In order to finish on a positive note, let's talk about the cloud. The CIPA Open Championships for 2005 have now passed into history, as have my failed bid to set a UK record in Static breatholding. The 6+ months of training have been documented here, and have been 50% of the raison d'etre for the blog existence. It only leaves to analyse what I believe were the main contributing factors to the blackout I experienced at around 6 minutes. First and foremost, two previous and consecutive days of deep ( for me ) constant weight diving can only have had a detrimental effect. Same goes for the head cold that started the day before. There are 101 other factors that could also have contributed, from hood drawn too tightly around my neck, to stress of performing in a competitive environment. Because of these, and not wanting to gain an unenviable reputation for doing this sort of thing, I have decided to step down from my bid. If the margins are so close, then I wouldn't feel deserving of the record. It's not uplifting, and neither was the engine in our car blowing up on the motorway the next day. But life goes on, I'll get over it, and it leads me nicely onto the silver lining...
Four days in Nice with the best of company, weather, calm seas and generally feeling good about everything, are what I will remember most about my time there. Getting a 56 metre PB less than a week after my ear trauma was a bonus. So was reaching 55 metres the next day in the competition. Qualifying for the Individual Constant Weight Championships in September wasn't a bad thing either.
You can't always get what you want...but you get what you need.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Every silver lining has a cloud. Competing for world or national records is tough - if it wasn't, or so the logic goes, somebody else would already have gone there.
When setting a record, nobody considers the margin with which you achieved it. Only the actual performance matters.
Congratulations on the constant weight PB, well done.
glad to read such a positive conclusion to this - apologies if the coach had anything to do with it and let's just keep that happy vibe we had in Nice and take it to the lake. Well done and congratulations on the fantastic CW performance!
When in Rome ...
Dark side dwellers enjoyed a new level of post and 'twixt dive repartee when our French cousins from Ulysse 1 offered us a choice of wine or Pastiche to rehydrate our nitrogen saturated tissues. Santé!
Just as well they had a hydrophone to rival the grooviest iPod shuffle. Elf isn't hot on navigation at the best of times but even an intoxicated blonde can't go wrong when it's Clapton enticing us back to the boat. Rockin' through our deco at 5 metres added a third dimension to 'Knocking on Heaven's Door'.
Mume fought his way through ear trauma with the courage of a honey badger. Team UK charmed the Chichi man with Franglais no dictionary could hope to decipher and even the Sunfish were sharking ;) .
Après-apnea alfresco - Remi on Rosé (only in the summer and only on the Coté D'Azure) and on solving the mystery of the moment ... where were all the chickens?
The stars were out to play, the sun sparkled, the food was magnificent, the company stimulating, the moment magical.
Reloaded ... bring it on!
woo hoo..and I had forgotten all about honey badgers....
they're back... now I have honey badger on the brain and rose still in the bloodstream I'm gonna get deeeeeeep....
55m was a briliant dive and is definitly the thing to remember... with the "pain bagna", "gratta queck" and other "cote de Provence" of course.
The british record will come if it has to come. Better is to not put too much pressure on it.
The Nice word champ is waiting for you now, so is some more rosé and some farcis and Socca ... we will try this next time ;)
Way to go Mr H - 55m is a truely great achievement. The record will be yours next time - never say never.... :-)
Post a Comment