was a real confidence booster. There will be more of these long sessions coming up and it gives us a chance to check out nutrition and hydration options.
On Sunday, just after Auckland Marathon, the first official ocean swim of the season took place and we swam round the head at Devonport. Wetsuits were mandatory as the organisers felt it was too cold still to go without so there was no chance to try out the longer distance 'naked', but it was a nice race and I felt relaxed throughout. I came in 13th overall, not a bad result, just over 2 minutes behind the leader which I was pleased with as the focus to date has been on maintaining a steady speed over distance, rather than swimming fast.
The next few weeks are much busier work wise but there is lots of swimming planned - the Rugby World Cup slowed business right down, but allowed for lots of time to swim and plenty of time to watch rugby and enjoy the performance of our awesome All Blacks! Congratulations to the boys and Graham Henry!
