First Ice Training Session

As usual I gotta say that this is my own personal journey into the Ice. The things I do whether right or wrong is Just my story of what's happening with me and a need to be as honest as possible about it. Good,bad or indifferent. It's Sunday and I've lost my shore person that helps me ( husband) so I've got a different helper today. Jan the angelic dresser has agreed to come help me. It's wierd not having Phil here today but needs must and I know I'm well looked after with Jan and Sian here. I've packed the gear and made my flask and hot Water bottles up and chucked them in the van with a million layers! I've bought rope and a bouy to mark out a 26 metre course to see if it changes thing's for me. I get to the pond and the ladies haven't arrived yet so I put the thermometer in the water and get the bouy out the van ready. The temperature is 4.4 degrees, perfect! What isn't so perfect is that sodding lazy wind! Sian and Jan arrive and we...

Hello! Sorry it's been a while since the last blog but as the saying goes "Life gets in the way while you are busy making other plans" or something like that.... This is my own personal adventure into the Ice. I'll make mistakes along the way but hopefully learn from them, one can only hope! January has Been up and down for temps and for training. It's been an odd month. My last 2 session at the pond haven't gone to plan and I've been berating myself ever since. I've been told to stop this by friends or there will be violence, Maddie has that gleam in her eye that she finally gets to crack me one and I'm not going into what sian on crutches can do iether! Last Sunday I met Sian at the pond, she was helping me plot a course for Ice mile. We had done the Google map plotting distance and thought to see how swimming that course would work out. The temp today is 3.9 with that lazy wind again.  The initial faffing of where to start was interesting, ...

This last week has Been so up and down, water temperatures have been so reactive  to the weather at the pond. At one point it was back up to 9 degree's so quite frustrating but still all good acclimatisation training. This Sunday was cooler. I felt it immediately getting up that morning as we tend not to use the heating, yes I know a cheap skate on paying for heating but all good for environment too eh?😁 I don't have to take my son to work this morning so I get to go early and catch the pond before the sun hits it hoorah! My hubby is not best pleased at this....."FFS woman it's Sunday morning" , so after a bribe he agrees to get a move on and come to the pond with me. I've eaten a good warming breakfast today.....left over curry on toast 😉.. And packed my bag. I've put my swimsuit on underneath my clothes today to be ready and try and limit my faffing. The drive to the pond is always exciting, my tummy rolling with nerve's,...

30 October 2018 I just want to say that everything I do in this blog is my own decision,I am not encouraging others to do what I'm doing or saying what I'm doing is the right way to do it, I'm sure I'll make mistakes along my journey. Please be kind as sometimes I'm an idiot😉😉😁😂 Woke up this morning to a very sharp and heavy frost, Jack had been hard at work through the night indeed! The thing that went through my mind as I opened the curtains to the frost was WOW then Oh Shit this ones gonna hurt! This is my first Ice training of the season, the last swim at the pond was 9.8 and that was a sharp acknowledgment to the temperatures dropping fast. Preparing my bag for the swim I was trying to be methodical as possible and trying to remember what it was like last season so with that in mind 2 hot water bottles went in, my hot flask of camomile tea ( usually hot chocolate) loose easy layers, thick fluffy socks, fleec...