This event has to be classed as savage amusement by anybody's standards. I've done this distance once before and I remember not being able to face it again the following spring. As Leeds synchronised their Swimathon event with the rest of the country, that meant the next chance I had to enter was March 2004, when I had to abandon plans due to starting a new job with the Inland Revenue and the pool's reluctance to let endurance swimmers compete at the weekend.
There is a certain satisfaction in completing 6.2 miles of non-stop swimming up and down the same never changing scenery of the pool bottom, but it's rather like banging your head on a brick wall - wonderful when you stop! If anything, this swim was harder than the previous occasion, as I was the only person in that particular session during the 10k endurance event, and had 3 other people to contend with who were just doing the 100 lengths. In 2002, I was in a lane where 3 other people were swimming the same distance as I was, and although they were faster, at least I had company until the last 30 lengths. I didn't have to keep sprinting past people either. This time round, I was on my own for at least 80 lengths and although it's a relief not to have to worry about other people in the water and to be able to swim up and down the middle, it's a bit soul destroying! It wasn't long before there wasn't anybody in the adjacent lanes either - even the slowest swimmers had finished whatever distance they'd set out to do.
This kind of event is physically similar to running a marathon. Discomfort is inevitable, and I can't honestly say I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the challenge of having completed it, but not the actual swim, which felt interminable. Counting 50m lengths, 141, 142, 144 etc, I began to wonder if I'd ever reach 200. The drink kindly prepared by Anne suddenly seemed nauseatingly strong, my costume began to rub and there was nothing I could do about it, my goggles felt painfully tight against my eyes and towards the end gave me a slight headache. My back was aching from about halfway when I turned at the end of each length (which completely disappeared once I stopped), but I began to dread each tumble turn, which I'm quite sure looked more and more ragged as the swim progressed!
Having said all this, I actually swam two fairly even splits and felt quite strong right until the end. I was grateful to one man from Leeds swimming development, who offered a bit of encouragement along the way, and along with my two timekeepers (plus Anne taking photos) was there at the end. He told me to stay in the water for a few minutes, then it was time for a hot shower and back to Rawdon, where I lay dozing on the sofa for much of the rest of the day.
Perhaps having had a bit more sleep during the week leading up to the swim would have been a good idea! However, unlike last time, when I woke up during the following night with a very painful shoulder, this time I suffered no ill effects at all. My time was a bit slower than two and a half years ago, which I rather expected, as training specifically for this event hadn't been much of a priority - a weekend away in Cheam immediately prior to the swim and an exam midweek inevitably meant there were more important considerations.
The other big problem was that my heart rate monitor packed in - not that I would have been interested in recording heart rates, but the watch served as a waterproof stopwatch, and personally I find this invaluable for a distance swim, offering the opportunity to gauge how my split times over 500/1000m are matching up to a pre-arranged pacing plan. Having to swim with no idea how fast I was going, or what my split times were, made it impossible to know if I should speed up/slow down to hit target times I was aiming for.
I'll no doubt do the 10k event when the Swimathon comes round next year (but I'm glad it's a long way off yet!)
30th March 2005
