Swimming for fitness (part 3). Dive in!

[rightsofwomen]

Ohh la la....2nd thread filled up. Hopefully this Subject line will make it easy enough to find.

Everyone welcome.

Checking in!

I have set my 2019 goal to 1 swim a week. It used to be 2, but since I became a lone parent with full time care for my 9yo I no longer have any so much free time.

Running is my priority and it much easier to fit in, and I'm grateful that it's something I love, but I do really want to keep up with my swimming. It's good for my bones, muscles and head, AND having recently bought a bike apparent I HAVE to enter a triathlon this year.

Welcome newbies. I've learnt a lot from the more experienced swimmers here, and it's really fun to share our different experiences of pool etiquette (and rage!) and the interesting locations we get to swim in.

Can anyone recommend a MP3 player to use whilst swimming?

So I can’t really swim...but it’s on my list to sort that this year. but yesterday I did 10 (separate) lengths of whatever weird stroke you could call it. I’m so proud of myself. Desperate for the kids to go back to school now so I can go alone and try for more :)

Did 1km in the pool today. It’s getting a bit easier and I’m enjoying it more :)

The pool was lovely and quiet when I went yesterday. I love those days.

Well done for starting RunningLondon. It's a great skill to have.

My swimming lessons start next week.
I've got 6 weeks of front crawl lessons with British Triathlon. I am going to crack it this time. 🦈🐡🐠🐟

You can do it frog. Are you learning to do a triathlon? I taught myself front crawl 2yrs ago so I could do a Go-Tri. Then bottled it on the day & did breaststroke but I have now built up an OK FC but I’m still not fast. (I did two more Go-Tris doing FC ) My goal this year is to try get more confidence in open water swimming as I live near the sea.

Minne that swim looks great. I found it interesting watching the drone shots of the front runners and looking at their different stroke rates and styles.

I’m really missing my gym work as I don’t have enough time at the moment as i’m swimming 4 x week. My upper body and abs are looking good but my legs are a mess at the moment.

@SkiMum99 thanks :) I'm doing the Great North swim in Windermere.
I spent the summer swimming in a lake and the sea and loved it. I worked on the assumption that wearing a wet suit I wouldn't sink and I was never that far from the edge really.

Did my 1k today. "You've only got 1/2hr" they told me. Fine. That's what has worked well for me. 1hr door to door helps me reconcile the fact that it's much easier to go for a run. I do love my swimming.
Would love some lessons as I have the fitness but not the technique.

SkiMum99 that's reassuring that you did breast stroke for your triathlon. I'm failing can't be arsed at front crawl and I'm not planning on making a habit of big swims.

Corrigans it's a stunning place. Hopefully the swell won't be too bad.

Glitteryfrog the Great North Swim is very tempting. I'm not sure what DH would say given it's our wedding anniversary though

I'm already hoping that our local lido does a dawn swim for the summer solstice again. Last year felt very special.

I am unsure why I’m not going to the pool tonight...but I’m not.
Dawn swim sounds amazing!!

Go tonight Fencing. You won't regret it.

@Minniemountain - can recommend the Epic Swims if you're looking for a swim in the lake district but if the date for the Great North Swim doesn't suit (people I know who've done both say the Epic swims are much better)

Dawn swim will be beautiful. You can definitely get them in here as all the pools open at 5.30am. Most of them at shut by 8pm though. They love the early morning over here, it took a bit of getting used to.

Hmm. Maybe I should move to Australia.
I forgot my goggles yesterday so only managed 32 lengths before my eyes had had enough.

Ok; new swimming costume purchased! I did 8 lengths in 20 mins. 4 one after the other, then the others much slower, with a rest. But it was after a stretch class so I can’t complain, I was already tired!!

Going to try and get to the pool with the kids this weekend because I’ve signed me and my eldest up for the swimathon at the end of March :)

Missing my swims had over a week out the pool wth a virus and now just clearing the cough. Should be able to go Monday or Tuesday I hope.

Sorry if I missed it in thread but can you share what gadgets or gizmos have been a game changer for you. I swim about 40mins (front crawl and backstroke) three times a week. No idea how many lengths as I lose count. Sometimes I am in the zone other times I find it boring.

jewel, I just got myself a fitbit flex 2, it was on offer on Amazon £39. I tried it today, it records the lenghts in km, you have to program in the length of your own pool :) it recorded it accurately as far as I can tell :)

ski, hope you feel better soon

running, before you know it it won’t be as hard anymore! Enjoy!
minnie, you’ve done really well to manage 32 with no goggles, I would hate it!

Anyway, only been to the pool once this week that I can remember. I just could not bring myself to do it. I’m slowly getting back into it. Managed to do my set and enjoyed it :)

Thread newbie: I've signed up to a 5k swim (pool) in late march, to force me to train. I am pretty happy doing 2.5k in a river with no training (though not quick!) but the furthest I've ever swum is 2 miles so this is still gonna be a challenge for me. I'm not fast by any stretch of the imagination: I've classes myself as medium/slow for the swimathon, so hopefully that will be okay.

Do you think 2 swims a week til the end of march will be okay? I will try to do one other fitness class too, and I walk at least an hour a day so my underlying fitness isn't catastrophic.

I can see I'm gonna need to do some sort of HIIT type of thing to get my fitness levels up, but I don't know much about it. Has anyone got any sites they'd recommend to use for a training plan?

Also, do people find their swimming fitness trackers worthwhile? I've got a Fitbit which I like but it's not suitable for swimming.

Finally got back in the pool today felt a bit of a push to get to 1km after two weeks not having a proper swim.

I’ve got a Suunto Spartan wrist HR. I wanted a multi sport watch and I did not want to spend $$$ on a Garmin Fenix. It’s got great GPS and has been brilliant in the open water. But I can’t get the bloody thing to time pool laps properly!!! Very frustrating. I’m sure there must be an easy way though.