jgalswims

Hey out there,

I have so much to talk about, so I will have to categorize everything. You can blame my sister, her boyfriend, and my new Cali friend Ran for my lack of updating as they came to visit me. You may blame Bono as well because, well, I would venture to say we've 'bonded' over the weekend and I am pretty sure we will somehow meet again in the future. (Twitter me if you're confused.)

Saturday
Saturday was my official 'favourite Leinster sea swim', and no it's not because I won it (on handicap) the last two years. And no, I did not win it this year; I finished second, but as always that is irrelevant to my love of the races. I love this swim because it is simply a gorgeous swim. It's a bit over 2k, along the coast of south Dublin. We start at Windsurfer's pier, and swim all the way to Blackrock. The water is always fantastically fresh. It's a swim I love doing, but would never do it by myself, so it's always nice to do with the girls.

Sunday
Sunday was supposed to be the Irish 5k Open Water Nationals, but that was canceled due to bad weather. However, the 4 buoys were left in position and the race became 'optional, but at your own risk'. Sounded fine to me! We had a boat out there, so I mentally deemed it safe. Trust me, I was prepared to swim a 5k that day, as I ate eggs, tomatoes, toast, choco milk, oj, coffee, and a warm dose of about 1000 extra calories from Maxim, so there was no way I was going to let those calories fester inside me. They would simply have to be burned off.

I set off and was soon by myself at the front. It was completely calm to the first buoy, and I kind of wondered why they had deemed it unsafe. By buoy 2 I was getting jolted a bit, but it was about as bad as the previous year, and since there were no jellies, I found it better. After buoy 2, it was as if we were swimming in a new batch of sea. The waves roared, and sighting became next to impossible. I had a euphoric nervousness about me. Euphoric because it was like swimming on my own personal roller coaster. Nervous because I was swimming in force-5 waves in the middle of Dublin bay by myself.

I would lift my head, looking for the next buoy, and saw only waves upon waves upon waves. Whitehorses pushed themselves into me, and at times I felt more like I was body surfing than swimming. By buoys 3-4, I was being tossed around like a blizzard mixed with a hurricane. I saw 2 flashes of lightning, but they didn't really frighten me; I was more like having a mild heart attack of more euphoria. By the time I found the 4th buoy, I started to head for land, only to be shooed away by the boat later, telling me I was going the wrong way. Typical! When I finally made it to shore, I was laughing like a fool. I got out as fast as I could so I could look back upon the madness I had just entertained the last 75 minutes. Here's what it looked like, but even the pictures do not do it justice.


pic by Ciaran Balfe!

It was a great experience, and definitely will go down as one of my all-time most memorable swims ever.

Channel
I am leaving for England in NINE days! 9!!! As in, one week 2 days! The swim doesn't start until the 13th at the earliest, but I decided last week that I needed to be there early for my preparation. I was initially going to go over on the 11th, but that would only give me 1 day to rest before my tide started. It wasn't long enough.

I am looking forward to meeting some Channel aspirants/swimmers so I believe it is worth it. Plus, I need to get myself in the zone. Frankly, I feel I've spent too many hours in the waters of Dublin. I am in my taper phase and it's hard to justify doing nothing all day long except rest, a little light labor/school, eat and swim. At least if I am in England I will be away from my 'life', so I can focus on the task at hand. I realise this is quite selfish, but I am in the final 2-3 weeks of this madness. I am struggling because I need to be doing so many other things, but can't. Well I can, but I need to be stress-free and focused. This probably makes no sense! Even I am becoming confused!

In any case, I feel great in the water. I am so strong, even stronger in my arms than when I was swimming in the states. I've changed so much during the last two years, both with the obvious physical differences (+25 pounds at this stage!) and in my own self. When I embarked on this, I had no idea that it would affect me in such a personal way. If I am honest I never knew I could dedicate myself to something of this level. I've spent the majority of my life skirting reality, getting by with the least amount of effort. Frankly, I went 20-something years without personally challenging myself. Of course, I have done challenging things, or had challenging times. But I never did something on my own accord; it was always a response to existing circumstances.

