NB: the slideshow at the bottom of this post doesn't work properly unless you click on the post title and view the post on its own, as opposed to viewing the whole blog.
I'm supposed to be freediving at London Freedivers right now. I had a lovely static session planned but was struck down by the dreaded lurgy and am in bed. Symptoms are blocked sinuses, fuzzy ears, sniffles and sore throat, so it's not going to kill me. However, I'm diving at Saltfree this weekend and thought it would be best to take some painkillers, pop some echinacea pills and down several pints of water containing effervescent vitamin C tablets. A bit like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted but what can you do?
It's not all bad news though - I had a brilliant dynamic session at Crystal Freedivers last night at which I completely surpised myself with a 100m dynamic. Crystal Freedivers train at the the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, which has a very spacious 50m pool. It's great to be able to get into a rhythym doing dynamic without worrying about turning so often. My turns need a lot of improvement, they look somewhat like an underwater car crash at the moment. The regulars are all very friendly and there is a real mix of experience levels from GB team members to newbies like myself. Tim's always on hand with hints and tips and has devised loads of fun dynamic exercises which make the hour fly by! I particularly liked the one which involved a 20m dynamic, doing a 10 second static and then 30m dynamic, which kind of simulates the phases of a CWT dive. Georgina (George) was also training and kindly let me borrow her super-speedy monofin to do a few 50m sprints - it felt like flying!
It turns out that one of the trainers at the swimming pool is a professional fin-swimmer who couldn't help but cast a critical eye over my shoddy monofin technique.
"Tsk", he says, as I surface. "Grace, your elbows are out here" [makes silly 'walk like an Egyptian' pose].
"Here, sit on the side of the pool...put your arms up". I comply, desperately trying to hide my reseblance to a seal as I use my limited upper-body strength to haul myself out of the pool.
"THERE" he grunts, yanking my elbows together. I emit a suppressed squeak.
"The arms", he explains, "must be like this, otherwise you are ruining your hydrodynamic profile". He demonstrates, contorting himself in a frankly disturbing manner.
I took his card and am still pondering whether I should man the f*** up and attend a few of his classes to sort out my technique.
Lastly, I should mention that the weekend before last Harry, Tom and I headed to NDAC for more freediving with Saltfree. Deepest Dave, Tim and Gary were hte experienced freedivers in attendance, and they looked after us really well, sharing their hints and tips. It did mean that I was the only girl though, and there was a fair amount of testosterone flying around, although mostly in the form of chat about peeing in your wetsuit. Come on Saltfree ladies, get down here!
Harry took some fantastic photos of the weekend and he's given me permission to use them. Here they are! Look out for the dirty gnomes...
You are no longer a newbie if you are doing 100m DYN. I did 75m, ONCE, in 2007, and have still never matched it. 100ft CWT is going to be an absolute breeze for you! Superb work...
ReplyDeleteI agree, with the 4+ static and the 100+ dynamic you've exceeded the novice, beginner level. When your dives exceed the 25m depth you're in medium level. For -25m you'll need to have gained enough flexibility, relaxation and equalisation skills. ~ 20m is the depth where about the standard Valsava - nose pinching equalisation fails.
ReplyDeleteYep, the 100ft may very well turn out to be a walk in the park for you, so in that case I suggest you do it NO fins and only in bathing suit, under ice ;)
Thanks for your faith in me :). I can guarantee that you'll never find me freediving under ice! I still feel like everything is very new though. For CWT, I'm just trying to take my time to get used to the feeling of being at depth. Mark gaev a great seminar on this last night which I'll write up soon...
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