Swimming

Marathon Swims (https://www.marathonswims.com/) postponed for a second year.

Unsurprising really, just can't see how they can have that many people all inside and in close proximity.

Kind of glad as I'm not in 10k shape right now, and definitely not at the pace I'd like to do it, and it'd be a busy month to get into that shape and my copious free time is soon to be curtailed.

just can't see how they can have that many people all inside and in close proximity

The same way nightclubs can.

If anyone's looking for swim gloves now Its cold, the Lomo Tri-X gloves are excellent. First time in the sea with them and not a hint of coldness.

Well and truly surf season on the Atlantic coast since mid October, a bit too harsh for any sort of distance, so I gave up waiting for a clear day and made the conscious decision to head to the open adult swim session in the local pool on Monday morning. Nothing targeted, just to get a feel for actually swimming in a pool for the first time since I was a kid doing lessons, relearning to tumble turn etc. Felt very different to being in the sea with a wetsuit.

Anyway, once I got those nerves out of the way I decided to join the local tri clubs Thursday morning sessions, a group coached session. Was landed into the fastest group and took a beating for the hour long session. I was neither the fastest nor the slowest in that group, which was good, but holy hell it was a tough session.

My espresso machine will take a beating today.

This looks like a lot of fun

https://scillyswimchallenge.co.uk/

6 swims, 6 walks, 15km - over one or two days

Spoke to a bunch of people who had done then when I did Padstow to Rock in the summer. It definitely got glowing reviews from them.

Anyone used the magic5 goggles?

https://gaelforceevents.com/en/the-great-fjord-swim-the-great-fjord-swim

Signed up for the 3.9km distance just now. It sold out well in advance for 2021 so getting my name in early for 2022.

For a basic watch that can count distance and speed is this worth it?
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/r/swimming-pool-watch-sl500-distance-lengths-chronometer-black/_/R-p-306207?mc=8548394

Just been for my first pool swim since I was a schoolboy. I was taking it pretty easy, or so I thought - about 20 lengths of 25 m or yards in 40 minutes maybe, but I wasn't counting. I felt fine in the pool but when I got out I became really dizzy and eventually called for help from the lifeguards and passed out in the cubicle. (Luckily got dressed first)

I didn't sleep very well, I guess I may have been a bit dehydrated, I didn't eat a huge amount this morning. The pool is apparently a toasty 30°C and the air temperature is similar with high humidity, so I was feeling pretty hot when I got out.

I'll call the GP in the morning but has anyone experienced anything like this? I see it seems to be fairly common in triathlons?

30 deg C is warm for a pool, my local council pool is fine for me at 26 deg C.

If you had enough time to get dressed it's unlikely to be any bloody pressure issue related to change of position (e.g. postural or othostatic hypotension) - but there are other forms of hypotension to consider.

Sounds a bit (to my completely untrained medical self) like heatstroke: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23891244/

Sometimes I get out of the pool after a long swim and feel fine but by the time I'm changing I'll be sweating buckets, even though the water temperature is way below body temperature and the air temperature isn't overly warm, but I've never had any dizziness and I've done plenty of 1h+ swims in a fasted state.

Might be worth considering a cool shower after finishing, many pools have showers near the pool side that are cooler than the main showers to get you clean. They're also often in view of the lifeguards.

I was definitely very sweaty as soon as I got dressed and it felt like a heat issue but who knows. When I managed to walk out of the pool bit into the lobby (which is much cooler) I definitely felt much much better.

In that particular pool (Dalry in Edinburgh) the cubicles and showers are right by the pool rather than in separate rooms, so same temperature as everything else. I did obviously use the shower before I got in but it was warm. I didn't bother showering after I got out as I was going to go in at home.

As long as the GP clears it I'll try again and investigate to see if there's a cold shower for next time. Seems all the pools in Edinburgh are around 30 (I would have thought the Commie would be "Olympic" temperature) but I guess a pool with separate changing rooms would at least be a bit cooler. Will have to investigate

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it

First swim for ~3 years yesterday, while the 5 year-old was in their lesson.

