More Darnall paths

My task of walking local rights of way continued today near Darnall. I've passed through the area of the disused airport previously but hadn't covered each path. This walk, which was a walk as I'm still affected by plantar fasciitis, was the typical round-and-round required for completion. So 14km walked to cover quite a small area.

Highlighted paths show 2 sections completed, yellow are impassable

The higher area, between the airport land and the golf course is well-kept and pleasant. Paths closer to the industry of Darnall are less accessible and litter strewn. Of course, there are plenty more rights of way to be walked in the east of Sheffield.

Gower Coastal walks

Our late summer holiday this year was to Mumbles, a tourist town on the Gower peninsula. I'd initially thought of it as a suburb of Swansea but it is separated by a considerable green space, is quite different in character, and is a genuinely self-contained seaside town. The Welsh Coast Path passes around the peninsula as it weaves through a number of picturesque bays. Nearly all of our walks were on the coast although we did go inland a few times for variety and to save a bit of distance. In view of my sore foot we didn't do any long walks although across the weeks we estimated an average of 10 miles a day.

Mumbles lighthouse at low tide

Around the Gower there are a number of small offshore tidal islands that can be reached by stony causeways at low tide. Just beyond the edge of Mumbles the island carries an eighteenth century lighthouse. I planned my visit to be about an hour before low tide so that I knew I had at least two hours for my trip. The causeway is rough underfoot and couldn't be rushed, nevertheless, I had more than enough time to cross and look around. I wasn't able to access the other islands as we weren't there at the right time for the tide.

Oxwich bay from the chapel

The bays are distinctly concave and in many cases large enough that you can look across and see where you've come from, or are going too.

Rhossili bay beach

On weekdays, in term time, many areas were quiet with only a few dog walkers on the beach. I don't think we met anyone who appeared to be walking the whole coastal path. We did meet runners in the Gower Ultra one day, many walking uphill and jogging down, as is traditional for non-elite runners. I have to admit that I was slightly jealous and look forwards to having a healed foot.

We covered most of the 'south' of the Gower peninsula path and have been encouraged to return to explore the north coast which is more wetland than beach.

The Peaks Mumbles Swim

I'd entered the swim component of the Mumbles triathlon and was anticipating some type 2 fun. Unfortunately, I'd not studied the Race Pack in advance and so hadn't appreciated that I'd need photographic identification to register. So, no swim. A quick scan online suggests that photo id is generally required for triathlons. Every day is a school day. 

Wales National Pool

Whilst on holiday on the Gower peninsula I made an effort to do a pool swim a few times a week. I'd hoped to do a few sea swims but for various reasons I didn't manage to. However, I'd highly recommend the indoor Wales National Pool which is adjacent to Singleton Park between Swansea and Mumbles. The main pool is 50m and can be split into 23m and 25m sections. I visited in both configurations. There's an online timetable of pool availability and it's surprisingly generally open for public use. On the days I visited it wasn't too busy, it's large, so was pleasant even when a university team were training. There's also a separate training pool where children's lessons take place.

My performance could perhaps be best described as lack lustre. I'm used to a 25 yard pool so lengths automatically take 10% longer! As well as 100m and 200m sets I did some 'sprint' single lengths to try to build up pace. Only once did I manage to drop below 30s, although a few were 31s. My stroke count in the pool averaged around 14 strokes (per  two arm cycle) per length which is probably about right for my height, but stroke rate is low as I am trying to focus on good, unrushed technique. 

If you're over 60 years of age, and take photo id, there are free swim sessions. I didn't have any identification with me so had to pay. Perhaps the free sessions are busier though?

Found another lake

Whilst rummaging around the internet to find a wetsuit stockist I read about Spring Lakes near Nottingham. I decided I wasn't interested in their Zoggs wetsuit range as they don't appear to produce a 3:5 style suit. However, a lake within an hour's drive is of some interest.

I find the travel to and from supervised lakes rather long in relation to the amount of time I'm actually able to swim, but then again, I flew to Greece for what must have been little more than 12 hours of swimming! A major advantage of Spring Lakes over, for example, SwimYourSwim at Hatfield,  is that they have slots for most of the daylight hours. This means that I can choose to travel to avoid 'rush hour' and to fit in with other things at home. 

The venue's website is tidy, detailing all of the activities, and online booking was straightforward. The website and photos suggest that the dry-side of the venue may well be cleaner and more attractive than some...

The lakes are on the edge of Long Eaton and can be reached from the M1 by two routes. The shortest is through the busy town centre, and there is a slightly longer option on a better-flowing peripheral road. The map suggests it wouldn't be a massive walk from the station, but open water swimming often involves more kit than it should.

The approach road is narrow and could be tricky at bust times. I drove past the entrance initially, the first sign for the lake really indicates the venue. The parking appears plentiful and check-in was efficient. The toilets and changing areas are adequate but, as mentioned above, more rustic than I expected. I didn't find the advertised showers. I didn't use the lockers, current practice seems to be the widespread approach of leaving a car key at reception and ones' clothes lakeside.

The water was 19°C, green with weed, and rather hazy. Unusually, you're allowed to swim anywhere in the lake, the one in use today would be a mile around, I chose to stay at one end with a nominal 500m loop. The lifeguard was very happy to explain the options to me, and did enquire if I had some open water experience. I'm always conscious of my body temperature so wore my rather heavy Alpkit SilverTip wetsuit. 

As I was warm enough I stayed to complete three laps in around 45 minutes with pauses to look around. Each lap was perhaps slightly smaller than the preceding one! If I go in the near future, before the water is much colder, I'll try a full lap.

Strava map of the swim, showing the venue layout

I had a warming coffee and cake from the lakeside cafe before setting off for home. Overall, the venue is worth considering for a supervised open water swim. The staff I met were pleasant and helpful. Don't expect a hot shower and smart, tiled changing area though.

Feel of the water

Currently, I'm swimming 100yd sets with focus on a particular movement or body part. Not really drills, but certainly not swimming repeated lengths merely for distance. The intention is to develop parts of my stroke in the hope that eventually the elements will fuse.

Midway through today's session I moved onto catch and tried to visualise small inward rotation of my arms, high elbows, a more open chest and a hold on the water. For two sets I was clearly aware of more resistance to my forearms and these sets were under two minutes. They were also more tiring as I was exerting more force. I suspect that my stroke rate had increased too, as unfortunately, my distance per stroke had reduced. Thinking back, it's likely that I was starting recovery too early as I wasn't focussing on that.

It's heartening to see sub-two minute 100 yard sets again as they didn't last for long. Next session I'll have to try to recapture that feeling and see if I can make it reproducible, and hopefully a habit.  

Second opinion

Six months into plantar fasciitis I have had a second opinion from the other physiotherapist in my local practice. According to a recent review I have a few predisposing factors including a high arch and calf tightness alongside regular running. Although my symptoms are fairly long-standing it doesn't seem sensible to progress to 'Phase 3' therapies when I've not systematically undertaken stretching and mobility of the tissues. Although I undertake calf-raising exercises in a runners' circuit I haven't, as yet, systematised this in the long term.

The currently suggested programme is centred on mobility of the foot and calf without focus on massage of the potentially-inflamed fascia. I'm also including toe scrunch and towel-lifts to activate the intrinsic muscles of the feet. Next week I'm also encouraged to do some very small rope skipping. Such pylometric exercises are generally discouraged in plantar fasciitis so I'll need to be on the look out for a worsening of symptoms.