WILD ABOUT SWIMMING

Well all of you know that it i has been my aim to start my own business, and many have told me that doing what you love to do means that mentally the work load is halved straight way. So to this end i am now officially open for business, WILD ABOUT SWIMMING will only be small initially so i can test the market and see the directions i will need to go in.
What will i be doing 121's and group sessions to get people new to open water swimming into the water safely and with confidence. Coaching and assessment of said people so they can reach their goals be it race ready, distance or fitness ready. I aim to organise events and swims in the Northeast of England and cover as wide a geographical area as i can.
As open water swimming becomes more popular and people reclaim our rivers and lakes more are entering the water with little or no knowledge of what to expect, social swimmers are arranging themselves in groups with no first aid or rescue cover, to that aim i will be looking for persons to receive this training to reduce the risk management of said swims. For those looking to expand their swim portfolio i will be encouraging accredited and non accredited qualifications. And for those looking to set up their own groups looking to advice and consult with them. During the winter months for those not wishing to continue in the open water i will provide pool based training in preparation for the following season. I am as always open to suggestions so if there is an area you would like to see Incorporated then please do not hesitate to let me know. Soon i will be organising my first entry to open water event, entitled 'Dip a toe' so if you are new to open water swimming come and have a go. Thank you all for your support historically and in the future and i look forward to getting as  many people in the water as we can get!
So should you be interested or require any information from me you can contact me using the following methods:
TELEPHONE - 07946498923
EMAIL - pauline_squire@sky.com

GB OLYMPIC TRIALS 2012

THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON


Further from my last posting.....where i still say THANK YOU, you will remember that i told you about things happening for a reason, the course that i got booked on got cancelled so i immediately signed up for the next one. Stomping round the house solved nothing so i did my normal and headed off to the water, 5K of swimming later and i felt calmer, not exactly one of those 'oh well' moments but calmer, i had be soooo looking forward to it and the course was pretty much imminent, for the sake of 2 people it got cancelled, not impressed but literally nothing i could do about it, next one is booked!
But as i have said things happen for a reason, i got an email, inviting me to attend the GB National Championship trials, now knowing that everyone that knew me, knew of my wish list which included this event, but also them knowing that i did not manage to get tickets, my first thought was this is a wind up. But a part of me deep inside was doing cartwheels.....could it be real, the logos looked right, the name at the bottom of the email was right. Time to double check, so i sent another email else where.....nothing!!!!! Now do i open my mouth let the whole world know or keep it quiet.
Getting up the next day, the first thing i did even before putting the kettle on was check the emails....nothing. But then later that day confirmation, oh i was going to see the GB swim stars, how exciting. Andrew Reid, MD of Verve would be meeting us at the venue and act as our guide and host, we had a brilliant time with him.


Now they say that everything happens for a reason, had my course not been cancelled i would not have been able to attend the trials, so there was a good reason for the cancellation, someone somewhere was looking after me.


Wednesday soon arrived and the weather was fine, travelling down did not seem to take that long at all, getting into London, with the instructions as given by Linn meant it was uneventful too. Parking too was easily found, in the local shopping centre which due to a recent referb looked splendid. Having arranged prior to travelling to meet up with fellow swimmer and freediver Dan Graham, who is a first response first aider to the Olympics, a quick phone call and he was there. Coffee and cake and a great chat about freediving and i am hooked, i have to give this a go. Dan was great company explaining his role in the Olympics and that the trials were not just a trial for the swimmers, it was a chance for everyone to perfect their performance, it was great to see his enthusiasm for his work and that all the hard work was paying off with the smooth and uneventful running of the games thus far.

Time flew by and soon enough it was time to meet Andrew, finding the venue was not a problem, straight out the shopping centres doors and there it was right in front of us. Wow, it looked impressive. The site area big enough to accommodate the thousands that would be flooding through its doors later in the year! Staff positioned all along the route were friendly, full of smiles and the occasional joke or two. Joining the queue, i telephoned Andrew, he had the tickets, whilst waiting for him who should walk by but Sharon Davis, looking remote but splendid. Next walking along, deep in concentration was Tom Litten, the very special reason we were glad to get tickets, those of you that have read previous blogs will know that Tom is very special to us having swam with him and had the pleasure of introducing him to open water swimming. Tonight Tom was competing, a hug huge from him and off he vanished to finish his preparations.


