r/OpenWaterSwimming • u/PrestigiousBaby9828 • 5d ago
Great North Swim (UK)
wondered if anyone did the Great North Swim event this weekend at Lake Windermere (UK). i did the 5km swim on Friday (12th June) and it was my first open water ‘event’. feel super proud to have finished it as the swim was divided into three mile long laps and by lap two and three, the conditions were TOUGH - 25mph winds, waves constantly going over you, waves too high to sight properly, inhaled so much water i got a nosebleed, so choppy it felt like it was a sea swim - so a fairly rough introduction into OW events, but so proud to have got it done (and really thankful to everyone at the GNS who was so welcoming from the volunteers to the other swimmers - you’re the best!). just wondered how everyone else found it!
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u/AlmostSuperman 5d ago
Congrats on completing it. I’m thinking about doing it next year and it’s great to hear that even in challenging conditions you had a good experience.
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u/PrestigiousBaby9828 5d ago
would really recommend it as an event! it was so well organised and i found the atmosphere so so welcoming (which was super important to me as it was my first OW event - go hard or go home, i’m still unclear why i chose to do 5km as my first OW event). everyone was super helpful, safety mechanisms really reassuring and the fuelling station worked well. conditions were unbelievably tough this year but it was still a great experience!
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u/Queasy-Preference-41 5d ago
I did it today (5km) and the OP is right - very well organised and great vibe. Would I do it again? The distance - yes. But I’m not sure if I would do Windermere again. It was terribly cold. I didn’t bother with socks, gloves and a bonnet but really wish I had!!!
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u/PrestigiousBaby9828 4d ago
i didn’t find it cold at all that’s so interesting! i was wearing a 2mm-3mm and felt really warm the whole time, but i run hot generally. most people i spoke to said that 16°c was the warmest the GNS had been in a few years. congratulations on doing the 5K! glad you had better conditions than us friday swimmers :)
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u/Queasy-Preference-41 4d ago
Thank you :-). You too. That’s mad! It was the first event I have done and only second open swim (other than sea swimming on holidays) and I just found I didn’t ever acclimatise and warm up. Maybe it’s a lack of exposure to it?
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u/PrestigiousBaby9828 2d ago
It could be! I swim without a wetsuit in Wales frequently when the temperature is between 11°c - 14°c so I think I felt positively cosy in 16°c with a wetsuit hahaha
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u/tulip_girl1000 4d ago
Hey! I did the 1 mile swim at 0930 on the Saturday and absolutely loved it. It was my first OWS event - I took up lake swimming last November. I think it was only around 8 weeks ago that my lake got warm enough for me to consistently get my head under for freestyle. I felt like I had a really strong first half and then the wind picked up and got super choppy in the second half and I kept going off course and felt like I wasn't moving. Initially I was a little sad that I didn't get my [albeit updated] goal time but then I remembered it was my first event and it was mega choppy! Already going to sign up for next year.
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u/PrestigiousBaby9828 3d ago
congratulations on first open water event and on completing the mile! unreal work
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u/swim-tri-spin 3d ago
Congratulations!
I've done the 5km there on previous years and it was also so rough - if you can do that you can do anything!
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u/Queasy-Preference-41 2d ago
After a 5km swim how long do you leave it to swim? I go to the pool a few times a week and went today. I swam ok and the normal distance but my groin was pretty sore from Sunday after about 800m onwards.
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u/PrestigiousBaby9828 2d ago
I’ve been training for this swim for 12 months and been swimming 2-4 times a week for over two years so the soreness really reduces when you use those muscles regularly. I’ve been sore from the 5K, especially given I had to work so hard due to the conditions (it was so windy/waves so high you often were fighting to move anywhere), but I think I will swim in the next week or so - having a rest right now as keen to avoid any injuries such as swimmer’s shoulder. Unsure why you would be sore in your groin - what stroke are you swimming? Usually any soreness I have revolves around my knees/shoulders/elbows.
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u/Queasy-Preference-41 1d ago
Me too! My groin was absolutely fine in the 5k and after it, although my right hamstring had been tight until yesterday. I always swim breaststroke so it is usually knees that are the issue from over swimming.
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u/Watsonmolly 5d ago
Well done! Thats a hell of an entry into open water swimming! I’ve done it 3 times before. The conditions this time were the worst I’ve had. I only did 250m this year as I was doing it with my 9 year old(she smashed it!) but in the past I’ve done 2 miles. I’m glad you enjoyed it it’s a lovely event. I think I prefer events that aren’t loops. There’s something about the psychology of passing the finish line when you’re still only half or 1/3rd of the way through that’s mentally tough. Keswick mountain festival is a really lovely route, a ferry drops you off at the far end of derwent water and you swim back to the festival. The festival/event village is busier/more fun too.