Hi Blogfans! (if there are any of you!)
A bit of an update. My original plan was to swim Windermere in July 2011. This didn't happen. Since then much has changed. On the 12th of December my son Oliver was born 12 weeks prematurely and consequently 2011 was a bit of a different year. Oliver is doing really well now.
I have also changed jobs and now have much more time at home and time to train. I am now aiming to swim Windermere on the 10th of August 2012.
Training is going well. I have got 2st off since August and am currently training 3-5 times a week in my local pool. I am aiming to start my open water training in April following completion of a dissertation that I am doing.
I am aiming to raise £800 for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Claire Wadley Forget Me Not Fund so please visit my site at www.justgiving.com/daveneal and donate what you can.
I'll endeavour to keep my blog relatively up to date but please accept my apologies if my fatherhood / work / training / dissertation get in the way and I don't update for a while.
Friday, 27 January 2012
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Blea Tarn and Red Tarn
In my last post I mentioned two training swims that I had in Blea Tarn and Red Tarn in the Lake District. I had the swims while on an action packed day out on Friday the 17th of September. Me and a friend, Gareth, did a couple of walks / climbs and a couple of swims. Here's a quick rundown of the day's events;
08:00 - We met in Lancaster Total Fitness car park for the drive up to the Lakes
09:15 - Set off walking from the head of Langdale Valley up to Blea Tarn
10:00 - Climbed / scrambled up Jack's Rake up Pavey Ark. This was the first time I had attempted a scramble of this nature but I was guided by Gareth who is an experienced climber. This was a bit hairy but good challenging fun.
11:30 - Swim in Blea Tarn. I had managed to persuade Gareth to come in and have a dip with me. This was a pleasant turn of events as Gareth had had to guide me up Jack's Rake which was a little outside my comfort zone, and all of a sudden I was the experienced one guiding him into the water! The water was peaty and cold, the reading on my watch read 5.3'C however I think my watch must not be calibrated for reading water temperatures, it was more like 10-11'C. Gareth lasted about 5 minutes and we both swam back to shore. While Gareth got dressed and warmed up I turned back and swam across the Tarn (~250m). I had a little chat with some walkers on the other side and swam back. The view from in the water was fantastic, made all the better by looking up at the face of Pavey Ark having just climbed up it. We preceeded to walk back down to the car and had a coffee / warm up break half way down.
14:30 - Walk from Helvellyn Youth Hostel up Helvellyn via Swirral Edge descending via Striding Edge. About two thirds of the way up Swirral Edge I got severe cramps in my upper quads, possibly due to the combination of a cold swim and lots of steep up hill walking. Progress was slow as I had to rest my legs every 5 minutes to stop them going into spasm. At one point I seriously considered going back down and waiting for Gareth at the tarn, I'm so glad I decided not to turn around as the view from the top was fantastic in all directions and walking down via striding edge was ace!
17:00 - Quick dip in Red Tarn. All the way around the Helvellyn Edges, we had toyed with not having a swim in Red Tarn partly due to the cramps in my legs and partly due to time constraints and getting back home before the door slams and the dog house opens! In the end we decided to have a quick dip and then make up time with a fast descent to the car. I knew that if I didn't swim in what is quite frankly an iconic location, I wouldn't be satisfied until I came back and swam some time in the future, and I didn't fancy that steep walk again any time soon! The temperature was a degree or so warmer than Blea Tarn and the water was a lot clearer. We then proceeded to get down to the YHA from Red Tarn as fast as our legs would carry us!
All in all, an action packed day, big thanks to Gareth for being my mountain guide for the day and thanks to our respective partners for allowing us to use our valuable holiday for a boy's day out!
I'm going to try for a few more open water swims this season before it gets too cold. Keep an eye on the blog for updates.
Dave
08:00 - We met in Lancaster Total Fitness car park for the drive up to the Lakes
09:15 - Set off walking from the head of Langdale Valley up to Blea Tarn
10:00 - Climbed / scrambled up Jack's Rake up Pavey Ark. This was the first time I had attempted a scramble of this nature but I was guided by Gareth who is an experienced climber. This was a bit hairy but good challenging fun.
11:30 - Swim in Blea Tarn. I had managed to persuade Gareth to come in and have a dip with me. This was a pleasant turn of events as Gareth had had to guide me up Jack's Rake which was a little outside my comfort zone, and all of a sudden I was the experienced one guiding him into the water! The water was peaty and cold, the reading on my watch read 5.3'C however I think my watch must not be calibrated for reading water temperatures, it was more like 10-11'C. Gareth lasted about 5 minutes and we both swam back to shore. While Gareth got dressed and warmed up I turned back and swam across the Tarn (~250m). I had a little chat with some walkers on the other side and swam back. The view from in the water was fantastic, made all the better by looking up at the face of Pavey Ark having just climbed up it. We preceeded to walk back down to the car and had a coffee / warm up break half way down.
