Swimmers unite!

[aristocat]

Any swimmers still here?

There were quite a few of us last year, just wondered if you are still here. I still go 3 or 4 times a week and love it :)

I don't know a lot really as it's my first year swimming properly. I don't do fast 'sets' as the others in the pool do as I'm too lazy and don't like struggling to go fast. If my stroke count goes up then I stop and have a strop - so I stop a lot! Then I start again, try and hold the stroke and not flail and pull. I'm not much slower than the tri blokes doing their fast sets but I can maintain a steady pace for longer. But that's my aim, whereas there aim is fast up to a mile swims.

I have watched all the Total Immersion videos with interest and today tried to slow down my stroke and concentrate more on the pull and it did feel like I was getting through the water a bit easier so much so that I did 100 lengths in the hour I was there. I have only swam that far in one go before at the last 2 Swimathons!

I can't remember who mentioned this year's Swimathon down thread but I've taken the plunge and have signed up for the 5k this year. DD (who's 9) is swimming the 1.5k distance - but she swims for our local club so already clocks up the lengths during her training sessions

Oh, I haven't been at all this last few days due to feeling rotten. I do miss it.
I love the total immersion videos :). Watching one I learnt to do 11 breastrokes per lenght, I go really long and really lazy, i glide for a couple of seconds before I strike again.
It's pure poetry watching those swimmers :)

For me one of the great things about swimming is that the water keeps you cool so for any given level of exertion (as compared to exercising out of water) your heart rate is lower and it feels more comfortable.

There are always those who maintain that swimming makes you fat, it's not been my experience.
However owing to 'aquadynamics' having extra body fat doesn't hinder (and can help) performance as much as it does on land

I use a garmin swim watch which is quite good, but same problem of needing to stop and look at it.

I tend to swim for a certain amount of time then upload the data when I get home

Great to hear of other swimathoners. Just find that as well as being a great cause, I have more motivation to go regularly.

Quite inspiring to hear of how you have built up your stamina Kaizen, that is a hell of a lot of swimming. I would love to be swimming for longer (currently swimming 1km 3xweek) and hearing how you have approached it makes my aim of swimming twice as long per session quite doable.

Swam in a 33.3m pool today rather than my usual 25m one. Quite a different experience, think I found it easier overall, although that may have been to do with going during the day and having the whole lane to myself...

Water in the bloody ears! Who has the answer?

Some swims I get no water in my ears at all - others it seems to ruch in & stay all swim. As it did today & there is still a wee bit left in my ear that I just can't seem to get out, even with lying on my side for a while.

Has anyone got any tips or advice?

You can get special swimming ear plugs - my DH has this problem and tried them but they didn't fit his ears.

I think I might have to try some - but I have tried ear plugs at night (DH's 'breathing' (like a herd of pigs)) and I find them odd.

I do sympathise - I get it occasionally, and hate the feeling (I have the snoring DH too, but that's another thread!)

I've used earplugs, when I was going through a phase of recurrent ear infections (it was probably a single infection which never completely cleared up, because I kept going back swimming too soon.) It did take me a little while to get used to them, and when I was doing aquafit, I tended to wear only one in in the troublesome ear.

My earplugs are from Boots, and they're a bit like this, though not exactly - www.allearplugs.com/images/product/main/Pluggerz-Swim-Ear-Plugs.jpg

If you google "swimming earplugs", there's a far greater range available than I ever imagined. I suspect if you've not got on with them previously, it's probably because you haven't found the type which suits you yet.

like a herd of pigs

Sorry magi - I haven't got any earplug advice but my friend swears by wearing them - hope you find some.

I have heard that these are great for getting rid of water in your ears

I'm popping in for a not very stealth boast.. I started swimming regularly again 5 weeks ago & was doing 12/14 lengths before flaking out. I've just done 40 which is 1 K !! I am so pleased !!

Well done magimedi good for you! I still swim 40L and I find that's enough for me

My pool is closed for repair for another 7 days ......

Well done magimedi. I do somewhere between 40 and 64 lengths most weeks now.

I had to miss my swimming on Friday because I had to take dd1 to a trip, and I will have to miss this week as well because it's half term and I'm away with school.

So sorry to hear about your pool, aristocat

I go once a week or once a fortnight depending on all sorts of things. I do 64 lengths each time.

Those of you who are doing 64 lengths in a 25M pool are doing the mile, aren't you? Well done!

(Next goal looms).

I am pretty close to the big 6O so am even happier about this!

Yes magimedi my goal each week is a mile. BUT I'm on a time limit due to having to collect dd2 from the cm, so if the traffic is bad on the way from work to the pool sometimes I only have 40 mins instead of the hour I plan for and I can't do a mile in 40 mins. I'm pretty impressed I can do it in an hour tbh considering that I only started swimming regularly again in September and was only managing about 20 lengths then.

I've never heard of a postal swim eightytwenty it sounds interesting. I'd be able to do 1600m (because that's what I manage if I get a full hour in the pool on a weekly basis) so I'm very impressed that you did 2425m, that's loads!!