No matter what happens in August, I am proud of myself for taking a risk at something I didn't know much about before signing up. I'm not trying to be cheesy or arrogant here. I have been reflecting upon the last two years lately and have realised so much about myself that I never knew existed within. It's these things which will propel me toward France, anyway. Plus, I've not been sleeping well these last two weeks, so this is probably what comes out of a mouth of a person who is sleep-deprived and preparing for quite literally the biggest challenge of her life! But I am happy, so all is good.

Big kudos once again to the 9 lads (and myself!) who finished the crazy 5k! Ciaran, you're next on the Channel list!



jgal

Hello,

I will re-post this before I swim, but I wanted to inform everybody that my crew will be updating my progress on Twitter. To keep track of my progress, visit my Twitter page. You don't need to sign up for anything. The page looks like this:



I am sorry but it would be impossible for my crew to text people or respond to texts, especially once we're in France and the EU charges hit my Irish mobile!

Additionally, I can be reached directly (well my crew, not me!) by the following Instant Message clients: Blackberry Messenger, AIM, Google Chat. Please email me (julieanngalloway@gmail.com) if you want to be added to my list of BBM contacts. My AIM is jgal713, and my Google Chat is julieanngalloway@gmail.com. Please set these up before I set off as I don't want to confuse my crew with friend requests.

Once I am a Channel Swimmer (omg!) I will totally try to respond to messages...provided I am not puking up my guts!

I will email my list of people the night before I set off, as well as post a blog. Check often during the 12-18 August as I will swim somewhere during that time.

If you want to track the boat, there is a rudimentary site in operation at http://www.ais-doverstraits.co.uk/. It is not always live and there can be glitches, so it's best to stick to my Tweets. Thanks!

jgal

Hey,

Minus today, this has been a really good training week. I am currently sick at home with a completely stuffed nose and sore throat. Every time I swallow my ears plug up. It's verrrrry annoying! Other than feeling a bit fatigued, I am fine. I am resting, drinking plenty of liquids, and basically isolating myself from potential Swine Flu carriers! Ha, just joking. I don't have any flu-like symptoms, so I am not worried about the swine.

Yesterday I had a good sea experience. A number of us swimming the 5k next week met in Killiney for a longer swim. Liz, the newest sea swim winner!, told us to head to the rocks to the right of us, then head toward a huge yellow mansion house. I accidentally took her literally. Apparently the others did the same as me, but headed back after a while to be in around 40 minutes. Not me. I was swimming toward the mansion, thinking that it was going to take me an age to get there, but thought I had to do the full distance. OCD at its finest, that's for sure. When I finally arrived at the cliff and touched the rock (another rule), it had been 45 minutes, and I was a ways away from the beach. So I didn't hang about, even though the intrigued fishermen looked like they'd like to have a word. I swam back, and it took almost 90 minutes in total. I didn't mean to swim that long, as I had already done my pool swim that day. Oh well. I am proud of doing the full distance, even though I kept some of them waiting on me!

I will be back in the pool tomorrow, unless I get significantly worse. I know I will be fine if I keep resting. I am bummed because I missed a great sea swim today, according to the texts from friends. Ah! I'll have to make it up myself later.

Monday I'll be doing a pool swim in the morning, sea swim (short) in the afternoon. Tuesday I'm doing a morning sea swim. Wednesday I'm doing a morning pool swim and an afternoon sea swim. Thursday I am, as always, off. Friday I'll do a sea swim, then I have sea swims all next weekend, including my 3rd Irish 5k in Dublin Bay. I love that swim! Plus my sister is coming to visit me, so it's going to be a great week. Once I can breathe out my nose, that is. :)

jgal

I have started thinking about my most favourite foods when I am training. As I have gained more than enough weight to successfully not freeze in the Channel, I have started looking into 'healthier' options which are still packed full of protein and nutrients. Below are three of my faves for each meal...feel free to give them a try, especially if you're trying to get fit!

Breakfast:

-Porridge with honey. It's simple and it keeps you warm whilst swimming! I have to eat it on long swim days.

