Today saw Swim buddy Shark and I head to Swimyourswim at Hatfield, who were hosting the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) G.B Championships. Not because we were swimming, hell no! But because Shark had volunteered our services to help. I am under no illusion that they snapped our hand off because Shark is a nurse, as I have no real skills suitable for such occasions, except perhaps that I am excellent at cheering (loudly as it happened). My dad used to refer me to as Foghorn Leghorn as a child, and I knew that one day this ‘skill’ would come in really handy! Today I felt sure would be that day.
By the time we had arrived to a very sunny Hatfield. The swimming was well under way, and all of the important jobs had been delegated. As this was the case Shark and I decided to give ourselves the unofficial role of cheerleaders. We also decided that this would only include the cheering part of the job, and not the acrobatic part, on account of the fact that we didn't have a decent pair of knees between us, and my left elbow clicked quite badly when put under undue stress (some certain cheerleading stunts, like for example, lifting Shark above my head, would cause this to happen), however before any of this could happen we decided it best to prioritise, and by this I mean going to the club house and buying some raffle tickets (damn, the prizes were good), getting myself one of the IISA swim caps, which I shall be shamelessly wearing to the pool, despite not earning the right to, and of course some coffee.
It was great to see so many people supporting the event, and was lovely to catch up with some of my swim family again after what must feel like a lifetime since they saw me last (although they didn’t appear to be worse for wear for the lack of seeing me). One of which was Deb (and the lovely Mary), who instead of swimming as I had expected her to be, was stood on the side watching. She was nursing a cold, which meant she wasn’t fit to swim. Whilst we were there she told us how disappointed she was not to be competing, and shared with us of her experiences from last year. I have to say that she was so compelling and enthusiastic that both Shark and I decided there and then, on the back of it, that we would enter next year’s event. Only the very shortest distance mind…
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| Lakeside and ready for some cheering! |
We watched the swimmers in awe (from the side whilst nursing our hot drinks), they were really something else, despite being exposed to water temperatures as low as the five degree Celsius, which incidentally was proper cold, I know, I stuck my finger in to check, they were ploughing through the water with hardly a ripple. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was a lot warmer, they made it look so easy.
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| Yep, really cold. |
After lunch, the sun disappeared for a bit, and in the cold light of day I’ll be honest, the reality of our earlier enthusiasm had waned somewhat, and I remembered that I suffer really badly from ice cream headaches when swimming in cold water. I also remembered that had one toe that when cold showed signs of Raynaud’s Syndrome and I also remembered several other very good reasons why I really ought not swim after all next year, and on the back of this we agreed, despite Shark having no legitimate reason not to, to downgrade our next year’s visit to just turning up to cheer again, after all, best to stick to something you’re good at, right?
The IISA was such a well organised, great event for the very bravest of swimmers, who I’m sending tons and tons of Kudos to. I’m not actually sure what Kudos is, but I’m told it’s good to give it to people that achieve great things. Shark and I had a blast cheering (very loudly) the swimmers on, and catching up with our swim family and other both national and international swimmers, and even though I didn’t win a single thing on the raffle (which I am a bit bitter about, as I had my eye on one of the kit bags), I had a truly great day.
Once again, thanks for reading, and if you have enjoyed my blog, my book Open Water Woman Swims Windermere is available in paperback and electronically on Amazon.
Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Open-Water-Woman-Swims-Windermere/dp/1980614660/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546178539&sr=8-1&keywords=open+water+woman+swims+windermere
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