Cross Training: Swimming

[L CC]

I've entered the Great Swim, Windermere 9th June.

Is anyone else seriously swimming? Done it before?

[andrewc]

I've renewed my membership at the local sports centre and have been a few times.  I need to build it into a routine though. 


I've seen these people whilst walking to a dockside restaurant.  It looks far too cold !  https://www.livpost.co.uk/p/move-over-st-tropez-princes-dock

[mike]

Lovely other ½ bought me some 'smart goggles' for christmas, they project your speed and stroke rate on the inside of the right eye so you can get feedback as you go along - plus other stuff like head angle, heart rate and such.  They work surprisingly well.

On the plus side, I'm already going at least 10 seconds quicker per 100m in a normal session in just 3 weeks of wearing them.  On the downside, seeing your speed slowly dripping away as you get tired and bored, and having to work so much harder to hold it has stripped any joy out of just swimming.  Hey ho.

[ian]

I've entered the Great Swim, Windermere 9th June.

Is anyone else seriously swimming? Done it before?

I seem to have volunteered for a 24-hour outdoor charity swim, not the entire 24 hours, three one-hour slots in a team of eight. It seemed a better idea when I had a drink in my hand, admittedly. I have a couple of months to rue my foolishness and hope the bloody water warms up.

[tom_e]

Lovely other ½ bought me some 'smart goggles' for christmas, they project your speed and stroke rate on the inside of the right eye so you can get feedback as you go along - plus other stuff like head angle, heart rate and such.  They work surprisingly well.

On the plus side, I'm already going at least 10 seconds quicker per 100m in a normal session in just 3 weeks of wearing them.  On the downside, seeing your speed slowly dripping away as you get tired and bored, and having to work so much harder to hold it has stripped any joy out of just swimming.  Hey ho.

Ew; can't decide if I'd like that!  Can you wear them once per week as a training drill, and enjoy the other sessions more?

[L CC]

I've entered the Great Swim, Windermere 9th June.

Is anyone else seriously swimming? Done it before?

I seem to have volunteered for a 24-hour outdoor charity swim, not the entire 24 hours, three one-hour slots in a team of eight. It seemed a better idea when I had a drink in my hand, admittedly. I have a couple of months to rue my foolishness and hope the bloody water warms up.

Is that the Level Water thing? I'm waiting to see if there's a team who'll have me, which lake will you be at? I've stopped pretending I'm hardy enough for just a cozzie and its indoors over the winter and a wetsuit for the summer. Love a heated lido though...

I'm mostly aiming for Coniston End to End this year.

And because I didn't fancy swimming for 5 hours I'm having lessons. I want to shave 20% off my pace- which would sound ridiculous except that it's quite a slow base to start from.

Lovely other ½ bought me some 'smart goggles' for christmas, they project your speed and stroke rate on the inside of the right eye so you can get feedback as you go along - plus other stuff like head angle, heart rate and such.  They work surprisingly well.

On the plus side, I'm already going at least 10 seconds quicker per 100m in a normal session in just 3 weeks of wearing them.  On the downside, seeing your speed slowly dripping away as you get tired and bored, and having to work so much harder to hold it has stripped any joy out of just swimming.  Hey ho.

I'm using the excuse that I need prescription goggles to avoid the tech-lust.

[ian]

It is the Level Water thing at Shepperton Lake. It might have to be a wetsuit, I hate the cold, and have also not swum outdoors for an age. I'm singularly ill-equipped for this venture.

[mike]

I'm mostly aiming for Coniston End to End this year.

 

[L CC]

Coniston is 5.25miles. About double my current longest swim. What could possibly go wrong?

First proper lesson since I was about 11, yesterday.

My coach is a nagging witch 

[citoyen]

Lovely other ½ bought me some 'smart goggles' for christmas, they project your speed and stroke rate on the inside of the right eye so you can get feedback as you go along - plus other stuff like head angle, heart rate and such.  They work surprisingly well.

Are you still getting on with them three months later?

I went for my first swim for a long time this morning. Going to try to get back into the regular habit. If I do, then I will be able to justify to myself the investment in some kind of tech to measure my distances - because I'm really crap at counting lengths. I mean, I think I did 30 lengths this morning but it could in fact be anywhere between 28 and 34 lengths. And when it's a 50m pool, that adds up to a significant difference. Not that it really matters, I just like having numbers to put on Strava.

Anyway, I'm interested in smart goggles as an option. Or some other fitness tracking device that works in water, if anyone has any recommendations - my Garmin FR620 is not really any good in water, only useful for measuring time not distance.