The Wellbeing Hour #42 The Merthyr Mermaid Mentality

Text transcript

Amy: Welcome, everybody, to the Headtorch Wellbeing Hour. I’m Amy McDonald.

Angus: I’m Angus Robinson and we’ll introduce you to today’s guest, Cath Pendleton, in a few moments. As you settle in, the heads up, we are recording this and you will be able to listen back to it on all the usual podcast channels. Please do follow us on them. It does make a difference and we really appreciate that. Uh,

At Headtorch, we’re here to develop and maintain a mentally healthy culture in organisations, and the Wellbeing Hour is a really important extension of our work. I’ll be back a little later to ask some of your questions to our guests, and as you’re having a listen here, have a think about what do you want to ask Cath?

What do you want to ask Cath as we’re going through this? Amy.

Amy: Yeah, and we look forward to hearing what you want to ask, Cath. And also to, yeah, just hearing your thoughts and your, and your opinions, especially, Obviously, those of you who are joining us live today. Before then, I am going to be asking a few of my own questions to Kath, questions including, what did you do at the International World Ice Swimming Championships?

Why did you have a chest freezer in your garden shed, and what’s so good about swimming in cold water? Today’s session we have called The Merthyr Mermaid Mentality, Taking Swimming to the Extremes. And joining us for this conversation, I am delighted to say, is our amazing guest, Cath Pendleton, an extreme swimmer, Cath, we’ll be hearing shortly all about your, your swimming Story and your insights and your thoughts.

But before we go any further, you, Kath, have a question to share with everybody here today, and I will just share that on the screen here for you now. And Kath’s question to all of us is, my mantra is do more of what makes you happy. What is your mantra? So we’re interested to hear about your mantras in the chat.

Do share those with us as Kath and I move into conversation and we’ll hear them a little later on. First of all, let me introduce Kath to you. How did I first come across you, Kath? Well, I first came across you through the BBC iPlayer documentary called The Merthyr Mermaid and if you haven’t watched it yet folks I can highly recommend it,

it is 30 minutes of your life well spent. And in it we see Kath back in February 2020 become the first person in the world to swim an ice mile inside the Antarctic Polar Circle. She now holds the Guinness World Record for the woman who’s completed the most southerly ice swim. How did she and I actually make a connection?

Well, actually, it was through my sister who was at work, who met a friend of Kath, who was also at work, and my sister on my behalf, left my details and hence we made the connection. Kath Pendleton has swum the channel. She’s swum not one but ten ice miles. She’s swum around icebergs.

She’s swum in the dark. She’s swum under ice in the dark. And she’s swum for Great Britain. I don’t know about you folks, but I can’t wait to dive in. Do you get it? Anyway, let’s hear a little bit more. Kath, please share with us. Hi, hi, hi. Share with us your mystery object and a little bit about you.

Cath: Hi, everyone. So, I’m Kath Pendleton as you say. So, I love ice swimming is my thing. I’ve actually got two mystery objects. I’ve got Waddles the penguin, and Waddles the penguin is wearing this beautiful necklace, that contains, water. You want me to tell you more?

Amy: Yes, tell us more.

Cath: So, Waddles the penguin went all the way to Antarctica with me as my mascot and came all the way back, thankfully.

And this beautiful necklace, my friend Dee that was also on the expedition, she collected water as a surprise from the swim spot where I did my ice mile and then got made into this beautiful pendant for me. So they’re very, I treasure them both. So I wear this when I’m feeling like I need some luck, actually, and I think it works.

Do

Amy: Yeah, absolutely. How fantastic. And where did waddles come from?

Cath: Do you know what I think he was from a garage or something, when I was filling up with petrol. And I was like, I’m always broke, but I was like, I need that to go to Antarctica. There was 17 of us on the Exped and I had like a duffel bag and Waddles was strapped to it and they were like, but it made me happy, so

Amy: Yeah,

A bit of comfort from home. Fantastic. Great. So, Kath and I are going to dive into our conversation now. Do put your thoughts, opinions, questions into the chat and a little later on we will field those, those thoughts and questions, to Kath. Kath, aged four, what happened to you?

Cath: Oh, age four, they built a swimming pool onto the side of my school. So I remember roller skating inside the swimming pool when it was empty. And, lucky for me, it meant that I had loads and loads of swimming lessons. You know, we went swimming. I think there was only about 85 children in my primary school.

So it wasn’t that you went swimming just on a term time. I think we probably went twice a week. And the coaches were brilliant and they took all the children, you know, under their wings and made sure that they could learn to swim. I was one of those kids that could only swim underwater. trying to get me to swim on top of water was a bit of a nightmare.

But yeah, so I started swimming at the age of four and haven’t looked back.

Amy: Wow, fantastic. And when did you first say that you wanted to swim the channel?

Cath: Yeah, that’s the, I first said I wanted to swim the channel in, I can remember it well. The April of 2016. So, I started my crazy love of ice swimming in September 2015. And after my first winter of swimming, I was just like, I was a bit sad because I was like, the water’s going to get warm and I’m not going to know what to do.

So, through ice swimming, I’d met a lot of people that had swum the channel with us before, I’d only ever seen them on Blue Peter or, you know, Newsround. So, that sort of inspired me and I started doing a few 5k and 10k swims and whilst under the influence of too much gin on an April evening, I thought, I know, I’ll swim the channel, that’ll keep me busy.

So, I decided in two years time, so I booked my channel for, September 2018. And, yeah, the next two years was a lot of swimming. Probably not as much as I should have, but what I could do.

