Tuesday 24 June 2014

Swan Time

the family out for a Monday evening paddle at the Swan.!
first dip in the Swan 
the beginner tri open water sessions

Vicky proudly showing  of her slcsc cap
after  a 2 mile 
swim tonight  
Mr Emery.
now 100% skin swimmer 
the 6+ hr long distance channel training test swim
the beginner tri open water sessions
mothers meeting after tonight's dip    


this past couple of weeks  or so at the swan, certainly have been very busy  
there has been loads going on , the 6+ hr long distance channel training test swim.
the beginner tri open water sessions every weekend  for adults and jnr
with the great Olbury tri team and triathlon England   ,
theirs  been  lots of new distance open water swimmers here trying out the lake,
plus the life saving and sailing clubs ..its very busy place to be...great fun
 feels like the summer of sport has finally arrived
June 24, 2014

Friday 20 June 2014

The Great North Swim 2014

Ricks
Make a Splash at
The Great North Swim.
2014

The Great Swims...
round 1
The Great North Swim.
The Biggest Mass Open Water Swim Event In The UK 
The great swim
Europe's biggest outdoor swimming series 
it was  a fabulous weekend  
where over 10,000 people took the water  
 in lake windermere  
http://www.greatswim.org
Its Time to Check In

Today Water temp in Windermere
was a delightful 17.5 degrees..
extremely warm for the middle June 
Sundays list of races 
( this is the third day of the Great North Swim event ..
you have choices of swim distances to enter from
1/2 mile , 1 mile , 2 mile and 5K )
* all swims are wet suited swims *  
The course
 the full lap is One Mile..

the check in..
you are allowed to check in for you allocated wave 
30 minutes before the start time..
average  size of each wave is 300 swimmers  
one the great swim lifeguards standing by waiting for the next group 
of the swimmers to enter the Acclimatize zone 
Acclimatize zone is where you after checking in..
its your first chance to try out the water..
and check out all is okay with your suit , goggles, timing chip , hat etc
before the off
The 12.00 , 2mile white wave on Sunday..
all smiles before the start 
     Great Britain's finest ever swimmer        
The fabulous Rebecca Adlington 
Beckie is the Great  swim Ambassador and started the first wave of the event
she was at the event all weekend always on hand to chat and help..
and somehow Great  swim and Steve Parry talked Beckie into taking part on the Saturday ..  so  10k in Rio Beckie..?? lol 
    she is a true superstar of our sport  

 its an amazing sight seeing 300 swimmers take to the water  
  
  the yellow 1 mile wave  
closing in on the finish

throughout the weekend the elite swimmers
gave tips and advice before starting each wave ..
hear is Ricks buddy the beautiful and charming   super  swimmer
from the USA Lexie Kelly  

somewhere hidden in between the 300 wet suits is  
Ricks supa swimmers   Darran Redman Dyke,
Daz was in Fridays afternoons two mile pink wave ..
Supa did a great swim as always coming home in 3rd place in the wave..
the man is legend .!

     Supa Daz..
Darran all smiles now the 2 miles is done and dusted..
thinking about having a beer or 2 watching the England match in world cup..
now his race is over.
Ricks swimmer Paul  basher  Bates  its somewhere in
Sundays two mile red wave 
basher big smiling after finding out
he had got one over on his Rick buddy daz..  
The ricks channel guys both did great 
coming top 5 in their old man age group 
and top twenty overall out 1000+
swimmers who completed the two distance..
top effort men.        
the finish line..
best sight of the day for some  ..;-))

made it...
i finished the great north swim

the great swim is fantastically well  run 
, not only for the enjoyment of the swimmer    
but just as important the  enjoyment  of family , friends and supporters..  

everywhere is will signposted and easy to find for the swimmer
good job , as we are open water  swimmers after all , who have been eating and sleeping 
and thinking nothing but  swimming for months..
so finding the toilet ect..is hard work               

The swim village 
the light bus experience
http://www.lightbusexperience.co.uk

lake district national park  
http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/

the double Decker bus
used as a viewing point at the start of the race 
       
the virgin trains
party tent   

the big boys of open water where in the village
swim trek  http://www.swimtrek.com/
dry robe http://dryrobe.com/
chillswim  http://www.chillswim.com/
  

the view for the road as we walked back to
  ambleside to catch the  windermere ferry back to
bowness and home...it had been a fine day 
its all gone quite...
not a swimmer in sight ....
roll on.
The Great North Swim.
2015
  


The Great North Swim.
2014
memories of a great  Sunday in the lakes

but wait that's not  it.....       

you've seen the pictures , now  lets walk you through
 what its actually like for a great north swimmer
  in the 30 minutes  leading up to the start of
 The great north  swim ..!! 

