Southhead Roughwater classic - Sacha Bollag

When back in February at the Cole Classic Fungy approached me and told me that she too was injured and hence focusing on her swimming and would I be interested in training with her for the 10km South Head Roughwater swim in May my first reaction was - I know I'm mad, but I'm not THAT mad. After all, the Cole Classic '07 was my first Ocean race ever - and back then it felt like a huge achievement. The girl who had grown up on the pristine lakes of Switzerland and had been absolutely petrified of the Ocean after seeing Jaws at the tender age of 4 had finally faced her fears head on and taken a dive into the big bad Ocean.

Only a few days later after discussing the idea with my coach Chris Hanrahan, I started coming to terms with the fact that I truly am THAT mad.

The Coogee-Bondi swim (5km) two weeks prior to the South Head Roughwater was exactly the wake-up call I need. I considered it to merely be part of my training & hadn't spent any time preparing for it mentally. So, once conditions started getting rough I got really frustrated. I lost my rhythm, was swallowing immense amounts of salt water and wasn't going anywhere. I managed to get myself into a very negative state of mind which wasn't helping the challenge at hand in any way.

I walked away from that swim realising that it was back to the drawing board for me & that should I want to survive twice the distance in the South Head Roughwater I'd really needed to focus on my mental preparation. And once all the logistics for the race were sorted that was exactly what I did.

I knew I had done the training and in the week leading up to the race I was getting really excited about the challenge at hand.

The day prior to the event I went for a Ocean swim with Mermaid and in honour of my swim we headed out & beyond Ben Buckler. Floating out there in the Ocean (got to love the buoyancy wetsuits provide!), waiting for the others in the group to catch up I just enjoyed the view looking back at the rugged cliffs, the waves crashing up against them and just enjoyed a view of Bondi you don't get to see very often.

Realising just how spectacular the scenery along the swim would be I made a mental note to keep this in mind for when the going got tough.

Come race day I think it's needless to say that I was nervous. The task at hand seemed incredibly daunting - a bit like the big dark clouds that were looming over the bay at Bondi as we took off.

Swimming out to the first checkpoint to meet up with my paddler & boat, I started realising that the Ocean wasn't quite as still as I was hoping for - but I had decided to focus on my stroke, take everything along the way in my stride and after meeting up with my support crew I did exactly that.

We headed North and I could feel the swell pushing us along - it was rather big, but I didn't mind and my focus remained on my stroke, my rhythm and enjoying as much of the view as I could. Everything was going great - I had my first few drink & gel breaks and I could see that I was progressing along the coast line.

Around the 2 hour mark I hit my first low - we had just gotten past Diamond Bay and the head land coming off it started to walk away from me. I felt like I had been in the same spot forever and conditions were getting rough - but I just kept reminding myself to take one stroke at a time. I reminded myself of how great it will feel to finish the swim and to just keep doing what I had done so far. Thankfully at that point it was time for my next gel - this gave me a chance to share my misery with my kayaker who was great! He told me to have my gel, have a drink and just give myself a minute - I was doing great. So that's exactly what I did and after a brief break I was back on my way and quite quickly got out of my low.

I hit another low about an hour later, not quite as intense as this first one - but again I had the distraction of nutrition which helped me refocus on the task at hand.

But I also had magical moments along the swim when I felt like I was steam rolling ahead. I felt incredibly strong and comfortable in the water and just focused on feeling the glide in the water.

The last 40 minutes were painful - but not for the reasons I expected. I thought my arms would be killing me by the end, but they felt fine - it was my neck that was causing me grief. That and the chafing under my arms and around my neck.

However, by this point I knew I had almost made it. But that 'almost' just kept on dragging on and on and on. and I think the last 500m of my swim were the longest 500m I have ever swum.

The reception at the end was amazing - getting to the boat ramp and having everybody there applaud my effort. Having Gem congratulate me first up followed by Chris and a group of friends of mine who had made their way down - it was truly amazing and I couldn't get the grin off my face. I DID IT!!!!!!!!!

I survived the sometimes gruelling 3 hours 48 minutes it took me to get from Bondi to Watson's Bay. I had achieved this very challenging goal I set myself - all the hours spent in the pool and in the Ocean and all the pain had paid off.

Looking back, everything came together for me on race day - my training had been spot on, as was my nutrition plan (thanks Chris!). The Coogee-Bondi swim highlighted the importance of mental preparation for the event and all up I had a great race preparation and a great race. But possibly most importantly I had a great support crew who got me over the finishing line!

And two days after the swim I still can't get that grin off my face :-)  

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