Ok, so now I have hooked almost 300 of you gorgeous folk with my blog I can finally reveal my master plan (cue evil laughter)........
When I first started telling people about my swim my fabulous friend, Denise, suggested that it would be a great opportunity to raise some money for charity. It didn't take long before I thought of the fantastic team at The Blurt Foundation. Blurt is a small UK based charity which helps those of use who suffer from depression and their friends and families. They offer information on all aspects of depression; a fantastic mentoring scheme; education programmes to help stamp out the stigma of depression and unwavering support to everyone who needs it. The team at Blurt helped me to understand that exercise is a useful way to manage my depression and that I should never feel embarrassed about having it. I truly believe that these guys save lives. So, please sponsor my swim and help me raise some money so they can continue their great work. To sponsor me, or to find out more information about Blurt, just click on the link below and I promise that this will be the first and only serious blog that I post......and thank you for your support! http://blurtitout.org/give/gill-thomas/
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I have just returned to India after a month at home visiting my daughters, my baby grandson, family and friends. Aside from the sheer joy of being on "home turf" again I was able to swim in a 25 meter pool. Whilst in India I am lucky enough to live in a hotel which has a pool that is almost exclusively mine during the week - bliss! However it is only 16 meters long; not great for open water training.
The first session I did in a 25 meter pool back at home really unnerved me. For starters swimming indoors feels claustrophobic and there were other people in the pool! I had to learn to share my pool space. As I lowered myself into the water my first thought was how warm the water temp was. I am used to the sharp stab of cold water on skin that has been warmed by 30c sunshine. Eyes at water level, I turned and looked down the length of the pool; it stretched out in front of me and I pushed off from the side. That first 25 meters seemed interminable - oh well only another 3,175 meters to go! In order to pass the time whilst I plough through those never-ending meters I try to imagine I am swimming in Loch Ness, jockeying for position with the other racers. I practice overtaking other swimmers; I remain foolishly optimistic that there might just be somebody who swims slower than I do. I overtake a couple of old men in the pool - touching one of them on the left ankle to let them know I am about to pass - and I as I glide past he winks at me. Apparently not everybody is as well informed about swimming ettiquette as I am and he thinks I am trying to pick him up! So I keep my head down and, avoiding any further physical contact, I am beginning to get into a good rhythm. I imagine what it will be like in the cold, silky black water of the Loch and drift off into a daydream.........soft waves gently lapping at my face; the majestic hills around me; dodging geese that are bathing in the icy cold water. Woah GEESE!!! Creatures not known for their tolerance when others invade their water space (bit like me actually). Do I swim around these cackling, sharp beaked, beady eyed monsters - thereby adding several more meters to my swim? Or do I brazen it out and swim right through them, risking being pecked at and beaten with those flappy wings? I need to make a decision as I am gaining on them. I decide on the former option (extra meters being preferable to losing an eye) and give them a wide berth; listening to their cackling as I pass by. I know I have made the right decision as the swimmer behind me takes a more direct route and swims through the middle of the geese - only to be tutted at and loudly remonstrated with by the one wearing an orange swim cap - obviously the top goose! Ha good decision Gill - no point in annoying the locals. As I move into the cool down phase of my swim I am dragged out of my reverie as I inadvertently swallow a mouthful of pool water. Yuck the cloying chemical taste of chlorine! At least there will be no chlorine to swallow in Loch Ness......just goose pooh.........ewwwwww! Two years ago I moved to India with my hubby, Julian, due to his work. In order to pass the time and try and lose some of my considerable weight I started swimming each day in the hotel pool. I gradually increased the lengths I did until I was swimming a mile a day. Sure enough the weight started to slooooowly reduce and I became quite addicted to my daily swims. One windy day in August 2012 I was watching the wind whip up the water in front of me as I ploughed up and down the hotel's little 16 meter pool and thinking "the water is so choppy it feels like an open water swim." I lowered my head deeper into the water (I was a "head-up" swimmer - don't want to ruin your hair style!) As the water was at eye level the ripples looked like tiny waves and I imagined I was swimming in the sea with waves crashing over me. Dodging huge tankers and being dive bombed by seagulls. This was so much more exciting than pool swimming! "Hmm I wonder if I could ever do an open water swim."
Back on dry land I got straight on the interweb and discovered The Monster Swim - a 1 mile swim in Loch Ness! It sounded great; but would I be able to do it? I looked to my hubby for advice "Of course you can do it!" he said. Bless him he's so supportive. Of course if I said I wanted to fly to the moon he would say the same thing! Then I asked a friend's opinion; she said "What you? Swim Loch Ness? You'll never be able to do it!" My first response to that was to think she was right. What was I thinking! I could never do it. Then I spoke to another friend who is a personal trainer and her immediate response was "Of course you can do it. You will need to do a lot of training but you have a year to get ready and I would love to help you". That was all the encouragement I needed to change my attitude from "She's right I can't do it" to "You just watch me. I'll prove you wrong" So here I am - 49 - fat - and 8 months into my training to swim in Loch Ness in August 2013. |
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