Rosanna Machado - London. UK.

Swimming makes me feel fully alive, it allows me to be alone with my thoughts. It both calms me down and energises me. I feel braver and happier every time I swim.

“I’d love to say I was a water baby, but that really wasn’t the case. I was rather late to the party, taking up swimming regularly in my 30s because I thought I should do some exercise and I liked the fact swimming is solitary. Therefore I wouldn’t have the embarrassment of competing with, or against, anyone. By 2012, I was a regular three times a week pool swimmer.

“In 2014, a good friend of mine asked if I wanted to go on a SwimTrek holiday. At the time I had never heard of such a thing, but I signed up with my eyes wide open. Completing this adventure gave me the most amazing feeling, and I became an open water swimming fan too.

“Now in 2020, swimming is the most important part of my mental wellbeing. I find when I am immersed in water, I switch off, I get in the flow and I can lose myself. Everything else in my life is better when I have swum.

“It’s funny how, in my corporate life, I can get up and present in front of 100 strangers, whereas the thought of physical activity, even with good friends, fills me with fear. I had always assumed I would be rubbish at sports as I did not excel at any sport during my schooling years. But the past few years have shown me swimming is a space where I can challenge and continually extend myself. I am achieving more and more, and I love it!

“Swimming has also become a major social and supportive community for me.”

My early swimming lessons created ‘fear’

“When I think of swimming teachers, when I was aged seven or eight, they were quite intimidating and, in my eyes, scary. Taking swimming lessons was something we all did. But I did not enjoy them, and have many memories of swallowing far too much water. My dad would often find me crying as I packed my swim bag, not wanting to attend lessons. Nothing changed and I left school with a developed fear of putting my head under water. These experiences meant my relationship with swimming was non-existent until I was in my 30s.

“Even when I went back to swimming in my 30s, the first couple of years involved an uncomfortable neck position to keep my head up! The turning point was when I organised a conference and our guest speaker was the blind British adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber. He was there to inspire my audience, but he also had a profound effect on me that day when he said, “you waste more energy worrying about something, than actually doing it”. The next day I was at the pool facing my biggest fear. I put my face in and under water straight away. I now look back and think what a waste of 20 years!”

Now

“Swimming has, since 2012, been a big part of my lifestyle. I have learnt I need to make time for swimming to be mentally and physically at my best. More to the point, I now WANT to make time for swimming.

“I work for myself and hours can be unpredictable, so I have learnt to schedule my swim times around my work and other commitments in the same way I plan for meetings, conference calls and my social life.

“Swimming makes me feel fully alive, it allows me to be alone with my thoughts. It both calms me down and energises me. I feel braver and happier every time I swim.

“Since 2017, I started mixing up my pool swimming with open water swimming at my local West Reservoir in North London. Although this routine has been interrupted during the COVID lockdowns of 2020, when the reservoir reopened in June 2020 we were spoilt as it opened seven days a week and since then, the reservoir has definitely become my happy place. This summer I enjoyed three or four laps of the 400m course four times a week.

“In Winter 2020, the reservoir is remaining open all year for the first time, with a slightly shorter 280m course set up. Before we went into the November 2020 lockdown I was swimming two laps with my wetsuit followed by two laps without, to increase my cold water tolerance – it felt so invigorating, if a little bracing, and I could feel I was starting to acclimatise to the cold. I’ve started having a cold blast at the end of my shower to try and maintain that whilst things are shut!

“The weeks of COVID lockdown in London this year have been challenging for me and most of my swimming cohort. There have been a few months without swimming, requiring an alternative routine. For me I have substituted with some running and home exercises to keep myself busy, and to hold onto some level of fitness. I even started running a PE class in the first lockdown for a friend’s son in Ballarat. He has since gone back to school, but I continue to run the class for a bunch of friends, most of whom originally bonded over the fact we were the worst in our PE class at school!

“Another significant swimming moment was earlier in 2020 when I realised that I no longer feel fearful each time I walk down the ramp to enter the reservoir water. This realisation was a significant achievement for me, and I am now starting to believe I am a swimmer”

Rosanna, share with us some of your SwimTrek adventures.

“My first adventure, in the Greek Sporades, came about after one of my good friends, Catherine, mentioned she was looking to sign up for one of the numerous swim holidays offered by SwimTrek and invited me to join her. I was totally unaware of what I was about to do, but I am always keen to join my friends on new adventures. Soon I too had signed up and immediately started the recommended 12-week training program, diligently followed the plan to take me from 1km to 5km with remarkable ease. My confidence soared, I was ready to complete the seven day, 5km per day swim adventure in Greece.

