Event swimming: Expectation vs reality

Does your expectation of flailing limbs and being kicked in the face put you off swim events? Former competitive swimmer Naj Ellwood shares with us that this isn’t the reality. She signed up to join our Shep Shifters team at the Level Water 24-hour swim. Did it meet her expectations?

I learned to swim when I was 4. It was something we all did growing up in a small town in New Zealand – an essential life skill that I believe everyone should have access to.

My swimming ‘career’ spanned just over a decade. It largely consisted of jumping the fence and splashing about in the school pool, as well as many early mornings of training at the local pool and most weekends travelling all over the country to compete. I had incredibly supportive parents, who drove me around the country and shared the 5am starts every morning, and I became a decent swimmer, reaching a national level.

Swimming competitively taught me discipline, perseverance, and stamina. However, try as I might, my performance peaked in my late teens, and I wondered if life out of the pool was more ‘enticing’.

Swimming for fitness

Swimming remained in my life over the years – but more to keep fit, manage stress and to ‘keep me out of trouble’. My open water experience was jumping into the sea at my local beach!

My competitive streak remained firmly in its box until a chance trip to Mallorca in 2014, when I supported a friend racing an Ironman. I had that feeling in my tummy again, and I really wanted to race. But outdoors, in the sea, surrounded by giant buff athletes!?

That first race was an intense sea swim where I was kicked in the face, making my goggles leak, the harsh realisation that I really should’ve practised ‘sighting’ A LOT more! Plus, all those neoprene-covered arms and legs thrashing about – my god! At times, I thought I might well pickle my insides with the amount of salt water I drank! But I made it and hadn’t completely embarrassed myself…. and so began my love affair with swimming open water.

Racing in open water

Over the years, I entered more open water races – in lakes, rivers, sea swims – I really embraced the balance between the challenge of the elements whilst also satisfying my competitive streak. Last year I decided to train as hard as my daily life would allow it to see how well I could do in some of these races. Turns out I did pretty well, but ultimately, I missed the camaraderie and team support that I craved from my swimming club days as a kid.

That’s when an ‘extra’ email from the team at ‘my swimming magazine’ (as it’s affectionately named in my house) landed in my inbox most serendipitously. That was it – I was meant to apply for this team.

After I applied for Outdoor Swimmer’s Wild Swim Relay team, all the usual doubts and questions set in. Was my application compelling enough? What were they looking for? Was I quick enough? Was I too quick? Was I the right fit!? You get the jist… So, when I had a message from Rowan saying I’d made the first cut, I thought yes – it’s on! Oh, hang on… this was my chance to pull out on my own accord, could I commit to this after years of swimming on my own!? … Ah yep, I’m jumping in with two feet was my response, which shortly followed up with a very welcome ‘welcome to the team’ message.

Then reality hit…

Managing expectations

I was a mixed bag of emotions on the 6-week run-up to the event. I was nervous and excited, constantly asking myself ‘what about this’ and ‘what happens here’, ‘what will I eat!?’ (I’m the sort of person who likes to know what’s for dinner before I’ve even had breakfast) and holy shit – how am I going to cope with swimming at night!? Then… don’t get me started on the camping logistics – will I be able to sleep, where will I sleep?

I didn’t have many answers, but I thought, it’ll all be ok – it’s swimming, that’s always great, and everything else will fall into place.

After the chat began on our WhatsApp group, I was dazzled at the diverse swimming experience within this group – aptly named ‘The Shep Shifters’ – from channel swimmers to some seriously adventurous dippers. I was excited to see all the wonderful places that the ladies were swimming – I felt I was beginning to get to know everyone through their swimming spots, and not long after through their tastes in music with our collective playlist. And I couldn’t wait to meet them all.

Living in London means I can usually only swim in pools, and I wondered if this would be enough. I knew I was more than capable of swimming in open water, but could I swim for an hour on repeat? I knew I wouldn’t be able to practice night swimming, so I accepted that and focused on what I could control. Swimming for an hour is still a challenge, even though I’ve been in the water my whole life. I felt that I really needed to work on my pace and endurance, so I didn’t run out of steam.

