Sunday Morning and it’s time to swim, swim, swim…
No sleep in this morning, no lounging around the house, no kicking back and relaxing after yesterday’s swim meet, it is back in the pool for me this morning and this afternoon back to lake for an outdoor swim.
By 8:00am I am at the pool, I have the Stowe Masters workout group to swim with today and I am pleased to have to company for the 6000 meter swim, I am back home at 11:00am, by midday I have topped up on food and have the Mini packed with blankets, my swim bag and my after swim yum yums bag, inside is a thermos of hot water, tea, coffee, ginger-nut biscuits and Jelly Babies.
“See you later. I am off for a swim”, I shout to my family as I head towards the door, ” didn’t you already swim today?”, replies my daughter Heidi, ” Yes, but that was in the pool, now I have a cold water swim outdoors”, I reply, ” Of Course you do Mum, and why…because that’s what you do, have fun”, says Heidi, ” I will”, I say with a wide mouthed smile.
Into the car I bound, I am headed out to the Green River Reservoir and as luck would have it I have 3 others joining me for this afternoons swim, what fun! The day is overcast, it is one of those bone chilling days to look at, the ones where it is cloudy and gray out, it looks like it could be 8:ooam in the morning or late afternoon just before dusk, it looks quite grim. Things look much brighter when I see my fellow swimmers, Hillary and Sue Ellen, who are already at the canoe launch, Paula soon joins us along with Deb in the Kayak.
The girls are already making there way into the water, I pass Deb my feed supplies, 2 containers, each with 150 mls of Maxim ( my carbo drink), to which Deb will add 150mls of hot water at feeding time, the hot feeds not only fuel me, but also help me combat the cold, I am not even in the water yet and I am dreaming of that hot feed.
Left to right: Paula, Sue Ellen and Hillary ready to go..." Hey Kiwi are you getting in?"
You guessed it I am dawdling, I made the mistake of pulling on snow boots to drive to the lake and my coziest sweatshirt, I am so cozy on the shore, I feel like I need a shoe horn to pry myself away from the canoe launch and into the water to get started. ” Deb, can you put baby oil on my shoulders and arms please”, Deb obliges and I quickly slide back into the cozy sweat shirt, ” Deb, can I please have a hot feed before I swim?”, Deb obliges and I go about drinking my feed very slowly.
Me before today's swim, mischievously dawdling on shore, I am enjoying myself
Enough is enough, time for me to get this show on the road, I kick off my snow boots, ditch the sweatshirt and wade into the water, it stings my legs, at 51 degrees Farenheight it is a sharp contrast from this mornings 82 degree swim. I dive under, the cold hits my entire body, I stroke hard and fast to kick up my heart rate and generate some heat in my core, my skin feels like it is burning, the cold water often makes it feel like this at first, I know after 20 minutes or so it will dissipate, in the mean time best thing for me to do is focus on something else, I do, I look at my fellow swimmers tucked up in their wetsuits, I think how wonderful they are to come out here with me today, then I see Deb bundled up in the kayak, what a star she is paddling beside me, I know I drench her with every arm stroke, she must be cold paddling into the chilly wind. We leave the canoe launch inlet and make good progress out and around Blueberry Island, we complete the first lap and start heading towards the second and final lap, 30 minutes arrives and we stop for a hot feed MMMmmmm.
Off we go again, another lap around Blueberry Island, we hug the shoreline as we approach the end of the final lap, Deb steers me into towards the canoe launch, she circles her arm swiftly to signal my sprint to France, I pick up my pace and pull hard towards the shore, the home stretch seems to go on for a very long time, I sprint and sprint, finally I can see the bottom, I dive my arm down to touch the mud and rocks on the bottom, PHEW complete.
I bring my eyes to the surface, then part of my mouth, just enough so Deb can see my smile, it is my ” how about one of those tasty little Jelly Babies” smile, Deb sees it and passes me a Jelly Baby, I suck it down and say, ” I’ll take his little friend too”, with that she hands over another one and I swallow him whole.
Next up, getting out, right now this seems like the hardest part, the air temperature is well below that of the water, I know as soon as I get out the cold air will plummet my body temperature in about 120 seconds, I will have to move fast and get dressed as quick as a flash. Out I go, my clothes are just a few paces away, I peel off my suit, on with a fleece, sweat shirt and sweat pants, next the hat, all I am focusing on is getting dressed and getting dressed fast. I reach into my dry bag and pull out my big soft red blanket as I do so I notice Hillary, my fellow swimmer standing, it is not the standing that concerns me, it is the fact that she is not getting dressed, and that it looks like someone has smeared blue lipstick on her lips, ” Hillary, lets get this blanket around you, it’s super cozy”, I say as I wrap the blanket around her, ” no you need the blanket”, she replies, ” nope I am all set, warming up already look”, I reply bouncing up and down, ” see I am off up to the car, come up for hot chocolate”. With that I bounce up the road, why do I say bounce?
Well remember when I told you I wore snow boots today? Yes, well I won’t do that again, they were murderous to get back on after the swim, my feet were wet, corpse white and clumsy, I struggled to get the boots on and once on they hurt with every step I took, as soon as I got to the car I tugged them off and put on my lambswool slippers, ahhh sweet relief.
We gathered around the car to talk about our swim, while drinking hot chocolate, sipping hot tea and enjoy a few more Jelly Babies. How long was this afternoon’s swim? 54 Minutes.
Total for the Day? 6000 meters Pool / 4000 meters Open Water = 10km
Total for the Week ? 45, 500 meters
Coming up this week: Pool Swims/Outdoor swims. Will there be snow? I’ll keep you posted.
Here is a sneak preview, this is me driving to my next swim, you guessed it a SNOW SWIM coming your way......