Happy Swimmer
Scrivener Dam After Sunrise
Start Scrivener Dam Boom
Team Meeting before the Start
Finish Grevillea Beach
Team Discussion after the Race
Spot the Newbie
On Sunday 8th November 2009, I swam the length of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra in the Sri Chinmoy National Capital Swim. A distance of 9.5k.
It was the first time I attempted to swim this distance.
I finished 7th in my category, solo swimmers under 50 no wetsuit, and 11th overall (out of 11 solo no wetsuit finishers!)
All solo finishers were presented with trophies, so it was also my first trophy for an open water swim.
Thanks to excellent help from my paddler Peter, some great coaching and endurance training from Coach Chad, and priceless advice on long-distance swimming from Helen, there was never a time when I doubted that I would complete the race.
Thanks to my training buddies at Sea's The Limit who kept me honest in the winter morning training squads. Especially Suzie, who swam behind me every lap at training, thoughtfully tapping my toes every time I slackened off. And Joanne, who bravely continues to swim in my lane, after I accidently knocked her out in the pool while reaching for the finish of a 100m target swim.
My time 3:45:37 was 10 minutes under the target time I had set myself for the race.
My swimming pace would have been around 3hrs30, I was still feeling strong at the end, so I could probably have done without the 15-odd minutes wasted at long drinks breaks and stretching my legs at the transitions.
The race comprised 4 legs for the relay swimmers:
Leg 1 - Scrivener Dam Boom to Weston Park, about 1.8k. Winding part of the lake through bushland. I started strong and settled into a relaxed rythm. I was enjoying this. The water was warmer than I expected, about 20c-21c. Time 38 min, 5 minutes under my target.
Leg 2 - Weston Park to Yarralumla Bay, about 2.8k. Surprise! As a single skull rower travelling backwards didn't see us and passed between me and my paddler. Luckily Pete yelled out and the rower lifted his oar and missed my head. He didn't know the rowing course was closed. After about 4k into the race, starting to feel the distance, a bit sore in one shoulder and a little leg cramp. Time 66 minutes for this leg, overall still 5 minutes under target.
Leg 3 - Yarralumba Bay to Commonwealth Place Jetty, about 2.9k. Stopped at the beach at Yarralumba Bay for a couple minutes for a drink and to stretch my legs. Feeling ok as I set off again, back into a strong rythm. Long section in open water to the first bridge, in the widest section of the lake. It seemed like I was making slow progress. Couple of stops for a drink. Time 82 minutes for this leg, starting to fall behind target.
Leg 4 - Commonwealth Place to Grevillea Beach Finish, about 1.9k. Not far to go, feeling good, started stretching out and going harder, put on a bit of a sprint finish, big smile as I stood up in the water and crossed the finish line. Time 39 minutes for this section (a reverse split!), so I picked up 10 minutes on my targeted finishing time. Probably means I could have gone harder in the middle of the race.
It was a lovely swim and conditions on the day were perfect.
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