Lachlan McCalman - Canberra, Australia

Lakes edge - Lake Burley Griffin 2020

I truly value the fitness I get from swimming. 

I just love the physical act itself. Feeling smooth and strong gliding through the water is such a pleasure.

“Three of my very early swimming memories are still with me today.

“One. When I was five years old, I graduated to a new level at lessons where freestyle transitioned onto breathing every three strokes instead of every two. I remember crying at the prospect of having to hold my breath for so long as I struggled to grab the concept. I got used to it and now bilateral breathing is how I always swim.

 “Two. At a very young age my dad taught me how to dive under waves. It was quite a revelation, and I still love doing it. Even today I often linger under the water a little after the wave has passed and enjoy the sound of the wave receding.

 “Three. In the Canberra autumn of my youth squad days, often because of the cool air and the warm water, there would be a thick fog hanging over the pool. Sometimes you couldn’t see the surface of the water when standing on the blocks ready to dive in. It would seem like diving into another realm.”

Early swimming days

“Mum and Dad say I always seemed at home in the water. I was a baby when I started lessons, aged one, with a water familiarisation class each week.

“My early lessons were at the Deakin Health Spa (Canberra) where I consistently progressed through the swim school pathway reaching the level where I could confidently swim 25m freestyle and backstroke without stopping.

“I’m especially grateful to my mum who spent countless hours on the side of the pool, ensuring I had the opportunity to develop a skill that I now value so highly.

“By age seven I had to fit swimming with school and so moved to school-holiday based programs run by the swim school at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) facility. Two years later when I was ready to join a ‘squad’ I joined the Dickson Swimming Club.

“One of my first teachers at the AIS school, Kylie Hitchcock, encouraged me to join the Dickson squad as she was also one of the club coaches, alongside Jaan Murphy. Jaan became my coach for the next five to six years.

 “I still vividly recall the first time I raced the 100m butterfly at a swim meet. It was in Narooma (NSW). I wasn’t confident I would be able to make the 100m distance, having only swum 50m races previously. As I reached the 75m mark, I recall glancing over and seeing Jaan walking along the side of the pool, urging me on and shouting encouragement. It was really touching and helped me dig deep and finish the race!

 “I know many people who swam extensively when young describe themselves as being burnt out.  I have always loved the feeling of gliding through the water, and I liked being thought of as ‘the swimmer’ by friends and schoolmates even though I never had ambitions to be an Olympian or anything like that.

 “While I never swam enough to be in danger of burn-out, I credit both Jaan and Kylie for making swimming and my swim training such a positive experience.”

Teenage years pause

“I completely stopped swimming at age 15, though I still swam in the ocean from time to time. This was partly due to being a teenager having other priorities, and partly for not wanting to walk around in ‘swimmers’.

 “During my PhD years, while studying in Sydney, I did return briefly to swimming with an adult squad at the Sydney University pool, but it didn’t click and I stopped again after a few months.

 “In these years of no swimming, I often thought of returning to swimming but couldn’t muster the courage to face the period of being slow and feeling unfit. Thankfully, I eventually saw sense and returned to the pool as part of the novice swim program with the Bilby’s triathlon club, Canberra, when in my early 30’s.

“I soon rediscovered the love of swimming which I remember having as a child.”

Swimming now

“I am hardwired for a 5:30am wake-up call, even on the days the squad is not training.

 “I regularly train three to four times per week with the Bilbys triathlon club in Canberra. We swim in the Civic pool, which is an old 50m pool, built in 1955 as part of the early post-war development of Canberra and amid the excitement surrounding the lead-up to the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Initially the facility was ‘summer only’, however since the early 1990’s the main pool has been covered and so is usable all year round. The first covering was an air-supported dome held up by big fans and requiring an airlock door which was installed only in the colder months, but now is a permanently enclosed a tent-like structure.

“Although a member of the Bilbys Tri squad, I am only involved in the swimming, not the cycling or running. The swimming sessions are tough but not in an ultra-competitive environment, which suits me. There are a number of other ‘just swimmers’ like myself, and coaches and fellow squad members are super supportive and encouraging of me and my swimming goals.

“The clubs’ approach to the training is based around one of competing only with yourself, supporting the other squad members, working hard but still enjoying the swims (as well as having a laugh).  This philosophy suits my training perfectly.

