Fun in the Pool

So after a decent start to the Dover training season the pool swims had to be ramped up. Vlad had taken care of this, pretty majorly. I was now averaging 30km + a week and getting faster every time, overtaking people that I didn’t get near before Australia and Malta. I even managed to swim 10km in 3 hours and 12 minutes, knocking 57 minutes off of my personal best before Oz, admittedly my time then was very slow but I was very happy with the new time. This was purely down to training properly for the first time.

I was using all kinds of gadgets that I hadn’t used before, such as Pull Buoys, Paddles and Fins. Outside of the pool I was using ‘The Rack’ by finis, which is basically what it sounds like, a torture device, designed to stretch the tendons in your ankles. This for me has always been a major issue. I have incredibly limited ankle flexibility, probably due to wearing Army boots for years and running around like a maniac. Before I started using this bit of kit I would get in the pool for kick sets and if I didn’t move it was a success, as I usually moved backwards, however now I was able to complete a length of the pool… slowly, but still a massive improvement.

  

A typical weeks training in the Pool

I was also using Stretch Cords to practice my catch and full extensions of my arms, and just build up some more strength. You can go to the gym as much as you want but it’s hard to replicate the exact path your arm takes in the water, these cords do the trick. They are also excellent for training your Rotator Cuffs, the first muscle likely to go when attempting long swims due to their size and relative strength. It’s better to engage your ‘lats’ throughout your swimming but the shoulders always get a workout as well, it’s unavoidable (for me at least).

The only real problems I am having in the pool at the moment are the fact that I am a 30 year old man. This presents a problem due to the pool having Women only and 50 year old + sessions. There are no 30 year old men sessions. I have been asked to leave the pool on one occasion when the 50+ time slot started. There were 4 people in the pool, including me. The 3 older gentlemen weren't swimming, they were standing and talking a couple of lanes away from me, not bothered at all by me being there. The manager however thought I’d best get out despite the pool being practically empty. I had to plead to be allowed to finish my session explaining that the pool was empty and I was the only person swimming anyway, after about 10 minutes I was granted a reprieve and allowed to finish. Ironically I was finished less than 10 minutes later. It doesn’t pay to be of average age and a man when swimming in England.

When I was in Australia I noticed that swimming pools were for swimming in, if you wanted to swim this is where you would go. Here however, where there are a shockingly small amount of pools in the first place (especially 50 metre ones) there are very strict rules as to when you are allowed in. This as you can imagine is very frustrating when you have 20 lengths left of a 200 length session.

Now I am pretty much up to date with my swimming life so far and I have about 12 weeks to go until my scheduled week for my Channel crossing, August 20^th – 27^th. I have a feeling the Dover sessions are about to get a lot longer and serious. I missed the last weekend due to my girlfriend being kind enough to give me some kind of tropical disease after returning from South America. Simon and Hannah tell me they swam 3 hours and the water was about 12c. I cannot wait…