Superwoman

Finally Swimming Fast
Mon 28th July

Suddenly I feel like superwoman! I am just home from the pool and am so excited I cannot believe how well I am swimming in the past week.

Today I tried out a new type of racing togs- the speedo FSPRO- to see whether I want to wear them in Beijing. We will all be given training and racing gear by speedo for the Games and most of the athletes want to wear the new LZR (lazer racer) suit which got so much media coverage at the Selection trials. It is totally waterproof and has no stitching as the fabric is sealed by laser beams. I tried one of those in Sydney a few weeks ago and it was so tight that after 45mins of trying and someone helping it still wouldnt go above my knees. So I asked about alternatives and this week I was sent the FSPRO to try. It is the same fabric as laser racer, but without the rubber pannels. The anticipation was great as since the Sydney 2000 Paralympics I have raced in the Speedo fastskin, a neck to ankle body suit modelled on shark skin and the first time I raced in it I went 4 seconds faster.It really helped to hold my legs together ( as a paraplegic I cannot feel or control my legs so when I swim they float all over the place creating drag and slowing me down). So if this suit was meant to be even better I couldn't wait to try it.

My first impression wasn't great. After half an hour laying on the bed doing contortionist moves while someone helped me into the suit, I sat up to find I could hardly move.The pannels in the torso designed for core stability were obviously designed for use either standing or swimming, as when I sat down in my wheelchair they cut into my belly and winded me. Great I thought, but I'd better persevere and try swimming in it. So I drove to the pool while being squished by the suit, where I jumped in the water and my impression of the suit changed immediately.

Suddenly I loved it. As soon I I hit the water it felt different, more buoyant and I dared not hope that perhaps that would make me faster. I did a few laps and felt good.

Then my coach arrived and timed me over 25m freestyle and I KNEW it was good. My previous PB (personal best time) was 29.99 seconds. I did it in 25.5 seconds! Next up was 50m freestlye. My previous best was 1.06 and I did it in 1.04. Finally I did 100m in 2.17, where my previous best had been 2.19 in a long course pool ( I was training in a short course pool with turns which actually slow me down so just imaging what time I would have done in a 50m pool!). To finish off I did 2 sets of 12 x 25 backstroke off 50 seconds which I had never done eaither!This was shaping up to be a crazy day, never did I imagine myself going so fast. It is also the closest I have ever been to knowing what it may be like to swim as an able bodied person, as I have always had to drag my heavy and unstreamlined legs behind me.The suit held my legs together and helps them float.

As an athlete part of me has always been reluctant to accept that a suit can make or break my performance. I would prefer to win as a result of skill, hard work and talent. There is also the fact that relying on a suit could make athletes complacent. I aim to be in top shape even without a suit, and always advise junior swimmers not to rely on the suit and to work on their skills and fitness before they beg mum and dad to spend $500 on a suit that in a n able bodied (non disabled ) swimmer may only make 1/100th of a second difference. But at my age and my level of competition one onehundredth of a second really can make all the difference.

Plus, if everyone else is wearing one I would be crazy not too. Part of being an athlete is making use of all the resources legally available to enhance your performance, and in my case that includes the FSPRO.

To be completely honest I havn't been feeling fit or ready to race since long before even the trials. 'Fit' of course has a different meaning for athletes. Compared to most people I was probably fit as a fiddle, but I know what I feel like when I am in peak shape, and I was nothing like that. Since taking 6 months off all exercise to heal a neck injury last year I have really struggled to regain fitness as well as with my weight. To expect to win when out of shape is a pipe dream, even when I was doing everything in my power to get back in shape. Finally in the last few weeks it is all paying off. I am feeling good in the water, I can feel my body shape changing and becoming more musclular and most importantly I am swimming fast-suit or no suit.

TO celebrate I headed straight from the pool to a manicure and I now have red nails with gold roses on them as a momento of this golden day.

As I drifted off to sleep a random thought popped in my head: is it a bird, is it a plane, no it's superwoman! Maybe i will swim faster than I ever dared dream of in Beijing!

So now I am superwoman and you can watch watch me swim on the ABC from September 6-17th.With 100 hours of coverage of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, this is the best paralympic coverege the world has ever seen. Bravo ABC!