My Account of 2swim4life 2008

By Nicola Latty

I arrived at the hotel in High Wycombe on the Friday evening and met up with the other swimmers. In total 25 were swimming although some had chosen the 'half marathon' of 12 miles. The participants ranged from competitive masters swimmers to triathletes and even to those who had only learned to swim a year or two before the event.

On Saturday morning we all met for breakfast. Everyone was happy but anxious about attempting to swim 24 miles (or 12). I went for the full English breakfast thinking that the sausage and bacon would take ages to digest and keep me going for a while. It probably wasn’t the right thing to do but I wanted more than cereal and toast.

After breakfast we loaded up the cars and set off to the pool. Once inside I organised my towels, food, warm clothing and sleeping bag ready for use. I couldn't believe how much food was at the pool. Everyone brought extra just in case and a sponsor provided drinks.

Stewart gave us some pointers before Graham Short, a coach to a number of former Olympians, opened the event with the help of Joe. Stewart was the first to start swimming.

To give as much space as possible we swam in two groups. The first group started on the hour and the second group on the half hour. I was in the second group so relaxed while the first group were swimming. Once in the water I swam the first mile in about 22 minutes then quickly dried off and put warm clothes on.

In the first break I had some food and drink as I thought it was best to get myself accustomed to eating rather than waiting until it was too late and my stomach wouldn’t accept anything. After a few miles I was noticing my stomach was full but I was still eager to keep taking in food and drink.

By mile four I was coughing due to the high level of chlorine in the pool so had to get some fresh air after each mile – and the air outside was definitely fresh. Fortunately I brought a nice warm coat with me.

After mile five some friends came for a visit. They stayed for a couple of miles and we talked between miles. They also sent texts throughout the day which gave me a boost.

At midnight I decided I needed more time lying down so shifted my sleeping bag in front of the poolside doors. I could then keep warm while doing everything I could to clear out my lungs. I even took asthma medicine, pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs to keep the coughing down. I also slowed my swimming pace tremendously and swam at least 400m on backstroke per mile. I had been coughing uncontrollably between miles six and nine but my pace change and medicine use helped things to improve thereafter.

I gradually slowed from 22 minutes to 27 minutes by the 23rd mile. The limiting factor was definitely the chlorine. It had caused many to stop as they just couldn't breathe. On the last mile I was really cruising and stopped a couple of times too – to check my number of lengths and take a break before swimming the last 50 on fly. I made it – I swam 24 miles in 24 hours.

I managed to have some counting errors throughout the miles so did an extra 50. A lap of honour as one of my work colleagues called it.

The counters and other supporters were tremendous. After each swim we would get a smile and thumbs up from the counter. We were being given support all evening. Food, drinks and medicine were being shared around by the swimmers to give everyone the best chance. Even some of those who were dealing with the disappointment of stopping were actively helping those still swimming.

Surprisingly, at no point did I dread getting in to swim. I was only confident I could make it when I had reached mile 20. By that point I knew I could swim reasonably well for two more miles. For the last two I knew I could plod and make them. Even if I only got a few minutes between the last two swims I knew I could make them. As I hadn’t used my legs much to avoid raising my heart rate and consequently my breathing rate, I had very fresh legs. Kicking two miles would be possible even if my shoulders were too sore for swim.

Once the swimming had finished and I was back at the hotel I just relaxed. Once I’d relaxed I was not really able to function properly. I was suffering from the lack of sleep, the pain in my shoulders and worst of all from the chlorine burn on my face.

Fortunately for me, my roommate Emma France was great and got me water and a wet towel to soothe my face. She also managed to set the smoke alarm off with the steam from the shower. The fact that Emma had managed 18 miles before stopping to save herself for an up-coming English channel relay swim did not seem to faze her.

From talking to Julia Ascott from Action Duchenne it sounded like the money really would make a difference. There are already drugs available to slow the progress of the disease and there are a number of promising lines of research underway. The full cure could take a few years but drugs to halt the progress of the disease don’t seem to be too far away.