Chapter 2 Mission for a Medal

Once she starts there's no stopping her!!!

Given Louise's clear nervousness during her first open water swim i did wonder genuinely if she would return to the water after all lets face it, its not for everyone and there is no shame in saying actually no thanks.

But shortly after her initial swim she contacted me again, can we go swimming, the smile in her voice could be felt over the phone. Date sorted and call ended. Said say duly arrived and so did Louise, this time she paused for breath so that the lesson could start, and despite being nervous she took it all on board and as she entered the water showed that she had clearly remembers previous instruction. Heading off for the first buoy this was a different swimmer in the water, a more determined air about her, safe in the knowledge that's she could in fact make it to the first buoy and back, but today she wanted to go further afield. At the first buoy she attempted to put her face in and have a look at the submerged boat, a nano second later Louise decided that she did not want to see what was under her and brought her head up so fast i thought her head would snap. Breathing through every pore in her body, she listened as i taught her how to calm herself down if she ever gets that panicky feeling again, once she applied this she was off, second buoy she shouted, is now the time to tell her that with my earplugs in i can still hear most things but they are muffled!!! And off she went second buoy looming large.

Once there she lay on her back for a bit with me cradling her head in my hand for added support, while she again sorted her breathing (fitness would be tackled at a later date) and marveled at the sky and all that she could see. For a lady who has literally just learnt to swim she was doing remarkably well. Bobbing around....still chatting she rolled onto her front and took her first lung full of Ellerton water. The natural instinct of a choking swimmer is too grab a hold of some one or something to hang on to, now normally i will either approach from behind to support them or move away so that i don't get dragged under, with Louise, i just put my arm out and that was enough for her to splutter that the water did not want to go down and that she hoped that never happened again (Sorry it does!!!).

Fully recovered she headed back to the jetty, yep still chatting, but in an amazed way, i think she had surpassed what she thought she would be able to swim and quite rightly was pleased with herself. She was now looking forward to completing the Great North Swim, and i knew at that moment that by hook or by crook she would do it!!!

The next session was an eye opener for Louise, a lesson that the lake is not always calm, it can be choppy or become choppy while you are swimming. Half way through her session the wind appeared and it was making its presence known, the swallowing of water occurred again and again, and Louise started to panic. Now all of you know that swimming is not like running or cycling whereby if you don't like it or if something happens you can just get off or stop, you have to return to the side or an area where you can get out and so became lesson number 3, if you want to get out, you don't have to ask (yes she did, as if i would be cruel enough to make her stay in).....but i did not want Louise getting out in a panic, she needed to apply the lessons learnt and get back safely. A gentle reminder was all it took but then the hard work started, the wind mean that Louise's tiny frame was getting tugged by the waves in a direction she did not want to go in, dig deep i told her, pull hard, kick those legs, and slowly she started heading to where she wanted to be. Again at the jetty the release mechanism kicked in, Louise thought she had failed as she did not like the waves, not at all, its a learning curve and one that we all go through, clearly though she had not liked them but was not going to let them beat her. Showered and changed, it was coffee and cake time....oh yes she learnt that one very quickly. Louise is a very open and honest person and there is a lot to like, she invites feedback (good or bad), asks questions and reflects on her own performance, she can identify where she panicked and why, she can also see the beauty in the water and in what she is doing.

The next few sessions would be improving Louise's endurance and raising her fitness, again she took to it all well, amazing herself with each hurdle passed, she would do any distance asked, just so long as she did not have to look back at how far she had swam until she had reached the point where we would be turning round and heading back but her face when she did turn round and her astonishment at how far she had swam.

Investing in a new wetsuit which she now slid into gracefully and with none of the earlier shakes or nerves.....but still with the same amount of chatter!!!. Soon she was rising to any and all challenges, and despite the occasional muttering she simply dig deep into her reserves and positively devoured them, the transformation from the nervous woman that not that long ago was fit to pop at the idea of putting a toe in the water was  now berating herself when she realised things she could have done or should have done, but self reflection kicked in all the time and she would verbally tell herself off and then correct herself  and get on with it. But the smiles were still there, the chatter.....still non stop but this was a woman on a mission, to complete the Great North Swim and get her medal and T-shirt. I had agree to swim the race with her, i just hoped she got the same sense of pride in herself as i did watching her progress. She was starting to look forward to the 'big event' which was looming in the near future but there were other hurdles to pass still, would we have time, well Louise had the commitment and i had the time to make sure she reached her goal, it is a genuine pleasure to see her change in direction....indeed i feel she is already a life long committed fan of open water swimming and what a shining example of what can be achieved!!!

Chapter 3 being written as you good ladies and gentlemen are reading this!!!