Amy: Wow, amazing. And so when you swam, the channel, you did it first as relay, didn’t you? And then you did it solo. How long did it take you when you swam it solo?

Cath: It took a long time. It took 16 hours, 45 minutes.

Amy: Whoa.

Cath: yeah, it was, It was a, it was a long time and I think, I was really lucky that I’d managed to get sponsorship for it through a company called Source Insurance in Cardiff, but I had told them all about my love to go to Antarctica, and I was like, I really want to go out to Antarctica, and they were like, well, get across the channel and, you know, we’ll see, and I remember swimming the channel thinking penguins, penguins, penguins, and I made this pact not to speak and I As you know, Amy, I like to talk.

So I said, I will only say all the way across the channel. Thank you. Thank you. I’m having a nice day because I had a hat with eyes on it and it said, have a nice day on the back. So I think that was harder than the swim, not to speak for 16 hours, 45 minutes.

Amy: But it sounds like that was a lot of really good, positive self talk that you were giving yourself then as you crossed the channel.

Cath: Oh, it was so boring, right? Jellyfish. So when I did, oh, it was like, I didn’t see a thing! So when I did the relay, so anybody that’s thinking about it, a relay is absolutely really lovely, it, actually we had a storm on ours and it was a bit hairy, but it was really, it was really good. And I think that took us 15 hours

or something with four of us. But you know, you were changing all the time. It was July, there was jellyfish to look at. On my solo, I didn’t see a single jellyfish. When I was sick, no fish came, whereas my friend was sick and all these fish came and gobbled up his sick. I didn’t see nothing, other than a lollipop wrapper that I tried to get,

and then the captain was like, what are you doing? I was like, I’m getting the rubbish. He was like, Swim to France. And I was like, but there’s rubbish in the sea. He was like, swim. So yeah, it was, it was a long, it’s funny what you can talk to yourself, you know, I was like, I’m going to feign a shoulder injury and say, Oh, my shoulder, I need to get, you know, I’d bumped my gums for two years on Facebook and stuff about it,

and lots of people had sponsored me. So I was just like, just swim, just keep swimming, you know, and, Yeah,

Amy: And when you, when you hit France then, when you got out of the water, what was that like?

Cath: That was the funniest thing ever. Okay. So I got rolled by a wave when I was training in the April, of the year that I did my channel. I was just lying on the shore and I went to get up and a wave had other ideas and I came out, I was battered, I was blue. I couldn’t swim for eight weeks because I’d really damaged my ribs.

So I was petrified about getting out in case I got rolled by a wave. So when I was coming up the beach, I could see this, like, triangle, and I, I was a bit delirious at that point. I thought, oh, penguins! And then I was like, no, no penguins in France. And as I kept walking, I realised it was my shadow! And then, the worst of it was, I was on the beach, dancing around, couldn’t find a pebble because I was on, on sand, because the thing is, you get a pebble and then have it as your memento of your swim.

I, I could only find sand. I turned around, and as I turned around with the light on the back of my head the boat had turned around so they lost me on the beach. And I hadn’t heard the horn because I had dreams, reoccurring dreams, that I didn’t finish the swim. Once I got out and I went to a party, a house party, and somebody said, aren’t you meant to be swimming the channel?

And I was like, yeah, I’ll be alright. And they were like, no, you can’t have a break. And the other time I went to a concert. So I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew I’d heard this horn, so it felt like I was on the beach for ages, and then eventually a little boat came that had been doing another swim, and he’s like, Kath, what are you doing?

I’m like, I’m waiting for the horn. He’s like, it went ten minutes ago, and then it made me swim back to the boat!

Amy: You just swam back to the boat.

Cath: Yeah, I was like, can I I get get get get a lift? they were like, no, you need to swim. So, I was like, really? And then I got on the boat, and then my crew, God bless them, they were so tired. They all wanted sleep, and all I wanted to do was talk.

Amy: Well, amazing. You have swum the channel. I don’t think I’ve spoken to anybody before that has swum the channel. That is quite amazing. And wasn’t it like way back when in your childhood that you said to your uncle, I’m going to swim the channel?

Cath: Yeah, so when I used to go to the swimming pool across from my house, I mean, it was literally like a 200 yard walk. Every Saturday, he would visit my mum from Swansea. He’d come up just to have some food and, you know, a bit of banter. And he’d say to me every Saturday, was the water wet? And I used to say, of course it was wet.

And I used to get really annoyed with him with his stupid joke. But, he used to smoke. And on the back of his Bryant May matches was Captain Webb and all the facts about the channel. And I remember just saying to him, I’m going to swim the channel one day. So, yeah, he was, you know, my inspiration. I think, you know, things happen, don’t they?

I met all these people. And then I remember saying I’d planted that seed, I guess, as a kid, you know, that I remember seeing people on Blue Peter and thinking, oh, how could, people swim for that long? And, I was like, well, I think I’d done quite a few 10Ks by then, but obviously the channel’s 35K, so it’s a bit of a jump.

But, yeah, I was just really determined to do it then. I just needed a new focus to kind of stop me playing mermaids and doing handstands all summer until the winter came.

Amy: Were you able to tell your uncle that you had swum the Channel?

Cath: No, unfortunately he passed away, but, You know, he probably would have made some joke about it.

Amy: So you swum the Channel and you find yourself, getting on a trip out to Argentina to swim in Antarctica. I mean, what, what was driving Kath Pendleton at that point?

Cath: Oh, do you know what? I was absolutely hooked with ice swimming. So, I started swimming in September 2015. Then, mistakenly, my friend Vicky told me about the ice mile. So, I got obsessed with wanting to do an ice mile, which is swimming one mile in water under five degrees, with the same as the channel swimming rules, just standard hat and costume.

