Big Ricks write up in the April edition
( Simply double click the picture to zoom in to read it a lot easier )
Big Ricks Swim Team are attempting a Swim For Life in June of 2012 we are doing a 2 way swim of the English Channel in aid of The British heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK
The Fight To Beat Breast Cancer
if you wish to help and support with our
Swim For Life
A Swimmers Mind..!! It’s a strange and complex thing well it is for most swimmers, as for Ricks channel 6...Mmm well the jury is still out. (This picture is a worlds 1st...its a look inside Big Ricks Captain`s head. The open water legend that is Rob "Chunky Monkey " Cash as you can see rob is a Deep Thinker..!! Big thanks to the Great Donal Buckley for the use of this picture link to Donal Blog http://loneswimmer.com/2012/01/30/this-is-an-open-water-swimmers-brain/
Well we are not sure whats happening to Ricks at the moment, we are having deep thoughts all over the place( maybe due to pool dehydration.!!) ..so once again this week’s blog is a bit deep , well okay deep (ish) it is a Big Ricks blog after all .There is meaning in choosing the Amazing song " Windmills of Your Mind " by Noel Harrison ,( well okay only reason we picked it is because of the title.). as this week’s blog read along song...... .but its great song, and we dare you not think about whats going on in your mind as you listen to it and as you read Ricks Blog...Hope you enjoy..Rx
This could be another Deep Blog..!!! ;-) Question...What goes through your mind as a long distance swimmer...???, what are you thinking as you Jump into the sea, maybe at the dead of night, with nothing to see apart from and small light on your boat, what are we thinking.??...Its deep question.....! Ricks for sure know all about the windmill of mind games in the Pool as you stand behind your the blocks readying yourself to race as they have been doing it for over 30yrs, but Pool stuff is not to complicated as your race plan would have been drummed into you by your coaches for yrs and yrs, but without stating the obvious, apart the from the fact that in open water and the pool you are swimming , we wondered do all similarities between them sort of end the minute you enter the sea , or dive into the Pool .? or are Somethings the same , The moment before you start...maybe
The Great Man himself..., Do you know why Michael Phelps is really smiling .?? Well its not because he,s already won 16 Gold Olympic medals , he,s thinking ....Mmmm.
Thank god i turned down Ricks offer to join The Double Channel Team..;-))
Weather your Michael Phelps standing on the blocks for the 100m Butterfly final at London’s Olympics 2012, or Big Ricks Paul “BASHER “bates standing on Shakespeare beach in Dover getting ready for the 1st Leg of the double channel swim....Their minds will be going round with windmills of information ., getting ready for in the job in hand, well Michael`s will be at least...;-) ..Phelps will have a plan for sure , his mind maybe thinking, reacted fast to the gun, then good stream line of the blocks, maybe 8 to 10 kicks underwater, before a good break out into 3 or 4 good strong stokes before breathing, good tempo until the turn, again 8 to 10 strong kicks under water, and burst to surface increase his tempo until the finish and he wins another Gold..!! ... But what is Paul thinking.?. we wondered what do other channel swimmers think just before they start their great swims....??? You look down a 50m pool sure it looks a long way , but at least you can see the other end which is it only 24 seconds away, but as you stand on the beach in Dover,in the dark, nervously messy with your goggles lookingout across the pitch darkness which is the channel, wondering what is out there..as you stand there what you do you see and what are you really thinking....!!
Big Ricks Basher , getting ready to jump into the unknown..its 1am . we think his brain is already in windmill state( Like always..!!) Paul was not saying much on the short trip 20 minute trip from Folkstone harbour to the drop of point to start our channel swim
Ricks are just looking into what Paul was thinking as he stood on the beach at 1.15am, were his thoughts the same sort of thought Micheal Phelps might be having.?? .., these are his comments....My mind started doing cartwheels the minute I heard the engine stop.. And the pilot shouted over...get yourself ready this is it...!!!...off course you are already feeling Sick with nerves , but my 1st and only thought as Fred prepared the steps for me to jump in were how cold was the sea going to be.??.We had done loads of cold water training for months, but it had always worried me just how cold it would feel when I 1st jumped in, i always thought what if it was freezing, to cold for me to swim, what would i do..??..Crazy thoughts to some maybe after all the training we had done to be ready for this swim, if the thought of the cold water was not bad enough , add to this it was pitch black and 1.15 am , my mind was all over the place as i stepped onto the ladder, took 2 deep breaths and Jumped In...!!
