My Weekend of Swimming

As my journey continues, I am becoming stronger, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

 This weekend would be the best I have had in ages. Two days of being able to get out into the open water and push the body closer to a dream and goal.


As a person that likes to analyse results and compare one swim to another knowing what the conditions were on each day, I can see that I am gaining more strength in choppier conditions, my sighting technique is a lot cleaner. Mentally I feel better and confident in the distances that I am doing.

With ten months to the Rottnest Channel Swim, I am on target for a great swim no matter what the conditions are, so may my journey continue and may my body and mind stay strong.

Have a great week everyone...

Hayley xx

An Amazing Swim....

Today started out as any normal weekend, even though it was a Saturday, in fact it is ANZAC Day. I headed off from home at 5:30am to pick up my training partner and head to Cottelsoe Beach for our weeks open water training session. We had beautiful conditions with easterly winds, though the water was a bit chilly. I decided on wearing my wetsuit for the swim, and unfortunately my training partner didn't have one to wear, so with the easterly winds comes jellyfish...oh and yes lots of them.

On the way out it was surprising to just how many jellyfish were out there, I got stung on my wrists, face and foot, even now at 9:12pm my face is still very sore and my foot and wrists are better, but you know the stings are still there. We turned around to head back after 2.5km and as we were half way back underneath me I see this...

This is a photo from the net of a Baby Black Tip Reef Shark, it just happily swam under and past us. I was surprised to what I saw and the magnificence of this animal for the very first time in the wild.

I also saw so many different fish that swam under us as well, it just so amazing that we can swim in such beautiful places in our own city.

Have an Awesome weekend everyone...

Hayley xx

A Little Wiser Each Day

How do we observe ourselves and reflect? I can watch myself some days when I am in a crappy mood and some days, like today it feels almost like an outer body experience. It is strange, and unnerving as well. I can stand there and be arguing with someone and feel and see myself doing it. 

Its days like this that I don't like at all. I have always been the kind of person that really doesn't like arguing, but believe me I can argue with the best of them, but still don't like the feelings that it brings. I have dreams that I aspire to, and its days like today that I wish the journey would pass quicker than others. This is not just my dreams for my swimming, but for my life as well, on different levels. 

I guess today was one of those ones where you just want the world to stop and for you to get off the roller-coaster, but it never happens, you just find a way of dealing with the built us emotions, whether that is arguing with people, to vent frustrations, bottling it up and using exercise or other forms to deal with it all, going to a place that you can be to think things through and reflect and workout ways to best deal with your emotions. 

Have a great weekend...

Hayley xx

Beautiful Photo's....

This photos was taken by  Sundaysunset.images's a local in Perth. I just had to share as I have a love of the beach and also mother nature at her best, the colours were due to a control burn that was happening in the hills that day and so with the colours of the sunset made for this wonder photo.

Strength Training....

Learning new lessons are always good, even if what you started out doing, didn't actually happen and was pulled short. 

Today I thought I was going to do a 10 kilometer open water swim training session with my training partner. After a long day yesterday for the both of us, and strong North Easterly winds the water was a little on the rougher side. Going out (heading north) we planned to do 2.5 kilometers and then head back, but at the 1.1km mark I thought that we would reach our goal of 2.5, but at 1.75km which felt like it took for ever to swim 649m, so at 2.15km we decided as we were being pushed further out to sea and finding the water getting a little rougher that we would turn and head back. In total we did 4.416km. To put the water conditions into perspective it took us one hour to swim 2.15km and forty minutes to swim back 2.27km back, we went from averaging 2:25/100m going out and finished at 2:18/100m by the time we made it back to the beach. 

As our weather here in Perth has been a little odd, in the sense that we got a week of storms and rain, and strong winds and temperatures around the low 20 degrees Celsius to this week being in the high 20's and sunshine. So I knew the water temperature would be cooler than usual, but when I got in and started swimming I had that feeling of my arms and legs being slightly numb. I managed to warm up as we swam, but getting out we were shivering and feeling the cold more. So being in the sunshine this morning was lovely. 

