RE: 24 hour swimming in Austria, my third participation

flystorms — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 09:34:21 GMT

Wow, Gerald, this is incredible stuff and I sure appreciate your openness in what you did. It sounds like you made some great progress from the 2010 event. There is a lot of good insight to be gained from this, thanks!!

RE: 24 hour swimming in Austria, my third participation

Former Member — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:06:06 GMT

Gerald, thanks for sharing all of this. As a 49 year old open water marathon swimmer currently out with a shoulder injury I find this very inspiring, motivational and useful going forward.

RE: 24 hour swimming in Austria, my third participation

Former Member — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 11:34:20 GMT

Three years after my third participation I chose again to go through an ordeal of a 24 hour swim in the same place under the same conditions. Venue: a heated, olympic size outdoor pool. Place: Radkersburg, Austria Start: Sat, Nov 09 at 11:00 am Finish: Sun, Nov 10 at 11:00 am Weather: 8°C / 46°F, heavy rain. Rank: #8 with 1040 laps (52 K's/32.3 Miles) See: 24 hours Swim Solo-Swimmers Result This time the weather was nasty, it was raining most of the time. A brief history of my past three 24-hour-swims: Until my first 24-hour swim in 2008 I thought that I was limited to (max) 10 K swims, because my shoulders started to hurt very badly beyond that point. In 2008 I swam "only" 32 K's (~20 miles) with a 9 hour night break, which was long enough to get a glimpse beyond the pain barrier. To my pleasant surprise I discovered that the pain in my shoulders wouldn't increase but rather subside. 2010 was the first year where I decided to swim all the way through without a night break and I swam 53 K (33 miles). Details of this years 24-hour-swim: My goal for this years participation was the same as in 2010: to accomplish at least 1000 laps (=50 K/31 Miles). Again I was able to surpass this goal slightly by swimming 1040 laps (=52K/32.3 miles) inspite of the fact that last year I had a serious injury with multiple tears in my rotator cuff caused by a dislocation of my left shoulder after a cliffjump. The diagnosis was a nightmare to every passionate swimmer. I had to wait for 4 months until I was able to slowly start with freestyle swimming again. Therefore I am extremely lucky and thankful that my left shoulder didn't hurt more than "normal" during this years 24-hour-swim. In 2010 I took 13 breaks which totalled up to 3 hours and 18 minutes outside of the water. In 2013 I took 18 breaks which totalled up to 3 hours and 48 minutes outside of the water. Like in 2010 my "support" was 14 Liters of isotonic drinks without any food. They contained approx. 4500 dissolved calories. Towards the end I switched to sugary soft drinks to get rid of the taste from the ISO-Drinks. Compared to my third participation in 2010 I managed my time and energy slightly differently. Inspite of the fact that I went a little bit easier and took more breaks, my performance was nearly the same compared to my 2010-swim. I did only 1 K (=20 laps) less than in 2010 but therefore I recuperated much faster! This year the pain in my muscles and shoulders was easing down much quicker than in 2010 and the quality of my sleep afterwards was much better. After a 12 hour sleep I felt completely rested on Monday even to the point that I fully enjoyed a 5 hour hike the next day along the Mur-River which is the border river between Austria and Slovenia. This year I profited much from the experience gained in my previous 24-hours swims (you are welcomed to see my correlating posts). Plus there was one new detail that I noticed this time that I would like to share with you: I didn't take pain-killers like last time and performed just as well! So far, so good. But I still took (too much) Aspirine and Magnesium. Had I taken less or no Aspirine/Magnesium I may not have irritated my intestines unnecessarily. I haven't found a solution yet to keep my intestines calm during a 24-hour swim and would appreciate any advice from the swimmers community :) Cheers and Merry Christmas from Austria Gerald

RE: 24 hour swimming in Austria, my third participation

Former Member — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:12:01 GMT

@geographic Thanks for your feedback! The Water Temp was 26°C (80°F). The water was chlorinated. I think that after a short recuperation time on sunday my body got out of balance again on monday. I don't think it was infection related. So far (I am 54 now) I have never depleted my body that much. Nevertheless recovery is sweet and now it seems that I am feeling better than ever. The 24 hour swim to me was both a physical and mental purification.

RE: 24 hour swimming in Austria, my third participation

orca1946 — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 05:29:47 GMT

WOW !!! I'm impressed with the detail you have told us about ! Great swim my friend !:applaud::banana: