Firstly, apologies for my lack of timeliness in providing results! I am very pleased to say WE DID IT and rasied over $2,700!
For you Sydney sider's, you'll understand when I say we didn't have great weather the past few weeks! The rain, the big surf, closed beaches.... not what we had been hoping for leading up to the big day. Then Saturday came around and the rain got heavier and heavier and then just a bit heavier. Would it still be on? Would we have to get to the back of Manly and swim like we've never swum before in order to avoid massive waves dumping us? I am very relieved to say we only had to contemplate the waves till 6am Sunday when it was announced Manly was closed and the event would be run in and out of Shelley Beach. The torrential rain at Manly on arrival wasn't deterring us at all... as we sat dry, undercover and on land. OK so I am exaggerating a little here - we were ready and excited to get in the water and swim!
The rain stopped and the conditions at Shelley were great for ocean swimming. Shon's race was up first and she was certainly ready to get in the water! I believe it went something like "Catty, I am so ready to become a marathon swimmer!" OK so she didn't say it in those exact words, but you couldn't deny the excitement on her dial. No one was more proud of her than her 90 year old nan who walked all the way around to Shelley from Manly in the rain - what a champion!
In no time at all, it was easy to pick Shon running out of the water, sprinting up the finish line. She smashed it! 1km in 24:44!! She felt so good she wanted to do it again!
So then it was my turn and after seeing the organiser's putting the 2km buoy's out I started to feel a bit nervous. Not at the concept of the 2km swim, but the fact i couldn't actually see 2 of the bouy's around the headland and they were out in the open ocean for what looked like half way to Freshy!! The time waiting seemed to disappear and all of a sudden I was running into the water with the strategy of "swim, breathe, stay on course". The first 2 parts of my strategy were fine.. the 3rd however, wasn't so easy! The swell out the back of the course was manageable to swim in[you surprisingly get used to going up and down and up and down], but made it difficult to sight the buoys. So after a brief detour and lots of ocean I got back on course and realised the last buoy was next. Now the only reason I knew it was the last one was because it was orange, while the other's were pink. A fellow Can Tooer said to me before the race "use the buoys as a countdown". I got so distracted thinking about the fact I didn't feel like I was swimming in the direction I actually was, I managed to use up a good 5 minutes trying to figure out which buoy out of 6 Ihad just passed. "1, 2, 3, 4.. no was that 4? or 3?" This is certainly 1 thing I have learned about swimming - it gives you plenty of time with your thoughts!!
I made it! I like my cruising pace, and so I was stoked on Monday morning when I found out my official time of 55:13 mins! My goal was an hour, so very happy to beat that especially with my little detour!
I never thought I would say this, but this is the first of many ocean swims and I plan to do the 2.7km Macquarie Big Swim next year. Shon and I have gotten SO much out of the Can Too Swim program and will be signing up again later in the year for 10/11 Swim! THANK you to everyone for their support, we and Can Too appreciate it SO much. It's not too late to sponsor us, so please see the details below if you would like to contribute to such a wonderful program. As at last Sunday, the 09/10 Can Too Swim team of approx. 300 of us across Sydney raised over $422,000! This is enough to fund 4 researchers which is fantastic!
So what now? I have signed up for the half marathon! So yes, that means more chocolate back in the kitchen from TOMORROW! There are eveneaster eggs this time around! [If anyone would like to buy some chocolate off me, please let me know, I have boxes taller than me!]. So if you'd like to sponsor me in my latest adventure, the details are the same as below. My running emails will begin shortly - I can say though after 1 session of getting back to running, it was easy compared to the reaction from the mosquito bites!
THANK YOU again for all your support! We hope you have enjoyed our emails and I look forward to seeing Shon take on the swim from Northern Island to Scotland - she loves jellyfish J
Yours in ocean swimming,
Shon & Cat.
Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 11:16 AM
Subject: RE: Cat & Shon SWIMMING for Can Too! UPDATE #5
Happy Friday Everyone!
In just under 48 hours, we will have just set off from Shelley Beach and begun the swim! Despite the fact they are predicting "challenging/risk warning/course altering" conditions on Sunday, we are trained, we are prepared, we are ready!
I also found out this week when I did the Avalon swim, a friend who shall go by the name of "hammerhead shark" visited that event. So now I can not only say I am confident in ocean swimming, but have also been for a dip with a shark! Though, I am more than happy for him/her to stay up at Avalon this weekend with the 4m shark that visited the surfer's there last Sunday!
