E49 Stephen Moore and Jo Collinge - Ice swimming and teamwork.

Today on the show we’re joined by an incredible duo – Stephen Moore and his wonderful wife Jo. Stephen, at 62, is still one of the fastest men in the water, but his story goes far beyond speed. He grew up learning to swim in the very same pool as Jo back in England – a connection that has lasted a lifetime. From ice swimming at the world championships, to weekend training sessions with the legendary Salty Dogs, Stephen has lived and breathed the sport. We dive into his nerves before a race, the mindset it takes to be mentally prepared, and the unique partnership he shares with Jo – a relationship built on understanding, support, and teamwork in and out of the water. Together, they show us that swimming is about much more than racing – it’s about resilience, community, and love. It is also evident that Jo wears the pants.... 

Transcript

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Welcome to another Clever Dicks podcast. In this podcast we're talking to Stephen Moore and his wife Joe. Stephen and Joe are a pair of competitive swimmers, at least in their youth, originally from the UK. Stephen swims quite a lot with Duncan and I and our little group. In this podcast, Stephen tells us about his cold water swimming experience as he's done some ice swimming and been to the world champs and Joe tells us of what it's like supporting a cold water swimmer. I'm not sure that Stephen's going to convince anybody to actually start ice swimming, he's pretty clear about it but it is a great chat and I think you're going to enjoy it. Okay well welcome to another Clevverdex podcast. In this podcast we're talking to Stephen and Joe. Hi. Welcome guys. Hi thank you. Cool so we normally just start by giving you guys an opportunity to tell us your story, your swim story. So you're both swimmers and I thought maybe you could let it go now Joe are you going to tell Stephen's story for him or are you going to tell his own story? I think Stephen can speak for himself. Cool guys. Hi so I'm I started swimming. I think when I was about five years old my parents made sure I could swim and I was soon I found myself in a swimming club and I stayed swimming in I think with Peter were a swimming club. I stayed with them for just about 17 doing a lot of training I was doing about 20 hours a week and Gala's every weekend which is where I think I might have met Joe first of all we're not too sure on that one. Not knowingly met each other but we think we were probably at the same year. We competed. Not against each other. I don't think I have the cut to compete against each other. Back in those days I was a breaststroke so I specialising like 100 breaststroke 200 breaststroke and I reached the heady heights of getting to the nationals in the UK and it was that point when I came 76th in the country in my age group that I thought I don't really want to do this anymore and I sort of gave up. I discovered sex drugs and rock and roll. That's where you go now Joe. Oh that's me right now. I was not on the scene. Yeah I gave it up completely and I just got bored with it you know just like endless lengths up and down up and down. How old were you? That was about 17 and yeah so there's a whole story there before we moved to New Zealand and then discovered the Delights of Ocean Swimming and then it was Joe who got me into the local group which is to marinate buckets and they go out every Sunday and I started to join them and started to do a bit more swimming, join Debenport Swim Club. This is now sort of age 50ish. Oh 40ish. So I had that massive great big gap and it took the ages to get back into swimming and there was that that realisation that what you used to be able to do when you were 17 is nothing like you can do now and your body does not work in the same way and I have to change my stroke. I developed various shoulder problems, arm problems and it's something you have to get to grip with as you're getting older that you cannot do the same things and you have to alter it and yeah that's been a long process. Did you just go like straight into the ocean or were you jumping into the pool and doing some sort of technical stuff? It was a bit of a technical dude yeah. When I was going into the pool I was just the muscle memory was there but it was just trying to figure out why I'm going as fast and forget about the the beer belly I had and half-right is coming on but yeah it was into the pool and it's focusing on those strokes and in the ocean I was a bit of a windpipe, wetsuits on, hats on, little booties on and yeah I'm just going round the boys and I started to enjoy that more and more and the ocean swim series I started doing that, doing a bit more competition and then I dumped the wetsuits and there was a couple of people in the buckets who weren't using it at all they're going out I thought I could do that and so I did and then I heard about ice swimming thank you I blame you for that and I thought I could do that nobody stopped me so again this is your so quick question yeah sure why were they called at the buckets because they all had those big plastic buckets at least but they're closing they're leaving on the side by the toilet block okay yeah and everything was still in there when you came back from your swim right? yes surprisingly I think it's because it's Sunday morning you know it's also New Zealand okay so but okay so prior to the ice swimming scenario you you you quickly skated over the fact that you did sort of the ocean swim series in scenario yeah but you've always been pretty competitive with that right so you like to race right so I'm not jumping myself for example we'll just go and hack through it yeah you're quite specific and technical around what