Finalist in Sport Award

Ah - there's always next year - sadly we didn't scoop the award but we were in the 3 finalists for Participation in Sport award with Lincolnshire Sports Partnership. We did our best to promote ourselves at the event last Thursday http://www.lincsphoto.co.uk/?Action=VF&id=5215100450&ppwd=pd8347gn and John Inverdale now has a Blue Sky Swimming business calling card.

Saturday at Anderby Creek with Hannah and her crowd for an 8 degrees C swim - here's me with mild hypothermia setting in; Sandra just cooling down after 20 mins in the water and shaming the wet-suited men to abandon the rubber-gear.

Competitive, moi?

Tee hee!! The waterblogged sisters triumph again!

Lovely long uplifting sea swim on Saturday at Anderby Creek, 8 degrees in the water and heavenly.

We met up with the lovely Hannah & Robert and serious swimmers gang - thanks for the friendly welcome, tea and biccies x.

How us Blue Sky Swimmers love to shame those big beefy boys out of their rubber - and yep, we managed it again! After all, what serious self respecting athlete could be out done in the cold water by a couple of girls, tee hee!!!

What a perfect day! Thanks for the company, the sunshine and lovely post swim picnic for me and Nic at Huttoft - a day to treasure through the gloom of November.

Warm Duvets and Cold Lakes

What do they have in common? Both impossibly hard to get out of once you're in...or is that just me again?!

A gorgeous autumn day yesterday, seemed churlish not to get in one last swim...the water was crystal clear and first for me, warmer than the air temperature! Air @ 7C, Water @ 10C so SO easy to slip in to the calm waters for a 10 minute scull around as the sun set and golden leaves settled on the lake - PERFECT!

How much longer can I brave the water this winter? I felt brilliant after the swim and would love to do again - NOT TODAY!!! It's like the apocalypse out there today; dark, cold, lashing rain, whistling wind - YUK!

Here's a dry shot to show off my beautiful swim spot...and footprints for evidence of getting wet shot - too dark and cold for post swim snap!

Zen and The Art of Sea Swimming

What a beautiful day to mark the end of British Summer Time - glorious crystal clear skies and air bursting with ozone at the seaside.

We set off for a day at Gibraltar Point to soak up the last low rays of this amazing summer.

The sea swim was the best of the whole year in terms of pure pleasure ... cool clear water, little swell, sun sparkling off the waves....

I slipped into the wild swimming zone - calm, happy, alive, SO reluctant to do the sensible thing and get out.

A brilliant day, a real treat, a memory to treasure and polish in the darker months ahead.

Pure serendipity - my waterblogged pal Sharn was having a similar uplifting swim at the same time across The Wash in Norfolk - committed Blue Sky Swimmer sans wetsuit of course!

The Last Gasp?

You know how it is on holiday...you get to the last day or two and worry that you're still looking too pasty faced to convince your colleagues back in the office you've enjoyed a tropical idyll? So you go all out for The Panic Tan...

...Well, I seem to be in End of Summer Last Swim Panic!

Look at this beautiful photo I took to record the gorgeousness of the lake last night after I'd enjoyed 10 minutes of cold water immersion. So peaceful, so lovely, so damn cold!

Then, we're on to Panic Swim #2 today with this lovely man - superfit superswimmer Justin Mumford! Look at him huddled in his fetching Lockhart Garratt (forestry management experts par extraordinaire!) fleece, cleverly concealing his chattering teeth!

We'd been talking about a lakeside meet up all summer and this seemed like it could be our last chance, so we skived off the office for a very early lunch break and toddled off for a quick dip.

Water temperature was only 8 degrees today but the air temperature and GORGEOUS autumn sunshine made the water very appealing.

A bit of oohing and aahing on the get in, but we managed a good 15 minute scull around with the grebes and a couple of bemused anglers for company.

I'd been a complete grump before the swim; bogged down in silly office trivia and irritations. We both emerged with trademark silly grins, and have enjoyed the glow all day of uplifted moods and rebalanced perspectives.

Thanks Justin for joining me, great to have your company and be reassured that there is at least one other person who thinks this is all a good idea!

What a brilliant treat and a perfect way to (perhaps?) end my summer swims for 2010?

Then there's always the beach at the weekend......

Still hanging on....

8 degrees air temp, so the 9 degrees in the water should have felt more inviting in theory if not in practice.

I've trialled a new access strategy to cope with the rapidly cooling water - where I used to go for a quick committed plunge, last night it was more of a slow immersion to try and soften the blow of the icy water.

I felt pretty scared of this new phase in my outdoor swimming adventures, so I also felt pretty triumphant and capable after managing to survive a 10 minute pootle about in the dusk with bats for company instead of kingfishers.

The lovely warm glow afterwards felt magnificent and I walked back the long way to the car to enjoy this brilliant clear cold air and bright moonlight we have at the moment.

PS. Thanks to Malcolm for goading me into the swim - there's nothing more likely to get me to do something than someone saying "you'll never do it" - I do so like to prove people wrong!!!!

London 12 Degrees x 2

Saturday 16th October
Gorgeous Blue Sky for our first visit to Parliament Hill Lido - I've been wanting to swim here for years. Not put off by the 12 degrees water temperature Lesley and I bagged a few lengths. The stainless steel liner is shiny but the deck-level water line meant I had to slide in rather than dive - still kept my head dry for the next swim...... It's a beautiful pool and I can see why it's so popular - even in Autumn. And nice hot showers too.

Over the Heath - round the Heath - getting our directions all about yet again - but eventually arrived at Kenwood Ladies Pond for our second 12 degree swim. Lovely spot to swim and we both stayed in too long but it was worth it. (Next time I'll bring a second swim costume - buerk - having to put on a wet cold two piece.)

No pics - battery dead after this one!