Written by Thijs
At the end of May I flew over to Mallorca for a week of swimming during Best Fest open water swimming festival. I came across an ad for Best Fest last year and thought to myself: A week of swimming in clear blue seawater around sunny Mallorca? That sounds right up my alley! So I signed up, with 2 conditions in mind: 1. I would participate in all 7 events (more on that later) and 2. If the water temperature wasn’t too bad, I would swim without wetsuit.
So what was I getting myself into? Best Fest: 7 events in 6 days with a total length of 26.3 km. Distances ranging from 500 m to 10 km. The training goals therefore were thus: 1. Making sure I could perform for 6 days straight and 2. Being able to complete a 10 km swim (which happens to be on the 5th day). Obviously, if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. So I safely locked my two-wheeled torture device in my shed, dialed my running back to the minimum amount required to prevent injuries in the long term, and went to the swimming pool 5 times a week.
From January to May I slowly built up my weekly distances and my longest sessions. I completed my first 10 km session at the end of March. After that I kept doing weekly 10 k’s in the 50 m pool (and 2 times in the 25 m pool, because the 50 m pool was closed) trying to build up my endurance and getting used to eating during the swim. It quickly became obvious that eating solid foods in the limited rest I had during my sessions wasn’t going to work, so instead of scarfing down a Snelle Jelle in 45 seconds flat, I decided to switch to gels.
As the event was approaching, it became obvious that I would likely be able to do it, but it was still unclear how well. Surely, all that training must have made me faster, but as you all probably know, if you spend most days training, you’re basically always tired and everything feels like a struggle. Especially the 10 km sessions were tough. Some days my arms were heavy from km 1, but mostly it was always a mental struggle. It’s the question I got asked the most: “I can’t imagine swimming for 3 hours straight, don’t you get bored?” Well, it really isn’t that hard. All you need is a lot of patience and it helps if you have the ability to keep yourself distracted or zone out for extended periods of time.
The last weeks before leaving I decided to at least get some open water session in. With wetsuit, since the Dutch waters were still quite chilly. Through these sessions I encountered a new issue that comes with swimming long distances in open water: Sunburns and tan lines, more specifically in the facial area. In other words, breathing on one side for several hours results in lasting impressions of your swimming cap and goggle straps on your face.
With hundreds of training km’s in my arms, I traveled to Mallorca. More specifically, I would be staying in Collonia de Sant Jordi on the south side of the island. I had decided to travel a day early to give myself a chance to settle in and it just so happened that the organizers of Best Fest also organized an Olympic Distance triathlon in town the day before the start of Best Fest. As a result, I spent most of my Saturday spectating and supporting at “the Tri” as they refer to it. It made me realize again how we are blessed with the most amazing sport on earth. I urge all of you to take the opportunity to visit a triathlon race just to spectate. It will give you a whole new appreciation for these events and the sport as a whole.
On Sunday, I had to start work myself. The first event of Best Fest: The 5 km. This was an interesting race, because it was a “Town to Town” swim. We started in Sant Jordi and swam 5 km in a straight line to Sa Rapita. Or well, as straight as possible. The buoys were 500 m apart and the waves were rolling in from the left, so staying on course was a struggle at times. Although I had trained months for this, it was a completely new experience. Instead of a smooth pool, I was suddenly in (relatively) rough salt water. Luckily, the water was warm enough to swim without a wetsuit. During the swim I completely lost track of time and distance and all I was focusing on was staying with the group I stumbled upon halfway through, so I wouldn’t get lost. Staying in the group was hard enough, since I kept getting swept away by the waves. Right before the finish I completely lost the group, but I did spot a ray. So it wasn’t all bad.
After finishing the swim, I enjoyed some of the fruit and candy on the beach and drank some water to get the salty flavor out of my mouth. After that, I watched and applauded as the remaining swimmers came in. Once everyone had finished, prizes were awarded to the fastest swimmers, and the raffle was held. Every participant is automatically entered with their start number and if your number is called, you can win all sorts of prizes: Dinners, drinks, hotel stays, water bottles, swimming goggles, you name it.
Basically, that was my morning every morning: Wake up, eat a quick breakfast, walk to the beach, swim, watch other people finish while eating and drinking, watch the prize ceremony and the raffle, go back to the apartment for lunch. After lunch I mostly just hung around my apartment doing puzzles. Partially to conserve energy and partially because I was alone, and well… I’m just not that outgoing.
On Sunday evening I joined the “secret swim”. A short 1 km swim around sunset. During the walk towards the secret location I met Stu. An Australian man from Malmö, Sweden. We didn’t talk about anything in particular, but Stu and his Swedish crew – Malin, Jorgen, Arvid and Anna – became familiar faces in the crowd that I hung around with every morning prior to the start of the events. During the swim, our guide spotted a ray. I didn’t see it, but I figured: If you’ve seen one ray, you’ve seen them all.
On Monday we swam the full-distance triathlon distance (or half, for those who preferred that). This swim was notable for three reasons. 1. We had a special guest participant: Double Olympic and world 10 km champion Sharon van Rouwendaal (let’s not talk about how the organizers pronounced that), who was mostly there to award prizes and promote her upcoming training camp. 2. We got Ensaimada at the finish (yum yum) and 3. I won a coupon for a free pizza at the raffle!!! (sucks to be the guy/gal who actually won it, but wasn’t there to claim it).