And, yeah, I actually ended up doing my first ice mile in the following January, which I took quite a bit of flak for, because people were like, well, you shouldn’t be able to do that, you need to train for a couple of years. But you know what, I swam in the river all the time as a child, so I think some people can do it more than others, and I think it was just something, you know, within me, I used to like caving, you know, all, crazy stuff, I used to like.

Amy: Can I just ask where did you do your first ice mile?

Cath: Out in Keepers Pond, in my local pond, so we set it up ourselves, we had a 50 metre swimming rope that we planted, I had friends stood in dry suits and we, we just swam around it. You can’t do it yourself now, obviously for safety reasons, they’ve made it, you’ve got to have official observers and stuff, but yeah, it was really nice, and I became the first Welsh woman to have done one, so that, that was really cool, so that was nice, and Yeah, so then the four of us got together and we called ourselves the Dippy Dragons, because speaking to Angus earlier, not many people were swimming then, you know, if you asked to swim in the winter, people were like, what?

And we all decided to go to Poland for our first ever trip aboard as the Dippy Dragons, and I met loads of ice swimmers there from all over the world. It was the first time I’d ever swam. In a body of water that had been cut out of ice. It was a lake and they’d cut this ice out and, it, it was just amazing.

I think the water was 1.5 and I ended up doing a kilometer and a seven 50 swim in the same day. Again, I got flack for that, but I was like, I love it. And when, when I was there, I met, a guy called Ger Kennedy. So if you’ve seen the Merthyr Mermaid. Ger Kennedy was the exped leader. So that was January 2017, and then in the March, he put a post on Facebook saying, I’m going to run a trip to Antarctica in 2020, looking for expressions of interest. I was like, wee! I want to go! So he knew that I was He knew I could do the swim, but it was going to cost like £10, 000. So he was like, have you got any money? And I was like, no, but it’s like three years away.

And then I also met Jaimie Monahan. You should Google Jaimie Monahan. She’s a, an awesome swimmer. She’s the first person to have ever completed the ice sevens challenge, which is swimming, one kilometer in each of the seven continents. And when she swam Antarctica in 2018, she’s got this really beautiful stroke and the sea looked like a lake.

It was flat calm with iceberg, and she’s swimming along and she’s got penguins going behind her. So I got completely obsessed. I was like, I need to go to Antarctica and I need to have a video like Jaimie. I was obsessed. So that’s how it came about. Just by.

I went to Poland and then this thing on Facebook and I became obsessed.

I was like, I need to go.

Amy: wow. And have you ever met Jaimie?

Cath: I’ve met Jaimie and I absolutely love her. She’s, she, she, she’s phenomenal swimmer. She’s the queen of Manhattan. I think she did the Manhattan swim like five times in a row.

we’re really good friends, but, you know, I don’t, I don’t see her much now, but, we have dreams of doing some mermaiding stuff together, because I’m a bit obsessed with being a mermaid now.

Amy: Okay, let’s go to Antarctica. So, there you are, you’re on the boat. And, I think they’re just about, you’re just about to get out onto the smaller rib boat to, to go out to do the, the swim, but tell, tell us what happens just before you were supposed to go out.

Cath: Oh, wow. So, if you’ve seen The Merthyr Mermaid, you’ll see it was touch and go for us all to pass our medical, because you have to do your blood pressure. So of course white coat syndrome kicks in and everybody’s blood pressure goes up. I was desperate for a cup of coffee because I hadn’t had a coffee for about 24 hours.

So I’m sat on the boat drinking my cup of coffee, minding up my own business, finding out now that I’ve had to go first rather than third like I was going to go. And everybody shouts, Orcas and I was like, okay. I didn’t even flinch because every time I talked about going to Antarctica, people told me I was going to get eaten by leopard seals.

Like, nobody said you’re going to get killed by an orca, so I didn’t even move. And, one of the guys on the boat ready said, are you coming to see them, Kath? They’re just big fish. And I was like, No, I’m having my coffee. James from the BBC came back in and he was like, are you okay? I was like, I’m fine.

It still didn’t like even register with me. I was like, yeah, I’m fine. I’m having my coffee. Anyway, so I was meant to swim to an iceberg that was 400 metres away from the boat, this beautiful big iceberg, there and back twice, and then like half the boat just to make sure that you’d done the 1609 metres.

But because this pod of like 30 to 40 hunting orcas, teaching the young how to hunt, had passed through, they disturbed all the ice and there was loads of floating ice. So they were like, you can no longer swim to that iceberg because the ice might get too thick and you won’t be able to get swim through.

So I ended up then getting to, I hate doing laps, so I got my dream of swimming, like a straight course, one mile. They dropped me off. Well, they stopped halfway and I was like getting undressed, and they were like, what are you doing? And I was like, I’m getting ready to swim. They’re like, do you know how far a mile is?

We’re just halfway, we’re doing a comms check I was like, oh, yeah, of course I know how far a mile is. And so they were like, well, at least when you get to this big iceberg, you know, you’re halfway. And I was like, yeah, results. But, no, I loved it, it was, honestly it was, I’d have loved to have done it the next day, but I’d seen a video of the Orcas after and I was like, oh my gosh, if I’d seen them, I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it.

And James was like, Kath, you were just so in the zone, you’d have kissed them on the nose and carried on. And I was like, well, nice of you to say,

Amy: So, what was it like when you got into the water in Antarctica,

Cath: You know what, it’s the craziest thing. So normally any swimmers that are on here, I dunno about anybody else, but once it, it gets to three degrees, for me, you get in and it’s like something’s gone bang with your hands in a vice and it like, it, it hurts so much. Anyway, I remember jumping in the water and thinking, Ooh, that’s cold.

