Final days of the blog!

In case anyone's wondering/worrying, this blog won't go on forever. The funding campaign officially closes in a few days, and this will also mark the end of my posts. So if you're still pondering contributing cash to this great cause, please do it soon!!! I'd hate you to miss the opportunity ;-) Remember, the money will go towards the BLUE ScY research exchange program that sends the very best of the best diabetes research fellows from Lund University to Harvard University, MIT, or the University of Cambridge, the three top academic institutions in the world. The work done by the fellows will be absolutely top-notch diabetes-related research. What better way to invest in Diabetes Care & Cure!

Epic swim!

I got to the lake just after 6am and it was bloody cold (7oC in the air) and foggy (about 50m visibility). I stood on the dock staring out into the abyss, trying to remember which way was up the lake, as the whiteout was thoroughly disorientating. Usually when swimming in open water, you sight landmarks as you go (usually features on the horizon, the sun, or if you're desperate clouds - although they obviously move!!) by taking a 'water polo' stroke (lifting your head above the surface of the water) every few strokes. Today this was pointless, as there was nothing but fog to sight!! So with the cold and foggy conditions I had two great excuses to skip doing the swim. But I did it anyway of course :-) !!!

The water on the lake was like silk, and swimming in the fog was like being in a float tank. The cold bit into my arms and torso from the get go, and hovered over my body for the full 2hrs. At least it motivated me to keep swimming hard!!! The poor visibility forced me to hug the treeline on the way out, but the first half of the swim was a breeze, covering the 3.65 km to the turn in just under an hour. As I headed back though, the wind picked up just enough to break the surface of the water, and with cold and fatigue setting in the return was more challenging. The upside was that the breeze lifted the fog, and visibility improved considerably. After about 6 km, my right shoulder started to complain, forcing me to refocus my technique to increase body roll and improve my stroke efficiency to take some of the pressure off the joint. The cold had really set in by this point, but, with the fog gone, the marina at the end of the lake was just visible a few hundred meters away, so I pressed on to the finish. Total distance, just over 7 km according to my GPS, a little shorter than I'd estimated from the map. 

I ripped my wetsuit and swim gear off and immediately started to shiver, hands shaking and teeth chattering, as I toweled off in the car park; in a slapstick fashion I stumbled into my dry clothes, hopping around on the towel, trying to keep my balance while pulling on socks, jeans and t-shirt. Not at all glamorous, but I totally love this sh*t!!!