Only managed 900m in 30 minutes - I'm slow & sinky, and my neck was complaining all the time.

Felt good though.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/heatrelillness.html#syncope

Heat syncope is a fainting (syncope) episode or dizziness that usually occurs with prolonged standing or sudden rising from a sitting or lying position. Factors that may contribute to heat syncope include dehydration and lack of acclimatization.

tl;dr it's being in prone position, then standing, exacerbated by heat.

When you finish swimming, stand for a bit in the pool before getting out. When you get out, sit on the side for a bit. Stand up slowly.

^ caveat - I'm not medically trained.

I'm barely swim trained at that.

I have had plenty of syncope episodes after swimming though - the fitter I am, the more often I get them.

GP said tiredness, dehydration, hunger and heat are all contributing factors to fainting, all of which I had to some degree. So yeah, nothing to worry about thankfully 🙂

Back back ~3 times since then and I was fine, although it is still clammy as fuck once you get out

Only managed 900m in 30 minutes

Lol, I've been doing 400-500m in 40 minutes and I need a rest after each (25yd) length of front crawl so sounds pretty fast to me. Hopefully I've got some comical gains for the taking because my baseline fitness is so low.

First time back in the water since December today, with all sorts of newborn baby sleep deprivation. I decided not to join the fast lane so hopped into the middling ability lane only to be held up on my first 100m effort by two lads crashing into each other, so I switched into the fast lane before those lads started their main set, and just sat on the back for the 20 x 100m efforts. It was a slog but I didn’t go as badly as I expected all things considered. Only 4 or 5 weeks til it’s time to crack out the wetsuit again and get back in the sea!

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Ha, good work!

First swim for me in (checks Garmin Connect) 4 months last night.

First 100m thinking "This is great, like I've hardly been away from the pool". I stopped 300m later as I was broken (plus the lanes were filling up.)

Local pool switching back to bookings for swimming as most people prefer it (as do I as I'm more likely to go if I've booked something in advance, if I don't book I just keep on putting it off until the day has gone).

The trouble with bookings is you can't have a long swim, or you aren't supposed to anyway.

Don't mind that, slots are 1h long with a 15 minute gap between. Last time I was doing long swims I just had a lie down on the side for 15 minutes while they did the changeover, and remembered to check in for the second session on the way out of the pool (otherwise I'd get charged for not turning up).

That's better than 60 people turning up for (effectively) 45 places and it being an utter bun fight.

Thankfully in the sticks we only end up with maximum 4 per lane

Yeah, before 9am is often chaos.

After 9am is lovely sometimes I have a double wide lane to myself for an hour.

(Ah, even better, the bookings slots are now back to back with no enforced gap [they used to clear the pool, wipe stuff down, etc], so I can just book two slots together to stay in longer.)

It's (Better) changed since I last looked and I can now book multiple slots but I still need to check-in for the second slot within 10 minutes of the start time so on the way out is theoretically a problem although perhaps not if I speak to reception. I'll have to ask them.

Places Leisure here (which runs Putney Leisure Centre for the council). Slightly less shit system.

Used Better at Wimbledon when Putney was closed for ages a few years ago. Did not enjoy.

Anyway, on my way back to swim fitness. Aiming to get back to 20k/month although time is tight given that I'm also aiming to get back to run and cycle fitness too.

I’ve been in most evenings for weeks now, averaging 1500 m / 30 minutes at a time, plus a couple of lake swims a week.
I’ve just focused on technique and not anything too strenuous but I’m going to start intervals and drills imminently.
The lake swims have been proper challenging, water down to 4.5 degrees and I can only tolerate that for 10 minutes. Did one longer swim and was still feeling the effects of the cold 10 hours later.
The lake is massive and I’m tempted to try a swim in the storm tomorrow. I’ll wait till the rain passes and see how it goes. What could possibly go wrong?