“Cold Water Camp” – three words that send chills down your spine...not thoughts of bikinis, cocktails, sunshine nor relaxation.
In April, 2013, my
coaches at Vladswim ran their annual Cold Water Camp in Port Phillip Bay Melbourne
for aspiring English Channel swimmers. A
four day camp, with multiple daily swims and lectures, culminating in the camp
challenge: an eight hour swim in 15C water. I completed this last year as part
of my own EC preparation, and I was keen to participate again in 2013. Once
again I would test my ability to withstand the cold. It has been nine months
since my own Channel swim and having lost 7kgs of my Channel fat, I was keen to
see how I would fare in the cold and at the the same time it was a great
opportunity to get a nice, long swim in preparation for my upcoming Manhattan
Island Marathon Swim race in June.
Twelve swimmers
from Sydney journeyed to Melbourne for the camp, along with our amazing coaches
Vlad and Charm assisted by Martin (the King of Goulash). Work commitments for
the week allowed me an abridged version of the camp, but my key goals were a
couple of long swims in very cold water, and the opportunity to share my
experiences with the group heading towards their own goals of conquering the
English Channel in 2013 and 2014.
My first swim with
the group was Friday morning. The goal was three hours in Port Phillip Bay off
Brighton Baths. In 2012, this was the hardest swim of the entire camp. This
swim is a huge mental challenge - freezing, and hating it and knowing that the
next day you have to swim eight more hours. This is the swim where most people
question why and what they came to do. The group struggled, including myself.
Even knowing I have done it before does not make it any easier!
The sensation of
jumping into 15 degree water is quite shocking. For the first two minutes your
chest restricts, your head hurts with a massive ice cream headache (and without
the benefit of having eaten yummy ice cream), and you flail around. As you
start swimming your body feels tight and it feels very hard to stretch out in
your stroke. Then after about 2 minutes, the intensity eases and you almost
drift into a state of heaven. Your body has at this point reached a nice
numbness and your breath calmed down and each stroke seems easier. This point of numbness doesn’t last however,
and slowly over the coming hours your body aches and fights the cold, your
hands and fingers curl (the dreaded “claw”) and you feel the cold seep into
your core. As you get colder there is no hope of warming up and this is where
the games begin as you challenge yourself to push through the physical signs which
are telling you to stop before you get hypothermia and the mental knowledge
that you can do this, you just have to push through.
 |
| Lochie Hinds and I |
By the end of the
three hours, some had pulled out early and were mentally and physically spent –
with the impending doom of eight hours ahead the next day, there were lots of
doubts hanging over the team’s heads. When I got back from work that evening,
the team had regrouped, swum again in the afternoon and had prepped their
nutrition plans for the following day. It was a great opportunity to have a
good chat and share with them my similar experiences in 2012.
Tomorrow was do or
die, they could do this, it was the camp goal and the reason they were there,
and they had to break through the physical and mental barriers they would face,
because that was it. After the eight hour swim there would only be a couple
more short Cold Water Swim Camp sessions and they had already ticked those
boxes.
For the eight hour
swim, we joined forces with the fantastic Melbourne Black Ice swim squad. In
preparation for the challenge the next day, we had dinner on Friday night and
it was great to see so many familiar faces from last year. It was thanks to
them that we would have such an awesomely organized event the next day, with
hot water urns, support crew, support swimmers etc., all the things that make
it possible to achieve a crazy goal like swimming eight hours in very cold
water!
The day began at
5am. The house was a hive of activity as thermoses were filled, last minute bags
packed and we trekked down to Brighton Baths ready to hit the water at 6am
sharp.
The sun had not yet risen so everyone donned glow sticks and flashing
lights and headed out between the bars into Port Phillip Bay. There is
something quite surreal about swimming from the darkness and into dawn. It is
such a calming experience….and that is certainly something coming from me! As the pinks, oranges and yellows filled the
sky, I was reminded of the poem “Red sky at night, shepherds delight, red sky
in the morning, shepherds warning” and just hoped with all my might that the
day ahead would be a good one!
The water was icy,
and with no sunshine on my back to warm me, the first few hours were difficult.