THANK YOU again to everyone for their support - while Shon and I raised over $2,700, our training pod of 80 have raised over $105,000 and all pods across Sydney have collectively raised over $360,000 - funding 4 researchers! For those who would still like to sponsor such a great cause, please scroll down for the details.
So if you're looking for something to do on Sunday, feel free to come down to Manly to celebrate with us! We will be the ones just past the food at the Champagne J
Celebrate: All Can Tooers and their supporters are invited to a sausage sizzle at the park (harbour side – Manly Cove) on East Esplanade (south-east end of park near the Manly Yacht Club) - the Can Too banners flying high!!! From Manly Surf Club walk down Ashburner St until you come to East Esplanade. We will be able to celebrate our achievements, thank our coaches and sit back and relax. It will be on RAIL , HAIL or SHINE!!
We look forward to sharing the results and stories with you all next week where we WON"T have been stung by bluebottles/eaten by a shark/hit by a boat, where we HAVEN'T be dumped by waves and how we HAVE decided to become marathon swimmers. Right Shon? J
Yours in hydration and carbs,
Cat & Shon
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 1:32 PM
Subject: RE: Cat & Shon SWIMMING for Can Too! UPDATE #4
Hi Everyone!
What a week it has been! Quite a big update, Shon and I are offically FUNDRAISING STARS! Thanks to all of our wonderful supporters, YOU, for helping us to raise over $2,700! As a result, we now have our CAN TOO cossie's (see pic's attached)!!
So I did it... I entered a real ocean swim before my goal event. Last Sunday I swam in the 1.5km Avalon ocean swim with my closest 1040 friends and made it back to shore! I was really happy with my time of 45:18 as my aim was to just get back to the beach after getting dumped by a few waves and losing my goggles while warming up (they miraculously popped up 3 waves later)! The start line was also making me think "why am I doing this again?" when they had the announcement that we had signed the agreement that we were aware there could be sharks, bluebottles and you might get hit by a boat. Awesome! Though the thing that amazed me most were how tired my feet were, it felt like I had been for a 10km run! So now the training continues in preparation for the 2km Cole Classic in just 17 days. So instead of reaching for my cough medicine like I was a few weeks ago, I am now reaching for bottle of water after bottle of water, feeling every muscle when I move. After swimming 6km since Saturday and a murderous core session on Monday, I will power through tonight's core/cardio with the motivation that tomorrow is REST day!
In addition to the training and the fundraising, we have a guest speaker come and have a chat to us on Wednesday's - this has ranged from physio's, nutritionist's, cancer researcher's and swimmer's just to name a few. Last week we had a cancer researcher - for me, this was especially exciting as one of the drug's he has helped develop is now in human clinical trials! Fantastic! (http://www.medfac.usyd.edu.au/people/academics/profiles/nhaass.php) It's great to hear stories like this - YOUR support is helping amazing research like this!
Last night we had James Pittar come and tell his story: http://www.freestyleman.com/. This guy is truly amazing, the first blind swimmer to complete the majority of these marathon swims. He is aiming to become the first swimmer in history to complete the longest 7 swims in the world, the last one of which is from Northern Island to Scotland, 36km, 13 degrees and jellyfish all the way. What a swim!
So thanks again for everyone's support, we and Can Too truly do appreciate it! THANK YOU! Can Too is a great organisation to be part of - and so I have once again signed my life away for another challenge - a half marathon! So yes, I will be continuing my fundraising. I now have my sights set on hitting the $5000 mark, so my goal for this program is to raise $2400. Bunnings BBQ here I come! If anyone would like to join, visitwww.cantoo.org.au for more info! (or call/email Shon or I).
If you'd like to sponsor us, please visit www.cantoo.org.au, click on sponsor a participant, and type in either of our last names. All of the money we raise goes to Cure Cancer Australia Foundation.
Yours in training,
Cat & Shon
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 3:44 PM
Subject: RE: Cat & Shon SWIMMING for Can Too! UPDATE #3
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
Just a quick note to again say THANKS for the donations! Shon and I are now both up at $920 each, so we're nearly there!! Please support us if you can!
I made it to the ocean last Saturday and after a few weeks off and being sick, it HURT like it hasn't before! So rather anxiously I jumped in the pool last night to see where I was at and was able to get through my plan of 2km - and felt good! So in my moment of enthusiasm, I signed up for the 1.5km Avalon swim this Sunday. I especially love the part on the form where I had to agree that I understand there are "sea creatures" out there...I'm not sure whether I prefer the terminology of "sea creatures" or "sharks"!
Graduation is all but 2 weeks away, and we need to hit our target to graduate!!
