We woke up early on Saturday and grabbed a rather meager breakfast as we were too early for the kitchen to be open. A Faulty Tower moment followed as the patron of the hotel was only too keen to help us and get us anything we wanted just not breakfast at 7.30 but just to reiterate, again and again, just ask her if we needed anything! We did eventually get some cereal and tea but to be honest that was all I could eat as the nerves were kicking in.
We walked in and I was keen to get changed and into my wetsuit. Hats off to the guys at the GNS as the event was so well organised. There were big tents erected so that swimmers could get changed and I just walked straight in and 5 minutes later I was ready. It was at this point I realised that I could not find my timing chip. An electronic tag that you secure around your leg and when you go over the starting mat it starts timing and when you swim across the finish line it obviously stops. Where was it??!!!!!
What ensued was what seemed like an eternity of me turning out my bag again and again to no avail, suggestions of people returning to the hotel and then finally a sensible suggestion of asking for help from one of the event stewards. It then became clear that this happened all the time and I was directed to the information point where they had boxes of chips and new hats etc. I was given a new number, 3369 and a new chip and within minutes relief took over. Now, I had only to wait for my 'wave' to be called. Phew!
It was about now that I realised we were really quite early. This however turned out to be an advantage as we got seats in the grandstand which for my family was great as the rain was beginning to fall again. The first wave was about to start - Red wave.
The waves were categorised by the what colour hat the swimmers had been given. I was green wave, second of the day. It was good to be able to see what would happen but by now I really was beginning to feel sick with nerves. No sooner had red wave left, and they called the swimmers for green wave to come to the start line. I felt like a small child being pushed out onto stage having forgotten all my lines. Or perhaps a better analogy would be that I felt like I was about to walk the plank. One last hug and I made my way down to the acclimatisation pool. At this point it was still raining and the adrenaline was starting to kick in. I waded my way in, and finally I was actually in Lake Windermere.
It was at this point I relaxed. The water was nowhere near as cold as I was expecting. In fact it was quite pleasant. We all bobbed up and down filling our wetsuits, dunking our faces and then over the speaker came a voice "Would green wave swimmers make their way to the starting line".
Now it was time to get serious. After a short warm up and a pep talk from the Olympic Open water Swimmer, who's name escapes me as I was a little distracted, the countdown began and then the air horn went. Time to put it all into practice.
It was fantastic. I didn't rush in with the nutters at the front. I was somewhere in the middle and walked down to the water and calmly got in. I was off. The exhilaration of finally doing it was overwhelming. A big pink bouy marked halfway and that was my aim. The rain had stopped and the view was breathtaking. The water was lovely. Much clearer than I had expected and nothing like Leybourne lakes. I have to say that I didn't go for it with the front crawl as yet again my breathing was hard to control and so I just relaxed and decided go with the breast stroke and enjoy it. I was surrounded by people but it was silent and calm. One of those moments in time where all your senses are working overtime to etch the scene onto your memory. I didn't want it to end.
The pink bouy of half way approached as did the shore line and a drumming band drew us closer in. I was still feeling ok but now round the bouy I could see the end. By the time I got three quarters of the way to the end I was beginning to become a little tired. I wanted to use front crawl but where I was hot and my face had been out of the water, now trying to put it in the water was like putting my head straight into a bucket of ice. It was too painful so I had to continue with the breast stroke now.
The big orange markers of the last 200m were looming but I could have sworn at this point they were moving away from me at the same time. What spurred me on was seeing my family on the bank and trying to get them to spot me. It was understandably hard for them as we all looked the same in our green hats. Maybe a balloon tied around my neck next time will help ;-) However, in the end my teacher voice won out and I was able to gain their attention.
Finally, the finishing marker approached and I reached up to give it a hefty whack as I passed through it. It had to be done. Unfortunately my calf muscle did not agree at this point and cramped, painfully. I am so glad that this did not happen earlier in the race as having never really suffered from cramp I now understand that I could have been in serious trouble.
It is at this point that it is worth mentioning the Kayaks positioned all around the course who did a fabulous job of supporting us all and helping people out when they got in trouble. The whole thing was so well organised and I felt completely safe throughout.
So finally I had crossed the finish line. I was somewhat hauled out of the water as the slope was really steep, and with cramp it wasn't easy but I did it! I had swum Lake Windermere. My time in the end was officially 40 minutes 26 seconds but I made it just under 40 when you count getting in time. I could have gone faster but actually I am so glad to just have done it. Sadly I found out that later in the day one man did actually lose his life and it makes you realise just how tough it actually was.
For the rest of the day I wore my T-shirt proudly and also my medal (I've never won a medal for anything) and on top of all that I think I have raised close to £600 for the NAS. I have exceeded my target which is amazing.
Now it's Sunday night and I'm finally sitting down at home after the journey home. I've done my washing and ironing and am nursing a slightly sore leg on the sofa with a cup of tea as I write this.
So what's next? Oops.... I just signed up for next year :-) Gotta get quicker and the 2 mile race is also slightly tempting me too. I've got a year to train after all!
Finally, thanks for taking the time to read this blog. I hope you a have enjoyed it.
A very proud,
Gemini6x
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