(K)need a little more time before the marathon... Perhaps we should just swim it?

Beautiful day. Cold but bright and first sign of sun for a long time. Hildi, Jon, Elsie and Pete the pike detour round the road closure (revealing how long it is since they last took a dip) and gather in the car park with running clothes (h and p) and bikes (j and e). Elsie well prepared for the rigours of riding a tagalong with obligatory banana in back pocket of cycling top. Approach the underpass and Pete confesses this is the first time he's done so without a feeling of dread.

Pete sets his garmin to pace us leading to terror for hildi as she's way off the pace after a 1 month lay off. Hildi sets hers just for an acurate record of distance (we SSF like our stats!). As we approach Rottingdean Pete comments how much easier it is on dry land, but Hildi feels it is much less exciting, and later, when her knee starts playing up, is tempted to swim back.

Lovely run with detour round the Marina wall as undercliff still closed at back of asda. Jon and Elsie refuel and wait for us but by this time hildi's knee is playing up. Pete shifted gear from whip-cracking to distracting which helped but had to have lengthy stop with stretching and massage to carry on. (who else has a husband who tells you when you're in pain just to run through it?!). Chat with another triathlete on the way back and a couple more massage stops but we made it back in 1:08. Total distance 10km.

Car park change and then to the Saltdean Tavern for beer, food and social commentary. Plans laid for birthday swims tomorrow. Even talk of Sara's brownies probably won't be enough for Hildi though....

Roll on spring!

(contributed by Hildi)

Ruth, Sara and partner

James and Paul

Sara preparing to draft another limerick

Discussing tactics

Pete tucking into carbohydrates after a lengthy run

Eating and Drinking

Ollie holding court

Ruth and Sara

Sara holding court

Ollie and Hildi discussing marathon swims to come

You don't know what you're missing

Although the skies were grey, this morning was a tad lighter and Sara and I huddled against the east groyne as we prepared for our swim. A biting NE wind gusted with air temperature at  0 deg. C and we felt it!   A good depth of water and gentle swell beckoned and Sara promptly headed out to sea calling for me to join her as she saw the first glimpse of the sunrise. The sun rose like a big red apple with a chunk bitten off as the clouds seemed determined to crowd it out of the sky. Water temp. 4 deg. C and we both enjoyed a pleasantly cold swim. As is now routine, Sara shed her wetsuit and in her cossie had a dip. The windchill on fingers and toes slowed the dressing process.  All in all a good morning's swim. Folks, you don't know what your'e missing!!!!!!

Swimmers: 2  Sara and Joan

In: 0740, Out: 0755

No, no, no, it is cold !

As I parked my car I glanced across the beach to see if I was the first, I had made an effort to get out early this morning.  But I noticed Joan and sara making up camp at the western groyne and so I hurried across the beach to join them.  We prepared ourselves and gazed at the water.  the channel was very gentle this morning and looked just perfect in the dim light, almost metallic.  In we plunged and it felt colder this morning, but my two fellows said, its not that cold, so I came out witht he strap line above.  A later temp reading of 5-6 degrees proved them right, I must have just been a bit wimpy!  After a short time swimming off in different directions getting our own fill, we regrouped and put the worlld to rights 20 metres off shore.  It was so peaceful, you couldn't hear the traffic, and we watched the sky light up from the morning sun rise beyond the low cloud as we were very slowly ushered out to sea by the retreating tide.  just wonderful.  Out we came after a longer time in the water, and went through our routine of dousing bodies with warm water, temp measuring (as mentioned earlier), sara taking a dip in her cossie and me spilling tea over my gloves as I shiver!  A perfect start to the day on a derserted beach.

