After five months of training and badgering for sponsorship I’ve finally taken the plunge and actually completed the Aspire Snowdonia swim. This past weekend I spent a very wet few days with my nearest and dearest and 18 other brave swimmers taking part in one of the hardest things I have ever done. When I signed up for the swim I in March I couldn’t swim a length of front crawl. I wanted to challenge myself both physically and mentally and it is fair to say I have done that.
The setting was the awe inspiringly beautiful Llyn Gwynant lake at the base of Snowdonia. It is only when you arrive at the lake do you realise how amazing this part of the world is and how lucky we are to have it on our doorstep. It was also when we arrived at the lake that I realised just how bloody big the thing was and as soon as I saw it I got the fear, big time.
After a seven hour drive from London to Betws y Coed where we were staying we headed to the lake for a pre-brief on what the plan for the day would be. It was only when the support staff started talking about what we should do if we started to feel the signs of hyperthermia that it started to dawn on me what I was letting myself in for. That being said no amount of briefing could prepare me for just how bone achingly cold the water was going to be.
The plan was for the day to be split into two swims; a mile and half or a three mile swim in the morning followed by a mile swim in the afternoon. I took the mile and a half swim option as otherwise there would have been a very good chance that I would still be swimming today. So at 9am on Saturday and after hours and hours of training I found myself being helped into the water by two brothers and wondering what the hell I was doing and wishing I was still in my wheelchair and not in a freezing cold lake. The water was so cold it made the fillings in my teeth hurt and I was so disoriented to start with that I felt like I was swimming drunk. The plan was to head off to our left towards a small white buoy and then take a right towards the end of the lake and then come back in a straight line back to the beach. As I said that was the plan. The reality was that I lost sight of the buoy almost straight away and decided to follow a fellow swimmer who helpfully was swimming in the wrong direction. When I decided to ignore my fellow swimmer and head for the small white thing bobbing up and down in the wearer did I realise it wasn’t a buoy at all but a pesky seagull. It was only when I beached myself on the shore to the left of where we started that I realised I’d taken a bit of a detour.
At this point I’d been swimming for only about half an hour and I was cold and confused. I also knew I had two choices; signal to the main support boat to come and take me back to shore or carry on. Stopping was never going to be an option, after all what kind of challenge would it have been if I’d glided round the lake without a hitch. So I pulled myself together and ploughed on and you know what once I got going, accepted the cold and got into a rhythm I loved it, every last second of it. Don’t get me wrong swimming back once I’d got to the end of the lake was incredibly hard, there was quite a strong side current and headwind and I was having to fight with all my strength just to keep in as near a straight line as I could.
The first swim took me about 1 hour 50 minutes and I’ve never before swam for that length of time. Once I got to shore I was a bit wobbly to say the least but fear not I had the always supportive Miss G and my wonderful mum on hand to wrap me in blankets and feed me Mars Bars and hot strong builder’s tea. I know the physically fit amongst you will say that it should have been an isotonic drink and a protein bar but I’m sorry I’d take tea and chocolate anytime.
I wasn’t the only one to have found the swim hard going so mercifully the organisers decided to cut the second swim short and turn it into a team relay over a 500metre course. So despite my initial thoughts I wouldn’t be up to a second swim I thought what the hell and decided to get back in. That was on one condition I was putting on wet swim gear. So queue one of the more random requests my lovely future mother in-law will get when I asked her to dry my Speedos under a hand dryer in the women’s toilets. The second swim was even colder, but strangely was also the fastest I had ever swum and the most fun I’d had in the water. I think the prospect of finishing and promise of a very welcome slug or two of slow gin was the incentive I needed.
Since I started the adventure I have badgered people relentlessley for sponsorship and I’m so pleased to have been able to raise over £1400 for such a wonderful charity as Aspire. I think you’ll agree that I’ve earned every last penny of it. If you haven’t sponsored me and want to do so then you can still do by going to www.justgiving.com/rockupandroll.
Aspire also have put together a video of the event which you can see that here . I’m also determined after watching the video to improve my technique so I can be a bit more graceful next time and also sound a bit less northern on film. Aspire have also done their own great report on the day and you can read that here http://www.aspire.org.uk/news/default.aspx .
Finally, I’d just like to say a huge great big Rockupandroll thank you to everyone who has sponsored, supported and encouraged me along the way. Special mentions go of course to Miss G, my friends and family and the Greenwich Rotary Club whose very kind donation paid for my wetsuit.
