A little practise and a jelly sting!

With just two days to go until I do the BIG SWIM from Palm Beach to Whale Beach (approx 2.5km) I thought I had better do a little practice.  I have swum in the ocean pool a couple of times this week (although only about 1- 1.5km at a time) but have yet to actually get in the Ocean!!!  Something that might be important - maybe????  

Last night after the kids finished their dinner we all walked down to the beach for mummy to test out the water and have a little practice.  As it was early evening I needed Mr D to come and keep an eye on me.  For two reasons really - firstly, the lifeguards had finished their shift and gone home and secondly, we all know that sharks come out to play at dusk and dawn!!  (Not sure how entirely true that is - but I wasn't taking any chances!!  Not that Mr D would have been any help either under those circumstances  because he is more scared than me - but you know, safety in numbers and all that!!)

It was the most stunning evening and the water looked AMAZING!  The waves were perfect and it actually looked really inviting.  Lets just hope the conditions are like this on Sunday morning!!  Fingers crossed everyone please.

heading down to the water

I didn't really have a 'plan' as such as I really just wanted to overcome the unknown of 'getting in and getting out".  There were only a couple of little waves to jump over so I was out over the break in no time at all!!  I powered out for a few seconds, then popped up to have a look at how far from the shore I was.  It was probably only about 50m or so but I suddenly felt VERY deep.  I'm not scared of the ocean but being out there on my my own (except for a couple of surfers), surrounded by blue, I suddenly felt a tiny bit panicked!!  "Don't be ridiculous I told myself" and I put my head down and started to swim (parallel to the beach of course - I wasn't going any further out than I needed to).  

My eyes were still tightly shut and I realised that I needed to open them if I wanted to see where I was going!!! For some reason I just couldn't do it!  It was like that feeling you have when you are home alone and you hear a noise downstairs.  You're too scared to look in case you see something..........you don't even know what, but you start picturing all sorts!  I couldn't help having that same feeling - like I was going to open my eyes and have some big sea creature staring back at me!!

Good job I'm doing this practise run - I don't want to be too much of a nervous nelly on the day!!  Although I have decided that swimming with a huge group of people can't be as scary as swimming on your own!!

Once I relaxed, I actually started to enjoy the swim, although it's totally different to being in the ocean pool.  I was close enough to the shore to get the swell before it broke into a wave, so on every other breath I was met by a huge wall of blue that lifted me up..........and then down...........up .......... and then down.  I also kept lifting my head right up to check where I was and that I was still swimming in a straight line.

Watching mummy in the water

It was much harder than being in pool, so this is definitely going to be a challenge!  I kept going for about 200m or so and then felt a sudden sting on my leg.  I stopped in my tracks and spun around to see what had got me.........!  Then I felt all those tiny needle like pricks start to tingle at the back of my knee and knew it was a jellyfish (of some sort).

Ok, time to get out I thought!!!  Not much of a training session really, but at least I have managed to get in and and open my eyes in the sea!!  Now to get back to the beach - challenge number 3!!  I swam towards the shore and just prayed that I wouldn't get dumped by a wave (especially with those few surfers watching........now that could be embarrassing!!).

Luckily for me the tide was really low and calm, so I only needed one wave before I was able to put my feet on the ground.  As soon as I felt the sand I started to run - trying to avoid getting knocked down and face planting by the next wave that was coming in fast behind me!!!

OUCHIE!!!

PHEW!!!!  I made it!!  I can tick that one off the list.  Now all I have to do is swim the Bold and Beautiful tomorrow morning (a lovely swim, I believe, from Manly Beach to Shelley Beach) and it'll be D-day!!

For anyone out there thinking of doing an Ocean Swim - this really is a guide of 'how not to train'!

Miss H stole my beach dress, so I had to walk home wrapped in my towel!

(For those of you that didn't read my previous 'swimming post' you can find out about my crazy challenge HERE)