At 07:19am I called out to my crew, who were standing ready to support me through my toughest challenge yet, ‘time on.’ And the long swim began. I had Rich and Jimbo flanking me on either side in kayaks to guide me and feed me for the duration of the swim. I was tentative with my stroke to start with, feeling out the ribs and how they would hold up. I had managed to do a few training swims the week before, which had gone well, considering. I was still worried though, that the meticulous planning we had done in the months leading to this point, would all fall apart in the first lake.
I was pleasantly surprised, as we made it out into the clear water, through the boats moored at the start of the lake. My confidence grew and I was able to relax into a relatively pain free, full and steady stroke. I was conscious not go out too fast on this first swim and tire myself out, it was certainly a marathon and not a sprint. The swim passed quickly, as I got into a rhythm, stopping briefly every 30 minutes for a quick feed. I had to remind myself at each stop to take a little extra time and get as much food in as possible. I wasn’t just feeding to get through this lake, I was feeding to keep myself fuelled for the whole challenge.
About an hour from the end, I got a searing pain in my back, it hurt every time I took a stroke on my right side. The muscles in my back had been damaged during the go-karting crash that had caused my rib fracture. This was a major issue, to say the least. It hurt so much that I was yelling into the water with each stroke. I was close enough to the end that I could assess how to tackle this problem when I got out.
A massive ferry sent waves through the water as it did a flyby when we entered the pier area at Ambleside, north of the lake. As I reached the end and stood up, a crowd of people standing on the beach gave me a round of applause, which was a lovely surprise. They were there supporting another swimmer who had also just finished swimming Windermere.
My crew were ready for action, got me out of the wetsuit, to clean it in preparation for the next lake. It is important to try and reduce the contamination between lakes, due to invasive plant species killing off marine life. They got me warm, fed and a drink in hand to fuel me for the next lake. When I stood up my back pain almost vanished. I hoped it had just been a spasm of some sort and nothing to worry about.
For support vehicles we had Graham’s minibus and Max’s car. In his haste to get to the next lake Max hit a rock, giving him not one, but two punctures. I tried not to catastrophise what this meant. I just sat in the minibus munching away trying not to get stressed about the situation. This is where I knew the guys would spring into action and sort it out. I had to focus on swimming, whilst the six of them could focus on the logistical issues. They drove me to the south of Coniston for the next swim, whilst phone calls were being made to get the car fixed.
Within half an hour of starting this swim, the pain in my back returned in full force. I was seriously concerned as to whether I could finish all the lakes. It was already impacting my speed and slowing me down. I kept thinking that I just needed to get to the end, take some pain killers and use the roller on my back to ease out the pain. These thoughts went round and round my head. At the next feed stop I asked for pain killers, I could not wait any longer.
Over the next couple of hours, I made it through the swim without too much incident, I could not really enjoy it, but the pain did subside a bit. At the end of Coniston, I could not have been happier to get out. It wasn’t a feeling of achievement at having just swum the 1st and 3rd largest lakes back-to-back (about 27km) it was more a relief that I could try and work out how to manage the pain.
Stripped of my wetsuit I lay down in the car park with my foam roller and eased out the pain in my back muscles. Which in itself was a certain kind of torture. This was going to be a constant theme through the rest of the challenge. As I finished and got into the minibus, I caught a glimpse of a very moody storm cloud through the trees. It did not look promising. Leading up to the event I had been checking the weather constantly, as if checking would somehow make the forecast better. It didn’t. Heavy rain and lots of it was promised, it looked like the heavens were about to deliver.
At Elterwater, a 15-minute drive away, I was preparing to swim one of the shortest lakes just as fat, heavy blobs of rain thudded down on us. The wind picked up at a pace, forcing Joe backwards in his kayak. He had to paddle hard just to stay still. There was no time to mess around, so I jumped in and started swimming as quickly as possible. Whilst the rain did not bother me in the water, the wind made it much harder going. To add to the fun, this lake was very shallow in places, full of fallen trees, lily pads and plant life to navigate. At times I could barely even do breaststroke without plunging through the muddy bottom. Joe did his best to help carve a path through the lily pads. Thunder boomed overhead, quickly followed by a flash of lightning.
This was another big worry, that I would be forced out of the water due to the danger of lightning. We were in the middle of the lake at this point, so we just had to keep going. We battled to the other side of the lake and were incredibly happy to be off the water, although it looked as though the worst of the storm had passed. Typical!
Back in the minibus, I tried to take on more food. I usually love to eat, but when I’m forcing it down and knowing that it might come back up in the next swim it’s not so pleasant.
Grasmere and Rydal were the next two lake, which were nice and quick. The water was lovely and calm after the storm and no major issues to deal with. The planning was paying off, everyone knew where they needed to be and what their job was, significantly reducing unnecessary stress.
Brothers Water was the shortest of the lakes and therefore I thought it would be nice and warm. Wrong! It was by far the most cold so far, properly freezing. I realised as I was swimming, that small bodies of water warm up quickly but cool down quicker. The weather had been poor in the lead up and these lakes were fed by run off from the surrounding hills and mountains, which was obviously very cold. I was very happy it was a short lake.
Ullswater was just a few minutes up the road, and this was the one I had been building up in my head to be the worst. It was the second longest lake of the challenge, and when I had seen it for the first time on the recce weekend, I was intimidated by just how vast it appeared, with the mountains looming over the water’s edge. When we arrived the water was like glass, completely still and the sun was setting giving us a beautiful scene to swim into.
