Visibility in the water was terrible, probably about an inch. In the previous swim event I had tried (the 2010 Tenby Wales Swim - 3km), you could at least see your outstretched hand underwater. On the plus side here however, due to the nature of the course and the number of participants, the risk of getting kicked in the face was a lot less as there was less crowding (in fact, this only happened once, although I did swim collide with other swimmers 4-5 times one way or another).
There was more of a current than Tenby, and again I had some difficulty navigating. Finish time of 53 minutes, which as a stand alone value I am fine with, though I finished a few minutes behind the friends I had entered the event with (so essentially my time was entirely unsatisfactory!). I'm glad I did the event, though as with last time I seemed to spend more time and effort on navigation than I did actually testing my limits physically.
Tomorrow is the Bristol Half-Marathon, which I've been looking forward to. I weigh a couple more kilo's than last year, so I don't think I'll be setting a PB (+1kg fat adds +2 minutes over that distance course, on average). I'm targeting a time of around 1.44 (PB 2010 = 1.41). My habit of getting in shape for autumn events only to lose it over the winter is something I'd like to break this year - running is more fun when you're fit! I'm thinking of entering at least one other half later this year, and then perhaps a full marathon early next year.
The 2011-2012 Bristol Chess League has recently resumed, though due to work I couldn't attend the first club game. I am now playing for Clifton C regularly, and up for B as requested - sadly I cannot 'play down' for Clifton D due to some regulation. Tougher competition this year, I need to get back to playing/studying more seriously. I may look into getting lessons again.
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