[{"content":"Cannonball 2026, Gurgaon Cannonball 2026 - my second time participating in Cannonball. I had a clear objective: to improve on last year\u0026rsquo;s 10k time in the same event. A reasonable target, given that I have been training fairly consistently over the year. That did not happen, but I learned so much about myself and my growth over the last year – something that the pace numbers do not tell. So it was a bad race, but a good bad - it taught me stuff that a good race might not have.\nFirst, the race. Cannonball is now a familiar event - known faces among the organisers, swim buddies in the same distance category, the same pool. The familiarity meant there was no thrill like there was while exploring things for the first time last year. But the comfort of knowing exactly what to expect was a relief. Of course, it still meant getting up at 3:30 am and trying to get in some carbs at an ungodly hour. Although carpooling with Rajat - the 10k buddy - was a relief.\nThe race started, and I was happy with my first 30 minutes (about 1300m). But soon, I was about to meet my nemesis and my archenemy - migraine. The thing with my migraine is, it comes not only with a throbbing headache, but also, the much worse, nausea. I tried switching from the race cap to my personal cap, hoping it might be the new cap-induced headache. I knew in my heart that it wasn’t. After a few laps, I took a tablet, which was around 2k.\nNausea wasn’t good. I felt like throwing up, and it was worse with every wall push off.\nAnd so my swim became intentless and dull. Just trudging along without any purpose. And I finished the 10k in 4 hours and 40ish minutes – worse than last year. This was also about 30-40 minutes more than my expected time for this year! On the surface, it should have been very frustrating. But it wasn’t. And I discovered what I had learned over the last year.\nWhile training consistently for a big goal, we don’t just learn technique and the physical part of it; we also grow from within.\nFor instance, I have learned to be kind to myself. If a swim buddy got the same result I did, I would be supportive and encouraging, not mad about missing the target. Why should I not show that grace to myself! I have also learned not to be frustrated with the result alone, and to trust the process. And in my heart, I know that the process was in place and that I had trained fairly seriously, without cutting corners.\nI am also glad to have discovered some key weaknesses, like I swim a lot flatter, with almost no rotation, when the body is tired.\nI also learned that I have now crossed the point of no return in distance swimming. My ‘bad result’, instead of disappointing me or dampening my spirits, is motivating me to put in more effort. You’re in serious trouble when both a good and a bad race end up motivating you! There is nothing to be done now except to work harder, address the shortcomings, and look forward to another opportunity.\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/cannonball2026/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"cannonball-2026-gurgaon\"\u003eCannonball 2026, Gurgaon\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCannonball 2026  - my second time participating in Cannonball. I had a clear objective: to improve on last year\u0026rsquo;s 10k time in the same event. A reasonable target, given that I have been training fairly consistently over the year. That did not happen, but I learned so much about myself and my growth over the last year – something that the pace numbers do not tell. So it was a bad race, but a good bad - it taught me stuff that a good race might not have.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Cannonball 2026: A good bad race"},{"content":"Swim the Night 2026 Swim the Night - A TCI event - had an unusual format. It was not meant to be a race; neither was it about the distance covered. It was suppose to be a test of repeatability and endurance. Solo swimmers were required to do a 2k swim every hour - no more, no less. If one finishes the 2k in less than an hour, we rest. The next 2k swim starts at the start of the next hour.\nThe format seems simple, except that if we did not finish a 2k in any of the hours, we would be sent off.\nI finish an easy 2k in 48 mins. If I push, I can swim it in 44-45 mins. So the challenge was not the first few 2ks, but I was worried about finishing the 5th and the 6th 2k in time. The challenge was to maintain the time when exhausted, physically and mentally.\nMy Kochi 10k in April was the reason for my worry. My initial speed was fine, but I slow down considerably in the last 2-3 kms. Yes, there were genuine reasons for that - it was getting hotter with the day, currents picked up, fuel and hydration were not particularly great. But it took an hour longer than what I had expected to be the worst-case scenario, and I was mad at my performance.\nAnd hence the doubt lingered. I was really unsure if the 5th and 6th 2k at Swim the Night would be fine.\nSo I prepared. My fueling strategy was to have liquid carbs every 30 mins (a mix of maltodextrin, fructose and electrolyte), and top it up with small balls made up of mashed rice, potato and some salt during the break. The rice-potato balls were meant to be a relief from the sweetness of the liquid carbs, and to get a feeling of eating some real food. The strategy was largely successful. Thanks to Durgesh, who kindly offered me potato chips, I also got some crunch and flavour on top of my planned nutrition and hydration.