But I must have been absolutely pumped full of adrenaline because I never remember being cold at all. And that, that freezer of doom that I sat in, I think that really helped with the temperature on my hands because I swam once in January 2016 in North Dakota. 3. 5 degree water for 5 minutes and I lost the sensation in my fingertips.

Anyway, I jumped in, I never felt cold, I was swimming along and I was thinking, oh, it was blue, it was gorgeous, it was just absolutely lovely. I had a bit of a, A bit of a downer in that they were wanting me to swim it in 30 minutes and I was like, I can’t do a mile in 30 minutes. So I was coughing and I was thinking, I cannot stop cough, I can’t do anything unless they’re going to like pull, pull me out.

So it was like, whatever happens, you’ve thrown up in the channel loads of times you’ve done this, just keep swimming. But then my shoulders started to hurt and I was thinking, oh my gosh, I’m, my shoulders really hurt. And then I was thinking, yeah, because I only really trained one K to a mile. I didn’t go to the pool,

I didn’t do anything. And then I said to myself, Cath get a grip love. With 16 hours, 45 minutes swimming the channel, you’ve probably got another 20 minutes to swim. And, and then I finished it and I was more frightened about getting up onto the boat because I’m not small. You get these big fat fingers and you have to get up this tiny ladder into the rib.

But, if you do watch the documentary, you’ll see that I get to the top of the stairs. And I think the adrenaline goes, empty! And I’m like, oh, I’m I was suddenly like, oh, what the heck is it? But up until then, I was just like, yeah, loving life, it was amazing.

Amy: wow, wow, wow, wow. And you referred there to the, what did you say, the freezer of doom or something. So tell us why did you have this freezer of doom, this chest freezer, in your garden shed?

Cath: So I had the freezer of doom because I was lucky enough in 2019 to go to the world champs. In Russia, and we had a really mild winter, so everybody that was going was getting ice baths and sitting in ice baths and stuff. So I borrowed one from the university. I filled it up three times with like 15 pounds of ice and thought, I cannot do this.

It’s too cold. Bonkers. So I dried it all off, sent it back. Thank you very much. I’ll just take the chance

Amy: Was it like a blow up bath or something?

Cath: Yeah, they, they have these recovery pods. So that was it. And then in the July, before Antarctica, the following February, I said to Ger, I’m really worried. What if we get another mild winter and we don’t get water, you know, cold enough to train?

So he jokingly said, well, you’ll have to get an ice freezer like the, Australians. I was like, what? So he put me in touch with this girl that sat in an ice freezer in Australia. So I was like, okay, we’ll get an ice freezer. So I ended up getting this freezer for 50 pounds. And then, but do you know what?

I’m so grateful for the freezer. A, I didn’t get any freezing on my hands. I think it really helped with my mindset. And it’s what persuaded the BBC to finally do the filming because they weren’t going to do it because they were like, well, who’s Cath? Who’s ice swimming? You know, it’s going to cost us a lot to send James to Antarctica.

And then his boss was like, what has she done? So they came round my house. It was the hottest day in July. And I, like, there’s 20 bags of ice that, like, melted by the time I got there. And his boss was like, if anybody’s mad enough to buy a chest freezer, like, demolish their shed and sit in it, then, then we’ll do it.

So I was really grateful to the stupid freezer.

Amy: You said it helped with your mindset. So how did sitting in your chest freezer in your garden shed help? How did that help your mindset?

Cath: Well, I think it was so uncomfortable, you know, and trying, you know, my partner at the time Rob would say, Come on, freezer. And I’d be like, No, I’ve swam outside four times this week, and he was like, freezer. But, I think it’s just pushing yourself out of that comfort zone, do you know what I mean, and sitting in that freezer, and then he, he would like, he would not let it go below like one, and I’m like, it doesn’t need to be that cold, do you know what I mean, and he was like, yes it does, and then he was like, move your hands, and I’m like, it really hurts when you move your hands, but to be honest, I think that really helped, do you know what I mean, it was like getting down, you know, below the neckline and moving your hands in there, the pain was excruciating and it was just, I’d known what it was like when I lost that sensation in my fingers and I know another lady that some bad bits happened to her lady bits swimming in the cold so I just didnt want any of that

Amy: When you were, when you were, practicing, you know, in, when you were in the freezer, how long would you stay in there for?

Cath: Well I used to tell everybody about five minutes. But I’ve got to be honest, I would sit in there for anything between 15 and 20 minutes. It was crazy. I’ve now learned you don’t need to sit in for that length of time. You get the same benefits by doing like one or two minutes.

But, yeah. And you know what, the freezer, after lockdown, I was meant to go to Russia and I sat in that freezer every single night from through January and February because I thought I was going to go to, Russia and do this big swim.

And I got back in the river at 12 degrees in March and I was freezing. So I was like, I’m not going to stay in the freezer now ever if I don’t have to.

Amy: Fantastic. And yeah, and when you went to Russia, those International World Ice Swimming Championships, you were swimming for Britain, right? And tell everybody what you, what, what place you came.

Cath: Oh, I had a bronze in my age group. Do you know what? It was, it was the best. It was like, and I’m not dissing myself, but it was before it got really popular. Now I wouldn’t even qualify for a place. The world champs has just happened now, and I think my age group, do you know what I mean? There’s phenomenal fast swimmers, you know, that are joining the ice, which is great.