“The sense of achievement at the end of the week was incredible. I was hooked and ready for more.

“I have now completed six SwimTrek adventures, including the Dalmatian coast and Kornati islands, both in Croatia. I am still fearful at the beginning of each of these trips but over time I learnt I am not alone with my fears and worries. It was easy to think no-one else was feeling the same but I now know, many were. Supported by the swim guides, and the other swimmers, I have overcome these initial fears, conquering many challenges and achieving numerous milestones along the way. From these treks I have met many amazing people and fellow swimmers from across the world who are now part of my social and swimming community.”

What other swims bring great memories Rosanna?

Milos is a beautiful place to swim. It's clear warm water and many caves to explore as you swim along its coast.
In 2018, I completed a 2-day Scilly Isles swim walk challenge. This was a ‘toughie’, as two-metre wave swells greeted us on the first swim leg testing everyone's resolve to start the day. Not to be deterred, I pushed on, completing the 15km of swimming over six legs. Between each swim was a short walk across the landform before slipping back into the sea to start the next leg.

Upon finishing day one, I came to realise I am braver than I gave myself credit for, when I found out some of my friends had not completed the course due to the challenging water conditions.

In 2019, I completed a 6.5km swim in Cadaques with friends who I had swum with in the Scilly Isles the previous year. As I finished, I glanced at the clock which indicated my swim time was okay; where I thought I might be. It was only later on I realised I had not taken into account the timing clock was started on the first wave start, my real time was significantly faster than I initially thought, as I started in the second wave. It was a quicker time, as well as being the single longest distance I had ever swum. It was an amazing day!

And what is coming up Rosanna?

“Sadly, I had to cancel two SwimTrek holidays in 2020 but on the plus side, I have swum more than ever at home, so every cloud has a silver lining!

“I have set myself two big challenges for next year. I have entered the 14km Thames Marathon, as this year’s event was cancelled. I have also applied to be part of an English Channel Relay team for 2021, raising vital funds for the spinal injuries charity Aspire. It’s 22 miles and as a team of six, you each take it in turns to swim an hour at a time. We’ve had a timed assessment, so now it is a case of them matching up abilities to form teams. I will find out in before Christmas if I have been successful – fingers crossed!!”

When a swimmer visits London, where would you recommend they swim Rosanna?

“Definitely the West Reservoir, my ‘special place’. It is a stunning location in itself, as well as the amazing supportive community of swimmers who regularly attend just like me. I feel so at home there. Give me a shout if you come to swim here!

“There are lots of great lidos in London which are worth visiting. Some of my favourites are London Fields, Brockwell and Parliament Hill. I still haven’t made it to Hampstead Ponds which is on my list too! All are very well run and welcoming places. In fact, in my experience swimmers are a lovely, supportive and friendly bunch, wherever you are!”

Describe your 'ideal' swim Rosanna

“My ideal swim is assessed on the feeling I have during and after the swim. The feeling I get from the immersion and the feeling I get from being supported by the water. When this all comes together, my swimming feels effortless, and I am in a form of meditation. I come out at the end feeling alive. That’s the dream!”

Tell us more about Rosanna

“2020 has been an interesting time for me work wise. My main work for the past 20 years has been organising large events – I work with corporates on their conferences and I also ran the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012 (not swimming but at least water related!). Event work has been put on hold with COVID but I have seen it as an opportunity to learn and grow in other areas. I’ve recently completed a study diploma becoming an Executive Coach. The dream is for the business to be a mix of events and coaching so now is a good time for me to develop the coaching side of the business.

“I like to give back to the community. I volunteer at The Vision drop-in centre in King’s Cross and I am also a trustee for London Community Foundation
I play the piano and I am trying to improve my darts skills, both with mixed success.

“London is a great place to live with so many weird and wonderful things to do. I recently made mozzarella at Wildes Cheese

“2020 has also been a great time for me to reignite my love of reading and music. One of my favourite things to come out of 2020, is a playlist I put together with my friends. The only criteria for the playlist is the song we nominate has to bring us joy. It’s fun to see such a diverse list, everything from Dolly Parton to Dua Lipa. I was asked to record my lockdown experiences and shared the joy of this playlist, music and friends.” (Swim People: check out this four minute youtube clip of Rosanna talking about the playlist)