position you came and was your time faster than last year and you know you're quite a technical master swimmer if I can put it that way okay would I be correct or not yeah I was I don't worry about it so much these days but it was am I getting better? Joe's not in her head aggressively yeah so just yeah I think what I'd say is that you're absolutely right Steven sort of takes a scientific approach to swimmer so so that whole relearning to swim when you came to New Zealand I mean like I I was in the buckets and I would just swim around the boys and that was me where's the coffee you know whereas Steven you know he you've got the swim smooth board he practices strokes he's really you know always looking at how to you know just make that adjustment and so forth and the same with racing you know you'll really think about it and you'll you'll know what pace you want to do and you'll you know you you do it in a very planned way yeah and it works it works you do well with it yeah if you're going to do something do it well plan for it and yeah don't just leave it to chance I think that's my approach yeah cool so through this process you were like all right cool what what's next right and you had a couple of avenues one was to do some longer stuff yeah I did myself do I have to do in ten case with Joss Olson and I think the first we got was the the failed attempt around wearing a toe toe so but that was the purpose of that so they've told us it's not a failed attempt really not yet completed yeah abandoned attempt abandoned yes and we ran out of daylight hours and yeah okay but I mean again that's that's hard to do that because you were swimming with there were four of us on that one right two of you were a lot faster than the other two of us which which I think is a bit of a cock up really on on a twenty case you know it's impossible to yes to match the pace and slow down and it's it's it's too swimmers too many I think when I'm on swim like that yeah I mean I knew that I'd have to you know keep it slowed down a bit and so just great because I still had loads of energy at the end of it so it was really good yeah so yeah I've got um you know I want to do a few more long distance and I'm seeing I've got popped in with this awesome organization of course swims game yeah so hopefully this summer coming um I can get that out of the way and focus on the next thing yep um so that's a ringy toe toe circumference yeah yeah number one of the Auckland Triple Crownness yes yeah I'll call it like the idea of the one from um what was it territory coming across yeah yeah it's really there's a territory too I think yeah it ends on the nudist beach which I'm assuming is you have to string it again of course yeah okay no Joe what's yours from story so mine is um probably that I peaked at age 12 um with my um uh 50 yards breaststroke lead schools championship and uh yeah yeah and uh I was I was in a swim club in I was in Yorkshire and it was Harrogate swim club and I did that and I do remember breaststroke was definitely my stroke but there was um another girl my age Julie Denison who was the daughter of the um coach and she she was just really really excellent swimmer and if she would just beat me at breaststroke you and I was always feeling look you've got front crawl you've got backstroke why do you take my stroke um but um so and I kind of stopped doing that in my early teens I think and um but always thought myself as a good swimmer and I I was a good swimmer um and you know did the gala is that we reckon um we'll act together um but just didn't really swim and I do remember when Steven and I you know first met we we realized we got this swimming history and we went swimming together and I was thinking oh this is really good I'm good to you know show it good I am I got in a pool with him with okay I don't think that's gonna happen um and um and and really I because I was more of a runner by that stage my I used to run with my dad um and um when I came here I more went down the the long distance running route so I was doing um the Auckland half every year um and and that's kind of what I did and really got into swimming you're looking at me for me no looking you okay um really got into swimming again when um I think I was just not feeling able to run for a while it was a body wasn't working with that so you know just study swimming and hence getting into the buckets and so forth so I I I I feel that swimming is like my secondary thing um rather than my first thing um but obviously I get more involved because I'm there to spot Steven yeah yeah both so the the ocean swimming and the ice swimming so I'm part of the community in a different way yeah it's pretty it's so nice to do things together exactly exactly that's that's like some of the things that people don't often speak about but if you've got like a a joint um extreme your activity it's it's so cool I think that's awesome so um do you do races um in swimming yep no no I don't you don't want to go forward with the world breaststroke breaststroke championship or something like that it's not not a goal for me um but I gradually getting drawn into this ice swimming um so um when we were in um well they know at the world champs I um went in the lake with some other swimmers and it was the first time I'd been in sub five and it was incredibly painful um going in because I haven't ever been anywhere in that sort of um and uh Steven's got a video of me swimming three strokes of breaststroke and then standing up and say I'm getting out now um but I did my own personal event at St. Bathons at my own personal side event and because I've been swimming I decided to swim without a wetsuit from from then on um and because I've been doing that I was more acclimatized than I