Big Ricks Channel Uniform..!!
(its going to be cold.!)
Channel news update to follow....
Big Ricks Coach Paul..trying out sea swimming in Barmouth (Wales) 17/4/11)..what a wimp..!! Paul's second attempt at a sea swim in Wales on Wednesday (20/4/11), and it was just as bad as Sundays effort.. This week’s channel humming classic is a top sing along song, It was picked by Big Ricks Swim Team`s Captain..!! Rob, or as the team loving know him best as " Chunky Monkey Cash" Its great choice by the Captain , One Day Like This by Elbow.
Big Ricks team are swimming the channel in aid of Cancer Research UK and The British Heart Foundation .. After reading our blog, we hope you will think we are deserving of your support .!!! If you wish to help ,then please click this link and give what you can.Every penny you give will go to help save Lives..!!
This weeks sessions have been a bit up the air as , Gary ,Nick, Nicky, Darran and Paul are all on holiday all over the world and Wales.!!! ( Australia, America,Barbados, Portugal and Barmouth.!!) ..they all have promised to do lots of sea swimming whilst away ...!! ( believe that and you believe anything..lol )
Sunday 17/4/11 (Swan Pool half a mile lap)
3 laps done (1 1/2 miles roughly swam)
Saturday 16/4/11 ( Walsall Gala Pool 33.3)
WARM UP.easy 400m
MAIN SET 50 x 100,s @ 1.30
WARM DOWN 400M
Thursday 14/4/11 ( Walsall Gala Pool 33.3)
WARM UP.easy 400m
MAIN SET 40 x 100,s @ 1.30
WARM DOWN 400M
Wednesday 13/4/11 (Perry Beeches Pool 25m)
WARM UP..200M
MAIN SET 20 x 200s 3.00 F/C
WARM DOWN 200M
monday 11/4/11 (Walsall Gala pool 33.3m)
WARM UP..600M
MAIN SET: 3 X 1000
5 x 200s @ 2.45... 100 rest recover
15 x 2s odd numbers kick with fins, even numbers F/C breathing every 7...
Paul,Rob.Nicky,Richard,Doug Swan Pool Training 10/4/11
Big Ricks Team at Swan Pool on a beautiful Sunday morning proudly showing of our Plaque that was very kindly presented to them by the ' Swim For Your Heart Foundation ' in the United States. It was our pleasure to play small part in the first worldwide Swim For Your Day on the 14th of February this year..
The Goal of the swim was for people to take to the pool,lake or sea just for a small or large swim and whilst swimming take a moment to think of others.. who may be no longer with us..the swim for your heart foundation are trying spread awareness of heart disease prevention.
We hear from Pat Gallant-Charette, who,s idea it was to set up Swim For Your Heart in the States , that 35 countries have now shown a interest in swimming on February 14th 2012..keep up the great work Pat..check out the web site for more informationhttp://swimforyourheartfeb14.com/
Channel news this week is all good, as you can see below we are now training open water.!!! which is still taking a bit time to get used to , but the help of our open water guru Mr Eatherquake we are getting there..Hopefully this weekend we will be able to last the hour in swan pool...once that is done.there will be no stopping us....!!!!,
On the sponsorship front , well we some good talks with Miranda at Cancer Research UK this week , and we are hopeful of some great help of them in the coming weeks and months , so along with all the help the British Heart Foundation are continuing to give us should hold us in good stead for the coming mouths leading up to swim to help keep spreading the would about the record swim attempt and more importantly about the charities we are swimming for..
On the team front , welll the good news is everyone if fit and well.., and the bad news everyone is on holiday.!! Gary is in Australia, Nicky in Barbados, Nick in the States , Super Daz is in Portugal and poor old paul is in Wales , but all have promised to keep up the sea swimming whilst there away., yeah what ever..!!!
Swan Pool training 10/4/11, We Had a great swim this morning , we managed 45 minutes in 10-11 degree water..It was a bit fresh at 1st, but after 5 minutes or so, we warmed up a little, and as result manged to swim roughly 2 miles before the cold got to us again . it was a good effort by to everyone in only 2 swim in open water this year.All goes well for the coming weeks when training in the lake will increase to 3 times a week .
Well this week’s Channel humming tune is a top chill song, It was picked by Big Ricks Swim Team`s youngest and fastest member Stuart or as he is better known to us all as simply Dougie. Its great choice by Doug , and no surprise as he is a true Weller Nut...!! Broken Stones by the mod father himself Mr Paul Weller
Big Ricks team are swimming the channel in aid of Cancer Research UK and The British Heart Foundation .. After reading our blog, we hope you will think we are deserving of your support .!!! If you wish to help ,then please click this link and give what you can.Every penny you give will go to help save Lives..!!
