Total immersion

I'm feeling substantially better in myself and decided to get out for a swim. My usual pool and the local council pool are closed for the holiday. Ponds Forge was open and going for a swim fitted in nicely with a trip into the city.

Stolen from the SIV website

On first appearance the 50m length wasn't too terrifying but on jumping in I was shocked to find that the end of the pool was 2m deep and the water was cool. Both fine for active lengths but not great if you need a rest. My first length was very rough as I was in a mild panic and going too quickly but gradually I paced myself. Mostly I managed complete lengths with bilateral breathing but occasionally I had to stop short and do a few lazy breaststrokes. Both ends of the pool were 'shallow' at 2m and the central portion was significantly deeper. No opportunities to stand up then!

As I crept towards a mere 14 lengths (still 700m) my arms were struggling to keep me progressing as they weakened during the course of a length. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I don't have aerobic arms.

It was a good practice session and has given me an insight into the 'next level' of longer lengths and a need to keep active to maintain body warmth. Open water swimming would be a vast leap beyond this!