Paul jumping into the Darkness in Dover .!!
what would you be thinking..???
As soon as I hit the water, the fear that I’d had for months, the fear I had dreamed about over and over about the freezing cold, disappeared in seconds.”The Sea Was Warm”...I felt great for a moment, however that feeling of jubilation did not to last long as I suddenly remembered I was in the English channel at 1am on a Wednesday mo rning in July in the pitch darkness swimming towards a beach I was told was there, but I could not see it ..!! I was told it was only a minute swim away...i,m sure it was felt more like hrs... (Well okay only 5 minute’s maybe.) Finally I felt the sand beneath my feet and I walked out of the sea...and looked around...!!!
I’m sure everyone at some point in their lives has asked themselves what I am doing. What am I here...!! Well for me this was my moment... Windmills of emotions come to mind, I was on a beach , in the middle of the night in a pair of trunks, looking out into the pitch darkness, the only thing I could see was the torch light from the boat , only things I could hear where the waves crashing onto the beach..!!..i Was feeling a little nervous, feeling somewhat sick...and I did think for a moment I don`t wants to do this...I heard a shout from the boat...” Are You Ready..??? I thought for a moment as whether to answer no..!!I took another deep breath...shouted yes...to which I got a reply...well Get a move on then we haven`t got all day ..!!!..Perhaps this my Micheal Phelps moment, just like as when Michael is behind a block at London 2012, .Basher was on the beach at sea water edge...., the moments before you start a channel swim are the same as pool swim..., you have the nerves, you try to have that focus,...my plan was do the fastest 500m ever to catch up to the boat..!!then swim for hour and get out....!!! well that was the plan...and it worked...;-))) ..that moment on the beach on the 20th july 2011...will live with me forever..!
Paul, 25minutes into the 1st hour of Big Ricks 2011 channel swim...
what he and rest of us were thinking as we swam last year is a theme for another Blog .!!
Big thanks to the Great Donal Buckley for the use of this picture
Well the swim is getting closer by the second, its now only 92 days away..!! Its been a very Busy week, we have some good news..Big Ricks have new reserve for the channel swim...its Marcus John Alsop.....and yes before you ask , he is Ricks very own hard women Nicky "Sloppy Slops" .. Brother..!!..
Marcus "J" Alsop..
We are very lucky to have Big Marcus in the team, not only is he a top swimmer and all round great guy, BUT even more importantly he was also a very good friend of Mark, he understands totally why big ricks swim, as he has already swam in many of the events we all take part in throughout the year.welcome on board big man..
The Badger..
Gary Big Ricks Cold Water King.!!
Training is continuing as planned, everyone seems to be in good shape and good spirits..!! Good spirits because we all know the end is in sight..The end of winter training in the pool is almost over..!!...we are hopeful that we can get back into open water next month.!! i say we , but for one of the team it never stopped...Gary managed to swim throughout the winter at The Swan , without once having to use a gloves,or a wet suit.!! its a really top effort by big Edge...he has put the rest of the team to shame, he only has a few weeks before he can laugh at the rest of his team mates suffer in the cold....its the Easter holidays for the next few weeks so training is going to be slightly easier... we've had a great winter ..now the real hard works starts...back into cold water...!!!....
