Easy 56M FIM

Photo by Nicolas Largueze

Was quite cold this training, as the patched hole in the right arm of my suit had opened, allowing a stream of water to flow into my suit. A chill in the entire right side of my body had me feeling anxious, I looked forward to a nice hot cup of Nescafe after training :P

When it was time for me to dive, I dismissed my worrying thoughts and focused instead on the peaceful feeling of the water, gently relaxing more and more with each breath. This time I did my initial warm-up dive without the mask, just to try… I found it more enjoyable, similar to the technique of the deep dive, which I liked. I decided I’ll start in the same way next session, and was happy to have tried and tested something new, the fine-tuning and adjusting makes freediving all that more fun and interesting :)

My second and third warm-up dives were, well, okay. For some reason, I felt a bit of pressure on my chest during both FRC dives, which is unusual for me. I told myself to “relax, let go” during each of the dives but the pressure remained until I surfaced. Somewhat worried afterward to do a deep dive, I planned I’d turn early if I felt any pressure. I certainly didn’t want a lung injury, especially right before competition.

Connie was kind enough to give me a three minute count down to prepare for competition… I was cold, near shivering and was anxious to go. But I did my best to relax, taking my time to breathe, emptying my lungs completely with my outbreath. As my body relaxed, my mind relaxed, and my thoughts became weightless, like wisps of a cloud on a breeze.

I drifted into a state of deep relaxation, but became alert when I heard the countdown, and at “official top” down I went… The start of my dive was easy, my mind focused on the technique of my arm pulls as well as relaxation. After about 12 or so pulls I was wondering where my mouth-fill alarm was, did I set the computer right? Oh no, maybe I set it to off by mistake! Maybe all my other alarms were off as well!? Then the alarm sounded, it was going to be ok, I told myself, my mind relaxing, my body softening, my mouthfill perfect and full. I topped up at around 22 meters and began my free-fall, a bit deeper than usual, and happily sank faster and deeper, a peaceful feeling flowing down my spine… My worries and anxiety melted away with every meter, my muscles relaxed, my mind drifting into a sleep-like state.

I kept light awareness on managing the air of my mouthfill and maintaining free-fall position, slightly more difficult without my monofin. My legs moved a bit to and fro to counteract the sea’s current. Over and over, I reminded myself to relax, let go, my body gently de-tensioning.

Feeling so good, and so relaxed, my entire body soft and calm, I heard the 55 meter depth alarm. I thought for a moment to continue to the ball at 60, but worried about the ascent ahead, I respectfully turned and began making my way up.

The pulls at the bottom were somewhat strenuous, reach, extend, reach, extend, reach, extend, the reach movement was quite feasible, but the extending movement was a challenge, my biceps working to the max. I felt like I wasn’t going anywhere, like one of those cartoon shows with the coyote pulling a loose rope, an anvil dropping on his head. I told myself “relax, it’ll get easier… eventually…” and kept bringing myself back to the present moment, focusing on the colors seen through closed eyelids, focusing on my technique, the feeling of the water.

Eventually, it did get easier, and I opened my eyes, seeing Nick and Connie finning across from me. I’m almost there, I gleefully thought to myself, closing my eyes I drifted slowly up to the buoy and did my surface protocol, easy and clean. I looked at my computer, 56.6 meters, and easy! After not training free-immersion for nearly a month, and feeling quite cold, it came as a nice surprise. I smiled happily, the dive was fun, I was glad :)

Date: August 20, 2016
Loc: Blue Hole, Dahab
Disc: FIM
Target: 55M to alarm – achieved

Suit: 3MM Oceaner
Weights: 1kg neckweight, 1.5kg belt
Buddy: Nick & Connie
Breakfast: banana, hot fruit drink
AM Feeling: not very well

Warm-Ups:
#1: 18.1M FIM no mask, 1’18”
#2: 16.7M FRC, 57″ felt pressure
#3: 22.2M FRC, 1’15” felt pressure
#4: 17.4M FRC, 1’01” safety dive

DIVE: 56.6M
Dive Time: 2’29”
Descent Time: 1’14”
Ascent Time: 1’15”
Speed: .7597
Descent Speed: .7648
Ascent Speed: .7546