Swimmers: 3 Sara, Joan, Ollie 

In 7:35, Out 7:50

A delightful morning swim

It was grey and overcast when Sara and Joan met on the beach; no one else in sight. A watercolour of pink, pale blue and a streak of gold stretched across the east and the twinkling lights of the Newhaven ferry came into view as it approached the harbour. The sea water at 5C was flat calm with a low incoming tide and a steady north wind blew. Air temp. 2C. Sara and I walked out to meet the sea; swimming depth yet a long way off. Sara headed for France promising to return with a freshly baked batch of croissants and then suddenly changed course as she tried to keep up with a flight of elusive cormorants. Joan suggested she try instead to catch a waning moon which had appeared in a break in the clouds. We swam as the cormorants and seagulls flew overhead and the oyster catchers skimmed the surface in their hunt for rich pickings in the exposed rocks. Sara peeled off her wetsuit and in her cossie headed back into the sea rolling around around in delight. We both thoroughly enjoyed our morning swim and a warming 'cuppa' afterwards.

Sara and Joan

In: 0745, Out: 0800

Does my bum look big in this wetsuit?

The answer, I have learned today, is always - without any conceivable exceptions - a resounding "no". Now, I have always believed that honesty and integrity are the best principles on which to live one's life. But, when conversing with a member of the fairer sex, it is perhaps important to retain knowledge of both her aspirations and emotional needs before sinking one's size 10s into the less important quicksand of honesty, the like of which will not be forgotten anytime soon. So what does this have to do with the Wednesday morning hijinks of Sea Swim Fitness? Well, stay tuned and I shall return to this most thorny of topics later on.

The first thing I noticed was that the changing room has returned back to the beach. The second thing being that, once again, the stones had mostly frozen solid underfoot as a result of a particularly heavy frost during the night. I had contemplated shedding the wetsuit today, as I had promised to do, but thought better of it once emerging from beneath the comparative safety of my duvet. I just had to hope that nobody remembered  my earlier boast ... Meanwhile, Ollie appeared not to have his wetsuit on and, as Joan doesn't own one,  it was no small sense of relief  when I realised Sara was wearing hers.  At least I am not the odd one out! Conditions: steely blue skies, chilly air temperature, no sun and a reasonably calm looking sea on its way back out since 4:30am. Without further smalltalk I was first in, immediately getting cold water down the back of my wetsuit, which kinda took the edge off from the day at the first attempt. The rest of the gang followed me in not far behind. I am really feeling the cold this morning, although it is slightly warmer(!) than it was in early December. For this reason, I am silently very impressed with Ollie who has followed Joan's example by going extreme hardcore. Sara sets the early pace, heading off to the groyne on the east side. Ollie does likewise whilst I am left to contemplate putting my face into the freezing murk. Actually there is more of a swell and a current than we first realise, even though conditions appear quite calm, so I decide to just float and stare at the heavens for a bit whilst trying to catch my breath. I soon catch Ollie, (either that or he has just stopped) and he points out an albatross perched on the sea wall, looking at us with beady eyes as though we have all been doing some serious drinking. Well, either we have, or we ought to have done. And so we continue swimming, vaguely attempting a couple of widths with varying degrees of success. Ollie and Joan are first out of the water, having completed a paltry four minutes each. Pah! Sara and myself, the hardier of the group, are left to speculate as to exactly what colour Ollie has turned because, from where we are swimming, it looks like fuschia. Eventually Sara and I also get out of the water and join the other two. Joan has thoughtfully brought some breakfast along for everyone, but I tend to lose my appetite when very cold so decide to let Ollie have my share whose voice (in the cold) had become noticeably quicker and several octaves higher, reminiscent of the spin cycle of a washing machine. The sun begins to rise and Sara - to my absolute horror - breaks ranks, takes off her wetsuit and heads back into the sea! What??? That means I am the wuss of the group, of equal standing to the membership of the Duvet chapter. This is feeling distinctly  like cowardice so quickly I make my excuses about having to get to work etc. This embarrassment is compounded when Ollie, as a direct challenge to Joan (who he has arguably equalled in the cold-water stakes), states unashamedly that he is thinking about "raising the bar even further". Gulp! But Joan was having none of it, telling Ollie to "bring it on" and that she had "seen it all before and wasn't impressed". The red sun is creeping above the horizon quite quickly now, so I dash to the water's edge (the tide having decided it is coming back in again - about 2 hours before time) to take some photographs of Sara against this morning Turner sky. The scene looks almost tropical, take a look at the photographs below and judge for yourself. Once re-grouped, we discuss potential swim events for the coming year. A Channel relay is possible, a swim around the piers is another and also across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. Just ideas at this stage, but worth keeping on the agenda in case there is interest. We finish dressing (or most do), and trudge gamely back to our cars. This is where my problems really start ...