Now only 92 days until Big Ricks 2012 Double swim
Big Ricks Swim Team are attempting a 2 -Way swim of the English Channel between the dates of June 25th to 1st July 2012.. We know the thought of swimming 60 miles really is quite Boring to most of you..!!, BUT the thought you are helping people beat Breast Cancer and Heart Disease by sponsoring Big Ricks really is Totally Amazing .!!! This swim will be completely meaningless without your amazing generosity , We know times are hard so we really,really thank you from the heart for any support you can give us..Ricks x
Well this week’s blog is about as serious as Ricks blogs will ever get..!! Don`t worry this deep moment won`t last for long..!..there is meaning in choosing the mighty Who`s song “Never Be Fooled again” as this week’s blog read along song..As you will see as you read... why not play as you ponder our meaningful thoughts...lol... ;-))...
The 6 Big Time Charlie`s in Dover
Okay...let’s get Deep...Ricks were fooled into not having fun on our 2011 channel swim ..!!Plain and simply...we were 6 big time `fun time` Charlie’s, ex pool swimmers who had done it all, we had a few ex British age group champions in the team, we even had an ex England and Great Britain swimmer among our ranks...so what was there to stop us having fun in the channel...??
The Fun Time charlie`s with the Wonderful Freda Streeter at Swimmers Beach in Dover Harbour
We did all that was asked of us and more, to get ready for a channel relay. we did thousands upon thousands of kilometre's in the pool throughout the winter, then did 100,s of Miles around Swan Pool in day light and at Night., We did the expected (12hrs round trip from the West Midlands) Trip to swimmers beach in Dover just to meet the wonderfulFreda “ The Channel General ” Streeter and do her 3 hrs swim around Dover harbour , just so we could get one her famous certificates saying Big Ricks had passed her test and were ready for the channel, I mean if that wasn`twe even did an extra combined 5hrs test swim at Swan Pool..!! ,and as we did all this training we had great fun, all of us felt great to be swimming again, Great to be back swimming as part of team once more ,because for most of team it had been 20yrs plus since after most of us had given up competitive swimming.!!! ,( Mmm Competitive in swimming terms means .. NOT MUCH FUN..!!
Night Swimming @ The Swan
Okay, after 20yrs of retirement, we were backing swimming , back training , and back to feeling competitive..!!!(That word again), even after 20yrs you can not help yourself falling back into old habits , (as hard as you try.)., So just like we were all teenagers again, we foolishly started looking at fastest channel times, We Started thinking we could beat that time..!!,and maybe perhaps set a record.!!! Ricks Coach Basher, then said " i wonder if there is a record for the fastest over 40`s team EVER..!!" ...Remember what we said earlier, Competitive in swimming terms means..Stress, Putting yourself under pressure To Perform, and off course Winning .! all of which means you don`t have much Fun..!! until the race is over..As Ricks headed To Dover, were ready, we were more than ready. This channel lark would be a breeze...everyone of team was in great shape, we were swimming fast (4k a hour speed), and our competitive streak had taken over.!!( which means ` No Fun` remember) thanks mainly to Ricks Coach Basher.!, we have found the out the fastest over 40`s team did the channel 9hrs 40.!! so that was it...pressure was on..but we thought the swim would be done in 9 hrs or less..!! .,what fools..!
This Easy Channel Lark Route.lol..
(all 35 miles of it.)
Okay...you might think what are Bigs Ricks on about...? as in thinking WHY we were fools...?. because as most of you know We made it across the channel in July 2011.., a Perfect result some would say, and it was ..!, but ( A BIG BUT ) the channel crossing itself was not as much fun as it should have been, not because of the resaons you might think, like sea sickness ,or choppy conditions , strong tides and swells, jelly fish stings , having to swim 15 miles further than was expected , as that is part and parcel of channel swim...so why had our adventure gone from being so much fun for 9 months , to being a bit of let down on the day...Competitive
This is NO Dream,
The swim starts...no one is saying much...!!
So when big Ricks Paul entered the sea at 1.15 a.m, it was raining, windy, the boat was being tossed about by the waves oh and lets not forget it was in pitch darkness,Paul swam towards the shadows of the White Cliffs of Dover and Samphoe beach , we could only just see the cliffs in the of the moon light, all we could see of Paul was a green light attached to his goggles, none of us said a word as Paul swam in, we heard Paul shout from the beach ready...and the clock was started for the Race...!!! (what race i hear most say, this is the channel, one of the greatest sporting challenges in the world..!!! you,ve trained for 9 months to enjoy this moment..!!)..
