The day after I had my first DNF (did not
finish) in a swimming event and/or training session is bright and sunny. As strange as this sounds I actually want to
go for a swim.
Gone is the sadness and extreme frustration
of having to end my swim early yesterday because of a very painful jellyfish sting under the arm. I tried and I failed, but I only failed because I tried.
I would guarantee 99.9% of the population
would not even attempt this swim knowing they had to start in the middle of the night, there
were jelly fish everywhere and huge seas and a stormy afternoon predicted for the
second half of the swim. I am proud of
been able to swim a further 11km in pain from where I was stung by blue bottles
before tipping my hat to the Apolima Channel.
I have a few take aways from this swim.
- Adversity:
- You could not have planned a worse start than what I had yesterday. Not only did I get stung by blue bottle jellyfish we also spent a considerable amount of time swimming blind in the dark without a lead boat guiding me. As you can see from the start of the track we were more or less put into a holding pattern until our support boat found us. It was only then we could leave the safety of the reef and head out into the deep water.
- Shoulders:
- i need to work on the acid buildup in my shoulders over a period of a weeks training in the open water.
- Support crew:
- My support crew need to know what to do when and if something like this happens in the channel
Even though I did not complete the swim I have learnt a lot about some of my limitations and how far I can extend myself after having things not go to plan.