So learning from this is even though you have a goal in mind of what distance we were going to swim, it was more important to deal with the weather conditions and our safety than the distance. I was happy that I felt strong in the water today. I have been doing some extra strength training session this past week to help with some mental stress, and also allow my body to rest from swimming and use some different muscles so I didn't end up over training.  In doing this I felt so much stronger in the water and didn't stress out about the water conditions. As hard as it was going out, I didn't have the feeling that I just wanted to get out as it got rougher the further we headed out. Coming back was amazing as usual, the fish that swim under you is stunning, and watching the plantation on the reef following the direction of the current and I was so taken by my surroundings that I forgot to sight to where I was going and end up a little off course. 

 Have an awesome week everyone...

Hayley xx

Learning the lesson of not over training....

Australia Day 2013

 I remember the day the above photo was taken, I was feeling awesome because I thought I was invincible with my running and that I could run forever. 

This past week I came to realise I needed to back off from my training, as I was feeling so tired and was sleeping in each morning, which for me is extremely unusual and didn't have the normal drive to get up and go swimming or go to the gym. Yesterday at work, I had this feeling of not being right, I couldn't quite put my finger on what was causing it. I went to the gym late last night thinking it might have been that I hadn't been training, but came to the conclusion having a few days off of training isn't a bad thing. I was also realised my body was fighting off a cold that my family had, had and I was not going to get. 

 

This week I have also come to see that as much as my swimming and strength training is extremely important, I also need to remember how important it is to let my body recover from all that I do. It has been a hard lesson to learn, but I am grateful that I have seen it before it was to late before I either had another injury or did get sick. 

I look forward to the next few weeks of training and then making sure I have one week out of four that is a little less intense. I haven't had the chance to do an open water swim for a few weeks due to holidays and bad weather, but this Sunday is looking like a perfect day to be in the ocean with the fish, and pumping out ten kilometers. Then its home for rest and relaxation and study. 

 Have a great weekend everyone...

Hayley xx

You Are....

I found this on Facebook and had to share here, hope everyone enjoys....

On You ....

"You Are Strong, When You Take Your Grief And Teach It To Smile.

You Are Brave, When You Overcome Your Fear And Help Others To Do The Same.

You Are Happy, When You See A Flower And Are Thankful For The Blessing.

You Are Loving, When Your Own Pain Does Not Blind You To The Pain Of Others.

You Are Wise, When You Know The Limits Of Your Wisdom.

You Are True, When You Admit There Are Times You Fool Yourself.

You Are Alive, When Tomorrow's Hope Means More To You Than Yesterday's Mistake.

You Are Growing, When You Know What You Are But Not What You Will Become.

You Are Free, When You Are In Control Of Yourself And Do Not Wish To Control Others.

You Are Honorable, When You Find Your Honor Is To Honor Others.

You Are Generous, When You Can Take As Sweetly As You Can Give.

You Are Humble, When You Do Not Know How Humble You Are.

You Are Thoughtful, When You See Me Just As I Am And Treat Me Just As You Are.

You Are Merciful, When You Forgive In Others The Faults You Condemn In Yourself.

You Are Beautiful, When You Don't Need A Mirror To Tell You.

You Are Rich, When You Never Need More Than What You Have.

You Are You, When You Are At Peace With Who You Are Not."


Hayley xx

Body Image...

 Today I got the latest edition of FitnessRX for Women, its a great magazine and one I look forward to getting each quarter. It always has great information and exercises and nutrition advice.

I was reading a letter that was sent into the magazine from a reader who had found FitnessRX to help her come to see where she needed to make some changes to her life in order to loose the weight she felt needed to go. The words that caught my eye were "The driving force behind my new life was being tired of being unhappy with who I had become. I refused to be embarrassed or for people say, 'She has such a pretty face', because they couldn't say I was beautiful with the body I possessed. I then turned from dieting to fueling and from movement for calorie burn. I sculpted a body I love."

Its the words turned from dieting to fueling got me. If only so many other people could see this as well. I had to see it from the perspective of having an eating disorder, where I would eat one meal a day and do everything possible to burn those calories off because I needed to have the feel of control.

 https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMiro0r

This youtube video is one to watch for some serious inspiration. I have a friends whom is currently training to run/walk from Perth, Western Australia to Brisbane, Queensland. Yesterday Gary ran an Ultra Marathon in Bunbury 2hrs from Perth, today he started his 3 day walk back to Perth as part of his training, and he is just an inspiration. He put this video link up on facebook, and was awesome to see that no matter how old we are, or what shape we are in, there is always hope to live our dreams.

