Liz Buckley Open Water Swimmer
Liz started swimming in the sea from a very young age. Her father grew up in Kinsale and was a lifeguard in Garrettstown in his youth so he was keen to have his family all swimming comfortably in the sea as early as possible.
Liz spent every summer holiday in the water. Liz and Friends would sign up for the Irish Water Safety courses for Life Saving and do it as part of the day by the sea. They would cycle to Sandycove and swim to the island, jump off the wall when the tide was in. Everyone loved playing in the sea and were rarely competitive but Liz was there just to have fun. When she went to college she joined Brookfield Leisure centre and swam 2km every other day for about 4 years. “Once I started working full time, I would swim in swimming pools whenever I could but there was something missing. It just was not the same as swimming in the sea”.
Liz will tell you about her swimming career in her own words.
I joined Cork Masters in 2002 and found, to my delight, that there was a group who swam at Sandycove regularly every summer, starting in May through to ….well, whatever month you fancied really. I bought a wetsuit and off I went. It took about a month of adjusting to the cold and choppy water before I felt confident enough to swim around the island. Once I’d gone around the first time, I was hooked!! There is just something wonderful about surrendering to the sea and allowing it to bounce you around in waves while swimming through it. It’s both a powerful and humbling experience and very, very addictive.
In 2004 it was proposed that we put a relay together to swim the English Channel to France and back for 2005. All sounded great and was a promising challenge, especially for me as it meant I had to lose the wetsuit. In May 2005 while swimming in Loch Ine I got the shock of my life. I had done the odd swim without a wetsuit but our challenge that day was to swim a full hour with just togs, get out and go back in again. My first hour …scratch that, don’t think I made the hour. I felt horrendously cold after 40 minutes and headed straight for home. Panic had taken over and I had never experiences anything like it before or since. I felt terrible but decided this had to be the turning point and I made a solid commitment to just get on with it. In the following weeks, swimming without a wetsuit was not easy but true to the advice I got, it got a little easier.
There were 12 swimmers from Cork going to swim the relay in 3 teams. There were 6 Cork swimmers in 1 team and the rest of us were split, 3 each to mix with other hopefuls from around the country. I was on a team with Jerry Kiersey, Willie Tracey, Graham Coleman, Steven Black and John Conroy. Our team worked out very well on the day, not one of us was going to let the team down. I think I was the only one on my team who wasn’t sea sick. Luckily for me I was able to eat, heat up and sleep between swims so in the end the cold, was never a factor.
Driving back on the boat, balming in the sunshine after our successful 2 way crossing, I felt very proud, proud of my team and proud of myself …. And of course ideas of ‘hmmm, if I can do this, what else could I do??’ going through my head.
Over the next few years I swam Alcatraz and discovered SwimTrek holidays. I was really enjoying my swimming and was concentrating on improving my stroke efficiency, speed and endurance. In the back of my mind I knew I wanted to do a long swim and was gradually increasing my distances. In 2008 I heard about Lake Zurich, I knew it was the swim for me. It’s a 16.2 mile swim in 20 degree Celcius water and no jellyfish – bliss!!!
Oct 2008 I approached my coach, Eilis Burns and we started a really grueling training program in the pool! I am now so grateful for it – as you go through the year there are many bumps you encounter which you do not expect and it’s a comfort to know you have miles in the bag. Once I was back in the sea in 2009 I joined Lisa Cummins for the odd hour or three while she was training for her 2 way English Channel swim. She was an inspiration and kept me going many a day. I went to Gozo in April to do the Swimtrek long distance boot camp. That was tough – no one kid themselves, this is no holiday but it is great preparation for any long swim, especially psychologically. I completed my six hour swim there and felt confident about my pending swim. Champion of Champions (5, then 3 then 1 mile swim on the same day at Sandycove) was looming in June and for the first time I felt ready! The day was superb and all went well, I felt strong afterwards, thankfully, as I only had a month to go to Zurich!
July arrived and the day came to be in Rapperswil, on Lake Zurich. It’s a beautiful place and our accommodation, Hotel Hirschen, was superbly located by the water. We found the lido, supermarket and most importantly our restaurant! The Irish gang was a mix of soloers and relayers, all great company and enthusiastic about the day ahead. The night before we were all busy preparing our feeds, drinks and clothing. It was only then it hit me – this was it. Catherine, Rianna and myself walked down to the lido in the sunset to see if we could recognize our boats, as we walked down my boat was being brought up to the lido – it had to be a good sign. Texts of support started coming in that evening and I have to say a huge thank you to all those who supported us – it does make a difference!
We were up at 5 am. The sunrise was stunning and the water was still. I was so happy to be wearing my wetsuit as we were hanging around for quite a while before take off. I found my boat and my crew and had a chat with them on feeds. They just took it in their stride like they do this every day. These 2 people would be my best friends for the next 10 hrs or so!! There was a sort of calm mixed with excitement as swimmers greased up and prepared for the day ahead. The work was done, the time had come to perform.
The first half of the swim was very enjoyable, the surrounding picture perfect houses, gardens and scenery were beautiful, nerves had dissipated and I got into a nice rhythm. I flew past the halfway mark, Meilen, in 4 hours 30 minutes and was delighted with my progress. The water was sublimely warm and the only chop was due to the ferries going across to the other side of the lake at the halfway mark. On we went, weather was stunning and the colours on the water from all the different types of boats for the swimmers was stunning and comforting. I even had the race video crew by me for some of it!
7 hours gone already and my crew told me I was well on target for 9 hours – I felt very pleased about this but was beginning to feel tired. After 8 hrs they were still confident I would make it in the 9 hours. We then rounded the last corner – I was warned about this but it still took me by surprise. When you past the last headland you get the impression you are nearly there. I kept asking the crew where the end was and they would look at me quizzingly – hmmm, close, keep going, keep going … well, this went on and on. I passed the centre of Zurich and kept swimming (yes, you swim through it, you do not stop there) I had still an hour to go!! I was slowing. My left shoulder, despite having never given me trouble before, started to seize. I kept going but the pain got worse and eventually it was near impossible to raise my left arm at all, so my hand was entering the water at my shoulder. As you can imagine, progress was slow! About one kilomenter from the end my crew pointed out the finish and lo and behold, my shoulder made a miraculous recover and off I went, headed straight for home! I arrived in at the finish at 9 hrs 43 minutes. I really didn’t take much notice of the time, I was just so glad I’d finished!!
Some of our Irish swimmers were there already and welcomed me in – the sun was blazing and I was adorned with a garland and solo finisher medal - greeted by so many happy and well meaning spectators. The atmosphere was electric! What a feeling – I had made it! My shoulders went on strike at that point but once I had showered, fed and watered, circulation was going again and the sunshine couldn’t help but cure any ailment. The park we finished in was full of swimmers, food stalls, massage tents, such a carnival feeling to it all. As the last of the swimmers arrived in and they were putting the results up on the board – there was my name – 1st place in my category – well, we laughed and laughed – as my category was all mine. I love my wetsuit and it won me first prize. I got to stand on a podium for the first time in my life – received a bouquet of flowers and a bag full of goodies and the largest trophy nearly taller than myself! It was truly a proud moment!
All the Irish gang had done very well and we were all thrilled with our achievements that day. We caught the train back and celebrated that night. It was a fantastic experience and very much made by the organizers. I would highly recommend this swim for anyone wishing to do a long distance swim. It is a tough swim but in a beautiful setting with perfect conditions and extremely well organized by the friendliest group of people, the Sri Chinmoy group. They are always smiling!!