IWD Sea Swim Mini Series Ep 3 - Mel Rayner, Wild Swimming Coach

Welcome to Ep 3 of our collaboration with PinkNicky Blog and the IWD Brighton Sea Swim. In this episode I speak to Mel Rayner who is a swim teacher, open water coach, personal trainer and school sports coach.  Mel runs a sports business based in Hampshire, UK and is a partner in a swim retreat business called The Wild Swimming Co. which has been involved with a number of swim collaborations with Land and Wave, one of the UK South Coast's leading adventure activity providers.  Mel is also a former keen triathlete, having achieved a podium finish at a full distance triathlon and completed numerous marathons and ultra marathons. However, despite being in the sea most days, she still has an unhealthy fear of seals!

In this episode we explore what attracted Mel to open water swimming and how this has developed in to her running her retreats. She also shares some helpful tips for anybody interested in getting started with open water swimming.

This episode is part of a 6 part mini series in collaboration with PinkNicky Blog in support of the IWD Sea Swim 2024. Each episode is 10 -15 minutes long and shines a light on one of the women involved in their event, their reasons for doing so and the benefits they have personally experienced from living life  adventurously.

To find out more about Mel and the Wild Swimming Co visit:

https://www.thewildswimming.co.uk/

Instagram: @thewildswimmingco 

To find out more about PinkNicky Blog and register for the IWD Sea Swim, please click here

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Transcript

In the Everyday Adventure Podcast, host Nikki Bass interviews Melissa Rayner, a swim teacher, open water coach, personal trainer, and partner in the World Swimming Company. The episode focuses on the International Women's Day Sea Swim event in Brighton. Rayner shares her journey into open water swimming, which began during lockdown as a way to escape the chaos. She also discusses the importance of safety in open water swimming, advising beginners to familiarize themselves with the body of water, never swim alone, and use safety equipment like a toe float and brightly colored swim cap. Rayner also suggests acclimatizing to cold water gradually to make the experience more comfortable. She encourages listeners to check out the World Swimming Company's website for more information about their retreats and events.

Nicki (00:00):

Hello and welcome to the Everyday Adventure Podcast. My name is Nicki Bass and I'll be bringing you thoughts, ideas, and stories from some incredible guests to hopefully inspire you to live more adventurously in your everyday lives.

(00:24):

So hello again. Welcome back, and we are now in our next episode of this mini series, which is focused on the International Women's Day Seas Swim, which is taking place in Brighton on the 9th of March. And those of you who've caught this mini series previously, we'll know that I'm speaking to some incredible women who happen to be involved in the event and sharing a little bit about their stories, a bit about their background too. So today I'm absolutely thrilled to be speaking to Mel, Melissa Rainer. Mel is a swim teacher, she's an open water coach, she's a personal trainer, and in addition to running a sports business based in Hampshire in the uk, she's also a partner in the World Swimming Company, which is a swim retreat company running holidays and events around the uk. And I've taken a look at Mel's website and it has to be said that I was about to sign up to all of them just before I came onto this podcast and look absolutely amazing.

(01:16):

So I'm sure we'll have a place to chat about these during our conversation. But Mel is not only a swim coach, she's also a former triathlete who has podiums in a previous triathlon. She has run numerous marathons and ultra marathons and is, I think it's safe to say she is one of these multi adventure sports person who really just loves getting out there and taking part in all different types of adventures. So Mel, welcome to the show. It is such a pleasure to have you here. I just wondered if you could start by sharing with us, I think we can make the link between your background, inal Water Swimming and the International Women's Day Sea Swim. I was just wondering what inspired you to get involved in this event and what's your role within it?

Mel (02:06):

Well, thank you for such a lovely introduction. That's really sweet. Thank you. And listening to you repeat that to me makes me remember the things that are important to me and why I do so many of these things. I would say the inspiration and the motivation. When I first started getting involved in open water swimming only came to me during lockdown where I had a real desire to get into the sea and forget about all the nonsense that was happening around me. It was all a bit crazy. And although I expected to be quite short lived, and of course it went on for months and months and months, it was a time for me to lose myself and forget about everything. It was also a safe way that I could get into the sea or anybody of water with friends without getting myself in bother and into trouble because of course were outside, we were keeping safe distances, et cetera.

