WILD IN WINDERMERE - 03 Sept 2011

THE TEAM GO WILD IN WINDERMERE!

Having tamed Nessie in Loch Ness the group were looking for another challenge, the itch to get back in the water and race again was getting too much. Some of us were wanting to stretch our water wings and try out a longer distance race. Research done, it was decided that we would do the Wild windermere swim on the 3rd of September, run by Davy Newell of Adventure Challenge Solutions. There were a variety of distances available, 500 metres, 1 mile or 2 miles. The date is an ominous one, the Great North Swim was meant to be on the same date last year but was canceled due to blue green algae....would it happen again with this race. I hoped not.

As normal messages were flying across facebook...who's going, how are we going to get there etc. I had an offer to stay over night on Friday with a friend (she knows who she is and that i am grateful. x) which i gratefully took up. Turning up with the normal pre-race preparation of a bottle of Shiraz...a good  night was had. Up early, bright eyed and bushy tailed i dared to open the curtains... and yes the sight that greeted me matched what i was hearing with my ears....rain and lots of it!!!

Dorothy Mills was racing first out of the group so she and i arrived early at the venue determined to get some pics of her swimming (the rest of the team still snuggled under their duvets no doubt!), dressed appropriately for the weather or so we thought, that rain would eventually get everywhere! We went to register, get numbers on our hands and pick up the essential goodie bag. Going down to the waters edge, we could see the swell and the current - not encouraging. Davy and his partner Chloe were there with their normal big grins and positive attitudes, hugs all round and Davy goes off to talk to the water patrol.

Next thing for me and Dorothy was to try to keep dry. Once in the wetsuits we don't have a care in the world the weather can do its worst but standing around in it....not funny!!!

Dorothy duly got her wetsuit on, undeterred by the weather and raring to go! Big grin on her face in anticipation of the impending swim, nothing fazes Dorothy although she does have a dislike of huge waves. The rest of the swimmers all kitted up walked towards the waters edge for the briefing. Davy gave his speech, the water temperature was apparently 16.5 degrees.. sounds warm but it certainly did not look it! Dororthy looked like she had been born to swim as she relaxed on her back giving us the thumbs up!

Those swimming the 500m got in for the warm up, then a quick swim to the starting post you could hear the gasps and calls of oh my god its freezing. Not what you want to hear when you have yet to get in the water. The site at Brokehole is perfect for those wanting to view as it has a huge jetty to watch from. So with all of us watching the siren sounded and off they went into the swell. Trying to keep the camera dry i managed to get some pictures of Dorothy. The weather that day was misty and dark so it was difficult to see the swimmers as they reached the furthest buoys but it was exciting watching them race back. Very quickly in she came to the finish line grinning from ear to ear, you could tell Dorothy had enjoyed the race! More pictures!! Arriving in time to congratulate Dorothy were the rest of the group, Liz Reed, Suzanne Charnock, Amanda Bell, Joanna Charlton, Marie Lovell, Shirley Emmerson and Kate Upshall Davis.

Dorothy post race grins!!!

Dorothy with the huge grin and left arm raised

maire....probably still talking!!!

The one milers were up next. Maries face when she realised i was there was a picture...marie has a habit of talking to one and all....while she is swimming. I have long since given up trying to stop her, my aim is to limit the amount of time she spends chatting though!!! 
 Davy went through his routine and off they went into the deep. The wind was picking up and just when you thought it could not rain any harder....yep some more of it came down from the heavens!!! By this point in time none of my clothing was dry, thankfully i had spare stuff in the car.

Like baked beans in a can!

Were they trying to think of ways to slow Debbie Taylor down!!!

For those of us doing the 2  miles we now needed food, so off we headed knowing we would have time whilst the others swam, food duly eaten we nipped down to see the 1 milers coming back in. They had survived the swell, it was good to see them really rising to the challenge of swimming in a different location with different conditions. Although Windermere is a huge lake it gets alot of boat traffic, with large ferries making regular journey's and as you can imagine swell they can create is at times like being on a roller coaster!!