I have a dream to help others with eating disorders to heal and recover. I dream of swimming from Perth to Rottnest. I have a dream to be able to run again. No matter what our age and circumstances we can all dream, its then coming up with a plan to make your dreams come true.

Have a great week everyone, and remember to dream and then plan for that dream to come true...

Hayley xx

Cottesloe Beach on a Cloudy Day...

My favourite photo at the moment!

Cottesloe Beach on a cloudy day...Shags on the Rocks

Are We Living to Survive, or Living Our Dreams???

Recently I watched on Facebook the lecture from Randy Pausch that was played on Oprah, 2010 it was downloaded to YouTube, but today I watched the one he actually did at Carnegie Hall. This man was given three months to live and he puts everything into this amazing lecture. He talks about living his childhood dreams, something I am now trying to do. 

I suggest copy and paste the below into YouTube and watch the video and really listen to what Randy Pausch says and I hope it moves you like it moved me.

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
https://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo

I know I might have blogged about this subject before, but it comes around for me semi regularly to remember "live to live, not, live to survive. " I have had a few days off of work this week and had this feeling to go to the beach on an overcast day and take some photos something I have wanted to do for a little while, but didn't make the time to do, but the beach is always a place for me to go to if I have something troubling me or playing on my mind. I feel relaxed when I am at the beach, almost like a connection between me and the universe. I know that sounds a little corny, but that is the only way I can describe it.  It is a 45 minute drive to Cottesloe Beach from my house, and to only be there for a short time was just enough for me to feel relaxed and to clear my mind and to take some photo's. Cottesloe Beach is also the start to the Rottnest Channel Swim which I hope to take part in next February, so I guess going down there was to help maintain my focus of what is a head of me for my training and goals.

this is a photo of Rottnest taken from 20km away

 We get so caught up in our daily lives of making enough money to pay our mortgages, bills, taxes, and every day living expenses. Also spending time with family and raising kids. If you were told today that you only had three months to live how would you react? Could you say you were happy with what you had done so far in your life. Could you tick off some of your childhood dreams that you had? Would there be anything you wish you could change?

Now is the time to make some small changes to make your life a little different, Write a list of your childhood dreams and work out some way you could make one or all of them come true. I have promised myself time each week do to something a little different and have some fun, among the everyday stressors of life.

Have a great Friday and weekend...

Hayley xx

Rottnest Channel Swim Training Update...

 With 329 days till the start of the Rottnest Channel 2016 swim, training over the past few weeks has been great. My squad sessions have been huge, building greater distances and pace in the pool. My own private training session have been great  as well, with having the inner fire that helps push with pace and distance with doing reverse pyramids (warm up of 400m, then into the following 500m, 50 second rest, 400m (40 sec), 300m (30 sec), 200m (20 sec), 100m (10 sec), 4 x 50m with 5 seconds between them, followed by a 200m cool down. I also do a session which is a pace session where you start with 400m warm up and follows with 20 x 100m on 2:05sec/100m with a 200 coll down. I am very lucky to have a great training partner as well so we keep each other on track with our training.

Weekends are set with an open water swim, whether its an event of just the two of us heading north from Cottesloe Beach for a 5km or like today 6km swim. We have had swims where the water is choppy, but thankfully today the water was beautiful, clear and calm. The feeling of gliding through the water with fish swimming all around you is such an amazing feeling. Its moments like this that the silence of the water, the quietness in your mind is bliss.



Then there is the little issue of stingers (like the photo to the left). Today wasn't too bad seeing I have only this to show for my 6km which was great seeing other weeks I have been covered in stinger marks.

Today we decided to try something a little different to try and deter these clear little things (and not so little) from leaving slash marks on us. So firstly we covered in suncream, then put petroleum jelly on areas that end to get stung more often, It kind of worked, but I believe it will be a trip online to order some "Sea Safe" and see if that works. There has got to be something out there that helps.

 I am excited as my pace has gotten a lot better with all the training that I have been doing, so I can say I am very much on target for my qualifying race later this year in November for 10 kilometers in under 4 hours and 15 minutes. With great hope that the waters will be calm on the day. Once I have made the qualifying time, its just a matter of maintaining good training and nutrition leading up to the big day.

Have an awesome weekend...

Hayley xx