Swimming and the Duke of Edinburgh (well, almost..)

Hi guys, sorry i've not posted for a while...it's been manic! I'll start doing regular posts again soon but for now here's a couple of pictures.

I'm 3rd from the left in the middle of the shot!

These pictures were taken by Mel at +Work Your Words Copywriting at the Leicester Sharks annual club championships. It was great to get my race head on again!

The one below is not swimming related but it's what's been keeping me busy recently.

This was taken as I came back to HQ after a weekend on my first expedition for the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.

That's me on the right!

Thanks for looking, more to follow soon :)

Don't forget to follow me on twitter @swimmerjd

A BIG thank you for my new goggles!

I was presented with some new goggles from my local opticians Edmonds & Slatter who my family have been using for years. I always have my eyes tested there and so does my Mum, Dad and sister. They've always been great and it's nice to know that they look after me :)

Edmonds & Slatter like to try and support the local community and have plenty of fundraising events throughout the year. They said they'd like to help me, so here's a picture of Amy Coleburne presenting me with a pair of competition goggles at their store in Blaby.

So, it's a BIG thank you from me and I'll see you next time for my eye test!

They're really nice so for more information or booking an eye test please go to their website :)

Edmonds & Slatter

City of Sheffield Swim Squad Summer Meet

We're off to the City of Sheffield Summer Meet this weekend at Ponds Forge for a 2 day open meet, it'll be an interesting one especially at the end of a busy year/season.

Here's a random picture of me at the Farnborough Air Show last Sunday. We won tickets from FIAT on twitter and spent the whole day there...it was awesome (more pictures to come)

Sorry, back to the swimming ;) I'm hoping to finish off the season with some new PB's.

Below are the events that i'll be competing in.

Saturday am (session1)

Warm-up 8am, Start 9am

100m F/C (1.02.74)

200m B/S (2.51.60)

Saturday pm (session2)

Warm-up 1.30pm, Start 2.30pm

200m IM (2.33.03)

400m F/C (4.37.81)

Sunday am (session3)

Warm-up 8am, Start 9pm

200m F/C (2.12.92)

200m B/C (2.33.16)

Have a good weekend watching the Commonwealth Games...the swimming has been amazing to watch #bringiton!

Midland Open Water Age Group Championships 2014

Hi all, on Sunday 13th july, I took part in the 1500m, regional (Midlands) Open Water Championships. I really enjoyed my swim, got a dirty face, swam well, was pulled by the ankles and shoulders but the vaseline that my dad applied before the race meant they just slipped straight off.

I came 7th in my age group and 8th overall. I think i'll be looking at more meets like this over the next season, it's only my 2nd attempt at open water and I'd like to step up to the 2000m or 3000m for my next swim as I felt I had plenty left and wasn't really sure on how to swim it, especially the hustle and bustle of the start!

I came home in a time of 18.25.08, with my 1500m time in a 50m pool at 18.08.52. I think next time i can go out harder and be more aggressive at the start but I'll put this one down to experience. The water temperature was 21.3deg. with an air temp of 18.4deg. 

Midlands Age Group Open Water Championship 2014

Midland Age Group Championships 2014

It's been a busy week so far, moved up into year ten at high school before the end of term, steady training, mainly short distance sprints and skills work as we're being tapered for the Midland Age Group Championships. I've had a tough year but I did get 3 regional times 200m, 400m and 1500m freestyle with only being less than a second of another 4!

Coventry Sports Centre

I Hope it goes well tomorrow :)

Don't forget to follow me on twitter @swimmerjd :)

Run-Sleep-Swim-Sleep-Swim-Sleep! *UPDATED*

Hi everyone...it's going to be a busy weekend starting today!

My School are holding their athletics day at Leicester's athletics stadium...this year, as last, I'll be running the 1500m. Last year I came second and I expect that I'll do the same this year as the 1st place runs for the county and trains as I do with my swimming so it'd be wrong of me to think I'm going for gold...I'm always up for a good race and to push myself though :)

Leicester's Saffron Lane Athletics Stadium

The sun is out, I've got plenty of drinks and they'll be an ice cream van there for when I NEED that ice-cream cone :)

After having a good sleep, my Dad and I will be taking a trip to the Corby International Swimming Pool for the Northampton Spring Open Meet. I still need a few regional qualifying times and I'm going to try my hardest to get them this weekend. The races are over the 2 days and are as follows:

 400m IM, 100m & 200m Backstroke, 100m & 200m Breaststroke and finally the 100m free

Corby International Swimming Pool

I'll let you know how I get on....I hope it's good news ;) Have a good weekend all....what ever you're up to

************UPDATED*************

I had a great 1.5k run and finished in first place...I set off a little too quick but managed to hold my lead and kicked hard with over 400m to go leaving 2nd place behind by over 50m...i'm very happy with that :)

I had a fairly bad couple of days at Corby, one's I've got to try and forget and move on from to be honest....onwards and upwards :)

100 miles for a regional qualifying time !

