Swimming

When I see things like that, I'm just glad that I'm not even slightly affected by the 'higher, faster, further' bug. :)

That's not even a dive - you land feet first, it's a jump. I call shenanigans on that time-waster. Crowd must have been furious.

Anyone still mad enough to swim outdoors?
I had to get in while it snowed.

1 Attachment

• IMG_4102.MP4

Face-down frontcrawl or gtfo.

(can't talk, haven't swum since Oct and won't go in til I've conquered this long COVID bollox)

Ha! I never crawl in the lake, too much to see!
I do always dive under though

1 Attachment

And I'm only just out of covid too. Tested positive beginning of Jan, seem to be fine now (fingers crossed)

No accessible water reasonably near me :(

I was swimming until latest lockdown in the local park, but it's been shut. Bit irritating as popping down there early in the morning involved less close contact than everyone in shops, pavements, parks etc. But it's classed like a gym. Really missing it to be honest.

Last Sunday: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeRYdqka/

Superb swim this morning as the sun rose, maybe the coldest yet,3 degrees in the water and -3 out!
The nearby smaller lakes were frozen solid but the big lake was too exposed to freeze. I did have to kick through some ice at the edge.
Had a little fire on the bank to warm up before heading home.
Left home early, walked a couple of miles to the lake had a swim, sat by the fire and had coffee and porridge and was home by 10:30!

2 Attachments

people swimming in the lea just by hackney marshes during the coooold snap, on one of the freezing cold days, you can just see the lying snow in places

they were glowing rosy red with cold, there were a couple more just out of shot to the left

Pfft, they have gloves and boots on.

Braver than I getting in the Lea though, the water quality isn't always the best.

Been a couple of months due to injury and illness but it’s nice to be back in the sea again even just for a splash about!

1 Attachment

Had a group call with my winter swimming mates last night to reminisce about where we’d usually be on weekends like this. Mate in Edinburgh says the swimming scene has exploded, she counted 30 people in the water with her at Portobello yesterday, there’s usually not more than a handful. She’s also found a new waterfall in the Pentlands and had some great pics of swimming in the snow. Jealous much?

There were more people swimming in the Thames in Reading this morning than I’ve ever seen in summer. Get in, swim / swoosh down with the flow, get out, jog back to the start and repeat.
The current is way too strong to swim against and there’s a dozen people in there!

Anyone got a recommendation on a wetsuit bag? Gotta hold either my outdoor swim kit (suit, goggles etc) or my freediving kit.

I've just been using a huge plastic bag, but it's not very carry friendly, and I've torn a hole in it.

I quite like the idea of those bags that you can also stand in. The carradice one seems to be unavailable due to fabrics / Europe etc last time I looked.

Eish - I fell in the Thames once (well, Kennet) near Cemetery Junction and was sick for a week.

One of these?
Bloody brilliant. And made in the carradice factory.

I won’t swim in the Kennet or the Thames when the water looks murky. Runoff is a dangerous thing. I’m still swimming in still water.
The Thames looks clear now that we haven’t had rain for a while, but sadly the EA water quality info is no longer gathered and shared. It was always handy to see what was recorded upstream.
The toxins used to dissipate about 6-7 days after heavy rain. I suspect it will be fine (ish) now.

I just use one of these: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/speedo-equipment-mesh-drawstring-bag

Just booked a swim session at the local council pool on the 12th April. My last swim was on 14th December 2020.

I expect to have zero stamina so I'll start off with some gentle 100m sets.

I've been in West Reservoir in the last 3 days. About 10 minutes each time (not really acclimatized) and still my arms are hurting. Great to be back in though.

Strava has a 20km swim challenge for April so I'll be aiming for that (starting the 12th obviously).

My open air lido opened Monday. I’ve managed to get three bookings in a row, and done 1300, 1500 and 1700 metres on consecutive evenings. I can really feel it today, even though the pace was best described as steady. Bloody marvellous to be back in though.

Have you started building a dam in the lido yet? :)

Those distances seem huge to a relative newbie!

I’ve been doing 500m every few days off the pier in the Atlantic and I usually feel knackered!