Swimming Thread

[lefty goldblatt]

Don't go swimming with him

 

[johnnytapia]

Following a discussion in the Running Thread, I realised there wasn't a bespoke swimming thread.
Any other aquatic Bluemooners out there?
I restarted swimming on my retirement about 2 and a half years ago as a way of losing a bit of timber and getting a bit fitter.
I try to keep things interesting as much as possible by swimming in lidos in the warmer months.
I haven't considered open water swimming as I don't like the idea of swimming in human or chicken poo or run off fertilisers & other chemicals from farmers' fields.
I'm not particularly fast, but I can keep going at a steady breaststroke for a while, and aim to swim at least 5km each week.

Swim every day. Have done for last 23 years. Mental health took a kicking in 2000 and swimming has been an invaluable friend ever since. Wherever I travel / holiday I must have access to a pool. Found great baths in Leipzig last season and an underground pool in Istanbul for the champ league final. Do between 50 and 120 lengths every day. Love it

 

[johnnytapia]

I'm definitely not averse to the cold having swum in a few unheated lidos, but don't like the pollution aspect of open air swimming, at least in this country.
Did a bit of sea swimming in Cornwall a few years back and really enjoyed it, but currently don't trust the water authorities in this country!

Flat can of coke before any open swim. I do Sale Water Park and learnt that tip the hard way after it had rained night before I swam.

 

[Sir peace frog]

Just been for a swim at the outdoor pool at Nantwich Leisure Centre.
It's a bit of a peculiarity as it's a natural brine pool, being in the Cheshire salt plains and built to imperial measurements. It's 100 feet long which is 30.48m in new money.
Was a bit busy this morning given the weather, with loads of really slow FOCs getting in the way in the lengths lane.
My swim was also interrupted halfway through the session as the fire alarm went off leading to a pool evacuation.
Despite all this I managed 76 lengths which is. 2316.48m, so that's 5076.48m for the week and just short of 196km swum so far this year.

surely being in the pool outdoors is the best place to be incase of a fire :)

 

[staffsblue]

That's impressive! I used to do just 20 lengths normally.,before getting bored?

Not been for years due to the after effects of the chemicals used in public baths...my eyes took days to recover. Goggles are the answer but never took to em.

A shame because for years swimming was a big part of my fitness routine,great for warding off hamstring strains and the like when playing football,as the exercises you do in water are so much easier than on dry land.

I get what you're saying about boredom but I use similar distraction techniques to running (singing a song in my head, thinking about what I'm having to eat later etc.).
When counting lanes I correspond the number with something else like City squad numbers or what I was doing at that age.
I always wear goggles to avoid any eye stinging issues, but I think the concentration of chlorine seems a lot less than when I was growing up.

 

[staffsblue]

surely being in the pool outdoors is the best place to be incase of a fire :)

I mentioned that to a fellow swimmer.
To be fair, the pool has surrounding buildings on three sides so if there were a genuine fire debris could fall in the pool
Gave me an unexpected sunbathing break this morning though!

 

[Sir peace frog]

went for a swim today, it was a lot quieter now the schools have gone back, for the life of me i cant keep count of the lengths i do ,but i always feel ive had a good workout , love swimming, im trying to do ,running one day swimming the next , its obviously easy on my days off 4 on 4 off, just getting the right times to swim after work,could be very busy

 

[johnnytapia]

Sale Water Park in my City swim cap

 

[staffsblue]

This morning's swim was at the outdoor pool at Oasis Sports Centre in London.
It's a bit of a hidden gem being located in the West End not far from Covent Garden. It's another weird length pool being 27.5 metres, having been converted from a water tank used by fire crews fighting Blitz fires in WW2.
Managed to complete 92 lengths which stacks up to 2530m.
And I managed to avoid the temptation to nip into the adjacent excellent Craft Beer Co. pub next door post swim!

 

[dickie davies]

I noticed a guy the other day doing about 3 times as many strokes as me doing breaststroke but was moving much slower.
I tend to take long, slow strokes, and utilise big "kick offs" and glides at the start of each length. As I said before, I'm not particularly fast, but can manage 80 x 25m lengths in about 58 minutes. 40 x 50m takes a bit longer as I need more of a breather between lengths!

My daughter was sub 10 minutes for 800m (32x 25m) when she swam competitively