Spring Tides

Today is a swimming day.  I got up at early o'clock to head to the pool and, because I'd managed to pack everything the night before for once, I got an earlier train than normal.  This was probably just as well, because I was in slow mode this morning and it took me ages to walk from the train to the pool and then get changed.  I didn't really feel like swimming this morning, but once I got in the pool I was alright.

The training session today, being now in week four of the plan (and no longer in a consolidation week), was a humongous step up from my previous swims and I wasn't sure how I was going to cope with doing so much front crawl in one session.  The plan called for 4 x 2 lengths any stroke warm up, 4 x 2 lengths front crawl (arms only), 5 x 2 lengths front crawl, 3 x 2 lengths front crawl (easy out, hard back), 2 lengths any stroke, 2 lengths front crawl (best stroke).  Well, I say the plan called for that, but I had to do some scaling to fit in with the extra five metres of pool I have to deal with, or I would have been there all day and would have ended up swimming significantly more than was strictly necessary (remembering, of course, that my training plan is for sprint distance and not the super sprint distance I'll actually be doing on the big day).

I was feeling pretty good after the arms only crawl - this is achieved by using a pull buoy (which is a fancy name for a bit of floating foam you put between your knees to keep your legs up) - but I'd been lulled into a false sense of security, because after I'd done that and the warm-up, I then had to do pretty much the whole of one of my previous sessions on top.  By the end of the 5 x 2 lengths of crawl I was feeling very weary, but I was determined to get through it all and I just about did.  This means that I swam a massive 1.08km this morning, taking my total swim distance up to 4.26km.  Just for a bit of fun, I plotted this distance along my usual cycle route to work from my house, so if we have flooding of Biblical proportions, I know that I'll be able to swim from my house to about a quarter of the way across Finsbury Park (helpfully, just about to the café)!

Although I found it tough this morning, I am definitely feeling the benefits of my training.  I have now completely got over my panic about breathing and I'm able to focus on some of the other things I need to work on with my stroke technique, such as looking straight down instead of ahead and making sure I'm rotating my hips adequately to maintain my momentum.  If you'd like to sponsor the improvements to my stroke, you can donate to Marie Curie Cancer Care by clicking on the Justgiving button on the right hand side of the page and then following the instructions (and don't forget my pledge to post a pic of me in the swimming hat once I reach £100 raised...).

As usual, when I left the pool, I enjoyed my walk down to the office.  Here are some pictures of the St. Luke's Gardens bathed in the morning sunshine, with LSO St. Luke's in the background.