Australia Day
There is a great celebration on Australia Day - merited or not - whether the day is appropriate or not. For me, for the last few years I have found my favourite way to celebrate is to swim alongside the Opera House in the Great Sydney Swim. So this year, I did it again.
This is my account of the morning.
I slept uneasily and woke before my alarm at 6:30. By 7:15, I was driving to the station and caught a train into Circular Quay. The Quay was filled with suspiciously fit and tan individuals, all making their way north east to the side of the Opera House.
On arrival, I registered and received my race pack (the best race pack in the ocean swims scene, with actual useful things like a towel and sunscreen) and waited for my mum to arrive. We met and waited by the VIP area, where I excitedly pointed out David Warner (cricketer), and Commando and Michelle Bridges (from the Biggest Loser).
It started to rain, so I hopped under the umbrella nearby and sheltered with a family. The guy was the "swimmer" and he was wearing a dreaded Sydney University jersey, so we exchanged some light-hearted banter. My heart sank when I heard that he swam in about 39 minutes. I thought my previous year's time was 48 minutes, so he was considerably faster than me.
It got really cold. You don't dress for cold rain when you're going swimming. You dress for... water. So I started jumping up and down and trying to remain warm. In the previous years, I'd been relieved to get into the water, but this year it was quite cold.
My age group jumped in, and as usual, it was a big group of both male and female swimmers. They don't segregate it out, so if you're not a strong swimmer the first couple of hundred metres can be quite bruising.
Anyway, the start was done, and off we went. In previous years I'd been anxious about going out too fast, knowing that it's a LONG way, but this year I knew that I was able to keep going fast for quite a while, and so I did.
We got to the first buoy, and I rounded it and looked around for the next buoy. That's the thing with ocean swimming - between the buoys feels an awful long way. If I didn't wear my contact lens', I probably wouldn't even be able to spot the next buoy.
So, with a mental kick up in my head, I swam the second leg. I was feeling quite good - a lot of the swimmers were going closer to the wall on the western side of Mrs Macquaries Point, but I just kept sighting the buoy and tried to go as straight as I could.
After rounding that buoy, I got a bit confused, but luckily the lifesavers were close by, and the paddleboarder was able to direct me to the third buoy. Rounding the third buoy, I started to get tired. By then, the swim's only about half over, so I started to wonder whether I'd gone out too hard.
I kept going though, fuelled by the knowledge that I HAD to finish because I'd raised $1525 (I've now raised $1560) and my supporters were mentally cheering me on. And so I did.
We got to the fourth buoy, and that's when it really starts to feel dispiriting, because not only are you tired, it's also where you turn away from the Opera House, back east, before the final leg homeward bound.
By the final buoy, I could see the finish line. It remained in the distance for stubbornly much longer than I thought it should. In the last 100 metres or so, I increased my kick rate and stroke rate and powered hard for home.
Finally I hit the end. I was tired - it was an effort to climb back on the wharf, and I felt a bit jiggly in the legs, but I made it. And I raised heaps of money!!
Back near the VIP area, I spotted a huge idol of mine - Grant Hackett! And I managed to get a photo with him, which was just the coolest!
Later that day, the results were published, and I realised, not only was my 2013 time only 39 minutes, but in 2014 I'd beaten it by 5 MINUTES! YAY!!!!
What a great day.
This is my account of the morning.
I slept uneasily and woke before my alarm at 6:30. By 7:15, I was driving to the station and caught a train into Circular Quay. The Quay was filled with suspiciously fit and tan individuals, all making their way north east to the side of the Opera House.
On arrival, I registered and received my race pack (the best race pack in the ocean swims scene, with actual useful things like a towel and sunscreen) and waited for my mum to arrive. We met and waited by the VIP area, where I excitedly pointed out David Warner (cricketer), and Commando and Michelle Bridges (from the Biggest Loser).
It started to rain, so I hopped under the umbrella nearby and sheltered with a family. The guy was the "swimmer" and he was wearing a dreaded Sydney University jersey, so we exchanged some light-hearted banter. My heart sank when I heard that he swam in about 39 minutes. I thought my previous year's time was 48 minutes, so he was considerably faster than me.
It got really cold. You don't dress for cold rain when you're going swimming. You dress for... water. So I started jumping up and down and trying to remain warm. In the previous years, I'd been relieved to get into the water, but this year it was quite cold.
My age group jumped in, and as usual, it was a big group of both male and female swimmers. They don't segregate it out, so if you're not a strong swimmer the first couple of hundred metres can be quite bruising.
Anyway, the start was done, and off we went. In previous years I'd been anxious about going out too fast, knowing that it's a LONG way, but this year I knew that I was able to keep going fast for quite a while, and so I did.
We got to the first buoy, and I rounded it and looked around for the next buoy. That's the thing with ocean swimming - between the buoys feels an awful long way. If I didn't wear my contact lens', I probably wouldn't even be able to spot the next buoy.
So, with a mental kick up in my head, I swam the second leg. I was feeling quite good - a lot of the swimmers were going closer to the wall on the western side of Mrs Macquaries Point, but I just kept sighting the buoy and tried to go as straight as I could.
After rounding that buoy, I got a bit confused, but luckily the lifesavers were close by, and the paddleboarder was able to direct me to the third buoy. Rounding the third buoy, I started to get tired. By then, the swim's only about half over, so I started to wonder whether I'd gone out too hard.
I kept going though, fuelled by the knowledge that I HAD to finish because I'd raised $1525 (I've now raised $1560) and my supporters were mentally cheering me on. And so I did.
We got to the fourth buoy, and that's when it really starts to feel dispiriting, because not only are you tired, it's also where you turn away from the Opera House, back east, before the final leg homeward bound.
By the final buoy, I could see the finish line. It remained in the distance for stubbornly much longer than I thought it should. In the last 100 metres or so, I increased my kick rate and stroke rate and powered hard for home.
Finally I hit the end. I was tired - it was an effort to climb back on the wharf, and I felt a bit jiggly in the legs, but I made it. And I raised heaps of money!!
Back near the VIP area, I spotted a huge idol of mine - Grant Hackett! And I managed to get a photo with him, which was just the coolest!
Later that day, the results were published, and I realised, not only was my 2013 time only 39 minutes, but in 2014 I'd beaten it by 5 MINUTES! YAY!!!!
What a great day.
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