RACEDAY: NO ORDINARY SWIM.blog

RACEDAY - NO ORDINARY SWIM

Preparations had run well. The day before the race was spent with my friend Anj at the ‘Wellness Zone’ at Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre. From the website:

The peaceful atmosphere of the Wellness Zone makes it the ideal place to relax and unwind after a busy day. MSAC’s best kept secret is hidden away on Level Three, has full disability access and its own car park entrance.

We had a really good time, swimming around the pool dotted with a wonderfully diverse group of people. They have numerous floatation devices to make it easier for anyone who visits.

RACEDAY came  and in the morning my Dad offered to drive me to Lorne. I jumped at the offer as public transport to Lorne involved connecting travel services, which haven’t appealed to me since I go stranded at 3AM in Luton Airport (London) after being late for my flight to Spain. I’ve never been to Spain, but I kinda like the music.

Dad and myself got to Lorne and it was a sea of activity. I was amazed at how easy it was to register for the event as these events often require you to line up in least one WRONG QUEUE . I guess you could only expect it to be easy, as Lorne is a far way out from Melbourne and travel doesn’t seem to keep the public patient.  

I picked up the bits and pieces I needed for the swim (cap, electronic timer etc...)  Over 5,000 people participated in this year’s event. I had contacted the NDIS and arranged for some promotional materials to be sent which I brought along. Earlier I had also shopped around the entire day with my friend Mary M to find red body paint to cover me head to toe in. We searched all day, and the only body paints we found were water-based paint which would have quickly washed off in the salt water. And it looks like RED ZINC isn’t the colour for 2012 (we found every other colout but Red in the stores).

So many people! It made me think that the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club must be the richest club in the country. I started to walk towards the Lorne pier with Dad, once I got there I stripped down into my new speedos. If I ever want to work my way into a Pro-Wrestling career I’ve got the outfit. There was so many people there (the majority in wetsuits). I couldn’t work out who was who and that didn’t matter because I knew no one but my Dad and he was wearing jeans.

When my heat was called to the water and we swum out to the start I soon realised that ocean swimming is more difficult than swimming at the indoor pools; you don’t get that PUSH OFF from the side of the pool every 30 metres, and in the ocean you’re also competing with choppy waves. I was advised not to bring my underwater music player, and that was OK because this was not going to be any ORDINARY SWIM!

MIDWAY through the swim came a Hitch. I must have started to panic a little and I found it difficult to breathe. These episodes have happened to me occasionally since leaving the State Trustees offices. It can be frustrating although it doesn’t worry me  and it’s virtually unnoticeable. I’ve rarely swum in the ocean, well over my depth and this new setting must have brought on a  subtle state of panic.  Nonetheless I swam on, albeit at a more relaxed pace.  Life guards were dotted all the way down the swim pathway.  My Dad commented before the race that there was more of a chance of receiving a SHARK ATTACK than to drown at the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club’s $GALA$ annual event.

I finished my swim. Dad had walked from the ‘Pier to Pub’ to meet me. Some people asked me what ‘NDIS’ stood for. I had all the materials to explain how important I feel it is.

RACE TIME 0:31:02

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