The Three Musketeers

Geoff, James and I met at 8:30am this morning for a swim in the harbour at Vauxhall. Well, that was the plan anyway, but by the time we were ready the waves were about half a metre high and messy as hell. So, I suggested we drive down to Macandrew Bay to see if it was flatter there.

Geoff jumped in the front seat of my car fully kitted up for the swim (two swim caps, a neoprene cap, wetsuit and wetsuit booties). James, in his wetsuit, squeezed himself into the back seat like a slightly over-stuffed stuffed toy - arms unable able to move to his side and knees barely able to bend. Off we went - the three musketeers.

At Macandrew Bay we stood in front of the car contemplating "will we, won't we", "it's still pretty high", "yeah, nah...maybe", "if we stay close to the shore, but what about out there". We must have looked pathetic standing there all dress up and nowhere to go (swimming).

In the end we headed back to Vauxhall more than a little disappointed and ready to swim this afternoon instead, until Geoff suggested that we try the other side of the harbour near Watercooled Sports. It was perfect there when we got there, but there are no buoys or poles in the water as markers for us to mark our swims. The answer: walk around the shore (along the busy Portsmouth Drive) and mark it using the Garmin GPS I have borrowed (mine is broken and off for replacement).

What a sight! All in wetsuits, two in slippers, one in running shoes walking along the water's edge glancing at the GPS and then looking around for land marks to spot from the water. Katie Menzies (the coach that helped me get started with my training), passed us on her bike and she yelled out something about how mad she thought we were getting in the water on a day like today.

Then back into the water we went with the usual hesitation and whoops of discomfort as the cold water seeps into the back of the wetsuit through the zip. The water has actually warmed up heaps as we have had a week of 25+ degree temperatures. We rattled off 2 x 400 metre warm up, 8 x 100 metre swim to run transitions and 4 x 400 metre continuous sets.

All in all a bloody awesome swim by the three musketeers!