{"id":2172,"date":"2025-09-19T08:18:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T08:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/?p=2172"},"modified":"2025-09-19T08:20:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T08:20:03","slug":"um-relato-swim-gp-10km","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/um-relato-swim-gp-10km\/","title":{"rendered":"A report \u2013 Swim GP 10km"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After being scheduled for a second ankle surgery within 7 months, about 20 days before the race, I was forced to withdraw from participating in the SwimGP 10 km. I was only authorized to return to the water 10 days before the race, which was insufficient to train for an event of this magnitude<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three days before the event, during an open water training session, Bibiana challenged me to take part anyway, without pressure, and to see the crossing as preparation for the Faial-Pico. And so I went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I arrived very early that day, spent some time alone looking at the sea and, unlike the previous year, without fog, the sea seemed relatively calm. Gradually, my fellow \u2018professionals\u2019 began to arrive. We were all a little nervous, which is normal given the challenge that awaited us. As usual, I gave Mayra a supportive hug (probably more than one).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anxious, but without pressure to finish, I started the race. In the first meters I came across a swimmer without a wetsuit, keeping a calm pace, and I thought: at this pace I\u2019m comfortable, I\u2019ll stay here. But as I approached Carcavelos beach, I saw a group ahead and noticed that one of the buoys was perfectly stretched and tidy \u2013 I immediately recognized it was Mayra. I gave an extra kick, and after a few minutes, I was in a comfortable place: right behind Mayra, catching her draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t the only one with that idea. I had to fight for the spot with some colleagues, because following in Mayra\u2019s wake is truly a privilege. We were in a large group, but with the usual contact I managed to secure that this would be my place<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Carcavelos, I realized from the pace and from the fact that we hadn\u2019t moved on for more than an hour that the current and the wind were against us. The sea was rough, but still bearable. There was hope that conditions would improve with each beach \u2013 but that never happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the first feed we stayed with the group, but at the second, already near the 5 km mark, it was just the two of us. I felt full of energy (later I realized it was just the battery running out) and I went ahead for a few meters, maybe 1 km. Then we switched and I followed in Mayra\u2019s wake again, but I broke around the 7 km mark and could no longer keep up. By then we had already been swimming for over 3 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the fixed feed station at 7.5 km, Mayra was waiting for me and helped me to take in some nutrition \u2013 already sick of gels, but aware of their importance, I made the effort. We also came across Andr\u00e9 Marquet, who continued on his journey. Until then I thought we were at 6.5 km, but I received the happy news that only 2.5 km were left and that, theoretically, it would become easier, as we would start to be more sheltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We carried on, but after 100 m I realized I could no longer keep up with Mayra\u2019s pace. My arms hurt intensely and, despite the gels, isotonic drinks, and water, I felt empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until then I had never considered giving up, and when the thought came, I immediately rejected it. With 2 km to go in a 10 km race, quitting would be something very hard to overcome mentally. The race, which at the start had no pressure to finish, took a turn at 8 km.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI alternated kicking with full strokes until I spotted Graham, who asked me if I was okay. I swam beside him for a few meters and then managed to pick up a bit more pace, completing the last 700 m in slow full strokes, in a kind of meditation. Psychologically, it was tough to see so many swimmers overtaking me without being able to keep up, but I was even more determined to finish than to let it affect me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t a thoughtless decision: I knew I had the energy to finish, but I could only access it through mental persistence, because my body was screaming NO. Of course, imagining myself quitting at 9 km gave me even more strength to keep going \u2013 pride<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last 200 m, already passing by the boats, the first swimmers of the 20 km race were finishing. I touched the finish line and started dragging myself toward the beach\u2026 until I heard Mayra shouting from the sand: LET\u2019S GO! I found a bit more energy so she wouldn\u2019t have to wait 10 minutes for me to cover 20 meters. I understood the hurry \u2013 we had been in this \u2018game\u2019 for almost 5 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only after a few hours did I truly realize what I had accomplished: in adverse conditions, without proper training or preparation, I achieved the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mas n\u00e3o sem consequ\u00eancias, o meu corpo e mente ficaram exaustos de tal forma que sentia-me doente – como se tivesse passado por um trauma, felizmente s\u00f3 durou cerca de 24h. Apercebi-me que o treino aqui tamb\u00e9m tem impacto, o treino \u00e9 essencial at\u00e9 depois da prova. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of this would have happened without Bibiana\u2019s push, challenge, and belief in me, without the companionship of Mayra and all the swimmers I passed and spoke with during the 10 km. The open water community is something incredible, and I am proud to be part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m usually quite hard on myself: I think I should train more, that I could give more in races, that my technique is a disaster\u2026 But then I remember that I only learned to swim four years ago and that I do this as a hobby. I\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s important to celebrate and take pride in our achievements, big or small, because they are part of the journey. What matters is to never stop believing and to keep persisting to overcome obstacles \u2014 in swimming and in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Joana Paz \u2013 4H48mint<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ap\u00f3s a marca\u00e7\u00e3o de uma segunda cirurgia ao tornozelo em 7 meses, cerca de 20 dias antes da prova, vi-me obrigada a desistir de participar no SwimGP 10 km. S\u00f3 estava autorizada a voltar \u00e0 \u00e1gua 10 dias antes da prova, insuficiente para treinar para uma prova desta dimens\u00e3o. Tr\u00eas dias antes do evento, num … <\/p>\n

Read more “Um relato \u2013 Swim GP 10km”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2172","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\/09\/image-6.png","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\/2172","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=2172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}