Anyone who has ever seen (or heard) me getting into cold water will know what a challenge this month's microadventure was. It doesn't even need to be very cold - anything below 'warm bath' temperature makes me shiver just thinking about it.
So after parkrun on Saturday I headed to Brrrrr-ockwell Lido in South London to brave the very NOT 'warm bath' temperatures of outdoor swimming in February. When I got there, two other brave (foolhardy?) Clapham Chasers - Jane and Henry - were already doing laps (in training for a cold water swimming race in Glasgow next month) and another (Hannah) was already in the sauna post-swim. Meanwhile... I stood on the side in my wet-suit and TWO coats, watching and thinking of every possible excuse as to why this was not a good idea.
According to www.loneswimmer.com, swimming in 5 degrees is classed as:
“F*ck!“ That’s a technical term. Swimmers like to remind people this is the same temperature as the inside of a quite cold domestic fridge. Don’t worry if you can’t remember actually swimming, getting out of the water or trying to talk. Memory loss is a fun game for all the family. This occurs usually around the middle to end of February.
So at 5.4 degrees it wasn't far off jumping inside the water jug I keep in my fridge.
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| It may LOOK like a summer's day... but don't let that blue sky fool you! |
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| With Jane and Henry by the temperature sign |
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| Two coats, and wet-suit and trying to keep my feet warm |
Cold water does funny things to your mind.... It wasn't until I'd got home, warmed up, eaten and looked at the photos that I realised I had my wet-suit on inside out!!
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| Spot the cold water newbie! |
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| What AM I doing?? |
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| This is HAPPENING |
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| 2 lengths of the 50 metre pool |
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| Gasping for breath |
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| Hot water shower (wet-suit still on inside out) |
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| How many people can you fit in a sauna?! |
After a hot shower and sauna, I decided that swimming with a wet-suit wasn't enough of a challenge. (Proving the point that cold water does indeed make you lose your marbles...)
So, off came the wet-suit and I managed half a length (25 metres) in just my cozzie...
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| Psyching myself up |
So, with my February microadventure done, we warmed up sharing a hip-flask of whisky and a brunch feast of 8 eggs and 24 chipolatas between the 4 of us. You burn more calories in the cold, right?
I can't say I'll be doing it again next weekend, and while I didn't enjoy the actual 'getting cold' part, I definitely enjoyed the whole experience, and the challenge of doing something so far out of my comfort zone.
Now off to run a nice warm bath.......