But, you know, I was, I was really lucky getting there. I didn’t have a place to go and then, they had some places left, which they divvied up between all the countries and Great Britain got four places and you had to put in a bid and I was like, please, can I go? I want to do it. And, I luckily got a place.

So again, that was like luck. I don’t know what you call it, but you know, the BBC were like, okay, so she went to the World Champs. You know, now they probably think, well, she’s not a fast swimmer, but you know, it didn’t matter. It was amazing, you know, I got really close to Jaimie there as well, because I was still trying to find sponsorship, and I was like, Jaimie, please, can you like, put a post out for, you know, doing sponsorship for me, and she was like, you’ve got to sponsor this lady, she needs to go, and that was me.

Amy: I was just going to say it’s not, it’s not about the, it’s not about the speed, it’s actually, what I’m hearing is it’s more about the mindset, you know, you, you were a trail, you’re a trailblazer, aren’t you? You’re a trailblazer in this whole ice swimming malarkey.

Cath: Well, for Wales, I guess, you know, because you have got like Jaimie and, and, and, you know, Ger and other people, but there wasn’t many people doing it, but do you know what, what I’m realising is I was just doing it because I loved it. Do you know what I mean? It was like the, the, the record came, which was complete, not a mistake,

it shouldn’t have happened, that wasn’t what I was going for. I was going because I wanted to see what it would be like to swim in the coldest place on earth. And, get a video like Jaimie with penguins, that’s going, but I’m, I’m going to win the lottery and go back one day. Yeah. And do you know what I’m proudest about is it’s inspired other people, do you know what I mean, to, if you want to do something, just have a go do you know what I mean? I stumbled on it by accident through a, through a back injury and a love of swimming and nobody, nobody swam through the winter then, do you know what I mean? So now that I can look back I, I really know that I was just hooked on the buzz that I got from it. Somebody asked did I see penguins?

Yeah I seen loads and their poop really smells but not in the water.

Amy: Wow. So tell us, what’s it like, you know, we, we hear all the time, don’t we, you know, when you swim out in the cold water and so on, it’s really good for your mental health, really good for your wellbeing. What’s it like for you if you, if you can’t swim?

Cath: Oh, I’m very grumpy. I’m very grumpy. When you watch The Merthyr Mermaid, you see my youngest daughter saying, if mum’s grumpy, we say, go swim. And that’s true. You know, I think, if you run, you know, I was talking with you and Angus before, when I lived in Scotland, I was a runner. Do you know what I mean? I did a runner in inverted commas.

I ran. But, yeah, I certainly know. When, when I, when I need to go, you know, it’s like, I find it, I find it difficult to go now, I’ve got to be honest, and I do go, I, I go on a Wednesday and Friday morning and, you know, I get there and my, because I meet people, that makes me go, because I don’t want to let people down, and, I’ll say, oh, I don’t really want to go, and my friend now, she just says to me, I’m not even listening to you, because you’re going to be buzzing when you get out, and she’s completely right, you know I mean?

Amy: So what’s happening, what’s happening in your head then when you’re saying, I don’t really want to go?

Cath: Well, I think, you know, when I was, before Antarctica, I never ever seen it as training or anything. Do you know what I mean? I was just, I think I was just loving, you know, connecting with my friends, going, seeing new places. I knew that once I went in, we used to go all weathers. We didn’t even care. Now I’m like, it’s raining, I’m not going today.

Do you know what I mean? I love to go. So, it was just, I think, yeah. I think it’s like anything, you know, life is really busy, isn’t it? And you can make 101 excuses not to do something. That’s why for me, it’s so important to go with friends because I, I know if I don’t go, they can’t go in the water.

Amy: Yeah. Nice. So it’s about that, it’s

about that connection actually

Cath: yeah, yeah. And then, um, when it’s really cold it just switches off my brain because my brain doesn’t stop. It just doesn’t, it doesn’t stop at all. And what I did find is the longer I did it, the water had to get colder to get that same switch off. With it, it was now, because I haven’t been doing as much, you know, I, my brain switches off a lot quicker,

Amy: Literally, Kath, you’re literally getting in the flow.

Cath: I

Amy: the puns are coming thick and fast today. So you have swam in the Antarctic, you swam the Channel, and then you went to Finland, didn’t you, with Louise Minchin. So, for those of you that don’t know, Louise Minchin is a TV presenter, isn’t she?

author, and she’s written a few books and one of them is called Fearless, in which she has teamed up with inspiring women who do go on extraordinary adventures. And Kath’s chapter three. So what did, what did you do with Louise Minchin in Finland? Share with us.

Cath: We went free diving under the ice. In the dark. It was, you know, done some bonkers stuff, and I think that has to be the worst. But the thing is, she loved it, she’s, she’s like, I didn’t mind it in the daytime. In the dark, it was petrifying. It was, it was the most craziest thing ever.

Amy: And what was, what was, what was your motivator to do that?

Cath: Oh, do you know what, what happened was, I met Louise through swimming, with, Her Spirit, so I did a podcast and then, oh, she’s lovely, and I was like, oh, you need to do this swim in North Wales, it’s brilliant, blah, blah, blah, blah. And because she’s fast, I was like, you can get the coffees in by the time I finish.

So we just kind of got really close through, through, through swimming. So she messaged me and said, Kath, I’m wanting to do a book. Are you doing any more swims? And I said, well, I was meant to be going to the Arctic, but it’s, it’s, it’s not looking likely. She’s like, oh, well, I want to include you in my book.

