GregInTheWater
CENTRAL SCOTLAND OPEN WATER SWIMMING COACH
I had entered the Coles Classic swim at Manly. Unlike most of the swims which were run by surf lifesaving clubs, this one was run by a media company as part of their strategy of supporting the community. This meant that you had to enter several weeks before the swim and pay higher prices. With most ocean swims I would check the swell forecast and if it was too big for my ability I would not enter. This was not a choice for this swim at Manly. The other problem was that you had to collect your timing chip and swim cap from a sports store in the city in the week of the swim.
Despite these issues, it was still the largest swim on the calendar with over 4000 swimmers in two events. I had entered the longer swim of 2.4 km which was to be swum from Shelley Beach to North Styne beach and return to Manly Beach.
Getting to the swim was easy: a ferry from Circular Quay on a beautiful Sunday morning, followed by a stroll to Manly Beach. When I arrived the swimmers in the one km event were just finishing. There were people everywhere and a real buzz. The walk to Shelley Beach was quite slow but as always I had arrived in plenty of time, much to the disquiet of my support crew. We found a nice spot at the back of the beach under a tree and waited for my wave.
Finally my wave was called and I was shocked by how many swimmers there were. I found out later that there was over 250 swimmers just in my wave. I found myself right in the middle of this pack and when we hit the water there was mayhem. While I was used to arms and legs everywhere at the start of a swim I was totally unprepared for this melee. I had swimmers all around me pushing me hitting me and making it impossible to settle into a rhythm. I found myself getting short of breath and starting to panic. However, by the time I had arrived at the first buoy I had managed to get to the edge of the pack and could settle down and get my breath. It felt like I was starting again.
It was a slog up to North Styne and back to the point off Manly. The melee at the start had taken a lot out of me and I was tiring quickly. I was worried about getting through the waves at Manly Beach, so I slowed down further to get my heart rate down. Luckily I had swum part of the course on Christmas Day and New Years Day with the Bold and Beautiful gang.
Soon enough I was entering the wave zone, and I even managed to almost catch a small wave into the beach. If only I had more energy to get onto the wave. It was a long run up the beach and the face I exhibited for the official cameraman was priceless. I stumbled over the line happy that I had managed to finish even if I was completely knackered.
My time of just over forty-four minutes placed me in the top 55% of the 2000 swimmers in the race. I knew this event attracted a range of swimmers with vastly different abilities, and I was glad I had managed to complete it.
I still needed to do more work to increase my fitness and to feel more comfortable swimming in the ocean. I thought about this on the way back to the city on the ferry.
I had mapped out a plan for swims for the season, and the one at the Opera House on Australia Day was on the list. I was familiar with the course, and it was a harbour swim which suited my confidence levels. The swim was scheduled to be two and a half km so it would test my fitness.
When I arrived at Circular Quay I was greeted with a fog that shrouded the Harbour Bridge. This was quite rare for Sydney as fogs are much more common in early winter. This fog meant it would be good conditions for the event. The fog turned out to be a sea fog that rolled in up the harbour due to the warm water. Beached on hte coast like Bondi had fog until early afternoon, but I was fortunate that the fog lifted around the Opera House mid morning.
When I arrived for registration I was told I was in the Elite Wave with Olympic swimmers. After a short discussion the organisers saw the folly of this and I was placed in my age category. Good I would not be swimming by myself.
I watched a latge number of people swim the early one km event, and I wondered if I would ever be strong enough to do both. They all enjoyed themselves as it really is quite an iconic course.
Finally it was my turn to jump into the harbour for our in the water start. I was feeling a tad worried that I would not be strong enough to swim at a comfortable speed as I had not done a great deal of training since my last swim. The hooter started and off we went in the usual splash of arms and legs. My established strategy was to swim at an easy pace and try and make it to the end of the course. Fairly soon I was swimming with those of similar ability and I had plenty of time to admire the view.
When I turned the last buoy to turn for home I felt very tired and wondered if I would be strong enough to make it to the finish line. I slowed down and told myself that I had done longer swims and that I had to finish. My arms felt very heavy and the finish line at the Opera House seemed to be getting no closer.
Finally I made it and climbed up the ladders and lumbered over the timing mats to record my time. I was quite fatigued and gulped down the free drinks on hand. While my time of just over forty minutes was quite respectable for the distance I soon realised that the course was not the advertised length. I was placed in the top 60% of the field of 400 swimmers. I knew that I could do better, but I would have to come up with a plan to improve.
It was a great way to celebrate the birthday of our nation.