That evening and Wednesday evening I attended some open water clinics, hosted by people who can actually swim, to try to pick up some tricks. We did some sighting and drafting practice, as well as some experimentation with stroke rate and tempo trainers. Things that may sound familiar to the people who attended “my” open water clinics this summer.
On Tuesday we had two swims: A 1500 m in the morning – which felt like a full-blown sprint relative to the 5 km – followed by a 2500 m “tell me your time” event. No watches were allowed during this event and it was ranked by how close you could get to a time you registered prior to the event. I thought I did pretty well, being only 2 minutes off. However, the winner got their time exactly right, which I’m sure was all skill and not a complete coincidence at all.
Tuesday concluded with a barbecue, where I met up with my new Swedish pals. There was some good food, beer we had to draft into a paper cup (not a great success) and a nice band. The band was a bit loud however, so we set up shop at the back, trying not to get eaten alive by mosquito’s and talking about – among other things – the most interesting animals in our native countries. I couldn’t do better than wolf, which isn’t going to win the competition if you’re talking to an Australian. During the barbecue I was also informed that I had been adopted into their team for the 4x500m relay on Friday, which was much nicer prospect than having to team up with random strangers.
Wednesday was another A to B swim, where we had to walk 3km to the start before swimming back. After the prize ceremony and the raffle we were all treated to copious amounts of delicious paella. That evening I had a small crisis, when upon returning to my apartment after the open water clinic I discovered the nose bridge on my goggles had snapped in my bag. This was less than ideal, considering I had to swim a 10k the next morning, so I scrambled into town to pick up a new pair of goggles. In the end, it was probably for the best, since my old goggles were so scratched up that I was struggling to see through them anyway.
Thursday was the big day. 10 k day. The day I had been training so hard for. At the start the water was nice and calm, but as time went on the wind picked up and it got pretty rough. At the end of my 2nd of 6 laps I was passed by a swimmer who did the 7 k (what a wimp) and hopped in his draft. I then had a decision to make: Eat my gel halfway through the race, or wait until the end of the 4th lap and hold on to my ride for as long as possible. I picked the latter, and 2/3rds through my race I could finally eat my banana flavored gel. At that time was treated to the most interesting taste I have ever had in my mouth, as the last bit of gel mixed with the salt water. Salty banana anyone? For the last 2 laps I was on my own in the roughest water of the day, but I made it to the end and even achieved pace that I had hoped for prior to the event, so I couldn’t complain.
In the afternoon I went to the 10 lane(!), 50m pool at Best Centre (the organizers of Best Fest) for a video analysis session with Paul Newsome from Swim Smooth (some of you may recognize the name). I was tired as hell, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, so I went for it anyway. It was super interesting to see how he analyzed not only my own stroke, but those of other as well. The man obviously knows what he is doing.
In the evening I stopped by the “presentation night”. Mostly because I suspected that all the amazing volunteers would be thanked there and I obviously wanted to show my support, but also because I suspected I would be getting an award for being the 2nd fastest non-elite, non-wetsuit, male swimmer in the age group 30-39 on the Colonia classic events (5k, 1500m, 10k). I’m not one to pass up on a free glorified participation trophy, my cupboard is full of them.
On Friday, I woke up a broken man. Physically, not emotionally like normal. “Training readiness: 1” my Garmin said. Yeah, that checks out. “Take a day off” my Garmin said. OK, hear me out. What if I swim 500m flat out first, and THEN take the rest of the day off. Deal? Deal. So I joined Malin, Arvid and Anna on the beach (Stu and Jorgen had joined some random strangers, absolute legends) for our 4x500m relay. It’s amazing how a distance so “short” could be so tiring, but it was good fun. It was basically an “out of competition” competition. I could even swim without that hellish timing chip band, which had slowly dug itself into my ankle during the week, until Malin suggested I should probably wear it with the soft side on the inside. I am not a smart man.
On my last evening I went over to the house where Stu, Malin and Jorgen were staying to have a beer with them before we parted ways. On my way over, I finally picked up my free pizza. Later, we walked through town for a bit and went into some shops, because Stu and Malin were hunting for “holiday shoes”, whatever that means. Must be a Swedish things. They found some though, so all is well that ends well. With their new shoes, they went of to a restaurant for dinner. We said our goodbyes and I went back to my apartment to start packing for my flight back home the day after. My trip home was a whole other adventure, ending with me running home from the train station through a lightning storm at 2 AM, but that’s neither here nor there.
Looking back, Best Fest was quite the experience. The weather was amazing (25 degrees and sunny every day), the water was perfect (not too cold and absurdly clear blue) and the vibes were good. Above all it was a joy to spend time around so many people who share a passion for swimming. People in all shapes, sizes, ages and skill levels. From 15 year olds who swim 10k in about 2 hours without a wetsuit, to 70 year olds who take twice as long with wetsuit.
Obviously, a huge shout-out to Stu, Malin, Jorgen, Arvid and Anna, who made my time at Best Fest much more enjoyable. Also, an honorable mention to Hillary. A 62 year old Canadian lady who I kept bumping into at the finish of events, because we were always doing similar times. Apparently, she’s one of the fastest swimmers in the world in her age group. She does get awfully seasick during open water swims though.
I would recommend Best Fest to anyone who has any interest in swimming. It’s a very competitive, but at the same time super laid back event in a beautiful environment. Beside the events, there’s opportunities to do coached sessions or video analysis in the pool, join clinics or listen to lectures from great swimmers. But above all, it’s just a good time together with people you can share a passion with. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
