Cold Water: Saturday 14th December 2019

Saturday 14th December 2019 

Great news, after signing up for the International Ice Swimming Association Championships and being accepted, I’m excited and anxious. This completion is being held in Sandford Lido over a weekend at the end of February. Altogether I’ll compete in three events, the 250m, 500m and 1000m freestyle races. This also means that I can tailor my training for those events, the distance is well within my ability, but the cold is the challenge.  

This week I got in the water twice. Wednesday evening and, today, Saturday. My Wednesday swim went without a hitch, I came, I saw and I swam. Nothing much to report. Todays swim wouldn’t be plain sailing or as much fun. The previous night I hadn’t slept very well at all. Waking up still tired wasn’t a great start. Leaving the house without much to eat probably wasn’t the wisest idea. But, often I’ll leave the house without much as I struggle to eat before a swim. Arriving at Andark it seemed a normal day, it may have been a little breezy, the sun was out with little cloud cover. A perfect cold water day. The pond was busy with five swimmers already in the water doing laps. After quickly getting changed I was ready, poised on the pontoon with my leg stumps dangling in the water. Often hesitating, anticipating the cold is the hard bit before launching myself in the water.  

On previous swims counting laps was difficult, this normal exercise seemed almost impossible for me. Consenstating on the cold and putting one arm in front of the other is all I could manage, today was going to be different. Counting laps would give me a better idea on how far and how long I could swim for in these abnormal conditions. This would give me a better idea how I was progressing in my training. Would an Ice Mile be a realistic goal? One kilometre was achievable, but of course, a mile is an extra six hundred metres more for me to swim.  

This swim was going to end up testing me physically and mentally. Pulling myself out of the water wasn’t easy, as I got back onto the pontoon I couldn’t see straight. After shuffling over to my kit, it seemed to take me ages to get changed. Although I was now better prepared for the cold, the ‘after drop’ hit me harder than I expected. In past swims it had taken me about twenty five minutes to warm up and be in a position where I could drive home safety. Today it took me an hour.  

Worried? Yes. What had been different today? Maybe not taking on enough fuel. Lack of sleep. Most of the other swimmers head off to the sauna. Jumping into the sauna had proved to be a little more of a challenge, it meant I had to shuffle over loose stones in a pair of trunks. This was uncomfortable, ripping my legs open wasn’t an option. Using the sauna was going to have to become part of my post swim routine. This means using my wheelchair, which in turn means I’ll have to find away to keep my seat dry. Sometimes, being disabled, solutions come with a cost, buying a waterproof cover was the only way forward.  

Getting home later than usual, Marisa knew something was up. Explaining what had happened it was important to re assure Marisa that I had a plan for next time. Mitigating these set backs is essential for Marisa’s support, if she isn’t happy that risk is being reduced, she is going to worry. These challenges and adventures are part and parcel of my identity, however not at the cost of my health.