A Good starting Point...

After three weeks rest i have just finished my first 2wks of tables and done a nice 5min static tonight. 23 contractions is all. I could of gone on further but 5mins was the target so happy with that!

I'll go back to 2min 45sec Co2 tables again tomorrow and Wednesday try another 5min static wet then carry on for the rest of the week with the tables.

Holds went something like this.....

2min slow breath up 2min 15sec hold (1st contraction)

2min slow breath up 2min 30sec hold (1st contraction)

2min 2/4/2 breath up 3min hold (1st contraction)

2min 2/4/2 breath up 5min hold (1st contraction kicked in just after 3mins)

I was expecting the 1st kick to come in at 3min 15sec on the 4th hold but this shows i still need lots of work on my tolerance to Co2, i used to use 2/4/2 breath up's for everything, now only using for performance holds. This allows my body to adjust better to Co2 and wont have negative effects as before as i wont be using them long term. All in all happy chappy tonight!

World Team Selection

The list of applicants came through on e mail from the BFA for the UK Team which will go to Japan yesterday and i was in the mix. 3 males and 3 female places up for grabs. I was placed in third. A little un-sure of being in front of Sam Still (ex world champion in STA) and still current NR holder in static with an amazing 8min 19sec.

The World Championships are a team event and the UK has to send it's very best to Japan, Sam is also a much deeper freediver than i but has not been ranked since 2005. The applicants still have a number of competitions before the worlds and i will be competing in Dahab in march and then in Liverpool also in March. This will give me exposure to all three disciplines required for Japan.

The team will be officially selected on May 01st.

The BFA have set up a forum thread on the BFA site so we can all start to talk to each other which is a great idea.

This weeks training...well just still going with the Co2 tables and i finally got myself down to the pool last night. Statics were not great and i cut myself well short at 4mins as i didn't want to come out disappointed or negative in any way. I then done a nice 125mtr dynamic which felt hard but rewarding. Lactic acid was high in my legs and the recovery took some time when i surfaced. It was good to get wet again.

Tonight i just carried on with my 2min 45sec Co2 tables, seemed a little harder tonight? Tired!

Tables...

As promised i moved my Co2 tables up to 2min 45sec tonight, felt absolutely fine, I'll carry on with them this week and next week bring them up to 3min holds. Taking the contractions felt fine, nice and slow, nice and comfortable, really feel I'm getting used to them now. They feel different than before, manageable, I'm no longer impressed with them (as my friend Eric once said)

Here is a example of the Co2 table i'm using this week.

Table example :

2min rest

2min 45sec hold

1min 30sec rest

2min 45sec hold

1min rest

2min 45sec hold

30sec rest

2min 45sec hold

recovery breath x3 then hold again for 2min 45sec

2010??????

Well, what will 2010 bring? I set myself a target which was to peak in static by the end of 2009 which i did then rest for a few weeks. Well the rest is over and I'm back training. Co2 tolerance was non-existent after 3wks off! I decided to start in the best and most basic place, Co2 tables. I've finished my first week of these and they have gone well. My tolerance has improved over 5 days of training. The tables were all 2min 30sec holds with double repetition on the last holds, i.e 2min 30sec hold, three recovery breaths and back into 2min 30sec hold. Contractions seemed very light throughout all the holds which surprised me! Next week I'll push up to 2min 45sec tables.

As for the first quarter this year, i will be concentrating on Co2 tolerance, static and dynamic and CWT. In March I'm off to Dahab to train with Sara Campbell www.sarafreediver.com this will be an amazing opportunity for me to improve on my depth. Tickets are booked and flights sorted for the 10th March to the 24th of March. We are going to have a small comp out there also on the 21st which will give me official ranking in CWT. On the Sunday when i return i will also be competing in Liverpool in static and dynamic and all going well will have points on the board for all 3 disciplines for the Worlds in Japan.

Here's to a promising 2010?