To sponsor us please visit www.cantoo.org.au, click on sponsor a participant, and type in either of our last names. All of the money we raise goes to Cure Cancer Australia Foundation.
Yours in VERY serious training,
Cat & Shon
Happy Monday Everyone!
We just wanted to provide a brief update on how our swimming is progressing and most of all to THANK YOU for your support! The 1 pieces are becoming a common feature of our wardrobe, as are the swimming cap and goggles - how could you not look fabulous in that ensemble?
We have our Can Too swim sessions twice a week, once at the pool and once at the beach. Week 1 I struggled to do 75m without stopping.. after 4 weeks, we can swim a lot further and have learnt so much - 6 kick, rotation, breathing and stroking drills [I'm sure they have more technical names that I don't know/can't remember], wading, dolphin diving, body surfing, rips, swells.. the list goes on! It has been great to learn all this, I remember nothing from when I learnt how to swim properly as a kid! I was so tired after 75m cause I was holding my breath under water..! We have also begun to master the art of body surfing - it does indeed get you back into the beach much quicker!
We swim on two other days of the week and then squeeze in a cardio session and a weights session... [and the odd adventure race running 18km]..oh and a rest day - the day we let the sharks swim J And yes, we squeeze in full time jobs and a social life around that! The Saturday just past we swam from Shelley to Half Way Beach [and a bit more!] which is half our 1km race! Thus, I have decided to register for the 2km Cole Classic.... scary but true! Thus twice as much reason to support us! As Eleanor Roosevelt said and the motto of Can Too, "You must do the one thing you think you cannot" [which also means I can confirm I will be training for the half marathon next year..]
Our training pod, coaches, mentors and team captain are a great bunch of people - if you happen to be down at Manly Beach on a Saturday morning, be sure to cheer us on! We will respond to names like the Orange Dolphins, Orange Roughies, Orange Ocean Warriors or just Go Can Too!! Come down and enjoy the sun and surf!
With your donations [and penchant for Freddo's and Caramello Koala's J], we've collectively raised almost $1,100! That's almost half way after 4 weeks - THANK YOU from us and Can Too! Every dollar makes a difference and once we reach our target we get the much sought after Can Too Cossie!!!! The details to sponsor us are below ↓- all of the money we raise goes to Cure Cancer Australia Foundation.
Thank you again for all your support - we hope you are enjoying our swimming journey as much as we are! You can also check out photos of us training hard here [especially if you're suffering from Monday-itis, this is sure to put a smile on your face!]: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=171281&id=610556006&l=1ec37e6be8
Yours in paddling,
Cat & Shon
_____________________________________________
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 4:46 PM
Subject: Cat & Shon SWIMMING for Can Too!
Dear all,
I am happy to confirm the rumours of Shonel and I shopping in the Speedo store are true... it's time to SWIM! Following on from my 9km run and training with Can Too, we've decided to join Can Too Swim and train for the Cole Classic, a 1km surf swim at Manly Beach next February. What a great way to not only get even fitter and spend summer enjoying the surf (hopefully not for Shon to fulfil her dream of swimming with sharks just yet..J) but also a fantastic oppurtunity to raise funds for cancer research.
Can Too is a non-profit training program, run by professional trainers, with the aim of getting people like Shonel and I fit enough to swim 1km or more. We're training 5 days a week for this race, starting TODAY!
Can Too raises money for Cure Cancer Australia Foundation who fund brilliant young Australian scientists to pursue potential breakthrough cancer research. Since 2005, Can Too have trained over 3,000 people to swimming and running glory. This has raised nearly $4 million for Cure Cancer Australia and funded 45 researchers.
Shonel and I are committed to raising at least $1,250 each. I think Shon put this the most eloquently - sure it may be hard to raise this amount but certainly no harder than having cancer. We will be doing some other fundraising as well, so yes, you WILL be hearing from us over summer (or seeing my smiling, encouraging face refill the chocolate box in the kitchen J )!!
To sponsor us please visit www.cantoo.org.au, click on sponsor a participant, and type in either of our last names.
How much should you give? $10? What you’d spend on a nice bottle of wine? What you'd pay for some shark repellent? What about twice our age? The choice is yours. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.
I know you’re all very busy but this is important. By investing in research now, should you know anyone unlucky enough to be diagnosed with cancer, their treatment will be even more effective. You may even help to find a cure in our lifetime. What price can you put on that?
Thank you so much for supporting us - we truly do appreciate it and look forward to sharing our journey with you (the colour coordinated rashy's and goggles are a must see!)! If you have any questions, just email or call us.
Yours in training,
Cat & Shon