expected um and um you know I was aiming at six strokes but I did 24 yeah yeah so um that was pretty good yeah yeah yeah um so you know in the uh hadiness of the post swim feeling then I said oh I may do a 50 metres in the lake now yes now it's on the point oh you heard the word mate um no I'm gonna eat a bit um it's not in my ear to do uh yeah and then um yeah somebody said um I was so said look into two of the events because um when you do one you want to do another so yeah um so we'll see watch this space yeah well that's what happened with Laura when she came down she only wanted to do the sprints and ended up going all the way through to a kilometer I was suggesting you should but yeah yeah yeah yeah absolutely yeah yeah um but now I I do enjoy it and when I first went down to sport stim with the ice swim I was thinking I will do this because obviously he needs the sport and that's fine and good um but I wasn't expecting to enjoy it I was expecting to feel there would be a lot of hanging around being a bit bored and I was actually blown away by it because the community is such fun and there was a lot for me to do that was useful I think my favourite thing is being outdoors and active you know so it was just perfect for that yeah I think those those ice swimming events are pretty good because nobody really stands around doing doing nothing there's always something for somebody to do whether you're seconding somebody or timekeeping or you know out on the on the safety crew on the IOB or something like that you know this it's pretty cool right hey cleverdick's listeners I'm Merlotte the head coach from swimsuit Auckland wondering how to improve your stroke or break through your performance plateau our swim analysis session will help unlock your potential by capturing your stroke from every angle and showing how to correct it we use a swimsuit methodology focusing on the individual rather than the stroke user code cleverdicks to get 15% off if you book a bit analysis session before the end of this year and if you're an Auckland or visiting come check out our awesome squad the first session always free find us online swimsuitorclin.go.nz So Steven what what was your first ice swimming adventure how it's been a couple of years now yeah um I did some bathons was the first proper ice swim I'd done obviously living in subtropical Auckland it's very difficult to find any kind of cold water and I did the kilometer there I did I think a 250 a 500 and a kilometer and that was an interesting experience because I don't really remember much about it it was um I think the 500 I did I got in and I got out and I don't remember swimming it I don't remember getting warm um and but when I did the kilometer I can remember it in every tiny detail of pain we're getting in as they try to get your breath you know for those first like hundred strokes and the getting out and then the pain of the recovery I mean I think how many times I've used the word pain now um yeah and I remember it in absolute vivid detail um but I wanted to go back so do you reckon so there was your first experience also at sub five yeah so and your first one would have been the 250 I believe so I don't okay was you did the 250 because you wanted to just try out you know so you did that first oh yeah I didn't do it as the actual no you did I was pretty it was just a warm cool down swim yeah yeah yes so just take us do because I mean we all talk about sub five and ask for me but I like if if you've never done it it's difficult to understand what it's about right so I mean yeah take us through the kilometer right what um so take us from you're in the teen to art and you get your cooler yeah oh it starts a lot earlier than that you know it's like a few weeks out okay yeah you um and me being like that technical swimmer thinking about things you yeah you're thinking about how am I going to approach this how am I going to breathe and um how would it feel afterwards what what kind of strokes should I be doing when I can't feel my arms so there's that and it's just like about two weeks of worry before you get nervous energy yeah um getting it into the water is the easy bit because you've got this whole crowd of people who are watching you and you don't want to be a complete win you just go in yeah yeah you got it you got to pretend to be staunch yes it's yeah um and it's just for the benefit the other swimmer's behind you you know because you know if you melt down before you've gone in you know they're gonna have problems so yeah you just get him and there's that shock of the cold on your chest and you can't breathe and it's just like having to relax into the cold let the pain of like come in and slow the breathing down slow your uh stroke rate down and by the time you've all focused on that you've probably hit like um the first boy and like you've done about 125 meters or something and then it's just like oh there's a long way to go now and set some bathrooms you go all the way down to a 500 and you come all the way back again um you go for a whole range of sensations there was a point where I think it was around about the 500 it just felt like the water was fizzing like champagne and the whole my whole body was buzzing yes it is um and that felt really nice and on the way back I think it was about the 700 mark the wheels came off the bus I couldn't fill my arms legs anything my lips and my mouth with the same temperatures the water and the air temperature so you couldn't tell whether you were taking in water or air and that's a little scary bang I didn't realize it was going to happen so did you take water on board and a few yeah and you know you have to spit it out and just focus and you won't you start to do a bit of over rotation so that you can actually