\nI had also anticipated a migraine, which I get if my food schedule is off just by a little bit. And the migraine was there right on the clock at about 8pm. Thankfully I was prepared with a tablet, which worked like a charm.\nI could largely stick to the 30 mins liquid carb schedule. It was not perfect, but a reasonable success given that it was the first time. Weeks of research on the right maltodextrin-fructose ratio, the dose, etc paid off!\nThe swim itself was not as hard as I was expecting it to be. Unlike Kochi, it was getting cooler with the night. I was getting 8-12 mins of rest after each swim, which helped with recovery.\nThis was my first swim where my expectations met reality. In all my previous swims, the actual swim time was never as per my expectation. That could be attributed a bit to my delusion, but not completely. Pool times hardly translate to the unpredictability of the open water. For instance, Bhopal was too choppy, Jamshedpur was too cold, Kochi was hot and had currents, and it was hard to get adequate fuel and hydration. Conditions, along with my limited ability to deal with them, meant I was way slower than my expectations in all previous races. Not this time! This was my first swim event where I did not come out grumpy over my performance.\nLong swims give a lot of time to think. I remember thinking about my fellow swimmers, hypothesizing about what the relay guys sitting next to the pool are chatting about, admiring some long-distance swimmers, and thinking about ways to improve my technique.\nWhile I was more or less satisfied with my swim, a very strong swimmer in my lane, who was finishing his 2ks in 35 mins, kept me really grounded.\nI really wanted to finish my swim with a 200m IM (all four strokes). But could do a little bit of back stroke and butterfly in the final lap. I will have to prepare more for a cool finish!\nThanks a lot to the organizers, the people who counted my laps and offered words of encouragement while telling the distance covered.\nI hope next Swim the Night will be 12 hours. That would be something!\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/stn2026/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"swim-the-night-2026\"\u003eSwim the Night 2026\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSwim the Night - A TCI event - had an unusual format. It was not meant to be a race; neither was it about the distance covered. It was suppose to be a test of repeatability and endurance. Solo swimmers were required to do a 2k swim every hour - no more, no less. If one finishes the 2k in less than an hour, we rest. The next 2k swim starts at the start of the next hour.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Swim the Night: Expectations meet Reality"},{"content":"Palk Strait Relay I love to make plans. My swim plan document had a note on when I could do a Palk Strait relay – it was 2027. I had no idea of how to go about it, but khayali pulao is easy to make!\nAn opportunity presented itself for a 5-member relay for May 2026, and I took it. I was not sure about this; it is an entry into the big leagues of the channel swim after all. I was unsure of both my abilities and of the logistics involved. Coach, as usual, said I should go for it, and I did.\nTo the uninitiated, relay means swimming as part of a team. Every member swims for an hour, then repeats in the same order until we reach the coast. Solo swim is when a person swims the whole distance on their own.\nThe swim was organised by SwimLife - a group based in Bengaluru. They take care of the logistics, permission, practice swims, food and fuel, safety, etc. – we just go and swim.\nI reached Rameshwaram on 3 May 2026, where we were to practice for a few days. That is where I met my relay teammates from different parts of the country, with different backgrounds, but all on the same wavelength when it came to the swim. It clicked quickly.\nPractice swims over the next few days were good. Rameshwaram beach is beautiful, but very shallow. At low tide, we need to walk a long distance to reach the swimmable waters.\nWater is clear and serene. We could spot all kinds of sea life – corals, starfish, sea cucumbers, and a variety of colourful fish and jellyfish. And when in the water, we could see the beautiful coastline with the many temples. On the afternoon of 8 May, we took a ship from Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka. It took about 3 hours. We spent the night on the ship, a few kilometres away from the Sri Lankan coast. For administrative reasons, we are not allowed to land in Sri Lanka for these swims. The Sri Lankan navy boarded our ship at night, checked our documents, and cleared us for the swim.\nWe spent the night on the ship. Had a good dinner – rice and fish. Although no one was in the mood to enjoy the dinner. We wanted to get through the night without getting seasick. We had been taking medication to avoid seasickness, and it worked.\nThe night was pleasant; we were sleeping on the deck. If you live in Delhi NCR, you would also appreciate a night under a sky lit with bright stars. The winds made it very cold, but thankfully, it did not rain. We got decent sleep despite the ship rocking in the sea, the cold winds, and the snoring – there were a lot of people on deck, including swimmers, kayakers, and ship operators.