Caitlins Year of Swim

With the new year coming up it's time to reflect on the year that was!

We caught up with our Ambassador Caitlin recently and reflected on Caitlin about the year that was . In the past year Caitlin has completed some amazing swimming acheivements including a double crossing of Lake Taupo. 

 


2022 what a year it has been! Lot of challenges and lots of ups and downs. 

My year started with a solid training block kicking off with a 100km week made up of 15km each day. This was great physical and mental training as it pushed me in all areas of my swimming.

The week after that I attended a swim camp in the pool. I managed to hit some good pace and work on my technique whilst also getting about 70km of distance for the week.

These two big distance week set me up nicely for what was to come.

Photochromic mirror gogglesPhotochromic mirror goggles

Early March I completed my biggest swimming achievement by swimming a double Lake Taupo. At 3pm on the 5th of March the team and I left Taupo Yacht Club and headed towards the other side of the lake.

It was a little bit of a choppy start but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. My stroke felt good and I was both nervous and excited to get this swim underway.

 

Alana Park before a triathlonAlana Park before a triathlon

The first 30km flew by but when it got dark the last 10km of the first lap started to challenge me mentally.  I couldn’t see how far I had till I finished the lap but eventually I reached the other side.

For the first lap I ate Gu gels, Powerade and lollies this is my typical nutrition for an endurance event but because of the distance I also had lasagne and other solid food. 

Turning around was a mentally challenging thing, I wasn’t sure if I could make it but I knew I had to try.

The first 20km of the second lap was hard and I was tired, but once the sun came up and I had reached 60km I knew I could make, it was just a matter of keeping consistent.

On the afternoon of the 6th of March I arrived at the Taupo Yacht Club, the feeling was so amazing, I had so many friends and family all waiting there for me. After 28 hours of swimming I had finally made it.

 

A few months after Lake Taupo the crew and I headed overseas to Japan.

Tsugaru Strait is a stretch of water between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan. From point to point this swim is 19km but because of currents, tide and weather this swim can be over 30km.

One challenging part of this swim was being in a different country, with different food and a different language. Japan was an amazing place and had beautiful and kind people. 

 On the first day of my week long window we were called down to the boat to start the swim, but due to the amount of fog, we were unfortunately told to keep waiting. 

Alana Park before completing a triathlon Alana Park before completing a triathlon

This was a mental challenge for me as it meant I had to keep waiting for a few more days and hope that the weather cleared up. 

Luckily a few days later and the final day of my window we were told the swim was a GO! At 4am Japan time I jumped in the water and started to swim. Again the first 20km of the swim flew by and I was swimming well. When my coach told me I had done 20km I thought oh cool only 10km to go, but I had underestimated the tide and current.

 

Although it was flat I was being pushed around and was told to swim faster or I would miss the land. This was hard because the language barrier between the skipper and my team made it unclear how much we had to go.

I just swam as hard as I could and hoped for the best. Eventually I made it to the other side in just under 12 hours and swam over 40km. All the swims I have done had been different and all have their own unique challenges. 

Once we were back home from Japan, it was straight back into the pool to prepare for Catalina Channel Los Angeles in three weeks time.

My swimming was going really well, I was hitting fast times in the pool and I felt really strong.

 

My day for Catalina channel was planned for the 7th of August. The swim starts at 11pm to avoid the wind in the afternoons. We got down to the boat at about 5pm to take the 2hr trip over to Catalina Island.

I felt confident and was excited and rearing to go. About 30minutes before my swim start I got really nervous and anxious and this effected my swim. I managed to start and swim for about an hour but wasn’t able to calm down my anxiety. I decided to pull the pin on the swim.

It was just not my day.

 

 

 

This was a major challenge and learning curve for me and I realized that the preparation is not just about being physically prepared but also being mentally and emotionally prepared. 

My main goal at the moment is complete the Ocean Sevens which is considered the 7 toughest ocean swims in the world. I have done two out of the 7 and I am looking forward to ticking some more swims off the list in 2023!

Thank you to Zoggs for their amazing support over the past few years ! I love using all their gear.

 

You can find Caitlin on Instagram @caitlinoreilly04

Happy swimming!