make sure you're getting air so your stroke your stroke just goes to pieces like last 300 meters and when you can see the end it seems to be an awful long time getting there and you can see people jumping up and down on the side um you can't hear anything because I usually wear earplugs you know um and all of a sudden you're there and then somebody's of like helping you up and then you've got the pain of feet on stones you have to walk into glass yeah and I think at that point we were taking people into I could take into a tent got dressed and then taken to the medical yeah um yeah so the getting dressed was fine and then the medical him I just shook her a long time and I think I can't remember how long it was and how I said about an hour or so I was out and um who was your who was your buddy on that first one um I think it was me wasn't it yeah you were there and there was somebody else helping as well yeah Brian I think yeah yeah she would have been in the medical team so that would have been I guess for you comforting knowing that that Jo's the community how did it make you feel um to be honest I find the build up to the event worse than the event in the aftermath because you know there's this darkness that descends as he's doing his preparation and and I mean I know it's a week or so but it's like the few days before I think it's the particular sort of you know point and um you know I have to sort of recognise what's happening and it's you know that it will change but it's quite it can be quite hard to be around um and it's just how it is and then and then the day of the event and you know he'll sit preparing um you know waiting for the event to happen and it's it's literally got his hoodie you know very tight and you know sort of blacking out and things so I think you know just just being alongside that is I mean it's something I've I understand and can work with but you know it's it's what I did say it the two riots of baffles was um I'd reckon when you go in that medical tent afterwards and you come out I reckon the medits have done a lobotomy on them because it's just like the personalities completely changed yeah yeah yeah and then Stevens back you know um but um I don't I don't really worry about the event itself um even though I know it's an extreme thing and things can go wrong but and believe me I am very good at worrying so it's you know it's um it's it's a great skill of mind so actually should not oh yeah yeah super per um but um not worrying I think because partly you know you've heard Stephen talk about how he prepares and how he thinks about it and I know that you know he he's really he really knows what he's doing um but I've been swimming with him a lot he he's talking shit he's very good at pretending but but also um I don't I you know I know that he will make a judgment on the day about what he can do and do that in advance so like in Alexandra it came arrived with a cold and you therefore you didn't do the cave you dropped it back um and and and he you know he'll just make those decisions and not let the drive to do the event get in the way of what's you know what's safe to do um that's very important yeah yeah absolutely um and you know that was a big decision because you thought it might stop me getting a place it'll be you know in the um he's in a team to be oh yeah game so I mean it was um it was yeah it was a big decision but I so I kind of trust that and then you know some bathrooms you're both there in boats and you know those sorts of things so yeah yeah yeah um and then the aftermath it's um I mean I guess I've never had the experience of Stephen being you know in in serious trouble it's been you know a recovery that is predictable and doing the right things at the right time so it's more sitting with that and and I think that again the other thing is um making sure as a supporter that I'm support person and that I'm getting it right because Stephen is incredibly structured about what he what layers he wants on when and you know how it's all going to work it's worked out his recovery as well as his swim um and so um you know he has his bag and and you know everything's layered up and uh believe me he's not like this in his wardrobe there is there is another human being um but um so so you know so I've got the layers in me and if I get that in the wrong order then I'm in trouble you know um but um other than that uh that's my performance pressure as you just kept getting that right um and getting into hot drink at the right time I absolutely relate to this this year my my second was just so well organised and it was exactly like we talked about but the previous year it had just not worked out um and yeah yeah I can just remember it was so much confusion everybody trying to help and it was all just going in different directions and you're sitting there you're pretty pathetic because you know there's not much thought process actually happening so yeah I I relate to that um yeah absolutely so it wouldn't be fair to not comment on his manhood after a caramander's swimmer is there anything that you want to put on the record and this is the curly Duncan question every interview got it just got a check you want to see how while you recover it's here no comment nothing there to say exactly exactly but um yeah that's all part of the recovery process yes so you went to so you later after saying patterns which would have been your first ass experience you went to Alex yep with the intention of making some qualifying swamps get into the the key wheelchair yeah yeah cool so what events did you swim and why did you choose those events um I did the 1k the 500 and 250 I'm much happier doing long events rather than short sprinty events why is that it takes me ages to get into a