Cold Water: Wednesday 13th November 2019

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” 

― Paulo Coelho

The past few months have been tricky. Although I have been training, I haven’t been open water swimming. After having a chat with Kate, my cold water swimming mentor, she told me that Andark was open three times a week. Wednesday evenings, as well as Saturday and Sundays. 

I was in luck it was Wednesday, I got my kit together and headed out the door to get my cold water fix. By the time I got to Andark, it was not only dark but it was raining. I was a little apprehensive about getting in the water. Although I had been in the cold water before I had always been in a with a wetsuit on. I didn’t know how I was going to cope in sub ten degrees. 

There were a few differences before getting in, we needed to use a marker buoy for safety. A torch was added inside our buoys to show our location with a glow. Over the years I’ve learnt to always carry spares with me. Today I managed to snap the straps on my goggles. My replacement set I brought with me were tinted, not a show stopper, but a bit of a pain in the dark.  

As is normal for me I bum shuffled over to the water, took a moment and throw myself in the water. The trick is to start swimming immediately, get those arms moving and remember to breathe. Earlier I mentioned that was swimming without a wetsuit, I need to make allowances, because of my injuries. I’ve ben getting in the water with a cut off pair of neoprene shorts, I can’t take the risk of causing my stumps any more damage. I worry about nervous pain the most, it’s uncomfortable. The cold water purist won’t like my neoprene shorts, put I have to consider my health.  

I got used to being in the water, which was eight and half degrees. The sensations I had experienced in my previous swim returned, pins and needles in my shoulders and a warm back. My google choice wasn’t helping me a great deal. I couldn’t see where I was going. As a result I swam into another swimmer, they weren’t that bothered, but it was a little embarrassing. I ended up swimming for about twenty minutes, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get out of the water. Initially I did struggle to pull myself out, the gloves I was wearing wouldn’t allow me to grip the side of the pontoon. I did start to panic a little, but after getting rid of my gloves I managed to haul myself out. I shuffled back over to my kit, got my towel on and my wet clothes off and myself warmed up. After getting my clothes and prosthetic legs on I bought myself a cup of hot chocolate. Although I was shivering I wasn’t worried, in fact I felt exhilarated. I felt that I had achieved something to be proud of, something I hadn’t felt in a while. As I left to go home I knew that with regular cold water sessions I might be able to have a crack at attempting the Ice Mile.