Pre-history
Let's go back to the beginning. Summer 2013. Triathlon: Swimming, Cycling, Running - absolute zero experience in all those elements :). I was fully aware that it is impossible to get Ironman quickly. I thought that it would be nice to participate in several cycling, running, and swimming races. All of them had to take place next summer (2014) in order to have time for the preparation, and have enough time for recovery. Eventually, I had the marathon in June, Bosporus swim - July and Half Ironman - August. Right, I know, there is no cycling in this list--I couldn’t fit everything in just three summer months --autumn was planned for another thing.There were a lot of marathons and HIM competitions I could easily choose from. Swimming part was the simplest part – just Bosphorus and nothing else, because:
- I had read Dmitri Volosin's article about that
- 6.5km open water swimming had seemed worth doing
- I had never been in Turkey before
- I had not been interested in other swimming competitions that moment
Man said Man did :).
During that time:
Second part. In order to get the participant’s number, I had to be at the place the day before. The queue was incredibly long. Due to poor management I had to spend more than an hour waiting.
Together with the registration package we got some pleasantries from the sponsors.
After the registration and the traditional pasta party were over we were taken on a boat ride along the Bosphorus. Suddenly I realized that the race was going to be tough.
I had a good breakfast, took a taxi, and went to the park just near the Bosphorus. There were more people in swimsuits then simple dressed :). "Warm-up, plan, marks, flux, turns" - only these word were in my mind.
Chip and swimming cap were in place; we took a few photos, and I moved on the ferry. There was no way back :)
Ferry was getting us to the Asia, to the starting point. I was looking at this huge channel, and understood that any lake I have ever swum across was ridiculous in comparison to Bosphorus...
Usually in such moment I speak with myself, literally, even whisper:
Me1: "Why do you worry? Look, there is a grandma, she is 70 at least and she is smiling, and you like on funeral. Take it easy, It's all right. You are good enough in swimming to do it."
Me2: "It's ok. A little excitement is acceptable. Still it is not a small river, this is Bosphorus. And my face is ok as well."
Me1: "You did in swimming pool 7km, and here is only 6.5. Don't worry"
Me2: "But I don't have any experience in open water swimming: waves, flow, temperature... "
Me1: "Flow goes the same direction; there is almost no waves and water temperature above 20 :)"
Me2: "Ok, anyhow I'll jump and swim, and how exactly it will happen will see later, as it was on the marathon."
It was my agreement with myself.
While we were approaching the starting point, somebody from organizers told us how and where we have to swim. The main idea was to catch cold water flow and keep it till the end.
Ok, I've got it; there was nothing new for me.
Ups... I felt cold... Probably it was that cold current, which I had to swim in during the whole race... Damn... I could change nothing that time, but I knew for sure what I have to improve next time.... I was getting angry because of lost possibility, and I increased my speed... But current speed was bigger... I increased my turn angle till 120 degrees and started swimming back to start... Saw lots of hats and thought that this amount of people cannot be wrong. There were place with a lot of spectators – it had to be finish... Got more clothe – Why that day was so unlucky... It was just place for spectators, finish itself a bit later… Finally, I swam to finish…
My time - 1:00.01 (one hour and one second).
23 from 135 in my age group (25-29)
168 from 1238 men
208 from 1700 participants.
It was easier than I expected. Probably the hardest thing was to jump into cold water (I did it well ) and to turn to waterside in time (here I failed), the rest was fun.
Many thanks to my sister Sveta. Without her help, It would be much harder.
And again thanks to Endava, namely Natalia Belicova and Kumail Jeta for financial support. Now Turkey knows about our company.
The majority of complicated and impossible things just seem to be so, but once you "jumped into cold water" that it is easier... Don’t afraid of trying, you can do more!
P.S. Russian version.
Preparation
Preparation is quite a long process, with motivational and depressive periods, but positive, disciplining you body and soul. It took me nine months (November-July).- Had had training three times a week, 1.5 hours each session
- had swam 330км totally
- Qualified for second degree in swimming (50m at 29.9 seconds)
- Had swam 7кm during one workout
- Had got experienced in swimming with swimming wet-suit
And all these due to my trainer - Stanislav Iurievic Golubev (on the photo with me). He brought up lots of masters in swimming, can’t stand a relaxed attitude to training, has got a keen eye on your rights and wrongs. I am positive that more accomplishments will follow.