\nThe alarm went off at 3:30 am. The boats and the kayaks got ready, and we prepared for the swim. We started at 4:30 am. It was dark. We could see the red lights coming from the windmills on the Sri Lankan coast. We needed to go in the other direction.\nThe first swimmer jumped into the water, and the swim started. The boat threw light on the swimmer and the kayaker, creating a small patch of visibility surrounded by pitch darkness.\nI was next in line. I have never swum in the dark, and I was hoping not to have a panic attack. We also usually swim with buoys, which we can hold and float if needed. But in channel swims, we swim without them.\nI also had to decide whether to wear a rash guard. In practice swims, I wore one because of the fear of jellyfish stings. I asked people, and I was told it’s up to me whether to wear one. I did not want the fear of the sting lurking in my mind. I decided to ditch both the rash guard and the fear of stings with a dekhi jayegi attitude.\nHow would I have reacted to a jellyfish sting while swimming for the first time in the dark in the biggest swim of my life? We would never know because I got no sting at all! In the practice, we were getting stung all over. But the move worked, and I was no longer worried about the sting. A small decision and a mental shift made such a difference!\nI entered the water at 5:30 am. It was still dark. I did not feel any nerves; I guess we tend to rise to the occasion. Swam in the dark for a while, and then it slowly grew less dark. We had to follow the kayak. If we were going in the wrong direction, the kayaker would say, \u0026ldquo;Come left/right.\u0026rdquo;\nAt 50 minutes, my kayaker said, \u0026ldquo;10 more minutes.\u0026rdquo; Those were the longest 10 minutes of my life.\nThe swim continued. A swimmer would go in the water after an hour. Others would be on the boat – having food, relaxing, enjoying the scenery, chatting or introspecting.\nIt was my turn to go into the water again. I went in, and it started to rain for a few minutes. I was feeling it. Also did a little backstroke to soak in the moment.\nThe sea started to get rough. It was now feeling like a sea swim – the chop was rising, but it was still swimmable, until it wasn’t.\nI am still not sure what happened – maybe the currents changed. But all of a sudden, I found myself stuck. It felt like I was on a treadmill. I was going all out, kicking hard, but it felt like I was just not moving forward. I was desperately trying to catch up with the kayak, to go left, go right – felt like nothing would work. It was a feeling of helplessness.\nWhen my time was up, the swimmer next in line jumped in. I went back to the ship humbled but glad to have experienced this. I would be mentally better prepared should I find myself in such a situation again. We just need to grind it out!\nWe reached the Dhanushkodi shore in Tamil Nadu, took many photos, thanked the organisers, and I did a little kayaking while waiting for the government officials to clear us to enter. We had done it, but it hadn’t sunk in yet. It still hasn’t.\nNevertheless, I am so glad to have completed a channel swim. Hoping to do more channel swims, maybe even solo swims, and hoping to do it soon.\nYou spend a lot of time training, a lot of money on the swims, get a lot of painful stings and a sunburn if you don’t take precautions like I didn’t. But you come back with a content heart – a feeling that is hard to explain. One can only experience it.\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/palk2026/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"palk-strait-relay\"\u003ePalk Strait Relay\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI love to make plans. My swim plan document had a note on when I could do a Palk Strait relay – it was 2027. I had no idea of how to go about it, but \u003cem\u003ekhayali pulao\u003c/em\u003e is easy to make!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn opportunity presented itself for a 5-member relay for May 2026, and I took it. I was not sure about this; it is an entry into the big leagues of the channel swim after all. I was unsure of both my abilities and of the logistics involved. Coach, as usual, said I should go for it, and I did.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Sri Lanka to India (Palk Strait) Relay"},{"content":"Kochi Swimathon 2026 My first race with a huge group - over 40 swimmers from TCI, along with my coach racing in the same category. It was genuinely exciting.\nI had a decent practice swim a day before, and an extremely bad choice of dinner before the race morning. Tasty Kerala food, but should have been avoided before a long race.\nFinished the 10k in 5 hours and 25 minutes. Again, not at all pleased with the time. But glad that I got done with my first open water 10k.\nLong distances are challenging physically and mentally. One has to hold on to belief and hope that we can get it done. Even when its not going well in terms of time, or the body hurts, the show must go on.\nI was done by the 8k mark. Strokes fell apart and the one loop distance felt too long. I knew the second last lap was going to be the hardest. I kept saying to myself, whatever it takes, I will get over the second last lap. I knew I would never give up on the last lap. It worked.\nGlad that I did a 10k rather than a 6k. I would have been able to manage a 6k in a decent time, and it would have masked the underlying issues. But the 10k exposed all the glaring deficiencies.