Almanac Swimming: Post Pier to Pub 2024 Reflections

Pier to Pub 2024 Reflections

 

The P2P 2024 is over, done and dusted for another year, and as in previous years, it has been another successful event on the open swimming calendar.

 

I was pleased with my swim. My time of 23.11m placed me 39^th in the Men’s Legends section (70-79yrs) out of 140+  participants, my best time and placing for a number of years. I always endeavour to be in the top 25% of my age group so I’m getting back to where I was a few years ago.

 

As always, my pre-swim apprehensions didn’t lead to anything, those concerns dissipating once I hit the water. My only hiccup occurred the night before. Conscious of the fact I feel the cold more readily these days, I considered wearing a rash suit under my wetty but lo and behold, when trying them on, I realised I could not fit into my wetty anymore – too much Christmas pud and other pleasures obviously made a statement with my body. Panic set in, it was either swimming sans wetsuit or trying to hire or buy one in Lorne on the morning of the event. Fortunately there was a wetsuit for hire my size, it fitted well, and with long sleeves, so I took the purchase option. A good fitting wetsuit certainly makes the task of swimming much easier.

 

The conditions were good for swimming, not too much wind and the tide was incoming so no extra resistance there. Many swimmers remarked about the coldness of the water but my new wetty was doing its job.

 

I employed my pre-swim strategy of swimming on the inside , the shoreline side, with the marker  buoys easy to keep in sight, consequently no zig-zagging on my account as in previous swims.

 

Swimming is all about rhythm. Usually I take a  breath every four strokes in the pool but recognise from past experiences in the ocean I’d need to revert  to a breath every stroke at some stage soon after the start, particularly if my start was a quick one over the first fifty metres or so. This year I took a starting position behind the more competitive swimmers rather than joining them on the starting rope. I settled for a position in the ‘second row’ and approached the start in a more laid back fashion. Missing all the congestion and chaos at the start was a good move.

 

I quickly found my rhythm and was very pleased with my new wetsuit, not as constricting as my previous suit, the long sleeves made a big difference as my arms generally feel the cold more so than elsewhere. My previous suit had been too tight across my chest I now acknowledged and had made it more difficult for me to take in the adequately required deeper breaths to maintain my breathing rhythm. Once your breathing rhythm is stable everything else falls into place. The positives accruing from the new wetsuit placed me in the right frame of mind.

 

My rhythm was good, I was overtaking fellow swimmers and not many were passing me, and pleasingly, I was maintaining a straight course along the buoys, so I felt I was doing well.

 

Usually, when you reach The Point, or just beyond, this is the time you often feel you have hit the wall. You feel as though you have been swimming for ages but going nowhere. When looking up the surf club seems as far away as it did when you started. A feeling of ‘jogging on the spot’ prevails but fortunately not so this year. I was pleasantly surprised to realise how close I was to the finish as I reached the large turning marker indicating it was a matter of hundred metres to reach the beach. Very soon I would be able to touch the bottom and commence my sprint, run, jog, walk, or crawl to the beach! Try as I did, the sprint didn’t eventuate for me, my energy levels were low, I was getting short, sharp cramps in my calves and shins, and my legs felt very heavy – a walk to finish line it had to be though I did attempt a brief sprint for a few metres until I thought the better of it and embarrassing myself with a face plant in front of thousands of people.

 

After staggering to the finish and crossing the timing device what a relief it was to have my wetsuit unzipped, have a  drink of water, and finally gather my thoughts and bearings.

 

Keen to get away from Lorne as soon as possible to miss the mass exodus I arranged to meet my fellow swimming companion, Almanacker, and friend Stan Kluzek in Deans Marsh for coffee and cake to compare notes regarding our swim.

 

Bring on 2025!

 

Check out my pre-swim thoughts Here.

 

 

More from Col Ritchie can be read Here

 

 

 

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