Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Race to the finish

Tuesday 3rd Feb I have signed up to the North Bondi 1km swim on February 8. If it's unsafe because of sharks or big swell, I will do the next available event instead.

It was lovely and calm at training last Saturday - see the pic of my swim squad with Lake Bondi behind us. I'm hoping for a repeat of these conditions for race day! 

This is the final week of the supported training before Can Too starts with a new batch of recruits for the autumn season. So from this weekend, I have four weeks to complete my fundraising. On Wednesday I will be bringing homemade brownies to my office to exchange for donations.

Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far - your support means the world!

The pointy end of the season - but hopefully no sharks

Wednesday 28th Jan

Hello! It has been a while since I posted but training has continued apace. I have done several CanToo training sessions plus my own personal swim session at the local pool on my holiday on the South Coast.

We are now at the pointy end of the season. This is the time where I have to commit to a swim and it’s also the time when I need to get serious about fundraising. I am delighted that generous friends and family have sponsored me to the tune of $686. But when I signed up, I made a commitment to fundraise $1200. So if you haven’t yet, PLEASE sponsor me. It all goes to support Can Too Foundation in its dual mission “to inspire individuals to achieve personal health and wellbeing goals and to fund innovative early-career cancer research”.

I have to admit that I’m feeling nervous about sharks in the wake of four attacks within 48 hours recently. It’s not normally something I think about but right now I can’t help myself. One of the risk factors is poor visibility so I only plan to go ahead if the water is crystal clear. There will also be a lot of water safety at the events. 

So which event will I do? I had planned to do the 1km Cronulla swim this weekend but it’s now been postponed because of poor conditions. The other goal event with a big Can Too crowd will be Bondi on February 8. But it’s my children’s birthdays and we have another social event planned. Then the Malabar Magic is on February 15 – but I’ll be working. So the next available date is February 22, which gives me a few more weeks to work towards it.

On February 22, I have three options:

• Postponed Cronulla swim with big Can Too crowd to cheer me on and the potential for a buddy

• Second Bondi event at a familiar beach with 500m, 1km and 2km options

• Postponed Cole Classic swim at Manly, which will be starting at Shelly Beach so you don’t swim out past the breakers, only back through them

Bondi Beach, two Saturdays apart: A world of difference

Monday 22nd Dec On Saturday we went back to Bondi for our first ocean training session since the devastating terror attack last week. Our CanToo crew, a bit reduced in size, gathered to join the lifesavers for two minutes of silence. Hundreds of lifesavers stretched the entire length of Bondi Beach, which is about one kilometre long, standing shoulder to shoulder at the water's edge. It was really moving to see and made me feel safer, just knowing how many good people there are in the world, willing to put themselves at risk to help other people.

Then we went for a nice long swim in full Lake Bondi conditions with no breaking waves. I am still feeling heartbroken for our Jewish community and for all of us, and somehow it felt important to get back in the water.

How different it was just a week before. I was also in Bondi on Saturday 13 December, the day before the attack. I'd been on hiatus because I did a diving course and then had a problem with a blocked ear. Once that cleared up I had a few clashes with other commitments.  

It was more of an abortive return to training on the 13th. As I had moved to the 1km group, I needed to meet at a later time. It turns out there is a huge difference between your ability to park at Bondi Beach at 9am in December versus 8am in November. I ended up parking six blocks away and missed the group swim.

I went for my own swim and joined the group afterwards. It was shallow for a long way out and I mostly just splashed around, but I later went to the pool and got some laps in. It was a perfectly ordinary Saturday in what now seems a more innocent time. 

Between the two Bondi visits, I also had a proper training session at the pool on Wednesday night. We did a drill where we were meant to swim laps breathing every third, then fifth, then seventh stroke. It's just to increase our lung capacity for those times when the waves make it hard to get a proper breath. I could only manage every third, then fifth, so that will be a good one to practise.

I'm now off work for Christmas and swim training is on an official break. We resume in the new year but having missed several weeks, I'll be trying to make up some training with personal swims.

Just this week I got terrible news about a friend's cancer diagnosis so this whole endeavour feels more important than ever. Please consider sponsoring me if you haven't done so already. All proceeds will go to cancer charity CanToo Foundation.

Scuba diving

Tuesday 25th Nov

Setback and possible reset?

Saturday 22nd Nov

I didn't cover myself in glory today.

I was late. We are meant to gather for a briefing at 8am before we move down to the beach for an 8.15am start. They might give you pointers for swimming or dealing with the conditions or they might talk about fundraising or the charity's work. This morning I missed the briefing and found the group down on the sand. There was some debate about whether I could participate, which I won’t get into.

I did eventually get to join in but there were quite big waves and I tired quickly trying to get out past the breakers and my mask kept coming off. I either had to push on or call it or come back in early. The group was mostly ahead of me so I decided to err on the side of caution and come back in to try again another day. A lovely surf lifesaver called Chris came with me, which I was grateful for. I was fine but very out of breath.

They say ocean swimmers are built in the pool and I think that’s very true. I think I need more pool and gym sessions to keep building cardio fitness.

I also need to decide what my goal is and what group I want to swim in. There is a group training for a 2.5km swim, which meets at 8am, and a group training for 1km, which meets at 9.15am. I’ve been training in the 2.5km group because I’ve previously done a 1.5km swim and I wanted a stretch goal.

Another advantage of the earlier group is there is plenty of parking at Bondi at that hour and it’s over and done with early so you can get on with the rest of your day. My family needs the car back by 11am.

The disadvantage though is that 8am is quite early on a Saturday and one of the instructors was trying to tell me that we should actually be there by 7.45am. I already get up at 6.30am Monday to Friday and I’m not sure I want to do that on every Saturday as well! I also want to have a good breakfast and coffee before I do the ocean swim training, not just run out the door.

I also wonder if I’ll be happier in a group with more beginners since I’m not very fast and presumably that would be the 1km group. Even though I’ve done a 1.5km swim before, it was eight years ago and I found it hard at the time.

I actually don’t know what events I want to do at the end of the eason. I’m not wedded to 2.5km. That doesn’t necessarily mean I want to do a 1km event - there are also 1.5km and 2km events. And I might wear flippers on race day, which will make it easier. 

Decisions, decisions.

First ocean session

Saturday 15th Nov I joined my first ocean session at Bondi Beach this morning. I actually went out to a concert (The Pixies)  last night so it was an early start after a late night, but I felt it was important to show up.

First training session

Wednesday 12th Nov I missed the first week of training because I spent Wednesday to Sunday in South Australia for work. That meant tonight was my first session. I met the rest of the CanToo crew at Prince Alfred Park Pool as the sun was setting. It was hard work in the pool - 18 laps (900m) but many of them were drills using just one arm. I have a lot of work ahead but I’m feeling hopeful about reaching my goal.

Challenge accepted!

Thursday 30th Oct I have always wanted to get into ocean swimming. A few years ago, I even did an ocean swimming clinic and completed the 1.5km ocean swim at Bilgola. While I felt a great sense of accomplishment, I was also the last one back to the beach. The organisers were literally following me in a kayak and packing up the buoys as I completed the course.