I got myself booked in the Great North Swim quite late this year. There weren’t many slots left available but 3pm Saturday afternoon was a reasonable time.
I was excited to be doing the swim again, despite the hefty £40 entry fee. I stuck with the 1 mile option, deciding not to push it too hard. Just as well. My great plans to go training went completely out the window for one reason or another. Saturday 13th arrived and I’d not even tried my wet suit on since the last Great North Swim. Oh dear!
Luckily everything still fitted, and luckily the forecasted rain didn’t arrive. Steve and Sandra were my support crew and kindly dropped me off so I could get changed and register while they found a space to park.
When it was time to gather the 3pm white wave I joined the group and went in to the acclimatisation area. The water felt pretty cold, but no too bad. I remember last year the water was warmer, possibly a bit too warm.
After a good pep talk from the MC and some warm up exercises, the horn gave a blast and it was time to get in. I started a little nearer the back than I wanted to and that meant I had a lot of swimmers getting in my way. I really struggled at first to get my own space. It seemed very busy.
In the first half my arms felt very heavy and I really felt the lack of training. But I got warmed up by the second half and I got a good rhythm. Perhaps it was because I had more space… that was until a man suddenly steered right in front of me heading towards the bank. I was really annoyed because I had to stop and I lost my rhythm.
I made it back in what I thought was a reasonable time considering I hadn’t been in the water for a year. I was 3 minutes slower than last year, but that’s better than I feared.
Will I do it again next year?
Yes!
Will I train for next year….? Well I can’t change who I am, so shall we say it’s probably unlikely. Ha!
Welcome back – and well done!