Having thought I had gotten away with it, Ollie reminds me that I had promised to shed the wetsuit this week. Sara chips in that I am surrounded by "two old ladies that have done it today", so am really out of excuses. At this point I nod sagely and agree. Wrong! I wasn't supposed to agree at all, not with the word "old" anyway. Apparently the question is a mantrap of each stature to "does my bum look big in this?". These types of question only have one answer (and privately, this explains to me a great deal). I am left to retreat to my car before driving shamefully away. Hopefully my brain will have thawed out by Friday.

"Now do I put my shoulders under?"

"Ooh, bit colder than I thought!"

Beating a hasty retreat

Congratulations go to Sara for joining the ranks of the hardcore

Old, not-so-bold swimmers

Well, I have to admit, today I bowed to the wish of the ocean and did not go swimming. The usual Friday suspects arrived at 7:30am in drizzly rain, wind and overcast skies. From a distance the sea looked possible, if not very inviting, but once on the beach that assessment had to be hastily revised. The tide was in, the waves were crashing hard onto the shore, and the length of the field where they were breaking stretched out quite a way, meaning that even if we could get past the initial breakers, there were several more rows waiting to catch us. The three of us stood and contemplated the prospect of going in, Sara wisely advising me that if I had any doubts then I should not risk it. The real problem seemed to be a nasty ditch in the stones that had formed under the point where the waves were rearing up. Getting stuck in that was sure to leave any intrepid swimmer at the mercy of a wall of crashing water and shingle. In the end we just body surfed the waves and that was a lot of fun, just like being a kid again! Sara even ditched the wetsuit, joining Joan's hardcore chapter of the group, leaving me feeling quite inadequate! I did regret my decision for most of the day, but I guess if you do not feel 100% confident then it is best to stay out. There are old swimmers and there are bold swimmers. But there are no old. bold swimmers. Hopefully the correct decision.

Time In: 7:36, Time Out: 7:52

Swimmers: Joan, Sara, Paul C

Body surfin, two dunks and some birthday brownies from Sara

Today was magnificent. I have a major buzz coming home today. The weather was perfect, waves lashing against the shore, the sea mist coming in and an air temp of about 6C which was higher than the water temp (more on that later). Sara, Joan, Ollie, Paul W and James huddled under the shelter of the cafe and prepared for the swim during which we were treated to some lyrical genious of a birthday limerick crafted by the cake bearing Sara.  I'm going to keep you in suspense...go and read it on the site....but suffice to say a dare was offered to go in without the clothes! Anyhow, no time for cakes and talking yet, we had to earn those goodies so we waddled across the dimly lit stones. I always wonder if the cars passing by above take a double look to see us heading out to sea. We sheltered by the right hand groyne and our lifeguard james kept track of air temperature. The gang went in with Ollie faffing, trying to run lengths of the beach to warm his body.  At that point James and Ollie were joined on the beach by a tall dark man appearing through the mist....Paul C !!  His unmistakeble deer hunter hat gave his silloutte away and once ready we made a charge for the sea.  I turned to see Paul W pull off a very worthy body surf, must have travelled 10 meteres or so until grounded by the waves.  There was a steep step down about 2metres from the shore.  Go over that and you were in, shoulders under, ridin' the waves!  A strong undertow kept us in check as we bobbed up and down like horses jumping over fences at the national. After about 10 mins we gathered back on the beach and took a water temp reading - a fabulous 2.5 degrees!!! We doused our feet with warm water. But then to the dare....Sara stripped down to the swimming cossie and off came the booties, we all looked the other way wondering when the shedding of layers would stop, but alas, you would have to be madder than a march hare to go any further, so at that point sara took the plunge and went for the body surf. Her plunge into the worlrd of no wetsuit! Completely exhilarated and on top of the world, we swaggered up the beach to the shelter of the cafe and had another rendition of the limerick and handed around the brownies.  And just for sara, right on cue, a fliy past from seven cormerants that we had booked earlier. Well done lads. A fine, lifeguard-assisted swim, an amazing chocolate brownie, good laughs and some surfin, I urge the rest of you to head down there, there is no better way to start the day.....next swim 7:30 Friday. 
...and murmours of a monday morning swim in the pipeline.
 