Before you could blink Andrew arrived, big grin on his face, he was as excited as we were by this event. You could tell instantly that we were going to get on. A gentle giant of a man with a fab sense of humour is how i would instantly describe him, he was as excited as we were to be there.  Going through security was similar to that of an airport with scanners and wands being waved. An elderly couple going through before us seemed a tad confused that they had not been recognised as they had attended the mornings swim viewing!

Entering the venue is breath taking, and Dan was right in that its a 'wow' moment, he had described to us the groups of school children who had flooded through the doors each day, each group giving a collective wow as they took in the sights, for us adults it was no different. It simply is a sunning venue, attention to detail is second to none. We stood in awe before the camera's quickly came out. Staff were great telling us where our seats were, and all the facilities. They genuinely seemed to be enjoying their work, a massive bonus, it must be great to see the reactions of peoples faces as they come through the doors.

Tom Litten after his warm up

Already in the pool, like a mass pod of dolphins were swimmers turning their arms over and getting warmed up, some using training equipment, some under their own steam, the different techniques on display for me was amazing, the drills they were doing food for thought! Like a child in a sweet shop i decided that i had to have the clackers, flags and anything else that would make this event more memorable, so diving outside  (no pun intended), i set off in search of such goodies only to be enveloped in a bear like hug from Bryn Dymott, he had said that he would be there. It really is great to meet up with fellow swimmers and put a face to the name and all the chats that happen on facebook. He's a very personable man, obviously inspired by what he had seen so far and getting tempted to return to masters swimming....we will be following your adventures should you choose to do so Bryn!

I had told Tom that we were coming down, and that the mankini that i encouraged/forced him to wear during his time with us in the water would be making a reappearance. Thankfully Andrew took this in his stride as i donned it in the seats.

Watching the swimmers compete is inspiring, the speed but the ease with which they swim makes us mere mortals look like we are floundering at best in the water, each movement they make is graceful and precise, the exact product of hours of training coming to fruition.

Being mainly a open water swimmer i found it quite fascinating the array of costumes, jammers, goggles that the swimmers were wearing, Andrew was also interested in the differences in the equipment requirements of pool swimmers verus open water swimmers. It struck me how little the swimmers used in comparison, and also that with small tweaks of equipment that the open water market could be easily catered for. It seems that the market as a whole caters for the top down swimmers (and quite rightly so), us normal swimmers have diluted versions of what they wear, many due to the cost involved and also the issues surrounding catering for a diverse, large and competitive market. It was good to be able to discuss 'our' requirements and explain the reasons why for example pool goggles although wonderful are not great in the open water due to their limited peripheral vision, size, and ability to stay suctioned to our faces in the types of weather we face. I could see Andrews brain recording all the information and storing it away, i am sure had we not been there for the purposes of watching the swimming we could have spent the night in a pub with scraps of paper having an in-depth conversation about products and their usage and the transferability of some of those products.

Racing took on a pace which is amazing to see as did the conversations around us, what is nice for the spectator is that the coaches and event staff are also in with the crowd, despite most not knowing who they were talking about the frantic pace of hushed conversations had me intrigued. Is it as nerve racking for them as it is for the swimmers i wonder, they seemed harsh at times in their verdicts after swims, did they realise the impact of participating in such a life changing event and the effects it can have mentally and physically on the swimmer, i am sure they did.

Tom Litten

Seeing Tom swim was an amazing experience, he literally flew through the water and i hope he could hear me screaming as he glided through the water. As soon as his race finished he had promised to come and say hi, and this he did, he was disappointed with his swim but for us it was just brilliant to watch and it was a proud moment to be able to say, i know him!. Pictures had to be taken...with the mankini. A few hugs later and it was tome for Tom to go off for a well earned drink, i shall remain his second best fan (his family are his first) and truly look forward to seeing his career progress.

 Returning to Andrew, conversation again turned to products, Andrew seemed truly interested in the differences and the requirement, some of the women had amazing costumes on, bright and really jazzy looking, but these for all that they looked wonderful would be impractical for us wetsuit wearers, the straps too thin, and the sides to high which would lead to chaffing, which as us suit wearers know is a nightmare and can cause scarring if the chaffing is severe enough. We don't just need to keep warm in the water we need to be safe too, the cold in the water is excellent as disguising injury as many a swimmer will testify to when then have exited the water to find necks rubbed raw, feet bruised from treading on the hidden sharp rocks underfoot. That said to have a jazzy practical costume.....wow that would be fab.