Joe and Rich were supporting me on this one, keeping close as I started the 14km swim. The water wasn’t as cold as the previous lake, but I still felt cold. I picked up the pace to get some warmth into me and the first couple of hours passed without incident. I stopped about every 30 minutes to take on some warm carbo drink. I was really struggling to keep the liquid down and lost the fight a couple of times. I knew that I could not hang around though, otherwise this swim was going to take too long and just get harder and harder. In my mind I drew on previous experiences, when I had struggled through tough times in other endurance challenges. I knew I could get through this, I just had to keep going.
Darkness descended quickly, and I was struggling to make out the boats on either side. Even when they cracked the glow sticks and turned on their head torches. My mind was playing tricks on me, and I was seeing some very odd things with the way the lights played on the water around me. I hadn’t noticed at first, but when I stopped for my next feed, I realised the rain had come in hard and was hammering it down. A few minutes later the sky lit up, like it was day time. I popped my head up and asked if that was lightning. No, nothing to see here, yelled Joe. But I knew.
The lightshow went on for the next couple of hours and I was getting increasingly worried about the danger to myself and the kayakers. I tried to inject more pace into my swim, but I felt like I was going nowhere. I wanted this lake to be over as quickly as possible. Joe told me later that they were discussing what to do if lightening hit the water. They were trying to get closer to one side of the lake so that they could get me out quickly if needed.
After what felt like an eternity I had my final feed, Rich estimated it would be about 20 minutes to the end, he could see the lights the shore crew had setup to guide us in. Unfortunately it’s very hard to judge distance when its dark, cold and pouring down. It was another 45 minutes at least before we finally got to the end. Rich and Joe were soaked-through and freezing cold, and I wasn’t feeling much better.
Russ got me into the minibus which was heated to the max. I got out of my wetsuit and stuffed two hot water bottles inside my changing robe. I was able to get some hot food inside me, but I was exhausted. I was tired from having swum 45km, but also because my body was telling me this the usual time I should be sleeping. The crew could see I was struggling and they gave me an extra 10 minutes to close my eyes and get a little sleep and properly warm up.
When we arrived at Bassenthaite, I really did not want to get back in the water. I knew that I would, but I could not think of anything less I would rather do. Leaving the warmth of the minibus was a real wrench.
Russ coaxed me along to get me to the water’s edge, into the water and to get going. Hanging around wasn’t going to make it any better. Graham and Jimbo were back in the water to guide. I tentatively stepped into the water and was pleasantly surprised that the water was not too cold. The sky was starting to lighten ever so slightly, which helped to lift my spirits. As we got towards the end of the lake 2 hours later, it was fully light, with a mist playing nicely on the water. The final few hundred metres of the lake were freezing cold. I couldn’t believe just how cold it was. And could not understand it. The water was getting shallower, so in my mind it should have been getting warmer. Those last metres were just not pleasant. When I got out, I was shivering uncontrollably. Russ was there again to greet me with hot water bottles, I almost hugged him I was so happy to get the bundles of warmth.
When I swan the Channel, I did it following Channel swimming rules; swimming trunks, goggles, and a hat only, no wetsuit. I felt like I was cheating on this challenge, before I started, but there was no way I could have done this in skins. It’s a tough enough swim with a wetsuit, let alone without. I don’t doubt though, that someone will be able to complete it without. But it needs to be done when the lakes have had a chance to warm up, a lot!
The next four lakes came thick and fast, but the sun was out shinning down and making everything feel better. A head-wind on Derwent slowed us down a bit, Buttermere was ice cold freezing me to my core. Fortunately Crummock Water was a little warmer and a tail-wind meant we made excellent time and Loweswater was by far my favourite swim. The water was lovely and warm and the sun was beating down and this time I could feel it. When I got to the end, I felt really good.
The drive to the last lake was the longest and gave me time to eat a decent meal, well maybe not a meal for champions, mac’n’cheese but it tasted good and filled me up. Wast Water is a stunning lake to look at, especially on a day with bright blue skies and sunlight shimmering on the water.
Rich and Graham were my final support crew, they were quickly ready and waiting. I walked into the water, and at the risk of repeating myself, I got a shock as the cold hit me, but I knew this was the last one. I put the pace on to help acclimatise and build some kind of warmth. It didn’t work. I was cold through to my bones and shivering in my wetsuit. My hands, feet and face felt like they were made of ice. I kept looking at my hands as they made the swim strokes, surprised at how white they appeared.
I was getting seriously worried that I wasn’t going to be able to finish this lake. Its never a good thing to let negative thoughts take hold, I knew this, but the thoughts were hard to shake. At each feed Graham gave me hot carbo drink, which really helped. I had anticipated that this swim would take 2-2.5 hours, because I was so tired. This meant I would have 3 or 4 feed stops. At the second feed stop Graham asked me what I wanted next, I told him, but was also disappointed. I had thought I had caught glimpses of the beach at the end of the lake, whilst swimming. A big no-no when swimming is to not look at the horizon. It will take as long as it will take to get there, looking at it will not get you there any quicker and it won’t seem like it’s getting any closer.
I counted one hundred breaths, to give myself something to focus on and not allow myself to look up until I had completed them. When I did look up, I was certain now that I could see the beach. As I started to count another set of one hundred, the water suddenly felt warmer, then I could see the lake bottom beneath me. I tentatively looked up at Graham. ‘Are we there?’. I wanted it to be over, and really did not want to find out that there was still another hour or so left to go. But Graham said yes, with a big smile. I could not have been more relieved!
I was directed me to the end point, I got to my feet unsteadily and made my way through the shallows to where they were pointing. I stopped my watch and raised my weary arms. We had done it! The total swim had taken 33 hours and 31 minutes, beating the existing record by 7 hours and 29 minutes.
I could not have attempted, let alone completed this challenge without the support and dedication of my crew. They made this happen and helped me turn my crazy idea into a reality. Graham, Jimbo, Joe, Max, Rich, and Russ, thank you!