-2 boiled eggs, roasted tomatoes and toast. This is one of my favourite breakfasts to keep me going until the next refuel at lunch! I simply boil the eggs in water, roast tomatoes (plum and cherry are my fave) in the oven for 20-25 mins, and fresh, seeded whole-wheat bread with half-fat butter. Of course, I have to top it off with a nice cold glass of Innocent orange juice.

-Fat free strawberry yogurt, fresh raspberries, muesli, a splash of honey and a spoonful of flaxseed. Also good for weight-loss, I am told!


Lunch:

-Tuna salad on fresh whole-wheat bread: tuna, lite mayonnaise, sliced cherry tomatoes and a hard-boiled egg. Very filling and full of protein! I eat cherry tomatoes (do you see my obsession?) with them, as well as some sesame breadstick crackers in lieu of chips (or crisps for the Europeans). ;)

-Soup! It's a simple lunch but totally great and gets the veggies in the tummy. My favourite is at a local cafe...carrot, coriander, lime and coconut! It is gorgeous! Eat with fresh bread and butter.

-Cheese plate. I usually make this myself...I love manchego, taleggio, aged gouda and gruyere. I put apple slices, grapes and chutney on the plate and eat with salted and plain crackers of all assortments. It's great for the summer!


Dinner:

-Fresh fish, rice and a veggie (plus bread!). This sounds uber-healthy, but it's not if you do your portions like me! I made this earlier in the week and got a big thing of fresh cod, coated it in lite mayonnaise, and put lots of bread crumbs and almonds on top, as well as some herbs. I baked it for about 30 minutes. I left the rice plain, but I am sure there's lots of ways to spruce it up! For a veggie I steamed fresh green beans (the skinny ones) while sauteing garlic, olive oil and (surprise!) halved cherry tomatoes. (Tip: Put the tomatoes in last, otherwise they get too soggy and lose their fresh taste). Then combine the beans with the tomatoes. To make this 'not as healthy', eat a very large portion of cod...at least 8 ounces, which provides loads of protein! I also use a lot of rice...way more than a recommended serving size. The extra carbs are needed, after all. Best of all, the fish can be reheated easily in the oven, so it's a great leftover food item.

-I call it 'tomato pasta' and is great when I am feeling vegetarian. This is a perfect recipe when I am home from training and utterly exhausted, but still need to eat. It is simple and ready in 15 minutes start-to-finish. All you do is cut LOADS of cherry tomatoes in half. We're talking wayyyy more than you'd usually eat. I heat up some high-quality olive oil in a pan, put a couple cloves of chopped garlic into the mix, then all the cherry tomatoes. While doing this, boil water for pasta. My favourite is fresh tagliatelli. Once the cherry tomatoes are kind of sticking together, add a splash of balsamic vinegar, some herbs and fresh sea salt. I don't use a lot of pasta for this, as the tomatoes are the 'main course', so do what you wish.

-Beef and mushroom bake. This is a great meal which also lasts a long time in the leftovers department. I start by cutting up a fresh round steak (room temp for at least 2 hours) into strips. Add flour and brown in a splash of oil. Then I put a can of mushroom soup, a few whole peppercorns and 2 beef bouillon cubes into a saucepan and bring to a simmering boil. While that's heating up, slice about 10-15 mushrooms. When the sauce is mixed, add the mushrooms, keeping them fresh. Do this for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. After that, combine the beef and sauce into a dish and cover. I bake it for about 2 hours on a lower heat and serve it with fresh steamed broccoli and rice. Full of protein and nutrients (mushrooms improve your immune system and are full of antioxidants).


Snacks:

I eat loads of snacks! Yes, in between all these meals! Welcome to the world of swimming!

-Apple and peanut butter. I've eaten this snack since I was about 12, and it is brilliant! Combined, the 2 make a complete protein. I also eat bananas and peanut butter, but this is quite savoury so it's usually more like a dessert.

-Purple grapes. High in fiber and great on a warm day! Can mix with natural fat free yogurt for a yummy treat.

-Home-made trail mix. I mix together almonds, raisins, dark chocolate chips, peanuts and dried cranberries. Anything will do though!