So, I set about creating a rudimentary system of swimming: an hour in the morning before work, then about 10 hours later, another hour after work, and then again in the morning for the third hour. I did all my training at Parliament Hill Lido in Hampstead – a beautiful pool that’s almost on my way to work. I also managed a few swims at West Reservoir – a true swimming haven in the city that provided me with some lake exposure. So, with a few of those routines in the bag, along with some extra weight sessions and spin classes at the gym, I was as ready as I could be. No, I hadn’t prepared for the lack of sleep, but I figured the event atmosphere and adrenaline would help with any fatigue that would come.

The reality

When I arrived at Shepperton Lake, I was anxious. I had baked some cakes the night before, which usually settles my nerves, but I’d done a panicked re-pack due to the weather and really wasn’t sure where anything was. Had I packed the right swimsuits? I’m a little particular when it comes to swimsuits. I have a large (some would say unhealthy!) collection, but you know we all have our favourites, right?

I arrived tent-less due to the space and began to worry whether this was going to work out ok.

As soon as I got to our camping spot, the worry was over! It was a hectic swirl of ladies busy putting up tents, unpacking, offering homemade delights, and chatting, getting acquainted. I’d forgotten how refreshing it was to meet new people, it had been some time since I’d been in this sort of situation, so many people to get to know and stories to share – it was also satisfyingly exhausting!

Then came the generous goody bags. Zone3 spoiled us with brilliant swim essentials – caps, goggles and a fab swimsuit each! Plus, the team from Wilda, who have designed the most gorgeous wetsuits, generously gifted us with some awesome hats and long-sleeved tees. How spoilt were we?

It was obviously the perfect time for our first photoshoot in our new cossies! And the first of many stripping off and getting changed in front of everyone – of course with just the right amount of decency – side boob acceptable but keep the rest to the imagination – ha!

The swimming

And so the swimming began – on the hour, every hour – simple right? Ashleigh was first up, kicking us off nicely. I was last in the group, which meant I had some time to kill, but could also take bits of advice from the team about their experience and build myself some solid preparation.

As a team, we had agreed to ‘watch’ the swimmer who was in the water two hours before we were – a job I took very seriously, especially at 1am! It was a nice way to ensure there was always someone there for you, looking out for you, and a friendly face at the end of the hour in the water. Debbie – thank you for watching me; I greatly appreciated it!

Then there was the rain. And the lack of sleep. We all had varying abilities in this area – some of us being able to power nap at any time of the day or night. And others who couldn’t, and simply embraced the ethereal atmosphere of the event in the small hours. I just about snuck in two 45-minute naps, which left me feeling recharged enough for my final swim but also with dazed memories of the feeling I had at Glastonbury some years back!

The gorgeous lake had beautifully clear water, and the passionate Level Water team, who literally had smiles on their faces the entire weekend, were amazing organisers. I loved the fellow swimmers, the random chats in the water (most memorably my night swim where the banter was based around a flamingo dressed in Christmas lights and a floating unicorn!) and our team – supporting each other in many ways – from a well-timed cuppa and some energy-boosting rocky road or flapjacks to a delirious sleep deprived chat to a silent helping hand when you were too chilly to ask – we were bloody brilliant!

I also loved the final lap – as the final swimmer, I had the honour of closing the swim, and lucky for me, Debs, Hazel, and Rowan joined me in the water on my final lap. As the rest of the swim was obviously done in isolation, it was such a joy to lap up (great pun!) the atmosphere one last time together.

Reflecting

The event gave me a well-needed reminder as to why I swim. I swim because I always have, I swim because I’m good at it, and I swim because it’s the thing I enjoy doing the most. But mainly, I swim because wherever or whenever I swim, it quite simply makes everything else better.

The days after the relay swim, I felt a little lost and rather lonely. It was a strange mix of smug accomplishment and missing the team and the fun new chats that were there in abundance. But I was also super proud of us all. We’d done something amazing and helped an awesome charity continue to give the gift of swimming to those in need.

So, whatever the next journey is I’m about to embark on – either in swimming or in life – I shall forever hold a special place for the Shep Shifters in my heart. So, thank you, Ashleigh, Debbie, Debs, Ella, Hazel, Jane, Lisa and Rowan – you’ve certainly all left a mark on me, and I can’t wait for our next adventure!