Lyndon Longhorne, getting ready to swim

Soon it was the turn of the paralympians, remarkably and as is normally the case those that struggle on land are amazing in the water. Any other sport may have denied them the chance to compete but the water welcomes one and all, embraces them and supports them. This is evident in the speed and grace displayed. Many a child who feel being deprived of an electronic gadget and 'forced' to enter the great outdoors  moaning the whole time should attend these games, and thank themselves lucky, it may be a big wake up call that sitting on the sofa while the sun is blazing outside is not an option, the swimmers were inspirational, determined and eloquent in their address of the water.

All in all we had an amazing day, the journey home was uneventful but seemed long but we grinned and chatted swim talk the whole way, still grinning now. Thank you so much to Linn and Andrew of

http://www.theaqualife.com and Verve, you have been wonderful. For all of you unfamiliar with the aqualife team, please use the link and register with them, they are truely interested in what us the normal lay swimmer needs and take on board what we say. I had an incredible preview of what the Olympics are going to be like, got to watch Tom Litten race, brilliant night!! Memories made and stored, fab!

SPRING SPLASH SWIM

SPRING SPLASH SWIM 2012

Yes the time has come and people are starting to organise swims again, David Booth, who sadly could not make the swim organised a spring splash in honor of spring finally arriving. In eager anticipation the day was awaited and finally arrived.

Waking up knowing that all my kit was organised, all i had to do was eat, dress and get in the car. Opening the curtains to fog so thick that i could not see the field across the road did nothing to dampen the mood. Checking the fuel level of the car, sorted and off i headed, my daughter with me to act as photographer for the day. She used to join me in the swims but teenage hormones mean that this is no longer consider cool, i have hope that one day that things will change and she will rediscover the joys of open water swimming again til such time i will encourage her other passion,  photography, at the age of 14 she is learning still but shows promise with her experiments.

So camera at the ready said child gets in the car and off we head to Capenwray where according the website i have been promised 6 degrees of warmth. After recent weeks of 1.3 degrees and not much more and sometimes less it should in theory feel tropical by comparison.

Heading towards the Lake District was a hair raising experience, tight and twisty roads, coupled with limited visibility, it was not a fun journey but as time when on so the weather changed with the colour of the clouds getting lighters and eventually the odd spot of blue appeared. By the time i arrived at Capenwray the sun was making a true appearance. Ah warmth on the skin, lets hope it stays for the swim.

Arriving in the car park, the first swimmer we see is my dear friend Dorothy Mills, its good to see her after a winter where the roads and weather have prevented a girly catchup. Heading towards the water to check it out its as if winter had never happened as the conversation flowed, the water looked amazingly clear. We could not wait to wait to get in, heading back to the car park we came across a group chatting. The rest of the swimmers in the form of Rebecca Jarre,Sam Plum, Alison Darley,  Cath, Lyn, Leon Fryer, Keith Midgley and a few others (names escape me at this time of night i am afraid), a quick chat and if was off to get changed. Gosh it was good to be back swimming again!

Heading to the water wetsuit on (in Rebecca's case a swim suit only!) and we stood waiting and chatting, the divers normally intent in concentration on the business in hand were still, watching us, i can imagine the thoughts going through their heads....are they nuts (that's the normal one), are they really going to get in, did we know it was cold, ......yawn, we've heard them all before.

the waters that way!

Right enough chatting, time to get in while the sun is still shining. Divers literally standing in disbelief, yep we really were getting in.



Leon bless was treated to a wee hug....us ladies surrounding him and heating our wetsuits in the way we knew best!

divers adding words of encouragement???

With the cool water entering our suits, but with massive grins we slowly submerged ourselves, god it felt good, with the sun shining. With the water deepening there was no choice, feet off the bottom and we were away. No gasps of 'god its cold', no i don't want to do this, we were off like a pod of dolphins into the deep. That was until the ice cream headache kicked in and abruptly we all resorted to alternating with breast stroke and front crawl. An ice cream head ache is caused by the constriction of the blood vessels in the roof of the mouth, as this nerve centre gets cold it over-reacts and tries to heat your brain. Thankfully it only lasts a very short period of time but its painful when it happens! 