groove yeah um you know so if I'm doing like a 50 meters um I'm I'm just I'm not even actually reaching my peak by the end of the 50 meters in ice water because you got to control that breathing whereas I'm you know doing the longer swims I get into the groove and I can just maintain that speed and that pace and that you know the arm stroke rates and just keep going and um and I thought you were being nice to me because you specifically didn't do the 100 I am I thought he was being nice to me that way I actually got to win something yeah I like those long strokes I don't want to mess around doing breaststroke and backstroke and butterfly and I don't do those anymore no there's a young people of stress well the the reason why I thought that I could do it was that everybody knows how hard it is so nobody's going to really laugh too much at my attempt at making a stroke look like butterfly yeah so you you qualified for the um for the world cup uh yes um well chumps in Malveino um that was just an amazing experience all around and being part of the team and um the beautiful like 50 meter pole outdoors it seems like every village tiny little village in Italy seems to have a Olympic size pole outdoor you know just there for people to use um so I actually thought the was in the lake it was actually just a pool yes it was a pool oh okay yeah so we just did a few training things in the lake oh yeah okay yeah but that was warm in comparison to the pool which um I think there was a massive frost before the first day and the ice was approximately about 10 centimeters thick across the hole with the pool and there was people with pickaxes and shovels smashing away at it and they had to remove all the pieces of the ice and they just dumped some by the side of the pool to be able to actually let us get in they had to remove all the bits of ice in case you know you hear something while you're swimming um and I had to do that every morning did they take the lane ropes up so that they didn't get all frozen up or what I don't know I wasn't of that time to see what they were doing but when you raced the lane ropes were oh yeah yeah yeah yeah um so 50 meter pole and that was like first experience of doing 50 meters in ice um which is a lot nicer less turns less messing don't have to think so much um how do you start a 5-meter race in ice a 50 meter um they just well any of the races out there you don't starve off the blocks right no so um oh take it a step back there's you'll get called into a specific area and um you have to line up and then you get taken down to the side of the pool and your names get announced and it all comes up on this massive grid board um the you usually got your great big jacket on and some um jambals and you're just waiting there's a take your clothes off take your clothes off and then you's into the water so you don't do a die star you have to climb into the water and get ready go now the gun goes and off you go and how much time do you have to get ready in the water um hardly anything at all but it's time everybody's in and one hand on the side it goes yeah because obviously you you don't want to hang around there and turns no tumble turns and every time you do a push-off your head has to be up out of the water before the five meter mark um a voice you get disqualified um so you can't do this long but yeah yeah under the water so just from an opinion from you so that the no tumble turns and the touching turn are not too far is it justified or is it being over cautious or do you do you actually think that's the is the right call to actually do that in an in an ice swimming event i think in doing a hundred meters or even the 250 i don't think it would be a problem but if you're doing the longer events doing like a K you know um because your body starts to pack in around about that 700 mark you're trying to do tumble turns there's a bit of a no no yeah i can just i agree with you i just wanted to get your opinion on that yeah um yeah i remember doing like the first time in a pool i haven't realized that you have to do a push-off and so the first thing you do is your head goes under the water and you push off that was a surprise i hadn't planned for that at all because it's cold and yeah usually open water you don't do that you know you just go straight out and you can just start breathing but yeah there's a bit of a technical difference between the two um yeah so the events went well um um i think we did the 500 on the first day then the 250 then i did a 100 which i don't usually do a 100 but that was really nice i think i came four for fifth that was pretty cool and then i did the one K and that's where i managed to get some third fastest in the world in my age group and very happy with that 17 minutes right okay that's cruising yeah yeah hello swimmers i'm Shane and Keegan us-based founder of intrepid water and host of the podcast stories from the water my friends at swim scape in ockland new zeland are the proud ambassadors of ockland's most iconic ocean marathon swim the 20 kilometers around rangitoto volcano in the haraki golf this is a very achievable marathon swim that like all long distance swims will live in your memories forever i don't know about you but i've got this swim on my bucket list for when i get to visit the beautiful land of the kiwi jump on swimscate.co.nz or email info at swimscate.co.nz to book your slot see you in the water. What would you have swan like what would their crew then be in in a standard pool of warm water i mean are you so much faster than that? yes over the 15 or 15 30 something like that yeah so like a minute and a half ish or more slower in the ice yeah yeah okay does it does it aggravate you? we know it's going to happen because we know that the muscles