So, having failed at the first hurdle, our 2nd attempt found us at Derwent Water on an equally wet but thankfully not very windy day!
Terry and Craig were doing the 3.8K (2.4mile) race so went off first at 10am. Neil and I weren't due to get in the water until 12pm and we bumped into Terry and Craig as they'd finished. They both looked tired but really happy and reassured me that the water was nowhere near as cold as the Quays or as choppy as Coniston and that we'd 'love it'!
We made our way down to a pen where we listened to the safety and route instructions and then everyone in the water to swim to the deep water start. The deep water start consisted of the starter boat instructing us all to sing and do actions to 'heads, shoulders, knees and toes' - that's quite difficult whilst treading water 20ft deep but did help to steady the nerves! Then hooter sounded and we were off!
I immediately got kicked in the face by someone which is not something you are used to in road races but apparently is part of the course in the open water! Was quite hard to get going and find your pace with 250 other swimmers around you, there was lots of crashing into each other, people pulling your arms (by accident), kicking you in head, banging into your feet etc etc but fortunately after first 75m the race spread out and it all calmed down a bit.
Neil and I have done a lot of training and have found ourselves within seconds of each other in the pool and during training so it was real Unsworth battle today over who would win - loser has to make tea! Neil shot off ahead of me within seconds of starting and I didn't see him again during whole race - however, it is pretty much impossible to recognise anyone in the mass of black wetsuits, goggles and red swimhats.
The water was lovely, nowhere near as cold as the Quays or 3 Sisters where we've been training and the views were just gorgeous as we swam around the island in the middle of Derwent Water. I found it tough going, swimming in open water means that you often feel like you are swimming and swimming and not making much distance - those buoys just never seemed to get any closer! I was convinced that Neil was way ahead and that once again I was right at the back of the pack and would be one of the last ones in. This was quite disheartening but I kept then thinking 'wow, check me out, swimming in a big lake in the middle of the hills, how great is this?' - soon cheered me up and kept me going!
The finish couldn't have come soon enough for me, it felt much longer than a mile in the pool! I stumbled over the rocks to run over the chip timing matt only to find Neil finishing just a few seconds in front of me! (32 secs to be exact!) Looks like I'm going to be on tea duty for rest of the week! However, was very pleased to find that I was nowhere near the back, nearly 80 still swimmers behind me!
I have been totally exhausted all day, really wiped out BUT I absolutely loved it! It was such a buzz finishing, very exhilarating being out in that beautiful water and I will definitely be doing another one! In fact, Neil and I have already entered Coniston 1 mile race in August for a rematch!
Results
3.8k Terry Hughes 1.19
3.8k Craig Bradbury 1.21
1 mile Clare Unsworth 37.39
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