Sara's limerick for her own birthday:

There once was a swimmer named Sara,

Wore a wetsuit, she rarely went barer,

But today she's 46,

So it's time for new tricks,

Skinny dipping, go on, why not dare her!

Birthday girl Sara and assorted gang members

Birthday girl Sara and a change of photographer! (sun wasn't shining, its just the flash)

Other news and dates to look forward too for a cracking year ahead....
* Brighton Swimming Team (different from the well known Brighton Swimming club) contacted me to arrange joint swims and events so something to consider.
* I would like to gauge the group to see if you would like me to organise a meeting with a channel swimmer.  What it takes for the training, nutrition and mental strength etc. This can be completely informal and even over a coffee in the white cliffs cafe.
* Recruitment drive - this year I would like to add numbers to the club so we can have better events and get use of one of the beach huts.
* A new Social secetary - would anyone like to become a social secretary (in the loosest sense of the title) to organise the odd pub outing or curry night?  Doesn't have to be a serious effort at all but I failed at the first pub outing so maybe my skills aren't in the social sec side of things!
* Snow is on the way on long distance forecasts, if so, we have a professional photographer that wants to capture the group and give us some free pics for the site so watch out for that...
* April 6th - I would like to put this date out there for a full reunion or the club.  Come on down for the first mass swim although you are very welcome to join in before then.
* A saturday in June - I have been asked to organise a Swimming Gala for under 16s....all welcome and some novelty races for everyone to get involved.
* July - I'm keen to do a guest swim with the very friendly and like minded folks of Brighton Swimming club. This will be a 1km swim around Brighton Pier at 7:15 am.
* July/August - A Saltdean to Rottingdean 1 mile mass participation race coupled with a kayak race with the folks at Martlett Kayak Club.
* End of August - The now famous Saltdean to Marina swim
* A Saturday/Sunday in September - the chance to register a Saltdean - Marina - Saltdean time. 8 km - hopefully some guest appearances from Swim For Tri and East London Tri club
* Any other requests I'm more than happy to add to the calendar...

(written by Ollie)

We seek him here, we seek him there ...

Despite feeling very tired, I still made it onto the beach at 7:30pm. Shame on the rest of ya bah! Conditions: dark, some rain, light wind and mild. A tough January morning although I cannot help but think November and January have swapped places. My initial reaction was, again, where is everyone? A disembodied voice alerted me to the presence of Joan and Sara who had moved the girl's changing room to the top of the promenade just below the road giving them more shelter. No sign of the Scarlet Pimpernel who, I am reliably informed, actually swam at 5am and so was back home, tucked up in bed by the time the "late crowd" arrived. Low tide and smaller waves than Wednesday, so we were faced with a fairly lengthy walk across the sand in order to get to some deeper water. No sunrise today, just a blanket of grey, yet swimming in these half-lit conditions is also quite magical in its own way. Sara began heading off to France, I gingerly gave chase but just when I thought I had caught up, she changes direction and heads east. I continued to follow until the cold in our hands eventually told us that time was up. Same time next Wednesday where Sara has promised us a limerick for her birthday!