aren't working properly and it takes quite some time to get you breathing into control it's just part of it and yeah the challenge really isn't it? yeah so what's the fastest? i'll cover a kilometer yeah um i don't know come on you know i have to go into the stuff oh god there's got some of the younger kids we're doing there ain't no no sorry in your age group oh in my age group yeah i think there's an Italian that's just moved into my age group and he was really fast um i think it was about 13 something or other wow i know it's just this question and some of these people don't realize that they're slow down as they get older yeah well maybe they do and they were just super super fast yeah i know it was uh yeah but yeah so i count him okay how many countries were the more or less oh my gosh um that he 14 maybe more um yeah uh all over the world including Mongolia who have the most amazing hats the best hats yeah everyone has a hat you know from their country yeah yeah the Mongolians have a hat that's made from four snow foxes is it yeah wow i thought it was six anyway yeah okay it's a lot of snow foxes like a proper food like a proper food we're tailting off the back and wow they're prized thinking they don't let those go easy yeah i'm sure there it is something like that comes to a future as well um the some of the European teams the American teams they've got about 50 or 60 people in them uh for New Zealand we're only allowed 15 because of population then so overall we came fourth as a team that's pretty cool so does that mean we get to take more people next time or one would hope yeah because you know if we could take more we would be cleaning up yeah yeah you're gonna go again i've been thinking i'm in an airing about it i'm not too sure at the moment i want to go back every two years seems like um a bit too soon it's very expensive getting across to europe and they're always going to be in europe because that's where most of the people are yeah yeah um um so it depends on finances really yeah and for all the swimmers it's you know a big struggle get it right and get the suit man yeah and also for us i'm assuming the idea of going over to europe and swimming in really cold water with the the sea is a is a barmy 21 degrees in Auckland uh i struggled with that concept actually yes yes um i mean it's quite it's quite good for us in terms of europe because obviously we can go back to the uk and see people and so so it's and in fact it's it's um it's it's it's interesting isn't it because between as i would go back to europe more than steven wood um and i'm really pleased about the ice swimming because it's actually giving him a reason to want to actually go you know so uh i get i get more yeah i get more enthusiasm for going and then i did it before how long is the event about a week yeah okay so you take some time before after and yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah and the event itself for you Joe i mean same as um elix for example were you were you bored or were you just constantly busy and constantly busy and yeah and and also because i've now done this for you know three years i sort of know out of you know i'm part of the community i know people so you know i was just mucking in and doing what was needed really wasn't it? and you were seconded for people i was seconded for a lot of people as well yeah yeah yeah yeah no it was it was great it was really correct and it's so such a beautiful place and yeah um it's great pretty special yeah yeah yeah so you're going to do breaststroke um at elix in july um i'm i'm moving more into freestyle but i do freestyle but um breaststroke would be my second stroke so yeah because actually my three styles improved a lot again talking about support it's mutual support because i had um i had rotated cuff surgery a couple years ago now so i was out of action and um i was getting back into swimming and but being slow um and so what steve was doing at the the sunday buckets that we go to is he was just staying back with me so i had you know had somebody with me swimming um and and you know he'd normally be dashing off around you know the boys and going around twice and things and um so showing off yeah yeah yeah exactly but he's stuck with me and swimming circles around me so he kept warm um but also he um he he's coached me on a stroke um so my freestyle stroke and so my stroke is massively improved um in freestyle and and i actually you know move through the water these days so um so it's so i feel comfortable doing freestyle in a way i've never done before yeah so that's interesting you know there's something that maybe maybe we should do Duncan is actually get some coaching um well as long as it's not hoppers five in the morning i'll put my hand up but yeah so what like mean just in terms of swimming genuinely and maybe a question for both of you i mean other than some overseas trips and and obviously bonding as a as a couple what else has has swimming given to you guys do you think well i mean uh children swim as well um which has been really good yeah through water polo at school and um uh youngest is a lifeguard now this is yeah it's pretty cool yeah and uh now she's starting swimming in Christchurch lives yeah and um yeah with the other ice and i think Christchurch yeah yeah in a witsuit all no no no dogs i know she's doing pool but she's doing it with maybe i swimming community because it's cold yeah yeah yeah and yeah it's it is that community and you can go to anywhere in the country and you can always find someone to go and swim with but you've met or not even met you know um oh you're swimming yeah come with us it's just like yeah yeah it is so friendly um and i can't imagine other sports like that um yeah i think it is it is