Nerves (again)!

Well, I decided I WOULD enter the Great North Swim and it is now two days until we swim again. We are swimming the 1 mile distance on Saturday 18th June at 1pm.

To say I am nervous is an understatement. Until now I have been remembering the euphoria I felt post-Salford but I am now remembering the difficult bits. My confidence is not helped by the fact that I haven't been swimming much recently and due to a holiday and now a cough I can't quite shake off, I haven't been cycling either. It's only been one month since Salford, so if I could do it then, I am sure I can do it again now, but it had been my intention to swim twice every week in the time in between the two events so I could hopefully do a better time.

On a more positive note, I have changed my wetsuit for a smaller one, so I hope this will mean I have less problems with buoyancy. I have also been educating myself in 'cold water shock' AKA the Dive Reflex. I am prepared for it to happen again and have been practising deep breathing techniques to ensure I cope with the involuntary hyperventilating which occurred last time. (Techniques learnt from Hypnobirthing, written by Marie Mongan, which worked successfully when I had my fourth child, three years ago!) I intend to get my face wet in the cold water as soon as I can and hopefully I can acclimatise quicker this time. I am happy to hear that Windermere is currently 16.7 degrees which is more than 2 degrees warmer than Salford.

There are a few articles below which I bookmarked and found useful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex

http://www.feelforthewater.com/2011/06/avoiding-cold-water-shock.html

http://openwaterswimming.eu/node/1834

http://www.slb-coaching.com/trainingInformation.asp?Id=7

http://daretotrilife.blogspot.com/2011/05/open-water-swims-dont-panic.html

Dylan is swimming with me and although I am hoping I will be OK this time, to allow him to go at his own pace and try to get a good time, I know he'll stay by my side if I need him to be.

Should be a great weekend though. It's the babysitter's (AKA Grandparents!!) birthday (My Mum) and Father's Day, and we are all (my husband, four kids, and my parents) are spending it in the Lake District at a hugely exciting event, then we have a night in Hawkshead with them all where we can celebrate the occasions and enjoy the post-swim euphoria.

I also have a good friend swimming later in the day and she and her family will be staying nearby, so hoping to have time to catch up with her too.

So I have packed my swim bag (wetsuit, goggles, two hats, swim socks, timing chip, towel and park and sail voucher).. now just need to figure out what the six of us need for an overnight stay (everything but the kitchen sink!)