Swimmers: Joan, Sara and Paul C
Time In: 7:37, Time Out: 7:52

Wind chill factor

I awoke at 7:07am having reminded myself the night before that I should make an effort not to oversleep. Having spent a further couple of minutes debating with myself as to whether it was really Tuesday or Thursday, I realised the awful truth - it was Wednesday. Roll over and get another 30 minutes in bed, or put on a wetsuit before submersing myself in the cold sea. Decisions, decisions. I was momentarily persuaded that the chicken dippers manning up the Duvet Chapter did have the correct idea all along. Tough one. Somehow I managed to get to the beach by 7:30 where, in the half-light, I had expected some more enthusiasts buoyed up from the shenanigans on New Year's morning. I was disappointed to discover that the event had swelled our ranks by exactly zero! Instead, the sight that greeted me was those two stalwarts Joan and Sara limbering up like a couple of boxers in their dressing gowns. Oops! Too late, they have seen me, no point running now lest I be accused of cowardice. The wind was a lot stronger and colder than in previous days, exacerbated by a virulent wind chill, and the sea too was looking rough and uninviting. I could not really discern what Joan and Sara were saying to me, plugs in my ears and nose coupled with the wind made it difficult to hear anything. So I just nodded and shook my head at various intervals, seemed to be OK, just hope it wasn't safety instructions. So, the three of us went into the sea (lowish tide) and made the best of it. Sara did well, swimming in and around the groynes. I felt the cold quite intensely today, so just bounced around riding the waves, making little effort to do any swimming. Joan, as always, acted as though conditions were tropical. The current was quite pronounced, running east to west. I lasted just under 10 minutes, Sara stayed out a bit longer which, given the conditions, was impressive. The red cloudy sky suggested that bad weather was yet to come although the sunrise was spectacular. Just wish I brought my camera. As an aside, I have found the swim hats a useful topic of conversation at the David Lloyd in the Marina, where I swim several times a week. A couple of triathletes Kurt and Natalie (both friends of Russell) have promised to swim with us, and encourage a few others to do likewise when the weather improves, or just gets warmer. Should be a fun Summer ahead.

Time in: 7:43, Time Out: 7:51

Swimmers: Joan, Sara and Paul C

(written by Paul)

Winter dippers out in their masses

So the inaugural Sea Swim Fitness New Year's Day swim went ahead and at 10:30 people began gathering on the fringes of the beach.  The old bar-b-que rattled down the tunnel and over the stones to park in the middle of the beach and light up.  The numbers grew slowly at first and then suddenly I turned around and over a hundred people had surrounded us.  People in various stages of undress and rotating their arms to get warmed up. The smell of spitting sausages pulled in the punters further.  We gathered all the swimmers together for a short brief that went something along the lines of its cold and you may shiver afterwards (I had meant to say thanks all for coming but the words never come out that you plan..!)  We had a whole range of bravery from spectator - dry suit - wetsuit - shorts/swimsuit, and thankfully as there were kids about it didn't get any braver than that (Oh and we had a funny looking man dressed as a sailor, Paul - you win the show stopper outfit this year very impressive!!)  A last swig of tea and then we were off, a charge in to the calm 4 deg sea.  a beautiful moment, I held back to watch you all go in and had a smile to myself thinking what a lovely thing the club has become.  The bravery continued as Sara was knocking out widths of the beach and more folks went in without suits.  Lots of breath being taken away and mad flapping to keep him warm.  Some new swimmers joined us on the day which was lovely to see.  We had loads of pics taken so we will get them uploaded to a special page on the site!  After emerging from the deep blue we huddled around, caught up properly, had cakes, hot dogs and lots of tea/coffee to keep the mood going. The crowds stayed and cheered on there loved ones. An amazing start to the year, and definitely a new fixure on the calendar!!  Well done to you all and I must say thanks to the Saltdean Residents Association  for helping to advertise the event.

Love to you all and your families and a happy new Year!

Ollie

The beach begins to fill up in anticipation of the annual swim