Building strength in open water

Mental Health Swims Community Engagement Manager Sarah Groves has moved her training outdoors and in new places

My training plan for my Windermere swim finally has me immersing myself into open water twice a week and it’s refreshing (quite literally) to get outdoors and start building up those open water arms.

I’ve been swimming at a few different places because balancing training around work, holidays, general life stuff and venue opening times is challenging, especially when I have to complete my weekly open water swims two days in a row to build up endurance. Nevertheless, the faff has been worth it as there’s more space than the pool, it’s peaceful and I often find my body dysmorphia easier to manage in these environments. However, as expected, a different kind of feeling has emerged – an irrational fear of the dark depths.

One venue has a stunning 500m course but the water is that dark shade of green and there’s one stretch where I get a strong feeling of panic. I don’t know if it’s because there are lots of plants reaching up from below to tickle my feet or if it’s the fact that I’ve seen the size of some of the fish in there when I’ve been paddleboarding, all I know is that I want to get out immediately.

How do I deal with this? I’ll be honest, it takes quite a bit of radical acceptance and self-negotiation to battle through, and I tend to take it 15 mins at a time, telling myself that if I still want to get out once the time has passed, I can. These negotiations can sometimes go on for the whole swim if I’m feeling particularly anxious. I also try alternating strokes to calm myself down, with some breaststroke for the shorter stretches so I can look at the surroundings whilst telling myself I am safe and I can do this. It can be mentally exhausting, but not every swim is like this, and I figure that the more I do it, the easier it will become.

I have also been swimming in some delightful locations which have eased some of my fears, like the Lenches Lakes, which have a kind and welcoming team, a gorgeous lake and some delicious cakes for refueling afterwards. Also Lake Annecy, where I recently spent the week swimming in the clearest water I have ever experienced and Llyn Tegid, which I have a fondness for after swimming the length on a whim a few years ago. It was cold and choppy yet delightfully invigorating.

It’s been a real joy to experience different places, weather and temperatures and, despite my fears, I think it’s building my mental resilience as well as my physical fitness.

Support Sarah’s end-to-end Windermere swim at givewheel.com/fundraising/6312/sarah-swims-windermere/