Registration
Registration to Bosphorus was slightly different from, for example, registration on running marathons. To fill in the participant’s form was not enough -- you had to have an official approve of your skills from your coach and your good health certificate. ( More details here, hope it helps.) Finally, I got confirmation in April and first phase was finished.Second part. In order to get the participant’s number, I had to be at the place the day before. The queue was incredibly long. Due to poor management I had to spend more than an hour waiting.
Together with the registration package we got some pleasantries from the sponsors.
The main package included:
|
The sponsors’ pack:
|
Race
When I got up in the morning, I managed to read an interesting article about conquering 10 kilometer open water distance in Sweden and after that was breakfast. Nothing especial. The only restriction - not to overeat (It is Turkey, remember, breakfast included, and it was very tasty, so it was real restriction).I had a good breakfast, took a taxi, and went to the park just near the Bosphorus. There were more people in swimsuits then simple dressed :). "Warm-up, plan, marks, flux, turns" - only these word were in my mind.
Chip and swimming cap were in place; we took a few photos, and I moved on the ferry. There was no way back :)
Ferry was getting us to the Asia, to the starting point. I was looking at this huge channel, and understood that any lake I have ever swum across was ridiculous in comparison to Bosphorus...
Usually in such moment I speak with myself, literally, even whisper:
Me1: "Why do you worry? Look, there is a grandma, she is 70 at least and she is smiling, and you like on funeral. Take it easy, It's all right. You are good enough in swimming to do it."
Me2: "It's ok. A little excitement is acceptable. Still it is not a small river, this is Bosphorus. And my face is ok as well."
Me1: "You did in swimming pool 7km, and here is only 6.5. Don't worry"
Me2: "But I don't have any experience in open water swimming: waves, flow, temperature... "
Me1: "Flow goes the same direction; there is almost no waves and water temperature above 20 :)"
Me2: "Ok, anyhow I'll jump and swim, and how exactly it will happen will see later, as it was on the marathon."
It was my agreement with myself.
While we were approaching the starting point, somebody from organizers told us how and where we have to swim. The main idea was to catch cold water flow and keep it till the end.
Ok, I've got it; there was nothing new for me.
We’ve got to the starting point. Excitement went up. I wore glasses and put my watches under swimming cap (otherwise forget about GPS statistics) and prepared for the "Ice water" feeling...
"Yellow hats" started first - those wee older participants. I had a green hat.
GO GO GO - we supported them as much as we could. And here was our turn. URRRRAAAA!!! I jumped into the water keeping my glasses and..... SILENCE.... The same second cold water switched me into another mode. Nothing was bothering me... I felt like "This is mine"!
"Ok, where is the first bridge? Here it is, GO GO GO..."
Several minutes after start I remembered that I forgot to turn watches on... Damn! Turned them on and continued.
Watches told me that first 5 minutes left. I scanned my feelings and what was around.
Me1: "Ok. It seems like I started normally. And where is promised fight on start? Why nobody is swimming across, and I don't fight with anybody??? Do I swim in the right direction generally?"
Me2: (Had up, look aroud) "It's ok. Direction is right, here is the middle of the first bridge."
Me1: "Ok, then let's go one by one, what's with breathing?"
Me2: "Breathing is normal, but it is hard to breath three after 3, only 2x2."
Me1: "Acceptable, let's do it 2x2... Next, what with muscles and joints?"
Me2: "Excellent, nothing is honking, full tank of carbohydrates "
Me1: "Cool, what with heart?"
Me2: "Heart is ok, but I feel discomfort on the right side. Probably because of quick start"
Me1: "Ok, let's do some breathing exercises and will see..."
Exercises helped. I swam under the middle of the first bridge. The next goal is the middle of electric wires. Somebody had mentioned that to swim near the right side is dangerous. There is a crosscurrent… ok, I took left...