So I said, well, I tell you what, said, um, Gee, the lady that bought me this necklace and, and Claire, they’re both ice swimmers from Ireland. I said, they’re going to Finland in March. And I said, it’s my 50th. I’d learned to free dive the year before. I said, so I’m going to go free diving under the ice. Come and do that.

And she was like. Yeah, okay, what do I have to do? And I was like, well, you need to go and learn to free dive. So she’s a phenomenal swimmer. She used to scuba. So she went and did a free diving crash course with, Steve Millard, and she, we went to Finland and we were later than everyone else because I couldn’t get enough time off work.

Louise couldn’t get away for a couple of days. So we missed a couple of the first dives, so our first dive was in the dark under the, under the ice. Louise hadn’t even dived outside at this point.

Amy: I mean, it’s just unbelievable. What was going through your mind when you’re swimming in the dark under the ice without an oxygen tank?

Cath: For me it was horrendous because I was really struggling. I was having a major menopausal mayhem at the time and I really didn’t want to go. Um, but I was like, I can’t let Louise down. She said to me after, why don’t you just tell me Cath? And I was like, no, because like, it was all organised and everything. So I was like, well, I’ll just go and do what I can.

So anyway, you walk, I had to wear a wetsuit, which already stressed me out because it took three people to get me in this two piece. Free diving wetsuit. they’re so tight. And so, A, that had really embarrassed me because they were all slinky and they were fine with it. But for me, I was having like a real problem with it.

And then I was boiling in it. I’d broken my ankle the year before and you had to walk across this ice. So I was thinking, I’m going to fall and break my ankle. So eventually the, um, we get to the It’s mad. There’s just like all these little triangles cut out of and some flames burning and they were 15 meters apart.

So you had to get in the ice and then go down and swim to the other. You had to clip onto a rope so you, you, you, you couldn’t like

Amy: Oh, that sounds really safe

then. yeah.

Cath: So, um, I was like, well, I’ll go first out of our group because I’ll won’t get as cold as quickly as everyone else. We were in there and luckily for me, some Finnish girls had come along and they said, I don’t know why you’re panicking about Cath, 15 meters, just pull yourself along the rope, you’ll be okay.

And I was like, okay. She said, I’ll come behind you, so if you get disorientated or anything, I will like not let you turn back. So I was like, Oh yeah, great.

Amy: Okay, let me just jump in there.because I’m aware we need to, hear some of the thoughts and questions and so on that folk are, are putting to you, Cath. So when, just briefly tell us what, when you go out the water, how are you feeling?

Cath: when I got to the other side, I swore,

I would have some very bad language and said, I’m never doin that again in the dark, I’ll do it in the daytime.

Amy: And at that point, thank you very much. I’m going to ask Angus to join us and, we’ll, have a look at some of the thoughts and comments in the, in the chat. What have folk been saying, Angus?

Angus: Great stuff, Cath. We have a lot in the chat, so going back to your mantra, Lorraine Mayer is saying do less, be more.

Cath:

Angus: we’ve got Amanda saying, get through the day, Tara saying make the most of it, laugh out loud. There’s quite a lot of comments there in terms of mantras, and I think one of the things that’s come over, the importance of, of that talk in your head, you know, you, you swimming the channel and just saying, just swim, yeah, and think about penguins.

Question from Lisa, you swam the channel without a break.

Cath: Yeah, you’re not allowed to stop, you’re not allowed to touch the boat or anything. So, if you end up touching the boat, you’re disqualified. So you kind of feed on the go. So, the trick is that you kind of turn on your back and keep swimming in the direction of France and just, just feed as as you’re going. Um, I really struggled with food. I just did carbohydrate drinks and, and coffee. I had a coffee halfway because I, but, um, I really struggled to eat food. But if anybody’s thinking of doing it and they’re a good swimmer and they can do slick feeds, they need to Google a guy called Andy Donaldson. He’s Scottish, actually. Um, and he’s doing the Ocean Sevens, but when he does the feed, oh it’s amazing, so he kind of does back crawl, they’ve got his drink ready, pours it into his mouth, flicks over and carries on. It’s amazing, I don’t know how he does it, but that’s how you should feed, like Andy Donaldson.

Amy: So Avril Price is saying, I was fortunate to meet Alison Streeter in the early 1990s, who was the first woman in 1988 to complete a three way channel crossing, approximately 34 hours. Are you tempted, Cath? Avril says.

Cath: No Avril No! I’m never doing it again! I found the North Channel is in my head somewhere, but I’m not really a fast enough swimmer for the North Channel, um, I’m back in the pool, but I, you know, I don’t know when I’m going to find time to train but yeah, um, two way, no, thank

Averil: Now you’re, you’re, you’re an absolute legend. I, I, I’m actually living in Wales, so I’m, I’m from Brecon, originally, and I moved back, so I live in Crickhowell, so, um, but I haven’t, I haven’t actually ventured into Keepers Pond yet, but, um, it’s on my list, but it’s on my list to do this year.

Cath: can’t see who I’m talking to, it’s not showing. But come to Brecon, we swim at Brecon all the

Averil: you?

Cath: Yeah, message, message me then there’s um, there’s a Bluetick group there and there’s also a group called the Daft Dippers and um, that’s where I did most of my for um, the channel was in the river at Brecon because you can do a K up and down.

I went to school in Brecon so we probably

Averil: so did I, so we’ve probably got, probably got a lot in common, so I will, yeah, but that’s fascinating to just join today, so, yeah. brilliant.

Cath: Oh, thank you. I can’t see you, so I don’t know

Amy: Thanks. It’s Avril. It’s Avril Price. Maybe you could, exchange,

Cath: There you are Avril.

