Goggles at Dawn

  Two weeks and two days after our adventures in the Strait (and no, I still can't remember what was going on immediately before and after my departure from the water ...) a few people have asked about the general physical and mental effects of such a day out.  Here are a few recovery-related surprises I've experienced.  Pain ... or lack of. I thought that I'd be in muscular agony after the swim, but strangely, that didn't happen. The day after the swim I had a little stiffness in my arms and back, and I was certainly aware of my shoulders, but I've been in more discomfort after some of our training swims. After Chopper in 2019 I was barely able to move my arms enough to dress myself for two days! On Saturday two days after swimming my legs ached a lot and felt very heavy. The best solution was 'legs up the wall' ( Yoga with Adriene ) and a kick set at the pool. I had some twinges, but essentially, arm and shoulder mobility were not much affected. The most p...

She doesn't have a blog, but having added the 40.2km  Lake Taupō swim to a phenomenal swim resume that includes the English Channel and Cook Strait, here are  Gráinne's reflections on her 1 April south-north crossing of the largest lake in New Zealand. Ten things I learnt when swimming Lake Taupō I started my open-water swimming aged ten in Pickie Pool, an unheated outdoor saltwater pool fed by the sea in Bangor, Ireland; I loved the fun swims which grew in length as I did. At 16 I represented Ireland at the inaugural World Open Water Swimming Championships completing the 25km swim. The following year I became the first Irish female to swim the English Channel, and I swam at a high level for years winning the 17km Ladies Irish Open Water Swimming Championship seven times between 1991 and 2001. In 1998 I emigrated to NZ and completed some NZ swims including the Cook Strait (2001) and was named NZ Master Swimmer of the Year in 2001. Then I spent most of 10 years either pregna...