I had come to realise that if I was to be more confident in the ocean swim environment I had to be fitter, and also get more comfortable swimming in the ocean. So I decided to change my training pool to the Andrew Boy Charlton Pool in Sydney. The only problem was this pool was closed during winter, and was a thirty minute walk from where I lived. Thus I continued swimming at North Sydney Pool until early September.
The Andrew Boy Charlton Pool was named after an Olympic swimmer from the 1920s. This pool has an idyllic location perched above Sydney Harbour overlooking Potts Point and Woolloomooloo. To get to it I walked through Hyde Park and the Domain past the NSW Art Gallery and along the eastern side of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. The pool was a joy to swim in.
My plan was to do the Cockatoo Island swim once again as I was familiar with the course. I realised I was becoming dedicated when I turned down an opportunity to attend a centenary pool for the organisation I worked at which was scheduled for the night before the swim.
When I arrived at the Dawn Fraser Pool at Balmain I was interested to see that the swim had changed slightly: we now had to swim anti-clockwise around the island. This was due to the recent changes to the ferry timetables. We were told at the briefing that if a swimmer did not make it to the ferry wharf on the island within thirty minutes then the swimmer would have to wait for the ferry before continuing. The other problem was that I would not be able to look at the island as I only breathed on my right hand side.
My wave started in the water and I made sure I swam moderately fast to get past the ferry wharf. Fortunately I met this goal, along with most of the rest of the field. When I was two-thirds of the way around the island I was starting to struggle. I was getting slower and could feel the effort of getting that far. I regretted not doing more preparation, but it was too late now.
Finally I made it back to the start line and crawled out of the water and over the finish line feeling exhausted. I could only look in awe at those swimmers who had moved past me with apparent ease and grace.
The free summer fruit was very welcome on a warm morning and the mangos were delicious.
My time was twenty-five seconds slower than last year. I was quite disappointed but realised that I would have to up my training regime to get back into condition. Doing two km in the pool two or three times a week was not enough to swim well over longer courses. The choice was to do the shorter one km swim races or build the intensity of my training.
But at least my 2011 swim season was under way.
After my succesful traverse of Lake Macquarie, I decided to enter another swim. The location Farm Cove in Sydney Harbour. The starting point was next to the Opera House, a swim around Farm Cove looking at the Botanic Gardens, and back to the Opera House. Distance two km, harbour swim with no waves. Easy after my recent effort.
Only problem was that a year before the swim a navy diver had lost a hand to a shark at the nearby Garden Island Naval Base. So the organisers had extra precautions for those willing to brave the murky harbour water: their own divers loitering underneath the course to provide protection for the swimmers. But if you are concerned about sharks as a swimmer you really should not get in water. After all you are more likely to be killed by a bee, or involved in a traffic accident on the way to the swim than to have an encounter with a shark.
Getting to this swim was easy for me as I only had to walk from home across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, then down through Circular Quay to the start line at the Opera House. Tough way to start the day.
Another glorious day with plenty of sun. Registered for the swim and sat on a grassy bank in The Botanic Gardens to watch those doing the one km swim. Before long it was time for the start of the two km event, Another water start with a jump off a pontoon, with the official starter a leading light of the Federal Opposition Malcolm Turnbull. The route for the swim was across Farm Cove to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, then turn right to swim around the Cove and back to the start line. I noticed that the wave looked fairly large so I decided to hang back and let others go first.
The hooter sounded and we were off. The usual thrashing of arms and legs as swimmers jockeyed for position. I let this happen in front of me and settled into my stroke pattern while looking ahead to make sure I was on course. As per usual I soon caught up to other swimmers but they had trouble navigating so I had to weave around them. By the time I had got to the first buoy I was in clear water.
After the turn on every breath the view was of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It was hard not to focus on the iconic view. Before long that view was replaced by one of the Sydney skyline. What a place to have a swim race. How many people around the world dream of coming to Sydney to see this view and here I was swimming in a race while enjoying that same view.
I felt quite strong and once I passed the last buoy tried to up the pace and managed to pass a few other swimmers. Another feature of this swim was that you had to climb out of the water using ladders, run over a pontoon and then pass over the timing pad. But everyone had to do it, so it was much the same for all.
I had finished. Good result finishing in the top third of the field, and a top twenty in my age group. I felt very satisfied with all my training and the good results.
So the 2010 season was over for me. I had swum four races for a total distance of just under ten km. Of those four races, only one was in the surf, so I did not feel that I was an oceanswimmer. Time to focus on my training until next season.