14:30 - Walk from Helvellyn Youth Hostel up Helvellyn via Swirral Edge descending via Striding Edge. About two thirds of the way up Swirral Edge I got severe cramps in my upper quads, possibly due to the combination of a cold swim and lots of steep up hill walking. Progress was slow as I had to rest my legs every 5 minutes to stop them going into spasm. At one point I seriously considered going back down and waiting for Gareth at the tarn, I'm so glad I decided not to turn around as the view from the top was fantastic in all directions and walking down via striding edge was ace!
17:00 - Quick dip in Red Tarn. All the way around the Helvellyn Edges, we had toyed with not having a swim in Red Tarn partly due to the cramps in my legs and partly due to time constraints and getting back home before the door slams and the dog house opens! In the end we decided to have a quick dip and then make up time with a fast descent to the car. I knew that if I didn't swim in what is quite frankly an iconic location, I wouldn't be satisfied until I came back and swam some time in the future, and I didn't fancy that steep walk again any time soon! The temperature was a degree or so warmer than Blea Tarn and the water was a lot clearer. We then proceeded to get down to the YHA from Red Tarn as fast as our legs would carry us!
All in all, an action packed day, big thanks to Gareth for being my mountain guide for the day and thanks to our respective partners for allowing us to use our valuable holiday for a boy's day out!
I'm going to try for a few more open water swims this season before it gets too cold. Keep an eye on the blog for updates.
Dave
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Just Giving Page!
Hello again!
I've now set up my Just Giving page and have attached a widget to this blog. Very technical of me!
As I mentioned in my last blog, I am training to swim the length of Windermere next year and in doing so I am trying to raise as much money as possible for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Claire Wadley Forget Me Not Fund.
Please donate what you can.
Training wise, I had two swims in the Lake District last week in Blea Tarn and Red Tarn, both were sub 10'C. I didn't swim for long as I also did a good stretch of walking / scrambling at the same time.
I've now set up my Just Giving page and have attached a widget to this blog. Very technical of me!
As I mentioned in my last blog, I am training to swim the length of Windermere next year and in doing so I am trying to raise as much money as possible for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Claire Wadley Forget Me Not Fund.
Please donate what you can.
Training wise, I had two swims in the Lake District last week in Blea Tarn and Red Tarn, both were sub 10'C. I didn't swim for long as I also did a good stretch of walking / scrambling at the same time.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Introduction!
Hello World Wide Web!
I'm new to blogging. The reason I've decided to start now is to raise my profile and possibly drum up a bit of sponsorship for some of the charity work that I do.
I'm currently training to swim Windermere (10.5 miles) in July 2011. I raise money for Leukeamia and Lymphoma Research. Claire Wadley, my Wife's best friend and friend of mine, died in 2006 of Leukeamia after battling the disease for a number of years.
A quick potted history of my swimming careeer;
This year I raised in excess of £800 for Leukeamia and Lymphoma Research by competing in the Stockton River Rat Race which was a 10KM adventure race. I really enjoyed taking part and plan to sign up for next year's event.
You can probably tell that I'm new to blogging so I'll probably be messing around with my page for a while. I'll try and keep you all up to date with my training progress and will try and put some photos e.t.c. on here too. Most importantly, when I get round to setting up my 'just giving' page please visit and donate what you can.
Dave
I'm new to blogging. The reason I've decided to start now is to raise my profile and possibly drum up a bit of sponsorship for some of the charity work that I do.
I'm currently training to swim Windermere (10.5 miles) in July 2011. I raise money for Leukeamia and Lymphoma Research. Claire Wadley, my Wife's best friend and friend of mine, died in 2006 of Leukeamia after battling the disease for a number of years.
A quick potted history of my swimming careeer;
- I swam competitively during my teens.
- After a long break I took up open water swimming in 2008 in a bid to get fit. My season that year started with a 1K race building up to competing in the BLDSA Coniston Championship which was 5.25 miles.
- 2009 and 2010 have been quiet on the competitive front although I kept up open water swimming / wildswimming on a recreational basis.
- This year, I won my first open water race. It was the BLDSA Derwentwater 2 mile mens race. It was a close faught battle between me and the only other competitor!
This year I raised in excess of £800 for Leukeamia and Lymphoma Research by competing in the Stockton River Rat Race which was a 10KM adventure race. I really enjoyed taking part and plan to sign up for next year's event.
You can probably tell that I'm new to blogging so I'll probably be messing around with my page for a while. I'll try and keep you all up to date with my training progress and will try and put some photos e.t.c. on here too. Most importantly, when I get round to setting up my 'just giving' page please visit and donate what you can.
Dave
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
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