Averil: I’ll find you, I’ll find you On your website, don’t worry. Bye. Bye.

Amy: Catherine Robertson. Great to see you. She says, I would love to go to the Antarctica. I’m part of a wild swimming group. It’s a great social group, and you feel amazing afterwards.

And you’ve commented quite a bit, actually, about the connections that you’ve made, Cath. Do you want to say a bit more about

the benefits

Cath: Yeah.

For me, the connections have been really great. There’s always somebody to tempt you to go and do something. Do you know what I mean? The last couple of years for me, the menopause has been horrendous and anybody my age is going through it. It’s not good, so, these connections are like, really important.

I’ve actually gone back to pool swimming on a Monday and Tuesday. I thought I’d never go back to a pool, but I’ve gone for the social side and just to, you know, try keep myself a little bit fitter, really, but, um, yeah, I’m, I’m really good at doing social swimming now.

Amy: And how does swimming been helping you in terms of menopause?

Cath: Um, well, the cold stuff helps with the hot flashes, of course, yeah, for me, it’s important to do exercise. Next week I’ve promised myself that I’m going to walk every day, even if it’s just a little bit, because, for me, the anxiety’s, been really, really, really bad, I struggle with that, and, then that causes me not to sleep. So, going swimming on a Monday and Tuesday actually helps to make me tired, to, to sleep,And I think we spoke about it before, once you do something and you get out and do it, you feel, you’ll feel much better.

So that’s for me, having a little tribe, these cold water groups that have sprung up, you have got the Blue Tits another one, but then you do find that sort of offshoots of them come. So that’s what I’ve tended to do now, is I’ve got a smaller group that we go regularly and then every now and again lots of us will go because I would get stressed out that I’d forgotten to ask somebody, so that was the downside of it for me when it started getting so popular, so um, for me now I just know that I’ve got a group of friends that one of us will always want to swim, so it just takes that one person to get the ball rolling, but um, I love, I love it, we have a laugh and we do lots of other things outside of swimming.

Amy: Does it ever get easier?

Cath: It’s actually got harder because I don’t do any competitive stuff with it now, I’ve decided with the ice mile that I probably will do one, but I’m, I’m not going to do any more official ones, only because, you have to pay for them and, I did so many in my training for Antarctica.

I’m now just of the opinion, if I want to do something, I have to go back to doing it for the reasons why I did Antarctica, because it made me happy. You know, I did get really hung up for a while that I wanted to go to the Arctic and I wanted to swim the highest swim in the Arctic and, you know, and my mentality changed because of something that happened.

I felt I needed to prove myself by getting another record when I never meant to get a record. So now, that for me is all gone, don’t get me wrong, you know, I still got the North Channel in the back of my head, but that’s more, it would be a personal challenge, you know, Loch Ness, I think I would love that because it’s fresh water and it’s cold.

So, does it get easy? No, I don’t think it ever gets easier. I think, for me, when you’ve got a goal, that makes it easier. I did, um, a seven and a half mile swim last year. I bought the ticket off somebody at Christmas because I thought it’d keep me going, didn’t do the training, did it on 5k and absolutely died.

And again, I was like all the way through it going, and I swam the channel for like 16 hours, 45 minutes, got up the next day, could wave my arms. I swam seven miles. I was like this for three days. I couldn’t move because I just, I hadn’t done the training. So, I think it getseasier when you’ve got a goal for me, yeah.

But for the moment I’m under no pressure, I’m just doing what makes me happy. If I want to do it, I’ll do it, but for no other reason than I fancy doing something.

Amy: Thank you. Thank you, Cath. Let’s move now to your top tips. Thank you everybody as well for sharing your thoughts and your comments there. And so your top, top tips then from, from Cath. Let go of any guilt for making time for you. Talk to us a bit about that.

Cath: Oh, that for me was probably referring back to when I was doing Antarctica and the Channel. That I did feel guilty about time away from the children and stuff. But, you know, they’re older now and speaking to them, they’re like, Mum, we weren’t bothered. Do you know what I mean? Because they knew that if I did something for me, then I was a happier mum to them!

Amy: Totally.

Cath: Does that, Does that, make sense? And I

think, and I think we do so much for others. I think, you know, when I turned 50, I was like, yeah, it’s all going to be about self care, all about me. It didn’t happen, but I’m approaching 53 now and I am thinking, okay, I got to do stuff for me

Amy: Yeah, definitely.

Cath: Which leads on to your next question

Amy: Yeah, next point. Yeah, learn to say no.

Cath: Yeah, that’s been really difficult for me learning to say no. You know, I was digging some stuff out now, before, and I was thinking, oh my gosh, I said yes, yes, do that, and then I’d tie myself up in knots and double book myself, and now, I think about it, and I think, I know instantly if I want to do something.

And the first time I said no to somebody, they were like, Oh, that’s okay, we understand. So I think the more you say no, the easier it becomes, because in my head I work out this thing. Oh, I’m going to upset someone, they’re going to think I’m an awful person, blah, blah, blah. Even with friends, you know, my friend wanted me to go out the other night and I’m like, do you know what,

I don’t want to go. And she was like, Oh, that’s okay. Come next time. But I was really worked up about saying no, but once I said no, yeah, it was fine.

Amy: Yeah, it’s quite empowering, isn’t it? Great. It’s okay to say you’re finding things tough.

