Day 8 Old Bar to Crowdy Head

Waking up this morning was painful, mentally painful; everything was slow my movements, my thoughts and the morning itself. We headed down to the Old Bar Surf Club at 9am where i was lucky enough to have another local escort/paddler for the day! Adam was on a Bos ski and from what i gather enjoyed my slower paddling speeds in comparison to his usual training paces.

Trying to muster up the strength and motivation to get into the water this morning took everything i had in me and then some…

My water support merman Tony starting talking with me about just starting and seeing what happened from there on in. His words were very much needed and it wasn’t long before i cracked and found myself in a helpless heap of tears. I was at such a low point in this moment, I had an absolute melt down. It’s the first time I have had an ‘on land’ melt down. Tony offered words of support and encouragement, enough for me to drag myself down to the waters edge.

Once my feet were in the crystal clear waters of Old Bar watching the waves break I had a brief energy hit followed by a really good light bulb moment. I thought all of a sudden I totally have the wrong board for these conditions. I was dreaming of my 5’6 Lost Rocket surfboard, the thought of surfing in the aqua clear water with the punchy little peaks seemed to excite me a heap more than a 25km ocean paddle.

It was marine life and the ocean that truly got me through the day and lifted my spirits, during the afternoon i did in fact improve in energy and mental alertness. However i will put a big spike in my motivation down to a few whales that happened to pop up just in front of me. For the next few hours I paddled hoping to get a closer look at the whales but my arms just couldn’t handle their casual yet insane pace! It was the biggest tease ever, here i was paddling as hard as i could yet i was neither gaining or losing distance on them. Being surrounded by whales while being in the water and on their level is something truly special and something i will cherish forever.

I think my jet ski driver Tony will keep these moments in the memory bank too… between my squealing and his cheering and whistling the excitement levels were at an all time high! Shortly after the excitement quietened down and the shore became ever more visible it was time to jump on the ski and get brought in over the river bar crossing. There was an outgoing tide with a big swell, i literally squeezed my eyes shut held onto Tony, my board and hoped for the best. I didn’t need to worry by the way Tony negotiated that bar i knew he’d done it before so happy days! It wasn’t until we got in and i gave him a wrap that i realised he had never seen or been in that stretch of water!!!

To be able to look back now over the entire day knowing how low i was when i started and then to finish with such a big smile was great! I was told by role model/triathlete friend of mine that during endurance events you can go through hundreds of emotions a day, but the most important thing is to finish on the right emotion. And that i did!