Meet a member at a distance – Nadine


Nadine joined Spencer in 2017 and since then has been a regular smiling face at training, competitions and social events.

Where are you based and what isolation approach are you following/have you followed? 

I live in Putney together with my partner, we are renting a room in the house of a friend. Luckily isolation has slowly come to an end, I was working from home and my partner was furloughed. So the approach was ‘routine’. I would get up in the morning to prepare to ‘Work from home’, we would go for a walk at 12pm for an hour, my partner would cook lunch (how lucky am I) and then we would watch a movie in the evening or go for another walk. 

How have you coped with the break from training?

I missed (and still am missing) swimming as it would give me a full release of anything and provided a great workout. I created a new routine from walking, yoga and it was super nice to join Olegas and some of the troops for some morning workout. 7 weeks ago a good friend of mine who is a body worker, had invited me to join his online rehab / mobility program for 12-weeks to work on an old compensation pattern. This has been super. 

Also, friends, connections and Hoda have been super supportive of just saying ‘hi’ and checking in what’s up. 

Have you managed to get back into the water yet? If so, how was it? Any recommendations?

I did have a chance to swim at a remote beach in Bournemouth with Sara Newman for 30min, it was my first swim after ‘ever’. 

How are you getting on with Steve’s gutbusters?

Haha, gut busters indeed. I was super grateful that Steve was so thoughtful and provide us with a program. It helped to anchor my attention. When I started the mobility training of my friend I ‘paused’ for the moment as old compensations were triggered and I needed to practice a bit more patience. 

Any recommendations for team mates?

Everyone is already doing such a great job – I guess to focus on something you are not so good at, have a weakness and give it some attention. 

Which competitions have you missed/will you miss and how will that affect you?

All – lol! I was just getting back into the racing so I was ok but of course missed the progress in my swim training that competitions provide. 

How is your partner coping with you missing your regular training sessions?

Love this question, all good! We had the chance to spend more time together but maybe I was sometimes a bit more emotional than usual as swimming helps me to even out my inner landscape. 

What are you most looking forward to when you can get back to training?

Guidance, butterfly, a full workout, the team mates. 

Any plans for Open Water training or racing over the summer?

It has been a great opportunity that the pool were closed as I wouldn’t have considered in the sea. When I had the chance I really enjoyed it and would love to do more of it. 

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