Easy ways to add calories/protein/nutrients:

-Chocolate milk. I believe this was my greatest way to gain weight without really trying. Simply mix in some Nesquik powder into a large glass of low-fat milk. Easy to drink with meals or with snacks. I usually drink Lactose-Free milk as it doesn't seem to upset my stomach so much. Of course, you can just drink milk on its own, but I hate the taste so chocolate is the only way to go!

-Seed mix topping. I buy bags of sesame, linseed and sunflower seeds, mix them together and use as salad toppers. Simply pour them into a little pan, put them in the oven for about 5 minutes, allow them to cool and voila! You have toasted seeds! They add great flavour and nutrients, as well as calories!

-Boost/Ensure. If you live in the States, these nutritional supplements can be purchased at any drug store or online. While they may seem like 'old people's drinks', they are actually very good for you regarding vitamins and nutrients, and full of calories! A regular 8-ounce bottle of Boost has 240 calories, and a Boost-Plus has 360 calories. If you're in Europe, Ensure can be purchased at the drug store with a prescription. I drank Ensure here with snacks and it totally helps easily pack in calories.


I hope these easy ideas help some of you wondering what to eat during training while still being generally healthy. Enjoy!

jgal

If you heard me on the Ryan Tubridy show, welcome!

I am really hoping to raise at least €10,000 for Headway Ireland, and you can help! Please visit my charity page where you can make a secure online donation.

I am asking everybody to sponsor me €1 Euro for each mile of my swim, 21 miles, plus one for good luck, so €22 Euros total. This will definitely help to keep me motivated when the going gets tough on the way to France!

Thank you for all your support,

jgal

I simply had the best weekend EVER! Saturday, after a little pool session, I headed out to Galway with Gerry Dunne. As one can imagine, that was very entertaining! And it was July 4th, so I was in a festive and happy mood. We arrived soon enough and the weather looked okay...a bit cloudy but fine all around. I was totally pumped for the swim, as the back marker won it last year...so I knew I had a chance! I was hoping to get a handicap below 10 minutes (starting 10 minutes after the go group), and ended up with 9:30, with worsening conditions. I was pumped! Worsening conditions = better chance for me. So I got myself ready. We all got absolutely SOAKED waiting for the men to finish. Unfortunately, there was no shelter, and I only had a measly little jumper to keep myself 'warm.' Whatever, right?

The water was amazing. If the Channel is anything like that, I could swim in it for days! It was clear, not too deep and toasty warm! I headed off and it was very, very rough. Every time I would lift my head to spot the buoys, I would either eat a lot of water, or get tossed back down, barely spotting the orange. I figured we were all in the same water, so I could still catch up. I was going as fast as I could, which is funny because I don't really get out of breath like I do in pool-swimming. I sometimes think I'm not trying hard enough, but then I can't find a way to speed up. Hmm...

Anyway, I didn't see a lot of people in the race, mostly because of the waves. By the time I got to the last buoy, I couldn't see anybody, but figured there were still girls ahead of me, so I kept swimming as fast as I could. It seemed to calm down once I got past the last buoy. I kept my eyes peeled for swimmers, but still saw nothing. At this point I wondered if I was in the lead, but thought no way because I didn't pass a lot of the people I knew were swimming. But once I got close I didn't see anybody, and heard the cheers, and a big grin erupted on my face. I finished, had a quick look-around, and saw the '1' tag being handed to me. I was really excited, because I kind of knew if I did win, it'd likely be my last win of my handicapped open water career, which is fine with me!

The afters were brilliant as well. I'd really recommend people to go to the swim next year...it was very well-organized and fun! I celebrated Independence Day with gusto, haha. On Sunday we headed over to Mullingar on the way home for a lake swim. It was windy, making the water choppy. I ended up getting 5th, and now realize that my handicap is utterly screwed. Oh well, doesn't bother me!

Training has otherwise gone really well. With weekly visits to my physio, I've had basically no shoulder pain. I'm very lucky to have a flexible schedule, so I can basically train whenever the tide is in. It's great! I'm literally 5 weeks out...and I can't help but get a stir in my stomach when I say that. I am excited and ready, but still quite nervous. I know I have to be on my A-game from hereto forward. I can't wait to jump off the boat and start my swim already!

--jgal--

jgal