Me and my family took a 100 mile journey to Leeds today with the hope of me getting a regional qualifying time in the 1500m free....no pressure then !

A great result...I got my Midlands QT with a 18.09.52s and a silver medal for my trouble, so the journey was worth it after all...I was so relieved.

It was a quiet meet but that's OK as I was focused and could concentrate. I was beginning to feel the pain with 500m to go but I knew I was slightly quicker than last time I swam it. 

I actually quite fancy the 5000m open water swim now...gotta look into that a little more

;)

County Championships finally over!

Hi Guys, after 4 full weekends, the Leicestershire ASA County Championships are finally over and we can all start to recover and focus on our next cycle of training and meets coming up in the next few months which are all leading to the regional championships.

Swimming is full of up's and down's (pardon the pun) and there seems to be know reason why you can swim well one minute and fall short the next.

I had an OK championship finishing in 6th place overall in my age group, I managed a regional time on my 200m free and 3rd place in the county on my 1500m free and 200m breaststroke.

I don't think I have peeked this season yet and there is certainly more to come from me. Below is a picture of me and some the other winners from Leicester Sharks (i'm the one with the green Beats)

Follow me on twitter swimmerjd ;)

Leicestershire County Championships 2014

Following on from my first event in the County Championships (1500m freestyle), the next 3 weekends will be full of swimming in all of the other events, below is a summary of swims in front of me. I came 4th overall in the county last year, it's gonna be tough this year but i'm hoping to make some regional qualifying times in the process.

100m Backstroke

50m Butterfly

100m Freestyle

50m Breaststroke

50m Backstroke

100m Breaststroke

50m Freestyle

400m IM

200m Breaststroke

200m Freestyle

200m IM

200m Backstroke

400m Freestyle

100m IM

I'm looking forward to it.....bring it on! :)

Ranked 3rd in the county for 1500m freestyle

Hi Guys, Sunday saw the first round of the Leicestershire County Championships held at Loughborough University. There were 2 events during the day, the girls/open 800m freestyle and the boys/open 1500m.

I was swimming as a Leicester Shark with my dad as coach for the swimmers we had there. It's been a year since I last did the 1500m and 2 years since I did it long course. I had a great swim, felt really relaxed and in control of everything, as a swimmer I rarely feel that much in control of the water.....it's usually fighting back :)

My time was 18:14:46, converted to short course is 17:55:5 which is only 4 secs away from my regional (Midlands) qualifying time. I pushed really hard so it was a nice surprise to see I was so close and even better to get Bronze in my age group making me 3rd in the county.

3rd Place 1500m Freestyle

Regional times sheet and Sports Systems conversion software

I'm looking forward to the full weekends of the Counties to start.....feelin' good!

Good Result at Derventio Open Meet

A belated Happy New Year to all!

In my last post I was preparing to go to the Derventio meet at Ponds Forge. I had a great weekend and got good pb's on 6 out of 7 races, I was really pleased, as it was Christmas it was a great atmosphere and most of the squad swam really well. It was one of our targeted meets so results had to be good as it would prove that we'd been training right for the last couple of months!

This Saturday i'll be at Sheffield once again, just competing in a few races at the

City of Derby Open Meet. These are my events

Session 1: 200m IM, 200m Freestyle

Session 2: 400m Freestyle

Once I've finished my 400m Freestyle, it's a quick change and off to the first round of the Leicester Winter League at Corby International Pool....it's gonna be a busy day ;)

Corby International Pool

Follow me on twitter swimmerjd ;)

Derventio Open Meet

This weekend see's the start of the 3 day Derventio open meet at Ponds Forge Sheffield. I'll be there from Saturday morning until Sunday evening. It's usually a tough meet with a high caliber of swimmers. I'm not in the best place at the minute, I'm training well but when it comes to competitions, I just can't seem to pull it out of the bag. I'm having a lot of pain during the day and feel the need to stretch out and warm up all the time? I've been told that it's growing pains and some suffer more than others.

To help me during the weekend, my mum and dad have let me have one of my christmas presents early!....a new pair of Speedo Fastskin Elite 2's. It's given me a boost in confidence and I know there's nothing more I can do except swim as fast as I can :)

Have a fantastic Christmas where ever and what ever you are up to :)

Leicester Sharks Club Championships and City of Leicester Distance Meet

It was the final round of Leicester Sharks internal club championships over the last couple of weekends. I gained slight PB's on all 12 events and took 10 golds and 2 silver medals for my age group. It was a nice relaxed club atmosphere and it was good to see my teammates that I don't get to see very often.

Below is the customised programme cover that my dad produced for last weekend of the championships ;)

It's also the weekend of the City of Leicester distance meet, where we'll be competing as a quite a large squad, i'm in for 5 events over the 2 days.