Leon's warm hug!

Sam and i took off, the water in places was like glass, we wanted to be the first to make them ripple, it really was nice swimming with the sun on our backs. Gliding through the water was amazing, it was so still, the divers bubbles clearly visible as they broke the surface around us. I do often wonder if the divers ever look up and see us and wonder what its like to do what we do.

Reaching the side of the quarry we were able to find a rock to stand on so could watch the progress of the others, it really is a great sight to see swimmers in the open water and i dont know about Sam but i felt a great affiliation with them, we were all doing what we loved to do and the sun was making sure the trip was a good one. Seeing no one floundering or looking too cold, we got back in the water, the fish were clear to see as were the many objects in the water. Capenwray is a dive centre and as with all water  masses as the sun heats it some of the clarity can be lost but this was incredible, seeing things that i have never seen before. It was also a luxury not to be racing round and  to be able to take it all in. Some of the boats, never seen before due to the waters depth were now to be seen, my only wish at that point in time was for an underwater camera. Some had brought them and took delight in diving down to see the snowman which had replaced the deckchair normally in situ on one of the diving platforms.

At one point swimming along watching for all that i could see, both Sam and i jumped at one sight that greeted us, initially it looked like one of the old fashioned divers with the big diving bell on his head sat on a rock reading a paper, that's not a problem, the double take came when we realised there was  a huge devil next to it grinning up at us, how many times during a race have we swam over that and never noticed!

Before long the cold kicked in and it was time to get out, feet totally numb despite socks....if you have never tried walking like a drunk duck then cold water will ensure you do as you try to regain your footing. Heading off for a hot shower, still grinning, my brain already tasting the warmth of the mug of tea i would consume once dressed. Getting in the shower and turning on that water proved to be an experience.....i found it too hot, and the heat set my big toes throbbing, so down went the temperature gauge only for it to be slowly raised based on the level of pain my toes gave me, but pretty soon, they warmed up and i could continue to get dressed. 

Once fully attired in every layer of clothing i had brought with me, it was into the cafe for hot drinks and food.

Chatter and laughter came in leaps and bounds as did a wonderful calorie laid plate of cakes curtosy of Leon, they didn't see the light of day for long, for some reason the cold water always gives you an appetite, well thats our excuse and we are sticking to it.

So the season for some is well and truely underway, the weather kissing us with its heat however temporary, hints at future swims to come, and we are all looking forward to them. As they say the water is open!

 

YIPEE AND THANK YOU, YOU ARE INCREDIBLE!

YIPEE AND THANK YOU, YOU ARE INCREDIBLE!

Following my appeal for help, i am pleased to let you know that thanks to you all i am now booked on the course.

Putting out the appeal did not come lightly as i am sure you will all appreciate, but the response was overwhelming, several donors requested anonymity but many others allowed me to thank them publicly via facebook. What can i say, except a HUGE thank you to you all, you have been incredible and it is wonderful, the messages that have accompanied the donations have at times raised tears in me...not easy to do i can tell you. The level of support and encouragement has been humbling, and the reasons you have given for donating have been heart warming to read. To say that i could not have done it without you is an understatement.

And so i am booked and ready to go on the course....and very excited to do so, a new project can now start that will benefit open water and pool swimmers in the very near future. I hope to meet all those that have helped me to thank you in person and have emailed as many as i could to show my appreciation. As they say watch this space....exciting things will be happening and it could not have happened without the kindness of you all.

The first course i booked got cancelled, major disappointment, but rapidly booked on the next available one, but as they say everything happens for a reason, i had an email which i shall tell you about as soon as i have confirmation of its contents.....life as they say goes on. The email, had i been able to do cartwheels with out needing A and E would have had me doing them. Should have confirmation tomorrow night and that point i will reblog! Have i been swimming i hear you ask......clearing my throat...YES and i will endeavor to tell you all about them over the next week. Me not in the water......shudder at the thought of it....was the water cold....oh occasion VERY. More to come folks but in the mean time THANKYOU, may i never let you down and may you all love the things you do as much as me!!!

THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU, YOU ARE AMAZING, XXXXXXXX