Yeah, that’s something that I’ve had to learn. Before, I would say, yeah, yeah, fine, fine. But now, I’m quite happily talk about, my menopausal highs and lows, and I think that’s helped. You speak to people and then you realise, by saying that you’re finding it tough, then, other people will share with you that they’re finding it tough too, which, it sounds selfish, but in a way, helps me, because I think, right, yeah, I’m, not the only one, It’s okay to say it, Absolutely. Yeah, it’s one of the keys to self compassion, isn’t it? Because often if we’re not feeling great, we think it’s just happening to us, we’re the only person that’s affected, but actually, like you’re finding, as soon as you start sharing, other people go, yeah, it’s happening with me too.

And you get that sense of kind of almost bonding, that sense of we’re in this together, I’m not alone, actually.

Cath: Yeah. I’m looking at Amanda’s get through the day, Somebody asked me something the other day, what’s making you happy today? And I literally said that, like, just to get through today, do you know what I mean? I think,taking the pressure off yourself just really helps.

And like, they all come together by saying no, by, by admitting that, you’re not coping or you’re finding things tough. I think once you verbalise it, it is a lot easier. Whereas before, I think, my mum says, when you were ill, you would never sit still. My sister’s laughing at me,

I’ve started watching TV a lot more now. And I don’t think I’m really taking it in, but I’ve found that a good way of helping me relax a little bit, whereas before I’d have to be doing something all the time. I am learning now

it’s ok for me not to be doing anything

Amy: And remember that when you’re happy, then life’s easier for everyone else. And I think you mentioned that already when, with your kids saying that to you as well. And find your reset. So tell us a little bit about finding your reset.

Cath: Yeah, so, you know, finding cold water swimming for me has been amazing. I didn’t realise how much it helped my mental health until I couldn’t do it and, lockdown and my menopause coincided. Nice! And, and

Amy: Yay.

Cath: And the down of, doing something and breaking your arm. But yeah, I think Find Your Reset, you know, I, I started freediving in the pool and I was really loving that on a Friday, but I had to be realistic in my now.

I find as I get older, I do get more tired. Do you know what I mean? My, my Duracell bunny is not quite like it used to be. So I was having to travel to Bristol for that. But what I did discover is where I wasn’t getting so much of a buzz from the cold water, that initial buzz that I hadn’t recognized was a buzz and a reset, I started getting from crawling under the water, doing the free diving practice, and I think it was just because

you had to shut everything off

So, and really relax and not think about anything so you could stay under the water for longer

Amy: Yeah, so it’s about being able to adapt your reset as well then if you find something’s not quite working for you, it’s finding something else. Thank you so much, Cath. Let me ask you now a few quickfire questions. Quick question, quick answer. Are you ready? Are you ready?

for this?

Okay, Cath, what does vulnerability mean to you?

Cath: Oh, I think being open with people.

Amy: Nice.

Cath: Being open, yeah.

Amy: What little thing do you notice, zoom in to, celebrate every day?

Cath: Getting through the day, good night’s sleep for me it is.

Amy: Having a good night’s Yeah. So, so What message would you give to your younger self?

Cath: Follow your dreams, definitely. Never give up.

Fab. And what message would your younger self give to you now? Nath Ooh, don’t put things off. Yay!

Amy: Cath Pendleton you’re a legend. I am going to hand you over to Angus for more formal thanks. Thank you so much.

Angus: Cath. That was awesome. Absolutely amazing. To summarise, you demonstrated the importance of obsession, being happy, having the goal and having that purpose, stretching yourself, the importance of a connection, having fun and doing the scary stuff. Stepping into it, embracing it and doing it and okay saying I’m never ever going to do that again.

Yeah, but you did it. That’s the things that count. What an incredible story. It’s been an absolute pleasure. You’re part of a very tiny group of people globally who do this. There’s not many like you and to have that world record makes you absolutely unique. It’s amazing to meet you. It’s amazing to have you on the Wellbeing Hour and we are very Indebted to you for coming along.

So thank you on behalf of everybody here, everybody at Headtorch and everybody who’s going to listen and happy 10th anniversary of having no wetsuit.

Cath: I know, I know. Thank you to everybody for, listening. it was a pleasure and it’s helped me, actually, because, vulnerability is a big thing, isn’t it? And I think it’s good to talk about your mental health. And luckily we are all talking about it more.

Angus: Yeah. Thank you, Cath. We really appreciate it. And lots of great comments there from people. So thank you. Okay, so coming up in the Headtorch calendar, the next Wellbeing Hour is a panel event and we’re going to be talking about your career and your mental health, is your workplace making the right connection?

That’s on the 25th of February. We have some experts there, Jane Barrett, Susan Gee and Mark Lawrence, all experts in their fields. Thank you it’s going to be a really interesting one as well, I think. Then after that, Amy and I are doing an event at the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland.

that is, about building a mentally healthy culture. It’s good business sense. So, if you would like to come along to that, it’s just beside Glasgow Airport. Give us a shout and we will get you booked on to that. We’re also doing one up in Aberdeen with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Scottish Engineering, Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing,

it’s a no brainer. that is on the 11th of March. So, if you want to go to any of those, they are free and it’d be great to see you there. Come along, give us a shout, we’ll get you booked on. Then we have on the 27th of March, the Wellbeing Hour with Tara Ferguson,

and, she is talking about cancer and work when your only choice is to move forwards and, the link into mental health there. We know Tara from her work as a people professional at Exscientia and also at PepsiCo. So that is just about it. We would love to hear from you, what you’re doing in the world of, workplace mental health.

So please give us a shout. There is a QR code to scan there. We have solutions for senior leaders, people managers, direct and indirect staff. Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. That is it for the Wellbeing Hour. It’s always an honor. It’s always a pleasure. And thank you for joining us.

Amy: ​