1st Open water swim 3/4/2011 at Swan Pool Birmingham
Paul,Rob,Dan( Channel God)Nicky,Gary,Richard
Well, we all knew this day had to come....!!, but it came a bit sooner than we all thought, but the 3rd of April 'Mothering Sunday', was big ricks open water initiation, and it certainly was an Initiation..!
Everything has happened sort of fast this week, from being just a normal week..with normal training planned, then Wednesday a chance introduction to Dan Earthquake from a friend , has resulted in us all swimming at in Swan Pool in Birmingham on a lovely sunny Sunday morning.. .!
The Chance meeting with Dan, might just turn out be the best bit luck Big Ricks team will have this year..I'm not sure if can say in just a few words just what Dan has done in his swimming life..the man is an open water swimming god...! Dan never ever swims in wet suit ever..!! he swims open water all year round .., just few things he has done, he has been an Official observer for many years on channel swims, he was also on the board of Directors at CSA (Channel Swimming Association ) for 5 years, and because of his love for all things to do with open water swimming , Dan along with a few of his friends (two of which were Mark 'Big Rick' and Marks dad John ) Formed in 2002 the only channel swimming club in the west midlands, the club is called Survival Lifeguard Channel Swimming Club .. (big ricks team are there newest members.!!) through this club Dan and friends have trained many successful channel solo and team swimmers . Check out Dan web sites ..trust me if you want help with channel or long distance swimming he is the man for you.. http://www.danearthquake.co.uk./ and http://www.coldwaterculture.com/
( If you do get a few moments ... you might want to Check out Dans Cold Water Culture page ...He has wrote some lovely things about Mark and John ..and Big Ricks Team.!!! )
So.lets go to the swim itself....first of all ..we had a good turn..4 of the team swam.. Paul, Nicky,rob and Richard..Gary turned up to watch , but did not want to get his hair wet this time, as he,s off to Oz next week for a month and did not want to catch a cold...!!, and as for the missing Gimp 'Doug ' !!! well lets just say we all know who wears the trousers in the Copeland household.!!!!
okay...so Dan gave us all a 10 minutes briefing before we got in the water.. all about safety and how we would freeze like a ice cream if we went to far the first time , you all the normal jokes one uses , just to make us feel that little be more worried than we all ready were.. but seriously Dan gave us great advice, he could see we were worried, but with a few well chosen words he gave us all the confidence that we would be okay !!
Dan would not let us just go off and do laps of the lake, as we thought we would easily do ,, as he knew full well we would not make it half way round the lap at best, ..so we kept in simple...swim close to shore..., between the 2 closest buoys ( about 25m apart ) that way if we had any problems we could get out no problem..!
So lets do it , we stripped to our trunks on the lakes edge...which gave the local dog walkers and watching sailing club a good laugh.!! and stepped into the less than inviting water.!! first thing that came to mind...was OMG ...this is cold..but as we dived in that feeling soon passed, as the real cold set it...!! its hard to describe in words what it was like, we have done loads of open water swimming for years, but always later in the summer and mostly with wet suits on..so they came as a bit of a shock to the system for all of us..!!
your body feels like its on fire.!! its really strange feeling, you are cold but your legs feel warm., Your face goes numb for the first minute or 2 then it feels great,!! we swam for about 15 to 20 minutes , just up and down between the buoys , all of us were feeling okay...but after 20 minutes or so really started to feel cold, could not feel my feet, hands and strangely my shoulders..! started to find it hard to swim.., so we called it a day , and tried to walk out ,so funny we were all over the place...even more funny was trying to get changed as the shivers came in...we were shaking that bad could not even hold and cup of tea...just kept spilling it.!! the whole experience was strangely enjoyable for us all, well if jumping into a freezing cold lake in early April can every be enjoyable that is. , its a good job really as we have to do it all again next Sunday and for the next 3 months..!!!
Swan lake , at sandwell Valley...8.45 Sunday morning
Breaking the Ice.... The Swim..!!
The Frozen walk to land.!!
Finally ,following on the same theme of recent weeks on Ricks Blog, in picking a song that we think will help swimmers keep their mind sane while swimming for hours and hours on end , Well this weeks humming tune is a classic, It was picked by Big Ricks Swim Team`s best dressed member Victoria, or as she is better know to us all as V.P . its great choice V.P.... its Proud ...by Heather Small This Weeks Sessions Sunday 3/4/11 (Swan Pool half a mile lap)
20 minutes just trying to get used to the 8 degrees water...short sprints.about 25m long.. it was good 1st time
Saturday 2/4/11 (Walsall Gala pool 33.3m) MAIN SET: 6 x 300s @ 4.20 9 x 200s @ 2.50 18 x 100,s @ 1.30 SWIM DOWN: 400 Mixed Stroke