“My favourite swim sessions include repeats of harder paced 100’s on short-rest intervals and 400’s at ‘cruise pace’. When I am performing these sets well, I know I am in good form.

“And 50m sprints with plenty of rest, which are often in our sessions, are a lot of fun allowing me to feel powerful and fast.

“My regular three sessions per week have me ready for any event which attracts my attention.  When needed I can quickly add an extra session to my preparation without feeling over fatigued.

“In my sights is The Sri Chinmoy Nation Capital Swim, a 10km lake swim in Lake Burley Griffin at the end of 2021. This will be my first ‘marathon’ distance, provided it can go ahead under Covid restrictions! My primary goal is to finish the swim. The secondary goal is one of keeping a decent pace and technique throughout. In my mind, with good conditions and an injury free preparation, this swim will likely take me a little over 3 hours.

“Once I have ticked off this lake 10km I would like to complete a 10km ocean swim, but I have no desire at this stage to do anything longer than this distance.”

National Capital Lake Swim 2020 - pre event

Do you receive technique help Lachlan?

“Yes, I do. Improving my technique has improved my speed, but more importantly, it’s made my swimming feel more fluent and efficient.

“Learning front quadrant freestyle transformed my stroke and instantly made me swim a lot faster.

“I like to have periodic technique analysis and advice to ensure I always have something to work on. Once I feel I’ve locked in a particular change in my technique, usually after a couple of months, I look for something new.

“I find by working on only one or two technique pointers at a time in my stroke, I improve.

“I’m certainly not qualified to give out technique tips, but for me when sprinting, I’m better off not sending my stroke rate to the moon.”

Lachlan, tell us about some of your events

“I enjoy the focus when I aim for an event but it’s mostly the camaraderie with others I appreciate.  At most events there are a good number of Bilbys members on the start line with me. I like the events themselves but doing them with a bunch of training mates is even better.

“For my ocean swims events I’ve found my favourites have all been a bit over 2.5km. Not a slog but long enough to feel like I have accomplished something! 

 “Living in Canberra, land locked, means travel for ocean swims. Over the last few years, when COVID allowed, I have completed the Cronulla (2.5km), the Broulee (1.5km), the Coogee (2.5km) plus two lake swim events in Canberra. One of 2.5km distance and the other a 5km.  

“The 2.5km was the same National Capital Swim I hope to compete solo this year, but I swam as a relay team with three other Bilbys.

“The 5km event was one of the distances in the The Sri Chinmoy Lake Swims. Both were meant to be in Lake Burley Griffin, but both were moved to near-by Lake Ginninderra (a smaller lake in the north of Canberra) at the last minute due to ever-present water quality concerns of LBG.

“On race day of the Canberra Lake Swims, the water was like a millpond, flat with no breeze, with perfect water and ambiance temperature. There is a Sri Chinmoy custom pre-race start to ask the swimmers to observe 30 seconds of silent contemplation. This brief pause while standing knee-deep in the water ready to start instantly changed my mental attitude to the swim and the challenge which had made me nervous and unsure of myself.

“This quiet moment allowed me to relax, take in the atmosphere, embracing the environment, setting the right tone for the longest swim I had ever undertaken. In this brief moment I went from being full of concerns to feeling calm and focused.

“When I compare this to a bustling loud pre-race scene at ocean swims, I found the seconds of quietness helped me approach the race with the right attitude and get much more out of it as a result.”

How has swimming been a part of your family’s life, and its effect on you?

“I’m kind of addicted to swimming now. When I travel, I find myself checking when and where I’ll be able to swim.

“I truly value the fitness I obtain from swimming, but unlike say running, I also just love the physical act itself. Feeling smooth and strong gliding through the water is such a pleasure.

 “As well as the simple motion of swimming, the feeling after a hard swim is lovely. My whole body feels tired, but not sore. I don’t feel overheated or cold, and my mind is tranquil. There really is nothing like it.

 “I also rely on my swimming to assist in maintaining my mental health and stress levels. With there being so much to concentrate on within my stroke, even in a long swim, I rarely ruminate about my day or work or life. I switch off ‘life’ and switch on ‘swimming’.

 “My wife did not grow up a swimmer but started with the Bilbys novice program at the same time, and now also loves to swim, so we go to the pool together on the weekends. We’re usually in different lanes and doing our own sets, but we finish at the same time then go and grab a coffee together.