Two milers ..not the male in the background!!!!

All too soon it was the turn of the 2 milers. Having carried our wetsuits to the changing area, they were wet; couple that with the fact that we were wet, then try to get the two to combine! Male and females getting changed together is not normally something i would enjoy but watching everyone struggle into their wetsuits would have been picture worthy, the tent where we changed was humid so as you can imagine there was a lot of huffing and puffing to get the rubber on. In any other area this could be seen as a fetish party but for us there was work to be done and we were there to do it! What is nice about the open water community is that you get to meet so many people, over the internet and then in person, so it was lovely to see Debbie Taylor and Sam Plum at the race.

Two milers briefed on safety, in we got and swam to the start line. 16.5 degrees of cold - ish water creeping into your wetsuit is not to be laughed at! But pretty soon we were away attacking the waves, trying to find our slot in the water to break away and swim solo. The lead canoist had said that there was a current to assist you to the first buoy....if there was i never found it! The first lap seemed to go by at a nice pace, with the occasional bumping by people who can not swim in a straight line!!! Mentally the brain had work to do as you sighted the start bouy again and knew lap 2 was approaching. The distance is not a problem when it comes to races, the pace can get to you though and you can quickly find yourself tiring, that being said if you can get a nice rythum going the pace just seems to come and you feel like you could go forever, there was a British Long distance race the same day and part of me did i wonder what it would be like to do that distance next year. But on we plowed, i would have loved to talk to those on the jetty who were standing the wind and getting soaked by the rain which had decided to let it's presence be known but no time (note to marie....i did NOT stop to talk to anyone!!!!)...i had to do the second lap!! Although i swim with the group regularly in a race its hard to know who is swimming next to you or who you are overtaking as you don't really have time to take it all in.  The final leg of the race seemed to last forever, you could see the jetty it just didn't seem to be getting any closer, the wind had picked up, which in turn made the waves bigger and that coupled with the swell meant you really had to work to get to the jetty.

Finally the last buoy arrived and i swam adjecent to the jetty, head down to the finish. Now this finish would be slightly different from others that i have had....the girls where on the jetty. They will tell you that at each and every race i will stand at the finish and bellow like a fishwife for them to 'get a move on', 'dig deep', 'get your head down', get your knees up' 'run' and other words of encouragement (?) this was their time to get their own back. Thankfully with ear plugs in i could not hear what they were saying i could have the volume of their voices so i knew they were there!! They did happily inform me that they had got their revenge and shouted left right and centre at me. Mindful of all the things i shout to them there was no way i could get upright and just stroll to the jetty....the bruises on the soles of my feet are testiment to the run i did at the finish...Windermere obviously has some sharp stones at its shoreline!

 Race done for me, time to see in the others in the group. And in they came, each one looking good and making a firm strong finish. No signs of exhaustion from any of us, just big grins and a chorus of wow that was fantastic.

 Back in the changing room's again dignity went out the window as we struggled out of wetsuits and back into wet clothing (similar experience to putting on a wet swimming costume!!!) It was here that i heard that 3 people had thrown up in the water...yuk, yuk, yuk, i know it happens in races but yuk....we swam through that!!!! Did the rain stop...not a hope, differing variations on the same thing but it carried on thoroughout the day and well into the evening. The next day Windermere was a wash with sunshine and the water nice and calm, still it makes for an interesting race and gets you used to swimming in different conditions. What to do next, well theres another of Davy's races at the same venue in a fortnight...oh and the last of the Great Swim series in Scotland....looking forward to both! Oh and now to start planning for winter training and what to do next year, it looks like distance is going to be the theme!!!!
Interestingly we had yet another bad weather race but the next morning it was sunshine and normality resumed as Dorothy proved with her camera, wouldn't it have been wonderful to race in that!!!!

Till the next time!!!!