A Final Word from the Team
Monday, 6th September 2010
A week has passed since Jon and I successfully completed the Challenge and I confess that I feel a slight void where the keen focus used to be……no more (for the time being) early morning swims in freezing water, late evening trundles across the hills at home or circuits in solitude down in the stables, with only bemused ponies for company. Now only photographs, slightly sore muscles and video clips; the tenuous reminders of a wonderfully visceral experience.
It was thoroughly enjoyable and both of us relished the challenge wrought by the terrain and conditions. The initial run from the sea lock on the Caledonian Canal on the Moray Firth to Lochend was in pleasant light rain, sheltered for most of it from a gusting Westerly. The early part of the kayak on Loch Ness was characterised by a fairly strong headwind and standing waves forcing us to switch to the Southern shore to find shelter and areas of flat water. Had we not found some respite the day would have been very long indeed and as it was we succeeded in blowing out our shoulders, as we battled across the loch in the initial stages. We re-crossed with about 7km to go again seeking better conditions and flat water. However our quest was in vain and we spent the last one and a half hours to Fort Augustus fighting against howling wind and confused heavy water.
Heartily glad to be out of the boats I set off to run (shuffle) the 9km to Loch Oich. Jon went by vehicle to prep for the 6km swim. I had lost all feeling in my left foot as a result of the kayaking and as such I flapped and staggered my way along the tow path. Jon was having his own issues, finding it incredibly difficult to pull on his wetsuit; every time he bent over, his abdominal muscles would spasm, pulling him forward into the ground. After much procrastinating on his part and loud encouragement from the support team Jon got in the water and performed a very strong swim down the Loch. A final 2km warm down led us to our base for the night - a small yacht tied up alongside at Laggan Locks. Sleep came immediately and our support crew had to wake us up twice to eat and maintain our fluid intake.
It proved to be a wild night and at 0430 the next morning we took the decision to run along the shore of Loch Lochy until conditions allowed us safely in the water. After a 9 km run along the North shore we changed into wetsuits for the remaining 6/7 km swim. Goosefat is, apparently, rather good at keeping cold out of the extremities not covered by the wetsuit. However I presume its the thick sticky stuff, not the jars of runny goosefat used for roast potatoes that we had with us. I ladled it onto my forehead but it quickly ran into my eyes, stinging them and completely blurring my vision. My hands were also covered and I couldn’t get a firm hold of my goggles which kept squirting out of my hands as I tried to put them on. Thus smeared we both stumbled off blindly into the water with Jez giving instructions from the canoe. In my case he needed to do this by hand as, to further complicate matters regarding communication, I was wearing ear plugs. Conversely, this worked to my advantage in that I lost concept of time and floated off to the metronomic, slightly hypnotic motion of my hands flashing before my eyes in the dark peaty water, bubble trails corkscrewing off my thumbs - reach, pull, recover – reach, pull, recover. Our blurred vision allowed Jez to tell us whopping fibs of how long we had to go across various bays. At one point he managed to stretch an “it’s only a 15 minute swim across this bay lads” to over an hour. Both Jon and I thoroughly enjoyed the swim and felt strong on exiting the water at Gairlochy lighthouse.
A slow shuffle up to the Commando Memorial was necessitated by cramping legs and swollen tendons. There we were met by family and friends and I placed my old green beret, which I had carried throughout the Challenge, at the 40 Commando memorial in the remembrance garden. Two of my former colleagues are now names on a plaque.
What followed was a ‘walk with purpose’ over the half marathon into Fort William, rather than anything resembling a run. Tired legs welcomed the finish at the war memorial and the hardest part of the day was trying to stay awake after two pints of Guinness. Thankfully a recent study by a Spanish University claims that beer is excellent at replacing lost salts and fluids post exercise…
An enormous thank you to those that have supported us and the Charity with your generous donations – it really makes all our efforts worthwhile. We have thus far raised just over £6,400 for Help for Heroes and are intent on reaching our target of £10,000. For those that have not yet donated please help Jon and I reach this target and in so doing greatly assisting those whose injuries will require lifelong assistance and support. The website and donation page will remain open for the next few months.
I have been asked on a number of occasions “what next?” - We are exploring the options regarding running a slightly altered format as a race next year and, due to its history and the history of the area, have already given it the working title of ‘The Commando’. For myself I must confess I rather fancy participating in next year’s Atlantic or Indian Ocean rowing race and I definitely wish to continue open water swimming……these activities can become quite addictive.
Author: Jonathan16
