DECATRIATHLON SWIM
REPORT
FOLLOWING THE YELLOW
LINE!!
24 Miles in a 50 metre Olympic pool sounds a long haul, 21
miles will get you over to France from dear old blighty so you can imagine what
the swim phase of Deca was like? Or can you? 760 lengths is hard to prepare for
mentally but to be honest it went like a dream!
Having trained in Cambridge outdoor Lido and Abbeycroft
Leisure Centre I simply practiced length after length in a wet suit. Boring but
necessary!! On the plus side the water temperature in Bury was 29/30 degrees,
in Monterrey outdoor pool it was 24-26 degrees so I was confident I wouldn’t
overheat. The water temperature was perfect!! I was happy………………..
As we entered the water I had practiced and practiced the
first 2 hours, I had focused on a smooth steady stroke rhythm in training.
After a few lengths I realised that my pace was slightly quicker than the other
athletes so my confidence grew quickly. Breaks for food and drink were kept
short and sharp. As the blazing sun rose in the Monterrey sky it was blinding,
I had to close my eyes as I breathed and open them to look at the bottom of the
pool. I focused on the central yellow line of the lane. I was feeling good,
strong and confident, my training and preparation had been spot on.
As day turned to night my ritual of stopping every 30
minutes to feed changed to counting 10 lengths as I struggled to concentrate,
it worked perfectly, fatigue in the shoulders was making it difficult to lift
my arms out of the water and I had strayed into the lane ropes a couple of
times!!
I had planned on 18
hours but as I slowed I exited the water in 19 hours 37 minutes, we had got it
right!! I had created an early gap so we decided to sleep for a couple of hours
before going to work on the bike! I had been swimming since 8am and it was now
3.37am the following day! A top tip on the swim received from the race director
was to smother your hands and feet in sudocrem to prevent them from softening
too much and the skin splitting, causing problems on the bike. Something I
neglected on the swim was applying sun screen to my face, as a result I was
quite badly burnt on my left cheek and ear. Lesson learnt!!
Phase 1 complete now it was time for the bike! The majority
of my training was focused around the bike so let’s go to war! I simply thrive
on being in the saddle, it brings me to life!!! Me and Pete made a plan now it
was time to put it into place…………………..
Phase 2 tomorrow! How I suffered on the bike. It was
relentless………….1800 laps in searing heat!!
The warm up was over so now it was down to business……………………
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