start the countdown  

 Four..
Acclimatize..!




okay..for those of you who have yet to enjoy of any of the Great Swims around the UK yet...
lets walk you through how yesterdays 12.00p (2 mile ) white wave was started ..
okay its around 11.30 , you are called to check in , once checked in , then you are directed have a little warm up in windermere....
first question on your mind how cold in is water ...;-))
good news    it was a lovely 17,5 degrees yesterday

Three ..
The pro swimmer ....!



once, everyone has completed their short warm up in the lake,
 it’s about 11.50...so around ten minutes till the off...everyone is feeling nervous and exited...this is when the guest pro swimmer comes to have a chat with us all... to give a few tips of advice and encouragement ..today it was the brilliant double Olympic medalist David Davis

Two ..
The  Warm Up...!
its now ,less 5 minutes till swim time....!!!! 
its time to have a dance 
and really get those  legs and shoulders warmed up 
with Great Swim fitness instructor...
12.00pm (2 mile ) white wave 

One..
Race Time.....
its time. you've trained hard ...now its the fun part .You about to swim 
thee most iconic open water venue in England lake windermere ....enjoy
5,4,3,2,1........goooooooooooooooooooooo
Great Swim
The Great north swim 15/06/14
12.00pm (2 mile ) white wave

wait still more to come ..!

The Elite Ladies

once the main mass great swim event had finished..
then it was turn of the Elite swimmers 
to show us mere mortals  how to swim..;-)
       
Elite ladies swimmers
being  chased by TV and press  cameras  


Elite ladies swimmers 
turning the half way buoy of their second lap of three   


The Elite Ladies
Short video of the ladies start  
The Elite Ladies
Short video of the ladies  rounding 
the buoy at halfway of the 2lap of 3 for the 5k race 

 top 3 ladies
 1,ANNA OLASZ HUN (SNR)  57:59.9
2 ALICE DEARING GBR ROYAL WOLVERHAMPTON (JNR) 58:41.1
3 LAUREN WALTON GBR BECKENHAM SC (SNR) 58:51.6 -
top 3 guys
1 TOM ALLEN GBR  SENIOR 54:10.9
2 CHRIS BRYAN IRE  SENIOR 54:20.2
3 CHRISTIAN REICHERT GER  SENIOR 54:20.2   
double Olympic medalist David Davis presenting ) 
link to full results 

And finally...
the Great Swim lifeguards 
joining the fun at the north swim


A quote from ricks facebook page..
 Joanne 
Love this!!!
 Says so much about the great atmosphere & camaraderie
 on the day at the north  –
Even the guy in the kayak joins in..;-))

 our next GreatSwim is 
The Great Manchester Swim.

Monday 9 June 2014

Sunday Swan Time....Sing

Really Great swim this morning , must have been 80 plus swimmers in the swan ,from  the Lifeguard & sailing  club , to Oldbury tri club and Triathlon England to the channel swimming club..all in the lake doing various types of training . 
its was Fabulous to be part off .. .love Sundays
Swan Pool best open water venue for open water adventure in the midlands...!!!!!!!
June 8, 2014



 To get us in the mood for a great summer of swimming..
its time to re-start Ricks blog tunes...
what better way to start then with the number 1 song in the UK ...
Ed Sheeran and Sing...
(play as read.)

take it away Ed......!!! 
channel swimming club
Mr & Mrs. Meat  
Wendy and Big Rich  
young Raymond and Dan  
Richard giving out today's safety instructions..
it was going to be a very busy morning for the team,
 lots of new  to open water swimmers to look after..  
              
Mark from Oldbury tri and Kristy from Triathlon England
taking a open water taster session  ,
fantastic turn out  
safety team in place   

their off....!!!
Short video  off a Really Great swim
 this sunny Sunday  morning
everyone looking good 
Mark from Oldbury tri
Mark did a great job introducing over 50 new
swimmers to joy of open water for the first time        
Triathlon England's shinny team tent.!!
very posh    
the beeches team

Wendy  never stops eating..;-)
but after swimming 2 miles or so

i,m sure the meat will let Wendy off , just this once      


things are starting to hot up nicely in training now  ,and  just in time .!! 
as this weekend coming  is the big start to open water year in the UK , it’s  the  British Gas  Great North Swim event in lake Windermere..10,000 swimmers will take to the water...should be a great  swim , and ricks will be there for their for the first time in 4 years...;-) see you there ...

      
its looking nice and toasty for the Great Swim
this picture from the great Chillswim team 
shows  the Water temp at the Great North Swim venue in low wood today (10/6/14)
 is 17 degrees C...perfect