My events are:

200m Freestyle

400m Freestyle

200m Backstroke

200m Breaststroke

200m I.M

Lincoln Vulcans Open Meet Result

Had a good day on Saturday at the Vulcan's open meet, spaced my swims out over the day, had a good laugh with my mates, all was good :)

Because of how and what we are doing in our training at the moment, I didn't expect to make any huge headway on any of my times. I got slight pb's on most of the events with a good 6 sec one on my 400 free which gives me my first regional qualifying time for next year as a 14 year old (i'm 13). I've never had a regional qt in the first month of the new season with over 6 months before the closing date of the Midlands.

I just pb'd on my 200 breaststroke and managed to get a bronze which was a nice surprise!. My mum +Sue Davies video'd the race with the iPad and did some fancy graphics (which is below). It was nice that I won my heat for a change....lane 9 is horrible place to swim with all of the style and  turn judges watching me!

Below is the little medal I won for the 200 breast in my last event of the day :)

Had a great day yesterday with my mate Simon (who's also a swimmer). We played golf and went to the gym at night. I was back at training this morning at 5.15am and i'll be going later on this evening at 5.30pm, can't wait!

National Arena Swimming League and Lincoln Vulcans Open Meet

I swam with the Leicester Sharks in the National Arena League last Saturday. We went to Birmingham knowing full well it was going to be a tough meet, we were against City of Coventry, City of Derby and City of Hereford amongst others. We only had 23 swimmers in our squad but we showed even though we aren't a City squad we could still compete with the best. I swam in 3 individuals and 3 relays...I was pleased at how I swam. We came 3rd with Coventry and Derby in front of us and Hereford behind us in 4th place, it was a great night, it felt like a win...the atmosphere on the coach was fantastic on the way back :)

National Arena Swimming League

This Saturday i'm at the Lincoln Vulcans open meet, Ponds Forge Sheffield. It's the first long course meet of the season and one of my targeted meets. There are 3 sessions and i'm taking part in all 3 so it'll be a long day. I'm hoping to get some new PB's to continue good start.

On the day, i'll be competing in:

Session One

200m Backstroke

200m Freestyle

Session Two

400m Freestyle

Session Three

200m Breaststroke

Ponds Forge Sheffield

Have a good weekend all

James ;)

I've reached 4000 pageviews!

This little blog about one swimmer who loves to swim and loves everything around swimming has had over 4000 pageviews! Hopefully it makes for an interesting quick read about a 13 year old swimmer in the UK who's aiming for the Nationals next year.

From me and my dad....thanks for reading :)

Breaststroke action shot!

Here's a picture of me doing the 100m Breaststroke from the Penguins Open Meet

with the Leicester Sharks Swimming Club

Just need to have more of a neutral head position and we're good to go!

Follow me on twitter swimmerjd ;)

Good result at Penguins Open Meet

After swimming in an early season open meet, it's nice to see a little improvement this early on, it's encouraging and makes the 5.15am starts all worth while.

I got first place for 100m breaststroke, and 3rd places for 200m and 400m freestyle.....I missed out on 3rd place for my 200m medley by 0.40 sec.

Got some really nice, laser etched trophies, think these are my favourite one's so far :)

These are my new short course times:

100 Breast 1:20.73

200 IM 2:33.52

400 Free 4:38.66

200 Free 2:13.80

James :)

Leicester Penguins Open Meet

It's been a great start back to High School, i've been made a Sport's Ambassador at school which means I'll be part of a group travelling to primary schools encouraging and teaching younger children about sports, taking part and leadership....can't wait to get started!

I'm taking part in my first open meet of the season, this early on, it's only going to be a paddle!

The Leicester Penguins open meet is on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th October but I'll only be going to the afternoon sessions on each day. I'll be going as a Leicester Shark which'll be different as I usually do all my open meets as the City of Leicester.

On Saturday i'll be doing 200 I.M & 100 B/S on the Sunday I'll be doing 200 & 400 F/C. Going on 2013's Regional Midlands qualifying times, I'm only 3.5 secs off my 200 F/C and 4.4 secs 400 F/C 14 year old qualifying times (i'm 13 years old). This meet is only to see where i am after a few weeks aerobic training which is always the case this early on a season....i'm really looking forward to the 200 F/C

Thanks for reading and I'll catch-up with you guys after the weekend

James :)

Arena Powerfin's

It's been a while since I posted anything on here.....it's been manic! Back to High School after the summer break, started a new squad at the City of Leicester, plenty of homework that needs doing as soon as I get it and just trying to fit everything in :)

As part of our season's preparation, the squad has been running in the park on Tuesday night's....it's been brilliant, it's showed me how much i've missed running & i'm still quite rapid :)

I took delivery of some new Arena Powerfins the other day, I had a black pair before these but I've now outgrown them. They are the best for me as I know they are really making me work hard instead of those other makes that are sooo huge they only have to do 5 fly leg kicks with them on and they get to the end of the pool...to me, you're only cheating yourself and you'll wonder why you won't have that regional or national time by the end of the season :)

Arena Powerfins

What's your favorite piece of training equipment?