\nI realised I really need to work on the technique, and probably strength, so the technique holds under fatigue. Towards the end of the race I was hardly moving. Things were more or less fine in the first four laps, started falling apart after that. Last two laps were very slow.\nIts been less than a year doing open water, so a 10k, even a slow one, is not really that bad. Felt completely secure and comfortable in water - and that is important too. Hopefully a 16k in Kochi next year! Also, its always better swimming in a group. Thanks, Tri Coaching India swimmers and friends!\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/kochi2026/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"kochi-swimathon-2026\"\u003eKochi Swimathon 2026\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy first race with a huge group - over 40 swimmers from TCI, along with my coach racing in the same category. It was genuinely exciting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had a decent practice swim a day before, and an extremely bad choice of dinner before the race morning. Tasty Kerala food, but should have been avoided before a long race.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinished the 10k in 5 hours and 25 minutes. Again, not at all pleased with the time. But glad that I got done with my first open water 10k.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Kochi River Swimathon"},{"content":"TASF swimathon, Jamshedpur 2025 A lake race in Jamshedpur (my beautiful hometown) in mid-December?! It was foggy and the water was cold!\nMy preparations were okay. Did a few 4ks in the run-up.\nPractice swim in Jamshedpur was not pleasant to say the least. 16 degrees air temperature. Very cold water. Struggled to get the breathing right initially. Did some bubbling, continued and the body warmed up. Did about 2k in an hour.\nOn race day, did a light jog before the race to get my heart rate up. I also started with breaststroke to minimize the cold water shock initially - for about 100m.\nWe had to do two loops. The event was so well organised - huge sighting buoys, many boats and kayaks in water, giving all sort of stuff to swimmers, including carb gels!\nI completed the 5k race in 2 hours and 43 minuets. Not pleased with the time. But very happy to experience the cold water swim.\nThe second loop was much better for me. I felt my stroke rate was up and my spirits were better. Was it the gel or the sugar rush from the glucose? Was it the fact that temperature improved and the body warmed up? But it\u0026rsquo;s definitely a good sign that the second loop, far from being tiring, was the more spirited one.\nHappy to have shared the moment with my dad, who is the one who got me interested in swimming in the first place, and continues to encourage me to do all of this. Wish mom would have been there to see this; she would be terrified of the lake swim! But surely she would have been relieved and proud when I completed the swim.\nOpen water swim? Unfamiliar places? Not a problem any more.\nA very well organised event, would love to go back.\nThe swim also won me the \u0026ldquo;Walk on Water\u0026rdquo; award by Econ5k - a group of economists who run 5k. Given that I don\u0026rsquo;t run, I submitted an entry that I swam a 5k, and what is swimming if not running on water :D. Economists have a good sense of humour! The award comes with potential hugs when we meet at conferences.\nWatch the Econ5k award ceremony and consider submitting an entry if you are an economist and a runner. We could also start a petition requesting Econ5k to have a swimming track.\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/jamshedpur2025/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"tasf-swimathon-jamshedpur-2025\"\u003eTASF swimathon, Jamshedpur 2025\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA lake race in Jamshedpur (my beautiful hometown) in mid-December?! It was foggy and the water was cold!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy preparations were okay. Did a few 4ks in the run-up.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePractice swim in Jamshedpur was not pleasant to say the least. 16 degrees air temperature. Very cold water. Struggled to get the breathing right initially. Did some bubbling, continued and the body warmed up. Did about 2k in an hour.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"TASF Jamshedpur"},{"content":"Oceanman Goa, 2025 Oceanman, a global franchise, came to India. It was exciting!\nMy club (TCI) also held a camp during the race week. It was a relief to be in the event with the Coach and fellow swimmers, and do practice swims with them.\nIt was quite an experience walking in the rain to reach the venue at 6 am in the dark, only for the race to be cancelled on the first day because of bad weather.\nThe next day, it was a wonderful experience at the start line, standing with so many eminent swimmers (Olympians and Channel swimmers!) and newbies like me, singing the national anthem, and buzzing with anticipation. Loved every second of that experience.\nI did one loop (supposed to be 2.5k) in 1 hour and 20 mins. Not really an ideal speed. But again, pool speed doesnt get translated to open water speed.\nIn the second loop, I saw the turning buoy being taken away by a speedboat. Some of us who were there were left wondering, from where do we make the turn? After a while, I also hit something with my leg, which felt like a net, because it was.