The Don..5hrs in..trying 100% to break that record
For hour after hour we gave everything 100%, like you do in a race....!! and not what we should have been doing and just enjoying the whole experiences .!! we eventually got France in 11hrs and 10 minutes some 1hr 30 minutes slowly than the record.!! and we were disappointed ..and we should n `t have been...we should have been celebrating .!! Our Pilot Fred (Fred has over 40yrs of experience with channel swimmers) gave us some great advice, Advice that we have taken to Heart and to head, so we won`t get fooled again..!! Fred`s words..." The Channel is never a race guys..sure there are best times for a crossing, but you should never ever judge anyone or any team on how long they take to cross the English channel, every successful crossing is as good as last..no matter if it took 7 hrs or 17 hrs..., no 2 days are ever the same in the channel just like 2 swims are never the same, so how can you judge success simply on times .., ....Now cheer up lads you`ve just crossed the English Channel in the worst conditions of the year...that must be a good reason for a glass or 2 champagne....."
A toast to our channel Pilot Fred Mardel
we Learnt a very good lesson last year, its not race, the channel is bigger than that, Its something to be enjoyed and treasured.. that's something we plan to do with our double channel swim in June..we would hate for others to make the same mistake we made on the day of your swims , don`t get caught up in racing, instead of just enjoy an amazing experience...well that enough heavy chat from Ricks for a life time..time for another glass of bubbly please.....Now only 110 days until Big Ricks 2012 Double swimBig Ricks Swim Team are attempting a 2 -Way swim of the English Channel between the dates of June 25th to 1st July 2012.. We know the thought of swimming 60 miles really is quite Boring to most of you..!!, BUT the thought you are helping people beat and Breast Cancer and Heart Disease by sponsoring Big Ricks really is exciting .!!! `This swim will be completely meaningless without your amazing generosity , We know times are hard so we really,really thank you from the heart for your support..Ricks x
Ricks Blog read along tune this week is By the Great Frank Turner...."Take Me Down To TheEnglish Channel " we are loving the verse that could have almost been written for Ricks Superstar "Super Camp Daz".. the verse is .."If i ever stray from the path i follow take me down to the English Channel and throw me where the water is shallow and then drag me on back tom shore.." well we will Darran but only after you have finished your Hour slot.!!;-) why not Play as read on...Rx
Big Ricks double channel team big got a massive boast thanks Rob at Crimson(http://www.crimson.co.uk/ ), thanks to Crimson`s amazing generosity and support, Ricks are now well on the way to Funding our channel Boat Costs, once this is done, we can then fully focus 100% on the fight to help support our 2 chosen Charties theBreast Cancer Reaseach and theBritishHeart Foundation.... Rob, you and Crimson are stars..Rx
Channel news this week , is all to do with training and more Training...Now the children have gone back to school after half term ,The team can get a good month to 6 weeks of hard training done before the Easter half term break.!!, We are aiming at 4 to 5 weeks of over 20,000m ( 20k per week) in the pool. .., We know from last years Training, this was the hardest time in getting ready for the channel, its nasty, its painful, its no fun, its boring.!!.,but all the boredom,and pain, we be worth it come the summer,. in the mean time if we get this Pool work done and done well, the platform as it regards our fitness will be massive , we only have 6 weeks or less before open water at the Swan starts, we know we have to fit and ready for it to start, as we can`t spend weeks getting used to the cold this yr, we just don`t have the time, it will be straight in and swim.!! now when the 1st day at the swan comes...that will be nasty, painful , but a lot of fun..!
As you can see , Swan Pool is still just a little bit to cold yet for us restart training, however for Big Ricks open water coaching God Dan , its still feels lovely and warm at 1.5 degrees .!! If there is braver ( crazier ) person in open water swimming in the UK than Dan , then we are yet to hear or meet him or her ( and we include Lewis Pugh!)...the man is cold water god.!!
