{"id":2083,"date":"2025-08-15T08:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T08:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/?p=2083"},"modified":"2025-08-15T10:55:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T10:55:44","slug":"2083-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/2083-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The 6 Buoys of the SwimGP"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The SwimGP 2025 was my first open water swimming competition, marking the end of my very first sports season in this discipline. I remember a training session, which now feels so long ago, at the start of spring, when Bibiana encouraged us to take part in competitions, particularly the SwimGP. With a big smile, I replied, half-jokingly: \u201cBut isn\u2019t it swim for fun?\u201d, to which she quickly replied, also smiling: \u201cOnly for some!\u201d\n\nWhen registrations opened, I resisted signing up. My classmates were sharing ideas about participating in events from the north to the south of the country, but I, like a small village of irreducible Gauls, stubbornly resisted the invader. Still, in my mind, I had already decided I would compete in July, and I imposed on myself a training routine in the pool, complementing my swims at Duquesa beach, in preparation for that competition.\n\nSo, every day, before swimming class, I would swim for half an hour, focusing alternately on technique, speed, or endurance. As the first registration deadline approached, I still didn\u2019t feel ready. Until, one day, I was confronted by a training mate\u2019s blunt statement: \u201cYou, who get up every day at 6:30 am to swim, aren\u2019t ready for a 1 km race?! You, who have already been to competitions to support your teammates, who know and enjoy the atmosphere, don\u2019t want to be part of it?! You\u2019ll regret it later!\u201d That very day, I registered for the 1 km SwimGP race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the distance was physically attainable, the race had its mental challenges. It would take place in the bay of Cascais, which is naturally sheltered, and consist of a closed circuit around six buoys. But the distance from the shore was intimidating, especially when reaching the fourth buoy of the course. In addition, the use of an individual safety buoy would not be allowed.\n\nThere were also more mundane challenges, such as my worn-out wetsuit after a year of use, and the chaos of arms and legs at the start and when rounding the buoys. With no other choice, mind and body embraced, ready to overcome these challenges together. Every day I thought about the fourth buoy, and in each weekly training session I tried to infer the course and estimate the distance. On the eve of the race, I tried on a new wetsuit, dull in appearance and with a strong smell, and made a final effort to familiarise myself with the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, the day of the race finally arrived. I was nervous, but eager to start. Two hours before, I was doing resistance band stretches; one hour before, I was putting on my wetsuit; half an hour before, I swam out to the nearest boat. The swimmers were called not to a line, but to the start area. We took our final team photos and then dashed into the sea.\n\nI started at a pace that was dynamic yet comfortable. I then recalled Bibiana\u2019s advice about rounding the buoys: \u201cStay away from the buoys and from other swimmers! Don\u2019t worry about strategy\u2014just focus on doing the race!\u201d Curiously, by distancing myself from the swimmers, I ended up closer to the first buoy and rounded it unscathed. The second buoy then came into view, though I could see little else. My goggles seemed to be coated in ointment, so I had no real sense of the distance from the shore.\n\nAt the third buoy, I turned my back to the coast and headed towards the fourth buoy\u2014the one I had visualised so many times in my mind. There were small ripples, but they were gentle. Several RIBs accompanied the swimmers, helping to guide us and spot the buoys camouflaged among the boats. I thought, \u201cI don\u2019t know where I am, and I don\u2019t have a buoy,\u201d but I trusted I was being watched and kept safe, so I kept my focus on the buoys.\n\nUpon reaching the fifth buoy, still at a comfortable pace, I picked up speed slightly. I finished the race with a steady pulse and a decent time. I grabbed the bottle I had prepared in advance\u2014with protein and a pinch of coffee powder\u2014and joined Bibiana, who was cheering for each and every one of her swimmers. The atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming, like a family reunion.\n\nIn the meantime, I had already set myself my next challenge. The senseis say that it\u2019s only when you reach the black belt that you truly begin karate. The first open water race is like the black belt: I have only just begun to swim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sofia Carvalho<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

O SwimGP 2025 foi a minha primeira competi\u00e7\u00e3o de nata\u00e7\u00e3o em \u00e1guas abertas, marcando o fim da minha tamb\u00e9m primeira \u00e9poca desportiva neste desporto. Recordo-me do treino, que me parece j\u00e1 t\u00e3o long\u00ednquo, no in\u00edcio da Primavera, em que a Bibiana nos incentivou a participar em competi\u00e7\u00f5es, em particular no SwimGP. Com um grande sorriso, … <\/p>\n

Read more “As 6 b\u00f3ias do SwimGP”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sem-categoria-en"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-25-at-19.58.31.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Clube Swim4fun","author_link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/author\/geralclube-swim4fun-pt\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}