\nWe were asked to abandon the race and return to the shore mid-swim. There was confusion all around, and there was no one to clarify. I swam back to the shore, grumpy and annoyed.\nApparently, there was a dispute between the local fishermen and the organisers. The fishermen decided to cast the fishing nets in the middle of the race. It could have gone badly!\nUnfortunately, the organisers had to cancel the race mid-swim!\nIt was my first time racing with so many people bumping into me. Did not worry about that too much - a win in my books.\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/oceanman2025/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"oceanman-goa-2025\"\u003eOceanman Goa, 2025\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oceanmanswim.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eOceanman\u003c/a\u003e, a global franchise, came to India. It was exciting!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy club (TCI) also held a camp during the race week. It was a relief to be in the event with the Coach and fellow swimmers, and do practice swims with them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was quite an experience walking in the rain to reach the venue at 6 am in the dark, only for the race to be cancelled on the first day because of bad weather.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Oceanman"},{"content":"Lakeman Bhopal Going into the 5k swim in Bhopal, I was not sure whether I was undercooked or well-rested!\nFirst practice session on Friday was perfect! Perfect swimming conditions - Bhopal\u0026rsquo;s bada talab was just like a giant swimming pool. I was thinking about doing a 10k instead of the planned 5k. Some disorientation in the lake during the first practice session for a few minutes. Got over it and did a 2k swim or so. My method for getting over disorientation: bubbling.\nThe second practice session on Saturday was tough. My first experience of a choppy lake. Some struggle initially. But I did about 1.5k on Saturday, too. I thought surely the lake can\u0026rsquo;t get worse, and it would be calm on race day. I was so wrong.\nHeavy rainfall all night, strong winds, and the lake was so much worse! Terribly choppy. The water level was about 1.5-2 feet higher than the previous day. I thought there was no way the organisers could go ahead with the event in these conditions. But they were extremely professional and well organised. It took some time to put in the sighting buoys and get the venue ready, but the event was on.\nStanding on the deck before the race, I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel excited, scared, or nervous; it was a feeling of nothingness. Just neutral emotions. Which I feel is a good thing!\nRace started at about 7 am. Started swimming and felt like I was an insect in this giant washing machine - and it continued to feel more or less the same throughout. It became slightly easier towards the end, or did I just get used to it?! It was just hard work. Each stroke was a grind.\nMy inability to swim in a straight line probably cost me 30 minutes or more. It was my first open water outing when I did not have a panic attack. Some disorientation, but no panic attack.\nOverall, a decent race, a good venue and a great set of people. Are open water swimmers all good people? Would love to go to Bhopal for a swim again.\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/bhopal2025/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"lakeman-bhopal\"\u003eLakeman Bhopal\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGoing into the 5k swim in Bhopal, I was not sure whether I was undercooked or well-rested!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst practice session on Friday was perfect! Perfect swimming conditions - Bhopal\u0026rsquo;s \u003cem\u003ebada talab\u003c/em\u003e was just like a giant swimming pool. I was thinking about doing a 10k instead of the planned 5k. Some disorientation in the lake during the first practice session for a few minutes. Got over it and did a 2k swim or so. My method for getting over disorientation: bubbling.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lakeman Bhopal"},{"content":"Cannonball 2025, Gurgaon First pool race. First 10k race. Some nerves and jitters at the beginning of the race, forgot to start the swim session on Garmin, started to record only after 18 laps - 1800 meters.\nIt became clear very quickly that I am not competing with the other swimmers in the lane! Having never done a 10k swim before, I was worried that if I pushed too hard, I might not be able to complete it. The longest I swam for practice was 5.8k! In hindsight, I could have pushed a bit harder and shaved 15-20 minutes off the time.\nMost satisfying thing I heard during the race: “last lap”\nMy coach (Rachna) showed me a whiteboard in between, which I guess read, \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t count every lap”. I have seen coaches communicate to swimmers this way on TV and enjoyed it thoroughly! I thought to myself- Am I a swimmer now?!\nMy neck started to hurt while rotating to breathe! On the pain scale, it may be a 4/10. But every time I turned my head, I felt a sprain.\nMid-race thoughts: what am I doing here! Do I even belong here?