the moving out of pool training and pool and gala swimming and into open water swimming in various ways is which my experience it's it's it's very different because it is about the community and so far um but i guess it's you know being in water um has been part of our lives and part of our kids lives i mean we we started them learning to swim like you do um and we we sort of didn't think to stop and we looked around and thought oh everyone stopped now that kids have learned to swim in as they're still going and so we're a swimming family um and um and then that's extended now to a swimming community um yeah and the fact that that can move cities and just pick up with some people that we know who are great and they're embracing her coming along and it's very cool and it's giving her you know she's starting out you know there's a young adult and it's giving her some trusted adults in a new city yeah and and that's really really cool that's very cool yeah moving cities can be pretty hard because you know you you need to start building up a network and you need some way to actually start start meeting people yeah absolutely what do you think about uh long distance swimming so you've obviously scratched that a little yeah um any any goals down the line other other than the rain you swam um yeah i think i'm doing the rain swim i'm never a couple like 20 k swims or something um i haven't got this urge to do a janna um you know i don't do a hundred k or something like that i've got absolutely no urge to do that um as my my body is sort of starting to pack up in various places and um i enjoy swimming uh enjoy doing long distance but i don't want to ruin my body and go mad you know so warmer swims would be nice yes it's strange as if you've been doing ice swimming everyone just presumes you love cold water yes no i do not like cold water and i think one of my approaches of cold water is do it as fast as possible so you can get out earlier yeah um so it kind of comes all the way back because i'm with you on that one Steven but then so if you don't enjoy the cold water then the question is well why do you do it yeah i've not got my own theories of of why i do it but what you do it um to that old joke isn't it it's so nice when it stops um then you feel so good after you get out i think is the the biggest thing um when you're doing it like and we've we've been out today and it was pretty awful with an easter knee blowing in um waves everywhere and taking on lots of water not a nice swim but getting out lovely yeah sitting down having having a coffee with with some good friends yeah it's just it's absolutely lovely i'm kind of with you on that one yeah a lot of it for me is just the challenge challenging myself and um trying to try to show that age doesn't have to stop you loving life yes i think i'm swimming to support my old age you know so that i will be fit as i'm going through you know i can continue to do swimming because i'm not going mad i'm not ruining my body so i'm treating it like a temple maybe a bit too much beer every now and again somebody described me as uh what was it an elite athlete or something like that because going to a world champs um i see myself more on the kintas or like darts players you know elite players you know i look at you as an elite athlete because you are number one in the world over an us mile for your age group yes yes i do that's not mean to be time yeah that was i was editing for like um doing it in 30 minutes and um yeah it sounds like i don't know how that happened and i don't i don't also add about why you do it is is is the goal you have said you you like setting in swimming this is not even in life in other ways but um in swimming um you like to set a goal and you like to you know achieve that goal and and and go through the mental challenge as and facing something hard and doing it and then you do like that and um yeah yes at the at some patterns this year Stephen did his first isemile and yes he became ranked for well to be ratified um first in the in the world in its age group but what he was so disappointed about was it took him 30 minutes and 51 seconds and he wanted to do his sub 30 so it wasn't actually good enough um in terms of what he'd set himself you know so so and that's what drives you i think let's do and is it is is you you like to have something to work towards that's challenging um both in terms of the physical but also the mental and and trying to achieve it and you've done that through different things that allows you know you with different things that you've done it's been setting yourself a goal and achieving it um i got two questions one is you mentioned that that's not what he's like it's quite interesting that there's that big difference right because i'm someone there art i mean just generally speaking i'm chaos didn't do that to me but when it comes to swimming i'll i'll have a direction and i'll have a plan and i'll i'll get through it all right it's what's important in life you know swimming yeah other question what did you say for your mouth 30 51 yeah dude you should be so much quicker than that so when we swim out here in the ocean you literally twice as fast as all i am are you like swimming circles around that's right i got i slept through in 32 and some change you should be i'm guessing at least three minutes quicker three minutes okay is that my target the next thing it's 28 minutes otherwise then come back okay so i'm interested to know i mean in your tenures ish i'll give you the ish older than me um but on a serious note i really do think that you can go a lot faster than that and my my my question i guess is you spoke about earlier your first 10 baths you sort of start coming apart a little bit at 70 50 ish is that is that