I swam around a Jetty last weekend, not fast and not far but I did it and I did it with no training. Well no specific training anyway.
THE SWIM
The Swim was on a Sunday morning and the event was HUGE. People everywhere, sponsors tents all over the place, people that look like they have won gold at the olympics, 10 year olds that have professional crew around them, what was I doing here?
After my support crew gave me cuddles, kisses and all the luck I needed, I meandered with the what seemed like million other swimmers to the entry point for the swim. As we all got into our divisions, the ELITE swimmers in their gold caps got into the water ready for the start of the event. They were off. They were fast. They were elite. I was now starting to get very nervous for the 3.6km that lay ahead of me. We shuffled along the beach watching each wave start their journey around the jetty, then it was us. An army of orange caps, all shapes and sizes hit the water and we were on our way. Elbows and feet everywhere, finding clear water was my priority and it took what felt like forever to find it. Once I did I got into my only thinking which was advice from my wife. Focus on one thing, stroke, then when bored of that the next, breathing, then the next, body roll and keep going through this. The swim was feeling ok and I wasn't feeling like I needed to swim to the jetty, climb it and sneak off into the crowd. I was spotting people in front of me and trying to get around them, I was feeling strong and feeling like I could finish this.
I wasn't breaking any records with my speed but I was moving and once I got around the end of the Jetty, my mind knew all I had to do is get back to shore. My arms kept going, my brain wondered, my legs kicked and my brain wondered more. I caught myself and focused on my technique, breathing and body roll. I wasn't overly tired but every time I put the burners on I knew I had to take it easy to get my feet back on the sand.
I got to the finish line with a little extra boost of adrenalin from the crowd, the site of the finish line and sense of accomplishment. I did it in 1hour and 19 minutes, which I thought was not to shabby.
The How
Well remeber at the start I said I did no training? Well this is because I was not expecting to do this swim at all. I had signed up but as it is a ballot system I didn't get in. That was three months before the swim. I then got called up because I was on the reserve list and was told Im in, that was three weeks before the swim. So I did 1 km the next day and that was it.
As I am very keen on keeping my body useful for life, I understand the importance of building a strong body engine to tackle any challenge that comes my way. This means putting in the hours of running, lifting weights, playing with my kids, surfing, riding and generally moving as much as I can to keep a high level base of fitness. This as well as having consistency in my training regime and focusing on nutrition to play a huge role in keeping up with the demands I put on my body.
With the confidence of my own body and the knowledge that I had put in the training to keep up with my kids, surf, go to work and keep life exciting, I knew I had a red hot go at finishing the swim. This has now given me motivation to use swimming as a new discipline so next year when the Jetty swim comes around I can finish it under an hour.
Final Thoughts
It was after the swim that I realised that the training I do is not just to stay in the surf longer or keep up with my kids, it's to teach my kids that anything is possible when you work hard for it, its to prove to myself that anything is possible if I stay consistent in pursuits and most of all it's to show that you can make life easy for yourself if you work hard when motivation is low and things are tough.
Building resilience is a great side affect of keeping a strong body engine!!