(03:02):

And then it came over as a bit of an addiction and the desire to go in daily became more and more. And I enjoyed doing this with friends. And then as the temperature started to plummet, the thrill and the enjoyment, but even greater. So it was a real desire. So again, thank you for such a nice introduction. I'm a keen triathlete ultramarathon runner, and I think probably the pattern is since having two children now 12 and 16 years of age, I realised that my challenges have become longer and longer. And that might be a reflection on myself as a parent because it gives me the identity of me, Mel Rayna, it brings me back to myself. It's my opportunity to go out. There may be the 5K runs are lovely, but going out actually for several hours, swimming and running to me is far more appealing.

(03:52):

And I adore my family, but I think as I'm getting older, approaching 50, I need to remain and regain the identity. The opportunity to get involved with International Women's Day is really exciting for me. I love the empowerment of having lots of women around all trying to achieve the same thing. I've really always enjoyed the 5K runs Race for Life. And when the music starts going and you go through the start gantry and everyone's cheering and whooping and there's just a real lovely atmosphere. And again, I say about empowerment is such a used word at the moment, but it is empowering. You are there together with, let's be cheesy and say with your sisters and you're all going for the same goal. The swim in Brighton is going to be fantastic, and if they do achieve 500 people, which I really hope they do, that's going to be some sight.

Nicki (04:52):

No, that's incredible. And I know you're partnering with Land and Wave as part of the event. Can you share a little bit more about that, how that came about? Because I'm based in Dset and they're a very big adventure company down here near where I live, and they do some incredible sports and adventures and activities. So yeah, I'd love to know more.

Mel (05:12):

Absolutely. So Land and Wave has come on my radar about four years ago, maybe three years ago. The brief explanation is I did my open water coaching course and during the course there was a chap on there called Richard Lloyd, and I thought, gosh, this chap knows an awful lot about water coaching, sea safety. And so I contacted him and I said, I'm currently running exercise retreats and I'd love to run open water swim retreats, G Fancy meet up and having a chat. And he said, yep, love to perfect timing. So we had a conversation and he works for Land and Wave and he had an awful lot of great resources available through Land and Wave. And from there we formed our business, started off slow, did a few pilot events and retreats, and realised it was something we are incredibly passionate about. And thankfully, lots of men and women, well, sorry, women and men were very passionate too. And we've had hundreds and hundreds of people come through our retreats over weekends and longer and our events. So Land and Wave have been really great, really instrumental in getting us going and my collaboration with Land and Wave and Richard as a partnership has been really, really excellent and very forward moving.

Nicki (06:40):

Amazing. Like I said, I did have a quick look at your website before we spoke. Actually, when I say a quick look, I had quite a long look at your website. I got sucked in. I was like, I thought the first thing I saw is that you run a retreat in Bead, which is one of my favourite places in the world. We used to have a little holiday place down there, and it's my happy place. I was like, oh yes. And it is just such an amazing place for open water swimming as well. I tend to surf more, but when I say surf, fairly averagely. But I know they've got the beautiful sea pool down in Beed as well, which has just exploded in recent years, I think with the growth in interest in open water sewing, which is amazing because they were going through some real funding problems to begin with, and then the community took it over and have just created this incredible space.

Mel (07:28):

I mean, are there fabulous?

Nicki (07:29):

Yeah, sorry, carry on.

Mel (07:31):

No, I was going to say it's fabulous and it's a really nice safe way for people to get into the water and have that feeling of the cold water without getting into the sea, which some people often find a little bit overwhelming. We always say Richard and myself always say, and as person is an open water coach, you should never swim on your own. But the safety of these lovely leidos, you've always got people around. There's always going to be someone going in as well. And I'd really like to touch on something actually as well that I've found as an open water coach when people say, what do you do for a living? And I say, I coach people in the C. And they say, oh, the first thing they say is, oh, you're nuts. And I can almost set my watch by it. I know in 10 seconds they're going to go, do you think it's something I can do?

(08:17):

And so I wouldn't say it's nuts. I really wouldn't happens to be able to swim from A to B under your own steam in the sea, which is there is accessible, it's free. But I love the feeling because a friend of mine recently taught me this phrase and they said, don't negotiate with yourself. So I stand on the shore, I know I want to get in, I know it's cold, but I do want to get in, but I know it's cold. And then I do get in and I love it. And then afterwards I come out and I think it's breezing, I want to curl up into a ball and wrap myself in my dry rope. But then I push myself to get myself warm. So I've achieved my swim. And then I've managed to really motivate and keep myself moving to get myself warm. And actually that in itself is a really big golden achievement rather than curling into a ball like a little child crying out for a hot chocolate. So that I particularly enjoy that side of it. And again, it still makes me chuckle even now people say, you are mad and I know they're going to come up and say, you think I can do it?