what you felt happening in this mile would you sort of and regress during the swim and slow down what was your stroke like um great there was a point a bit of a hiccup i think went about 900 miles it was just coming in where i swallowed some water yep and i yep i've just lost focus because i'm thinking about what we're going to do as i turn that one came out and you've got that 600 to go yeah so i'm running through my head how am i going to do that how's it going to feel and i swallowed a water yeah so i have to cough that up and uh usually how does that put you rhythm but yeah it did in the r i b you have to shout at them i just want to water honestly i'm fine you know so they don't give me out yeah yeah um i think i'm um because i'm more used to it i know what's going to happen so i'm prepared for it and it becomes a lot easier i mean the cave that i did at Mulvano was so much easier compared to doing it some bathins because i knew what was going to happen yes um and i can swim through it you know what panic about it um so i knew what i would be like doing the cave and it was just that that extra 600 meters which doesn't sound very far but that's far yes um it is far yeah i must admit the picking up one of the things you said that's what was going through my mind when i was doing my swim was i have to show that i i b that i'm actually okay so i better keep swimming properly or they're going to pull me out i really don't want them to do that so let's just make sure that oh yes i am actually doing a little bit of kicking you know even if it's not one nature just a little splash every now and again yeah it'll splash yeah yeah yeah do you feel like you lose strength while you're swimming so like for example they're pool under the water are you are you pulling yes yes and i think it's because you've lost the feeling so you can't actually usually you're getting feedback all the time as your arms going through the water and you can feel it in your hand and in your arm as you're you know pushing back against the water they when you've got no feeling there that it's a bit tricky and we have to rely completely on muscle memory to do the same stroke if you look at like the splits between doing like the 1k and then the extra 600 six nearly so much oh yeah yes the first 100% so on the boats we're sitting and we're taking strike rates yeah for example and obviously monitoring your position in the water and all of those things do you recall have you got feedback from the team as to what your stroke rate was for example in the first 500 versus the last 500 yeah it was there's a lot better this time I started out at 64 and finished at a 62 okay so you actually maintained pretty well yeah that was my my plan coming in maintained that rhythm just keep maintaining the rhythm and um that will get me through so the reason why I probably wasn't swimming as fast as you would like Duncan yeah it's because I was as disappointed you can have to come back again is um I was just focused on that turn over rate and keeping yeah like a steady pace the whole way through yeah yeah because I knew how much of a drop-off there would be yeah do you do us balls and stuff okay I do have a nice bath I hate it um the the idea of sitting in cold water doing nothing is just painful stupid it is you sit in a jar no I don't you take pictures of him sitting in it there is a picture so you got one at home Duncan have you ever been in it I have never been in it it's not once you got to do it once yeah so we've got that we so Nick wanted one for Jim so we we both with Jim's help an us big 360-liter one where you can fully sit down submerge he's got it sitting in about four degrees and I walk past it every day and I give it a little tap and I check the temperature and I keep it kept I have zero zero intention of getting in there because to your point it just seems stupid to me why do I need to torture myself the whole year when I can just suffer from my mind once a year you know yeah I was using it going in yeah to the event and that and especially going to Mulvano because it was summer here you know everything was really hot and so yeah needed that little taste look I think it would help mentally just from our preparation perspective getting into the cold water and breathe it yeah yeah but obviously you don't have your head in you're not swimming you know so it's very different yeah that's Joe's job okay now this I was cool there's been a wonderful chat thank you thank you so much for your guys' time it's been been a great story I'm sure a lot of people will be interested I'm not sure that you've managed to convince a lot of other people join us on the ice swimming it's awesome honestly so we'll rendezvous in in a year's time we'll have an update on your 50 meter freestyle okay all right or 250 yeah yeah no I'm very clear I'm not going higher than 50 you nothing good it's worth me that 50 is good yeah it's cool hey it's more than 7.95 billion people on the planet do sorry think of it like that yeah yeah and I want an update on a sub 30 mile please next time we chat I will be training there we go thank you for your time guys it's been awesome chatting thank you thank you thanks so much hi my name is Caitlyn I Riley I'm the youngest person who have completed the Ocean 7 Challenge of this really cool podcast has helped you learn something new maybe it's introduced you to new swimmers made you smile then please take the opportunity to subscribe to Duncan and Jim's channel I'm sure they would absolutely appreciate all your support cheers thanks Caitlyn well as always you can give us feedback on our Instagram account at Clevdix or send us an email Clevdixinz at gmail.com we'd really appreciate hearing from you and cheers we'll speak to you again soon