The following is not my writing but I found it on a website talking about swimming in Lake Windermere and it really sums up my thoughts. Off to swim at Leybourne again tomorrow.
'Whatever the case you enter into a very different environment as a swimmer. You may be only meters away from friends and support but you feel in another world emotionally. Water has always been associated with the feelings and deeper intuitive urges of our nature. Your view is restricted to looking out of goggles that are often misted up and distort the vision at the best of times. As you twist your head to one side to breathe you only have a split second to interpret what you see. A few seconds later you have another chance to build up a better idea as you twist your head back again but this time you may be lower or higher down due to the waves and the object of your attention may have disappeared. What may have looked like an elephant just behind you turns out to be an island in the distance and what appeared to be something like the decorated ceiling of a church just to one side of you turns out to be some poles on the boat with some light reflected off a window. The feeling of confusion caused by goggles and movement of water is further exacerbated by the fact that you are in an almost soundless environment under your swimming cap. In fact I’ve found that low flying military jets overhead are about the only thing that can break into that space. What you do hear is your own breathing as you lift your head up to inhale and then a soothing surging sound as you exhale sending a stream of bubbles into the murkiness of it all.
On the emotional and psychological level there is a similar stirring up of feelings. There is the sense of isolation as well as the feeling of being burdened and having a task to fulfill that others around you seem to be free from. You wish you could be the man strolling along the beach or the tourist hanging over the rails of the small ferry in the distance. All the time you know that there is no escape and that you cannot stop and pack it all in.It is cold and uncomfortable and the times and distances seem too much. Inevitably you ask yourself if there is any point in the whole thing. You are not in extreme discomfort but enough not to want to continue for another 5 hours or 10 hours or however long it is likely to take. Feelings towards family, friends and loved ones are thrown into sharp relief as you realise just how important they are to you and how painful it would be to lose them or cause them any suffering. These worries, fears and anxieties seem to revolve about as your mind moves from one thought to another but they slowly give way as you get bursts of energy and moments of intense joy and well being. As the event progresses and you have some mileage and time under your belt the goal comes into a clearer focus. Physical tiredness and muscle ache start to set in but you know deep down that you will complete the distance. Time starts to pass by much more quickly and the tricky feelings and emotions seem to fade away leaving you in touch with a core of inner strength.'
http://channel.srichinmoyraces.org/channel_swimmers/karteek/windermere
Here's hoping I can find my inner strength on the day.
Gemini6x
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