Swimming

I don’t wear a wettie myself, but would if I needed to be doing 2-3 hr swims in the winter. While the Atlantic coast is pretty balmy, I wouldn’t be keen to go much over an hour in winter.

Also, really get to know about the local tides and currents as early as you can. Parts of the Irish coast can be pretty fickle.

Got a tow float, got the tide watcher app!

Today I was that wanker in the lane doing 1:10/100m with fins on.

Fuck my legs hurt now.

Just been for my first lane swim in probably about 5 years. I’m fucked. In a good way.

I started this thread 12 years ago (I was dooks). Since then I got REALLY into it. Prob peaking in about 2012 when I was swimming with the Otters club four times a week, doing open water swims and cough triathlons cough. Then I got bored and it sort of ebbed away till I made the mistake of having kids them it stoped. I left London in 2016. Haven’t really done any meaningful swimming since. Until tonight. I’m very very unfit. Had fun tonight tho. Gonna make it regular. Definitely

I found your posts pretty inspirational (honestly, I'm not being facetious for once).

I'm much less good at swimming but I've done my first two swims since February in the past few weeks. Was also fucked as I'm also very very unfit.

At least you've got the technique, sadly I don't really...

I don't mind when my legs hurt it's the fin rub/blisters that are a bastard.

I was about to try and buy some swim socks before lockdown 1.0 cancelled my lessons.

That’s cool. Thanks man! Stick with it dude. It’s a lifetime’s project I reckon. Well it is if you swim thoughtfully... as in always try and analyse what you’re doing, what’s working, what’s not and what can be tweaked. That’s the process I go through pretty much every lap.

Shoulders were the first to go today... then the lungs. Only managed half an hour. That would have the warm-up in my club days!

Dooks! Actually wondered what happened to that username, used to see it here all the time. Mystery solved.

Heheh! I’ve been hiding in plain sight since the great forum platform swap of whenever it was.

Cressi Light Fins,,, bliss

Can’t remember which ones I used to use. Never had any blister issues .

If anyone's into adventure swimming, checkout a product called a Ruckraft. It's basically a massive drybag on a v shaped inflatable. Can take a tent etc.

Used one a few weekends ago swimming around the Devon coast and estuaries. Was excellent, if a bit pricey.

Were you on the Above Below swim/run weekend thing? I was very tempted but I'm far too slow.

I was booked on it, but had an emergency, so couldn't do it. Unfortunately, was already on the WhatsApp group so had to see all the amazing photos. It's the guy who runs The Swimmer event I've been doing for years.

My mate got one of the initial batch of Ruckrafts, says it's brilliant.

It's the guy who runs The Swimmer event

That's where I heard about it.

I've been doing for years.

I haven't done it since 2014 for various reasons :-( I was kind of hoping I'd be able to this winter. Oh well.

Yeah the second one. Would thoroughly recommend the trip though, incredibly well run, and the campsite etc is wonderful.

I wouldn't worry about being to slow, it was very much go at your own pace and with lots of support. I'd just say you need to be comfortable in rough seas around rocks etc.

I've had an idea about maybe doing a bandit Swimmer this winter - book a slot at HH ponds, then run to Serpentine and fuck the police, then to my usual haunt at Shadwell lido. It's dependent on injury recovery for the running aspect, but will post here if I'm doing it, and Will ask Will if any of the hardcore Swimmer crew want to get involved.

No booking required on the Heath at the moment so it's fairly straightforward to do but a big group would be awkward. I'm a member of the Serpentine so as long as the usual schedule is stuck to there isn't all that much dodging needed there.

Not sure I'd get much past the Serpentine with my current fitness though!

Stunning conditions for a dip in the Atlantic this eve!

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Swimming with sharks

Nurse sharks. You could swim with them in Busch Gardens in Florida about 25 years ago. Probably still can.

Looks ace.

In other news, Carradice breaking into the swim market?
https://swimferal.co.uk/products/the-turtleback-bag

I think I know someone involved in this, have asked if it's her thing & already praised her decision to partner with carradice for it.

Edit: based on the registered address it is her business.

It seems outdoor swimming pools/lidos/ponds/lakes etc are likely to be closed on Thursday as part of the new not a lockdown lockdown. There is a petition against it which you might consider signing: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555079

At time of posting it is 2/3rds to the point where the government has to respond.