Nicki (09:19):

I love that

Mel (09:20):

Eye

Nicki (09:20):

Roll. Yeah. What I love about that is the way you also break down all the elements of it. So people typically focus on the cold water park. I guess that's the bit that feels the most intimidating. But like you said, actually, and if I'm honest, the thing that stops me from getting in the sea, particularly in winter, is not that the cold water as such, but it's all the faff around it. And like you said, that sense of achievement you get from just putting on your dry rob and getting on down down there and then getting in the, that every element of that is requiring something of you. Absolutely.

Mel (09:56):

We call it our yay yas and we're like, oh, I tick another Yaya. And also another massive fundamental part of being an open water swimmer is cake post swim cake. Everybody enjoys a slice, and the more glutinous and large the better. And it's a really nice way to sort of break the ice when you meet people as well, because it's a real solo event. Not that I endorse people going in on their own, but you can tell that not knowing someone and you know that everyone's going to be like-minded and a little bit of cake share at the end is just such a lovely start your day or end of your day.

Nicki (10:33):

I love that. And like you said, even if the swimming and the cold doesn't necessarily appeal the cake M, so it's a very good reason to indulge in cake, not that we need one. So if anybody's listening to this, you've shared so many wonderful tips already, but if someone's listening to this and they're wanting to get started on their own adventure, whatever that may be, whether it is involving sea swimming, whether it is something else, what's one piece of advice you would give them?

Mel (11:02):

Oh gosh. One piece. Oh, that's hard. Okay.

Nicki (11:05):

That's all right. I won't hold you to it if you give more than one.

Mel (11:08):

Okay, well, I might say what I say, safety, you've got to be safe, but you've got to know your body of water. Don't just turn up somewhere for the first time on holiday. Corn was a great example. You've got lots of different entries into the water. It might just step straight down, it might just shove gently or it might just go sloping through. There's so many options and it can catch you out. And then you take a mouthful of water and you've got yourself in a spot of bother. So know your water. Don't swim alone and have right, correct support stuff with you. For example, a toe float. It's not a life preserver, but it will get you out of a bit of bother. And it also highlights to other swimmers, people that might be in their boats or jet skis, it just makes you stand out significantly.

(11:53):

And a brightly coloured swim cap. If you are going to go into cold water and you've got maybe, I don't know, for example, people that like to do Christmas or boxing day dips, you can make it a lot more comfortable if you climatize yourself the several weeks or even two weeks beforehand and just have a nice warm shower and then at the end, last yourself for 30 seconds, and then the next day you might make 45 then a minute. Then you might just, you can do your whole shower with cold water and save a lot on your bills.

Nicki (12:23):

Brilliant. So two for the price of one or something. Yeah. That's amazing. I mean, so much incredible advice packed into such a short space of time. That was amazing. If people want to find out more about you, about your retreats, about your work, where can they go?

Mel (12:39):

Okay, so our website is the World Swimming Cope, and it's quite easy to find. We've also got a Facebook page and Instagram and lots of information about our swims. We also, this year, Richard, or the last few months, Richard's cleverly put out that we do difficulty level. So if you're complete beginner and you're just interested in dips, you'll see the event will say this is suitable for you. Some of the swims are a little bit more technical, difficult, maybe more suitable for athletes that are looking to build in mileage. We do work a lot on swim drills, being that we're both open water coaches, so if that's your goal, your objective, then the difficult sessions might be more suitable. We do lots of fun things as well. We also do sauna dips, sorry. We do sauna and dips. We've also done yoga in the past, and we often include a speedboat. So it might be that you swim out to, for example, old Harry rocks be collected by the boats and then whisk back to shore. So that's always a thrill.

Nicki (13:45):

Fantastic. Well, we'll pop all of those links in the show notes as well so that people can go and find you and find out about your work more really easily. Mel, thank you so much for your time today. It's been such a pleasure chatting to you and wishing you all very best for the CSO on the ninth as well. Thank you so much. Thanks so

Mel (14:00):

Much.

Nicki (14:00):

Take care. Bye.