Tonight, I did it. I swam my 1.5 km in a personal best of 1 hour 1 minute and 59 seconds. I know didn’t quite beat my hour, but I did shave 4 1/2 minutes off last years result!!

Maybe next year I’ll go for the 2.5 km? Definitely something to think about… *grins*

Why this madness? I’ve been taking part in Swimathon 2007 and helping support Marie Curie Cancer Care to provide nursing care, free of charge to give terminally ill people the choice of dying at home supported by their families.

And there’s still time to help them to carry on their fantastic work, and show your support for my swimming challenge by making a secure online donation using your credit or debit card.

( just click here )

Go on, you know you want to!!

‘Better Drowned Than Duffers If Not Duffers Won’t Drown’
   —Arthur Ransome, Swallows & Amazons

Tonight, I went to my final practice session before the big day and did 52 lengths in 50 minutes. Yes, this means that there is the slightest chance that maybe, possibly I will beat last year’s time and complete the 60 lengths in under the hour! Umm, well, just under the hour anyway…! Additionally, tonight I completed my 52 lengths in two lots of 16 and one lot of 20. I have never swum 20 lengths in one go. If I can do three lots of that on Saturday, that’s only two rests and so every chance that I might get my target.

Encourage me…

( Sponsor Me )

Go on, you know it makes sense!

Go me!

Another good critique today on my novel, and this one on my ‘problem’ chapter five – which it seems is not so much of a problem as I thought it was. All I have to do now is get on and finish chapter six finished. With Part One complete in second draft form, I think I could start thinking seriously about where to send it…

2. Over the next month I will be spending 5 days out of the office on training courses. 2 days in London learning how to project manage, and 3 days in Milton Park, AbingdonDidcot – 1 learning how to use Microsoft Project, and 2 days learning about XML Schemas…

3. Applied for a few webby designery jobs last night. This evening I got home to find that one of them – a web design agency in Swindon (yes, I know, Swindon!) – liked my CV very much and would like to interview me (Yayy!) however they had two questions, one was would I be moving from Bicester or commuting, and the other was that this was a fairly junior position with a salary in the mid to late teens and was this alright. I replied saying that:

If I were to be offered this position, then although I might in the short-term commute from Bicester to Swindon, I would be looking to move nearer.

For your information, my current salary is £xx,xxx.

They can read into that my answer and make their own decision. Still at least the CV and letter works!4. Three critiques so far to chapter four of my novel over at CritiqueCircle. Those that have read it seem to like and seem to admire my slightly odd/brave style and think that against the odds I pull it off. That said, they seem to be understanding it pretty well, seeing as I seem to have made a slight oversight and failed to post chapter two!!

5. Bella seems to have made friends with one of the neighbouring cats. They were both on one side of the street when I got home, and had both gone and sat under a car on the other by the time I had got to the other. Arthur meanwhile, was keeping guard outside my garden…

So please sponsor me for Swimathon 2007 and help support Marie Curie Cancer Care to provide nursing care, free of charge to give terminally ill people the choice of dying at home supported by their families.

( sponsor me )

Thank you!

Results for the 1500m challenge

Name	Age Category	Time	Position
Mark Hible	30 – 39	1:05:12	24
Thomas Shepherd	30 – 39	1:06:25	25
Heather Presland	30 – 39	1:10:21	26

Top ten overall results

Name	Age Category	Time	Position
Lucy Ann Scott	Less than 9	21:07	1
Rebecca Brooke	20 – 29	24:00	2
Carl von Bock	10 – 12	25:35	3
Charles Piggott	30 – 39	25:59	4
Richard Huber	30 – 39	26:09	5
Billy Beyneveldt	20 – 29	26:24	6
Charlotte Blow	10 – 12	27:06	7
Kenneth Hendley	40 – 49	27:17	8
Emma France	30 – 39	27:22	9
Victoria Alma Shaw	13 – 15	28:19	10

After a more than flaky first 12 lengths where in I consumed a good amount of chlorinated water, choked, floundered and got a stitch, I got myself back into my stride (or is it stroke for swimming?) by the end of the second 12 – although thoughts of me being the last one to finish when the pool closed at 10pm did enter my mind…

In the end, the last 36 (or three lots of 12) were remarkably proficient. And more importantly for only the second time ever in my life I have swum 60 lengths, in a not too disgraceful time (my result is not yet posted on the Swimathon website but a quick search by event, gender, and age, shows that a time of just minutes under an hour to get you to Ranking 5 and 6!). Go me!!

As a reward for my endeavours, I decided to treat myself in the following ways…

I’m not really sure why I’m nervous, it’s not like I haven’t been doing 48 lengths every week for the last couple of months, and on Wednesday I did my 60 in 65 minutes without being too achey about it. I only have to go out and do another 60.

Once done, I kind of wish I could go and have a steaming bowl of hot chocolate from my favourite coffee shop…

…sadly I can’t as it’s in Iceland. Ah well, the picture will have to suffice.

Actually, if it wasn’t that it was getting late and I did need to visit the supermarket I probably could have done another 12 to take me up to my 60. Hang on, who am I kidding…?

I also have an interview for the Electronic Editorial Office Coordinator job which I applied for just before Christmas. Tomorrow, I am going to have a Manuscript Central demo by a friend and colleague (on the Social Committee), and then on Thursday I have a phone meeting booked with Bill to discuss interview technique.

So what was that about letting the grass grow under your feet?

Tonight I am going to cook a mushroom risotto from Jamie’s Italy – another one of my Christmas presents, and then settle back to read a bit more and I think watch a suitably entertaining, mindless film of some sort

Whilst at the pool today, starting the new year as I mean to go on (and how blissfully quiet it was there too!), I came across the posters for this year’s Swimathon, and I’m tempted to have a go, give me something to work towards, do me some good, and maybe, just maybe, raise some money for charity. When I was swimming lots last year I got up to 40 lengths of the pool, and I’m getting back to that now (today I did 30 but I think I should be able to get back to 40 pretty soon). So here’s a wee poll for you…

He swam
She followed.