I observed that I don’t feel cold water, I mean there was no switch from cold to colder. I didn’t feel any switches at all. Swam with group of swimmers (not alone), speed is good enough... may be it was, and I didn’t feel the difference... Never mind...
While I was swimming I thought “if people do this distance in 1 hour, that this is less than my average workout. This is not 4-hour marathon where you have to save and distribute your forces.” It means that there was no time for rest, work, work, work.
I remembered all recommendations my coach gave me. All stroke phases where done as they should be done. Overtook several green and yellow hats, “Work, work, work”...
"Yellow hats" started first - those wee older participants. I had a green hat.
GO GO GO - we supported them as much as we could. And here was our turn. URRRRAAAA!!! I jumped into the water keeping my glasses and..... SILENCE.... The same second cold water switched me into another mode. Nothing was bothering me... I felt like "This is mine"!
"Ok, where is the first bridge? Here it is, GO GO GO..."
Several minutes after start I remembered that I forgot to turn watches on... Damn! Turned them on and continued.
Watches told me that first 5 minutes left. I scanned my feelings and what was around.
Me1: "Ok. It seems like I started normally. And where is promised fight on start? Why nobody is swimming across, and I don't fight with anybody??? Do I swim in the right direction generally?"
Me2: (Had up, look aroud) "It's ok. Direction is right, here is the middle of the first bridge."
Me1: "Ok, then let's go one by one, what's with breathing?"
Me2: "Breathing is normal, but it is hard to breath three after 3, only 2x2."
Me1: "Acceptable, let's do it 2x2... Next, what with muscles and joints?"
Me2: "Excellent, nothing is honking, full tank of carbohydrates "
Me1: "Cool, what with heart?"
Me2: "Heart is ok, but I feel discomfort on the right side. Probably because of quick start"
Me1: "Ok, let's do some breathing exercises and will see..."
Exercises helped. I swam under the middle of the first bridge. The next goal is the middle of electric wires. Somebody had mentioned that to swim near the right side is dangerous. There is a crosscurrent… ok, I took left...
I observed that I don’t feel cold water, I mean there was no switch from cold to colder. I didn’t feel any switches at all. Swam with group of swimmers (not alone), speed is good enough... may be it was, and I didn’t feel the difference... Never mind...
While I was swimming I thought “if people do this distance in 1 hour, that this is less than my average workout. This is not 4-hour marathon where you have to save and distribute your forces.” It means that there was no time for rest, work, work, work.
I remembered all recommendations my coach gave me. All stroke phases where done as they should be done. Overtook several green and yellow hats, “Work, work, work”...
I saw second academy tower. According to Instructions I had to turn right to waterside... But I couldn’t see artificial island... Ok. I didn’t have time to stop and look for it, so I just turned right 90 degrees. Theoretically current had to push me little, plus my swimming and I had to reach the finish.
Got out, gave chip, took a towel and went to take the certificate with results I could and had to have better. (actually, I wanted to beat Dmitri Volosin's time)... But I had what I had...
My time - 1:00.01 (one hour and one second).
23 from 135 in my age group (25-29)
168 from 1238 men
208 from 1700 participants.
It was easier than I expected. Probably the hardest thing was to jump into cold water (I did it well ) and to turn to waterside in time (here I failed), the rest was fun.
Acknowledgements
There is a person I’ll thank each time – this is my wife. My swimming didn’t affect her directly, because usually I swim early in the morning, but indirectly… as the result of getting up early in the morning, I had to go to bed earlier as well. Thank you my dear for patience, and I seriously hope to cross Bosphorus again, next year, but this time you have to debut :).Many thanks to my sister Sveta. Without her help, It would be much harder.
And again thanks to Endava, namely Natalia Belicova and Kumail Jeta for financial support. Now Turkey knows about our company.
Outcomes
Let’s cross the line. Was it easy – Yes! Do I want to participate again in swimming marathons – Yes, but next time I’ll chose longer distance. When I run marathon, I discovered something new about myself, and I want the same in swimming. Need more challenges!The majority of complicated and impossible things just seem to be so, but once you "jumped into cold water" that it is easier... Don’t afraid of trying, you can do more!
P.S. Russian version.
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