After my return from Europe I needed to find a new training pool. I went to the North Sydney pool about a 10 minute walk from where I was living. This pool has the record of being the pool that has had the most number of world records set in it. It was the pool where the Australian titles were held in during the 1950s and 1960s when people like Dawn Fraser, John Konrads and Murray Rose ruled the waves.
The pool has two pools: a 25 m indoor heated pool, and a 50m outdoor heated pool. Both are open all year round. The location under the arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with views across to the Sydney Opera House. Magnificent.
So I started swimming there by myself in the evenings. I would start by doing a one km swim, and after a few weeks increased this to two kms non stop. I had a plan to swim the Cockatoo Island swim in late November, a distance of two and a half kms. This island is in the western part of Sydney Harbour and was a shipyard and before that a convict prison. Now that the industry had left it was trying to re-establish itself as a place to visit with comedy festivals, tourist accommodation and a ferry service.
I entered the swim knowing that I would not have to worry about waves and rips. Several people at work asked if I was scared of the sharks in the harbour. My view is that you are more likely to be injured getting to the swim, and besides the water makes it hard to see more than a couple of metres anyway.
The swim starts at the Dawn Fraser pool in Balmain, which is a delightful harbour pool with its historic facade in place. You then swim clockwise around the island and back to the pool. Easy, especially if you breathe on your right. The other highlight is the excellent summer fruit supplied by a sponsor and the free bbq for swimmers.
The forecast for the day was hot over 40 degrees. We were still in the grips of a drought and the land was parched. And this was just the start of summer. Fortunately the swims start in the mid morning and the worst of the heat would not arrive until mid afternoon.
I registered for the swim and then joined my wife back up in the park with a great view of the course. It was a pleasant place to hang out while I fuelled up and drank fluids to stay hydrated. I was confident of making the distance, as I had lost weight on my walk across Spain, and my swimming was going well. The only thing to deal with was the tide which would be coming in during the swim.
Another feature of this swim is that you start in the water. Luckily at this time of year it was quite warm and the starter got us away quickly. There was lots of thrashing about at the start, but I decided to let them all do their stuff and I would just follow. Before long we had made it to the island, and then started our trek around it. Along the southern side I was moving extremely fast and thought wow this is great. It was not until we got to the other side that I realised this was the tide and I would have to swim against it. By that time the ferry traffic had kicked up a chop on the water so it was a bit of a slog around the northern side. It was good to look at the industrial landmarks on the island, and to keep an eye out for the crane that signalled the turn for the finish line back at the pool.
I made it back to the pool swimming a sort of straight line. A climb out of the water onto a pontoon, and then the manual time keepers recording your time and number. Then into the pool proper to get some mango and sausage sandwich.
I was happy with my first swim in the big smoke. Now that I had moved to Sydney I thought that I belonged.
I checked my results on the oceanswims site and I had finished in just over 44 minutes and placed about halfway in the field. Not a bad result.
Now that I had completed my first swim it was time to look at doing another swim. The best place to find out about ocean swims was oceanswims.com which was a website listing details of all the swims in Sydney and surrounds, and also let you enter them. I saw that there were not many swims in Newcastle, and I did not feel ready for a trip to the big smoke to swim against the hot guns there. There were three swims left in Newcastle: the Harbour swim on Australia Day over 1.4 km; the Cross the Lake swim a 3.8 km epic that had been running since Menzies was prime minister; and a 1.5 km swim at Caves Beach in March.
I knew I was not up to a 3.8 km swim, and did not feel like swimming in Newcastle Harbour which had a reputation for pollution. So that left the Caves Beach swim. I had grown up on this beach so I was very comfortable with the prospect of competing there. I knew that the beach was protected from southerly swells by a breakwater built by a dreamer to load coal for export to Japan. This dream never eventuated and it was now used by fishermen. There was also a couple of reefs which moderated any NE swell.
I decided to up my training schedule and for a few months swam in the pool four times a week.
The day of the swim arrived. It was sunny and warm and only a small swell running. I registered, said hi to some work colleagues who were on water safety and then walked down to the start line.
I was in the third wave with all the other males over 35. I looked around and thought some of these looked fit. I watched the earlier waves start and they were fast.
My turn to go. I entered the water and was happy that there was no swell to battle through. A large number of swimmers in my wave swam off and I was left in their wake. I knew that the course went near a reef and the swell direction would make it interesting crossing it, so I went wide. By the time I turned for home I felt fresh. I swam to the beach getting little assistance from the samll swell.