Big Ricks Swim Team are attempting this epic 2 way swim across the English channel because we want to help and support both charities in their amazing work to help save Lives.. ...Any support you can give in our quest would be amazing , any sized donation will help improve the quality of someone's life, Maybe even save a life...!! Its knowing how important even the smallest amount we raise with this challenge will help others , that will keep us going through the many tough and dark times we will experience in the 24hrs we swim in the English Channel in June ( 24th to 1st July)..
If you if you wish to help and support Big Ricks, then simply click this link below to Donate ...Thank you so much...
Big Ricks Members Jenny and Paul pictured along their Perry Beeches SC
team mates at ASA Staffordshire Masters Championships at Wolverhampton(19/2/12)
(Ross,Rob,Jenny, Stuart,Gez & Paul)
Okay below are are some of the training sessions Ricks have done over the past week , hope they are of use to some of you..one last thing this blog Ricks have to say a massive thank you,( i think we mean thank you.!!) to Perry Beeches SC (http://www.perrybeechesswimming.co.uk/) Masters Coach Amaro Viloriafor his amazing support and Amazing sessions he has given the team so far the this Year. As you can see from the picture above Amaro`s work is paying of for Jenny and Paul, as between them they won 6 county titles at staffs counties meet..
sessions..
Village Gym (25m pool) 4 X 200
200 f/c drills
200 No 1 Form Drills
200 Kick choice
200 IM... (800m)
20 X 50`s F/C 75% effort (Bi Breathing 3 or 5)
5 x 50`s @ 45 seconds
5 x 50`s @ 50 sec
5 x 50`s @ 40 sec
5 x 50`s @ 50 sec
8 x 50`s Kick @ 1.10 (NO FINS)
2 X 400`S T-Shirts (3 ½ L`s good stroke form ½ L 100 sprint) 20R
6 X 125`S (2 X 25 95% EFFORT 20R, 4 X 75, S @ 1.15) ALT F/C and No1 Form
400 easy Snorkel/pull buoy swim
200m swim down
5 minute warm down stretch.
Walsall Gala Baths (33.3m pool)
Kit used in this session Snorkel,T-Shirt,Fins,Pull Buoy& Paddles
Perry Beeches (25m Pool )
Main Set is 100% once the main set was finished we tried out some Micheal Phelps Starting Drills.!! 4 x 1 minute of drills, well if you want to dive like the great man.!!
Village Gym (Pool 25m)Idea of this Tough set is to go of @ 1.30 per 100 (wanted to average a chilled 1.25)
it was hard for the short distances..( no rest) , but gets much better for the longer stuff )
Main Set f/c ( mix in at any time Pull Buoy, paddles,snorkel,t-shirt work)
100,200,400,600,800,1000
1500
1000,800,600,400,200,100
300m swim down to make up to 8k..;-)
Perry Beeches (25m Pool)
This is was a Beauty for a Sunday afternoon
Walsall Gala (33.3m pool)200m easy swim
Pre Main (to get your heart pumping a little)
4 x 100 @ 1.35
6 x 2`s @ 65 sec
6 x 1s @ .35 sec
Main set.
6 x 500`s (75% effort at a good tempo)
2 x 500`s @ 7.30 (T-Shirt and Fins)
2 x 500`s @ 7.30 (T-Shirt and Pull Buoy)
2 x 500`s @ 7.30 (Paddles or Snorkel)
F/C Drill Set
3 x 2`s (1stL doggy paddle, 2nd L head up scull) R15
3 x 2`s (1st L head up scull pull, 2nd L head up full stroke) R15
3 X 2`s (1st Kick with fins no Board, 2nd 100% full stroke) R15
Swim Down
400m easy ......Total Session 5200m
5 min stretch down
Perry Beeches (25m Pool)
This Might take a bit of translation ..(T.S.F) means T-shit,Snorkel and Fins..;-)
Perry Beeches (25m Pool)
This was A Killer session..the 45 minutes Twin stretch cord set was not fun