\nLearnt a lot of important lessons - Work on technique - catch, pull, glide, kick, EVF - all need to improve. I also realised it\u0026rsquo;s only a 10k and I could put in more effort. I don\u0026rsquo;t need to think about conserving energy as if it were a channel swim.\nThinking back, I also realised I don\u0026rsquo;t need to walk past the finish line as if it\u0026rsquo;s a formality! Take a moment to enjoy the finish line.\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/cannonball2025/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"cannonball-2025-gurgaon\"\u003eCannonball 2025, Gurgaon\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst pool race. First 10k race. Some nerves and jitters at the beginning of the race, forgot to start the swim session on Garmin, started to record only after 18 laps - 1800 meters.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt became clear very quickly that I am not competing with the other swimmers in the lane! Having never done a 10k swim before, I was worried that if I pushed too hard, I might not be able to complete it. The longest I swam for practice was 5.8k! In hindsight, I could have pushed a bit harder and shaved 15-20 minutes off the time.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Cannonball 2025, Gurgaon"},{"content":"AQUAFEST 2025 CHENNAI This was my first race and first open-water race! I did a couple of back-to-back 3k swims to prepare for this swim and was reasonably confident I could do a 5k on race day.\nLanded in Chennai on Friday for the race on Sunday. Friday evening’s practice session was an eye-opener. I was doing it alone and did not have the confidence to cross the waves! The waves threw me around all over the place, and I got back to the hotel, wondering how I would ever cross the waves and begin the race.\nThe official pre-race session the next day was better. The better swimmers, mainly locals, crossed the waves and reached some distance in a matter of minutes. But some of the Hindi speakers (with little access to sea), including myself, were being tossed around by the waves. After trying for 30 minutes, I gathered the courage to cross the waves, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t go very far, as a teenager next to me started to panic and asked for help. He was probably stung. I, a novice myself, was happy to assure him, hold his hand, and swim for 5-7 mins to reach the shore. After another try, I did make it across the waves.\nI have struggled with panic attacks in the open water. Had one during the practice, too.\nSomehow, I got decent sleep, which surprised me given how nervous I was! I visualised what I would do if I had a panic attack during the race: take a second, breathe, and calm down! Visualisation helped.\nThe race started very late. The directions were not clear. The buoys were hardly visible, and the sea was visibly rough.\nNevertheless, I entered the race with some self-assurance that I would muster the courage, make it across the waves, and swim! But that was not to be, at least in the first try.\nI did cross the waves, but my swim buoy snapped. Someone probably jumped on it, or maybe it was the waves. I was left wearing a belt. I swam back to the shore, looked around for a buoy and got one from someone who had completed his 2k race - kindness from complete strangers is the best kind.\nCrossed the waves again, was practically swimming alone as everyone was far ahead. Thankfully, no panic attacks, and I was surprisingly composed. The buoys weren\u0026rsquo;t big enough, and poor visibility meant I wasted a lot of time not going straight to the target. Got stung on the face. Later threw up too.\nThe returning route was much better as I could swim straight for the shore - the buildings on the beach were easy to sight. I completed one loop, supposed to be 2.5 km, but I ended up doing 3.4 kms. I did not even think about going for the final loop - ran out of gas, and there was no confidence left.\nI learnt an important lesson: get as many open-water sessions as possible before an open-water race! That practice cannot be replicated on land or in a pool; Hydrate and fuel better; Check the kit - keep extra stuff handy on the beach. Even a swim buoy. Wear the googles under the cap - we can lose the caps in waves.\nThinking back, I don\u0026rsquo;t think I knew what I was getting into signing up for a 5k race in the sea, when I learned swimming in the pool only a few months ago. Encouraging messages from the Coach and swimming mates meant that I was not wrong in reaching this conclusion - while I did not complete, it was not a bad effort.\nStruggling with the waves, swimming in the rough sea, and getting stung somehow strengthened my conviction that this is what I want to do!\n","permalink":"https://ishananand.co.in/swim-stuff/chennai2025/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"aquafest-2025-chennai\"\u003eAQUAFEST 2025 CHENNAI\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was my first race and first open-water race!  I did a couple of back-to-back 3k swims to prepare for this swim and was reasonably confident I could do a 5k on race day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLanded in Chennai on Friday for the race on Sunday. Friday evening’s practice session was an eye-opener. I was doing it alone and did not have the confidence to cross the waves! The waves threw me around all over the place, and I got back to the hotel, wondering how I would ever cross the waves and begin the race.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Kovalam, Chennai 2025"}]