I found it very challenging - I had no-one of equivalent pace to swim with, and
spent almost the entire day swimming on my own. This is a very lonely experience
and in a training swim adds to the mental challenge ahead. The “claw” had begun
at the end of the second hour meaning my swim catch was less effective, and I
could definitely see that my toelerance to the cold water was greatly impeded
by the loss of some of my Channel weight. Thankfully, company arrived from
Black Ice swimmer Doug on hour 2.5. This saved me, because at that point, I was
really questioning my ability to make eight hours and wondered if I could pull
out at six. I also knew that fellow Channel swimmer and MIMS swimmer, Dougal
Hunt, who had been one of my great Channel supporters in the lead up to 2012,
was coming down to support me, and knew he would be shocked, surprised and
disappointed if he found me out of the water. Ego can be a very powerful tool
if you know how to harness it properly!
Onwards I swam,
focusing on ticking off each loop. I was swimming out to the poles, around the
breakwater, through the marina and back to the baths, a 2.7km loop taking
roughly 45 minutes. I calculated I had 10 loops to swim that day and focused on
getting to 5, and then working my way back down to 0.
The support crew
on deck at Brighton Baths were amazing. Every time I came in, people would grab
my bottle, food, painkillers, basically anything I asked for and pass it down
to me on a bucket. I trod water for five minutes or so (very luxurious,
normally I feed in sub 30 seconds when racing!) and would have a chat, lingering
to avoid the inevitable! Eventually, Andrew Vidler from Black Ice, would yell
at me to get going again, and plead as I may, I knew there was no getting out
yet!
At five hours,
Vlad joined me on his kayak. What a coach! By now the wind was up to 35 knots
and it was extremely rough. What is that rhyme about the red and orange dawn? Vlad
took it all in his stride, paddling amongst us all rotating round and round,
making sure we were ok, and watching our technique and correcting our stroke.
It was great to have him by my side for half and hour and helped me pick up my
pace and break the monotony.
The support crew
throughout the entire day was simply amazing. Coach Charm was on deck all day
long, checking our stats and making sure everyone stayed safe. After 2012,
where two of our swimmers went hypothermic, there is a very real danger is
these swims. There was a lot to manage with sixteen swimmers in the water. The
professionalism and organization by Charm and Vlad and the Black Ice team made
it a very safe experience for us all.
However, the highlight
of my day came at the six hour mark when I was treading water drinking nice hot
black tea with stacks of sugar and dreaming of scones. I precociously asked if
anyone had some scones to go with my tea, where upon a freshly baked muffin by
the wonderful Sandy from Black Ice appeared in my bucket! I couldn’t believe my
luck: hot tea, fresh muffin, smiling support crew, if I wasn’t freezing in the
water, I would have thought I was on holidays! Sandy said there would be one
more waiting for me when I finished… well that was one delightful thought for
the next two hours!
Of course with the
multiple laps we were all doing you do come across some of the other swimmers.
We all took the opportunity to have a quick chat where possible, after all
today was about time in the water, not the distance. “Team Awesome” (Ben, Cae
and Rachael) stayed together the whole day – and amazingly achieved a milestone
none of them thought possible. I was so super proud to see them lap after lap,
especially after the previous days of self-doubt.
 |
| High 5's to the team! |
Finally it was six
minutes to go and we all entered the Baths to be told the magic words “two laps
of the baths to go”. None of the other swimmers had watches so they never had
any idea of how long they had been swimming, a great training technique for a
Channel swim, as you never know how long it will take you. Thankfully I was
allowed to keep my watch as I was practicing my pacing and needed to get my
kilometre splits to keep an eye on that. We all sprinted two laps of the Baths
and joyously climbed out of the water to cheers, claps and hugs. What a great
day!
I was so proud of
the Team, they had all achieved an incredible milestone towards their own
journey to the Channel, and in doing so had gained a vital mental toughness
that would serve them well in their challenges ahead. And by doing it with
them, it kept me going when I really would have rather-ed not!
Our amazing
coaches and the amazing support from all the Black Ice crew and each other had
made the day possible, and I am so grateful that when I took up this crazy
sport, that I have been able to find so many people willing to help me achieve
my goals, and be able to share in my training buddies achieving theirs.
Not long after
emerging from the water I was on the plane heading back to Sydney. After a
quick twelve hour stopover at home I was heading to the USA to embark on one of
the toughest challenges in my swimming career – S.C.A.R: a four day stage race through
four canyons in Arizona, covering an approximate distance of 68kms. The
excitement about this challenge was palatable, and I was stoked that my mother
would be joining me as my support crew to paddle a kayak beside me the whole
way. Definitely a new take on mother/daughter bonding!