Now one of the features of Caves Beach is that a low tide it is a long way from the water’s edge to the surf club where the finish line was. And it was low tide. So then there was a run that seemed about 500m long to get to the finish.
I had finished. I grabbed some fruit and drinks pleased that I had completed my second swim. I had done a faster time (24.35), but of the 292 swimmers I had come 170th. I knew that if I wanted to get better results I had to lose some weight and get fitter.
My first season was over: two swims with a distance of 3.0 km. I was hooked, and I knew that I wanted to get better at this.
As part of my fitness drive I went on holiday to Europe and did a Camino walk in Spain covering 500 km on foot. I did swim in the Orkney Islands in late June. The water was 11 degrees, and my speedos provided little protection against the cold. I could not feel my feet after 10 seconds.
I also swam at Brighton in early July and the water was a lot warmer there, though the pebbles sure were hard on the feet. In both places I was the only person swimming.
What would be next on my swimming adventure?
So how did I get into ocean swims? I had swum for a couple of years in Merewether Baths with some friends from work. We would ride our bikes up the pool from work in the city (a distance of around 3 km each way) during our lunch break. We would then swim 1 km in the pool and we would do this a few times a week year round. Of the three of us I was the fastest due to my pool swimming when I was a boy.
I started this exercise regime to try to keep fit and to enjoy the salt water pool throughout the year. After about 12 months of this I was looking for another challenge, as I was getting quicker in the pool.
The local surf club then advertised a swim called Baths to Bar. This was a swim from Merewether Surf Club to Cooks Hill Surf Club on Bar Beach a distance of 1.5 km. So I enrolled in the swim and convinced a triathlete friend to swim with me. I was confident as I had swum at both beaches several times, though always within the flags. I increased my distance in the pool to see if I could swim 1.5 km non stop, and I could.
The swim was scheduled for late November 2008. Now November is an interesting time in this part of Australia. The air temperature can be 30 degrees plus, and the sea water temperature can be around 16 degrees. At that temperature it would be advisable to wear a wet suit.
The day of the swim was cold. The air temperature was 13 degrees with a westerly gale blowing (it was snowing up in the mountains), so the wind chill was in single figures. Luckily the water was only 15 degrees, and the organisers agreed to allow competitors to wear a wet suit. I chose to wear mine, my friend decided not to.
So we went to the start line, and I stayed warm due to my wet suit. I had not even thought how I was going to get through the break, and was intrigued to watch the elite wave get smashed by a big set when they started. I hoped that my wave would be more gentle, and luckily it was. I managed to get out through the wave zone without having to go under a wave. So far so good.
First buoy was off the beach and then you turned left to swim north. The problem was by the time I go to that buoy I was puffed, and I contemplated pulling out because it was so cold. However, I decided to keep going as my wife was waiting at the finish line and I wanted to test myself. So I put my head down and swam. I swam to seaward of the guiding buoys well away from most of the other swimmers. I was by myself most of the time, which I had planned.
After what seemed ages I turned left and followed the course into the finish line. The strong winds had reduced the swell so it was quite easy getting in.
I walked slowly up the sand exhausted. I had finished. I then had a chance to check my time of just under 27 minutes, and I thought that was quite good. My wife rushed over to tell me that my friend had finished a few minutes earlier, but he was very cold and was in the car to get warm.
So now I was an ocean swimmer. I finished 72nd out of 144 starters, and I was very happy with that. I had walked the length of that beach many times, but now I had swum it.
Hi.
My first post to this or any blog. Wonder who will read it?
So I swim in the ocean, the harbour and rivers and race against others. Sometimes I swim well and am happy with my results. Other times I am relieved just to finish. Mostly I enjoy my time in the water and the challenges presented by water that is constantly moving. It sure makes a change from swimming in a pool watching the black line and the clock.
I look back to my first ocean swim in 2008 and I am amazed at my progress. My first swim was 1.5 km. Since then I have done many swims over 2 km, including two that were 3.8 km long. I have learned how to move through the break, and how to adjust my stroke for different conditions. I have managed a top 10 finish in my age group on a few occasions, but that elusive top three place still seems a long way off.
But really the swimming is not about the medals or the times. It is about challenging yourself, learning about and respecting the ocean, and enjoying the experiences with your fellow swimmers. It is about admiring those who swim fast, and admiring those who struggle to finish.
Since I started I have swum all over Sydney and even competed in New York in a race under the Brooklyn Bridge. There are races held all over North America, New Zealand, South Pacific, Asia, and Europe. Over time I might even get to a few of them.
GregInTheWater 