 “I’ve taken to trying to fit swimming in wherever I can, including work trips:  Recently we had an out-of-town work retreat which I managed to get located on the coast. The discussions during the day were tiring and at times became frustrating, but every morning and evening we went to the beach for a swim. I’m fortunate enough to work with my closest friends, sharing time in the water with them immediately washed away work worries and reminded me about the more important things in life.”

Do you have any swim rituals Lachlan?

“Yes, I do. The following three are part of my swimming.

 1. I always make myself a flask of tea to enjoy as I drive to the pool in the early Canberra winter mornings, often below zero-degree temperatures. The tea definitely helps!

2. When I finish a session before I get out of the pool, I like to take off my cap and dunk my head under. The cool water feels great on my scalp and it’s something I used to do when I trained as a kid. It’s almost a reward for getting through a tough session or set.

3. After our training sessions we grab coffee at a nearby café, chatting about the sessions, our performances, the sharks which will or won’t eat us in the next ocean swim, and everything else under the sun. The coffee is especially good after a hard swim!”

Share some of your best swim memories

“I recall swimming in Byron Bay (NSW. Australia) with my stepfather and a group of regular morning sea swimmers. Early in the swim I was joined by an ancient-looking green sea turtle slowly swimming under me in perfectly clear water. That was a very special moment. The clarity of the water meant I was able to follow it for a good few minutes.

 “I was lucky enough to be at the pool for the 1500m freestyle final at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. I was there cheering for Kieran Perkins to win for the third consecutive games, which unfortunately didn’t happen with Grant Hackett winning and Kieran taking silver. This was a special moment.

“During a recent holiday in Tokyo, my wife and I had a great swim at the Minato-ku Sports Centre near Tamachi Station. Neither of us speak or read Japanese, so it was something of an adventure to identify and get to a public lap pool that was open over Christmas. The trip took us to a seemingly non-touristy part of Tokyo that we would never normally have seen, and the pool complex itself was clean and modern, though crowded. This was the first and only time I’ve seen ‘dual carriageway’ lanes: you went up one lane, ducked under the lane rope, and came back in the next lane. It made overtaking very easy which was fortunate because they didn’t sort the lanes by speed!”

If a visitor came to Canberra, what places would you recommend they take a swim?

1. The Mt. Stromlo Leisure Centre (opened 2020) with a beautiful view over the Canberra valley, but check the website to go on a day when they don’t have the 25m divider in.

2. Swimming in Lake Burley Griffin isn’t nearly as bad as people say. Though I’m not sure I’d go as far as recommending it.

 3. The AIS Aquatic Centre (Canberra) is my favourite pool. It’s deep with a cool water temperature, clean and quiet. You feel like a champion just by swimming in this environment.

Where are the best places you have swum and recommend to others?

“The north beach at Broulee (South Coast, NSW, Australia) when it is calm is spectacular, as is Byron Bay.

“In Byron Bay there is a group who swims every morning. A popular swim is 1.8km, swimming from ‘the pass’ back to the surf club. 

 “Once, when learning to scuba dive, the boat we were on anchored a few hundred metres off a deserted beach in the middle of the bush around Jervis Bay (NSW, Australia). We dived from the boat and swam onto the beach. I now understand why rich people seem to do it all the time in movies.

“I have had a few dips in Blue Lake on the main range in Kosciuszko National Park (Australia). It’s one of my favourite places in the world: beautiful mountains and exceptionally clear water. It is also, however, exceptionally cold even in summer: supposedly it gets up to about 10 degrees Celsius but it sure feels colder than that. I can only ever manage a few strokes, maybe 25m out and then back.” (lake photo below - right)

And a few quick bit about you Lachlan

“In my professional life I am a Machine Learning (Artificial Intelligence) Researcher. I originally studied physics at Australian National University (ANU), and moved to the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at University of Sydney to complete my PhD.  I’m now back in Canberra working in a small research lab.

“I love mountain biking and skiing with my friends and family. Both provide a different kind of enjoyment from swimming: more speed of course, and a higher-intensity focus. They’re also a bit more social as you have more opportunities to talk during the actual activity. Like swimming, they let me spend time in beautiful natural environments.

“As much as I enjoy exercise, I’m also a big fan of more sedentary activities: reading, programming and making music of various sorts. My wife and I have been surviving lockdown with plenty of TV and time with our two dogs.”

Connect with Lachlan

@lmccalman1 on twitter