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Christine’s New Beginning with OceanFit

Gasping for breath between diving under crashing waves, goggles leaking, getting pushed back towards the beach, I couldn’t possibly imagine how the 4 people I started on the beach with less than a minute ago had swum out past the breaking waves – maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew, perhaps I could just sneak back into the beach and grab a morning a cappuccino?

If it wasn’t for Andre swimming alongside me, and admirably staying with me despite my stopping (and going backwards) right where the waves were breaking, I certainly would have given up. His words of advice and encouragement were helpful and supportive – despite this I did not have the confidence to swim past the break that 1^st morning and retreated to the beach to the sound of Andre calling “make sure you meet us at the north end of the beach!”

“ Don’t run away!”

Well there’s only one way to get better at something and that is to practice, so I did meet the group at the end of the beach and was welcomed back by smiling friendly faces, not judged for lack of fitness, surf skills, or confidence. That morning we completed the rest of our training session at the north of the beach - I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was probably for my benefit (as it was more protected from the waves).

By 7am I had braved the high seas,

I had not been dumped (thanks to Andre’s tips as he swam with me), lived despite survived swimming through a massive patch of seaweed (my irrational fear of seaweed was not something I had shared with anyone before we jumped in because I was too embarrassed), and come out the other end exhausted, exhilarated, and with a great sense of achievement. I’d made it through the Oceanfit session – what a great start to the day, I was hooked!

Just 6 weeks later, I was struggling to carry a carton of Nutrigrain I had won for participation in the Clovelly 600 home, towel askew, with a huge grin on my face, and a number on my arm (like an ironman), having just completed my first (mini) ocean swim!

After getting scared in the surf on Australia day last year, I had come to the conclusion that I needed to improve my ocean swimming skills so I could make the most of living near the beach.

A quick Google search returned a few pool based swimming squads and an ocean swimming group for people who could confidently swim 1km (definitely not for me), then I came across OceanFit group fitness & surf skills training.

To begin with getting up at 5.45am to go training in the ocean (with surf that often terrified me) seemed insane, the combination of overcoming my fears & learning new skills in a fun supportive … got me through.

Each training session begins with a warm up jog along the beach, followed by a chat about the conditions – a great way to learn about them, and then into the water for a warm up swim past the break and up the beach, followed by drills to improve fitness and skills.

I’m not sure how Andre always manages to swim / body surf past us and still be offering instructions, but having him there every step of the way has certainly helped me improve my skills – as it’s easy to forget what you’ve spoken about on the beach when you are putting it into practice.

Many morning’s my ears have been ringing with a good natured “Chris, what are you doing?” as I stop to take in the beauty of a Bondi sunrise / take a breather / check out some cool fish / sting rays …

Highlights of my OceanFit training have included:

Seeing sting rays feeding in the sand – I never tire of seeing them glide gracefully along in the sand and often use them as an excuse to swim at a more leisurely pace ; )
Learning to body surf real waves – I can now swim onto green waves and catch them! A huge improvement for me – I had never caught a wave (not even the whitewash) before I started with OceanFit. Thanks Andre! Now I catch every wave I can …
Gaining confidence in my own ability to understand and then deal with different ocean conditions. I’ve also improved my fitness, general health & well being, and lost weight all whilst having fun outdoors!
Completing the Clovelly 600 – and the carton of Nutrigrain I won for participating! So big I could hardly lift it!!!
Entering and completing the Balmoral 1km swim – and raising $250 for charity at the same time! I certainly didn’t break any records, but I finished it.

With the addition of Lane 4 stroke correction classes to the OceanFit offering this season, I’ve learnt that a few minor (or perhaps major) adjustments to my stroke I can swim much faster whilst expending less energy. Finally, I’m no longer the slowest swimmer in the world!

My goal for this year is to complete my Bronze Medallion so I can become a volunteer Surf Life Saver at Bondi. I’m all set for the next intake at the end of Jan and am looking forward to being able to use my newfound surf skills to be able to help others.