I think I prefer open water swimming to swimming in a pool. It’s just a bit more interesting than plodding up and down a lane going slowly insane. I think it’s something to do with the fact that I swam a lot as kid, seven times a week at one point. That’s probably enough to put anyone off.
I swam in the lake at Six Hills yesterday. It’s a great little venue. It’s run by RaceHub and it attracts a lot of swimmers. There’s no weeds (massive bonus) and I don’t seem to get lake lurgy like I do in some other open water venues. I don’t know why exactly (probably something to do with pollen) but I tend to come out of some lakes with a streaming nose unless I load myself full of antihistamines. An irritating side effect of swimming outdoors I guess.
I did an hour in the water, seven laps of the lake circuit. It was the final big swim before Ironman, so it was nice to get it under my belt. It felt pretty good to be honest, even though I desperately needed the loo at the end. I clocked 3,900 metres, just above the Ironman distance so I was pleased with that.
I think an hour is my limit. I have done 5000 metres in one go once. That was a sport relief charity swim which I completed in Charnwood Leisure centre, Loughborough. 200 lengths in a pool gets quite monotonous. I had the usual issue of getting a song stuck in my head as well. That can be very annoying. Once I had ‘Itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini’ going round, that was a very low moment.
I’m in awe of people that have swum the English Channel. I think it’s an incredible achievement, particularly given that the rules for an official channel swim are that you can’t wear a wetsuit. I’m not great with cold at the best of times, so I can’t imagine what it must feel like.
I’ve read a couple of books recently (I’m a reading bore) on open water swimming. The first was ‘Man vs Ocean’, by Adam Walker. He swam the English Channel and then decided that he needed another goal (having experienced the dreaded post event blues) so completed the Seven ocean challenge. This basically entailed swimming ridiculous distances in just trunks, swimming goggles and a cap. He also had to wear a shark repellant ankle bracelet in one of them and got stung by a Portuguese Man o’War jellyfish in another. Proper nuts. It’s truly inspirational but there’s no way I’d contemplate doing even one. A long distance lake swim maybe, but not across a channel.
I thought that story was incredible. After that I read a book by Sean Conway called ‘Hell and High Water’. This recounted his swim from Lands End to John o’Groats. He was the first person to do it and everyone thought he was mad for even attempting it. He had to assemble a support boat and crew, as well as funds to keep him going for the whole trip. He also encountered jellyfish problems as the Irish channel is full of them. His solution was to grow a huge beard to stop getting stung in the face. It’s an amazing story.
Hats off to these guys and anyone like them who devote their lives to do something so extraordinary. I’m sure you could say they’re selfish but I think they’re just following a passion. So good on them, you only live once.
Still, I won’t be doing that. I’m happy just reading about them and doing my own minor version of the life aquatic.