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.

Pickering 2019

One again we've spent a week in Pickering.  The access to moorland, coast and in foul weather, York and Malton is a great combination for a break close to home. The weather was mixed, mostly changeable with occasional heavy showers until Friday when it was quite warm. Unusually there wasn't a day which was very wet and so we didn't visit York,

Running

Regular readers will know that I'm gradually re-starting running after an achilles tendon issue and so I didn't do any major runs. I went out briefly early evening twice and was glad of the flatness around the town as that gave me an easy time and allowed me to run  for a few minutes longer,

Swimming

I managed to fit in 3 swims. A basic internal session at Ryedale Swim and Fitness Centre which was great (for me) due to being nearly empty. I also managed to be at Helmsley Open Air Pool at opening time. The pool is freshly relined but the changing facilities are basic. Nonetheless it was lovely to swim under a blue sky in pleasantly warm water. Whilst I was there the pool became progressively busier and it became hard to swim repeated lengths as they don't have a lane system.

Finally we drove out to Northallerton and Ellerton Lake. The lake is a great resource and unlike most swimming lakes it's open practically all day, every day. I find the buoy layout very confusing but I suspect that is my problem and no-one seems very bothered about traffic so long as it's clockwise.

I managed just over 1500m, supposedly three full laps is a mile, with a fair few breaks to work out where I was going and due to being tired! I'm out of practice at swimming into the wind.

Hiking

We did a variety of hikes including a short one on Sutton Bank and a longer one through Dalby Forest. We walked a fair way along Filey Beach, a few youngsters were paddling but even though the wind was slight I wasn't tempted as the sea is susceptible to poor quality, especially when there is heavy rain.

A mixed week

This week I've exercised indoors and outdoors, on land and in the water. Generally a good combination. Last Friday I managed the longest run I've done in months, it was a massive 15minutes of slow running with 15 minutes of woodland walk. My foot wasn't especially sore over the weekend, just a bit stiff, so I'll take that as a success.

Swims have varied between short sprints in the pool and an open water mile. Once again this is a step up after injury niggles as it's ages since I've done 1600m as a single swim. I can' claim this was a single 'set' though as I had to stop a few times on my second lap of the lake. I think I set off too fast (my watch reckoned 2:12min/100m) and thus it didn't count as steady pace.

Whilst my Sunday runs have been off limits I've used the tim to walk briskly in the woods. Today I saw the controls for the Round Sheffield Run and used that as a prompt to detour via Wigley Farm. The ascent from the Limb Valley path is very picturesque, the latter half not so much fun with long grass (ticks?) and cattle with calves (dangerous?). I'm hoping these walks are keeping some degree of long-run aerobic fitness.

Gradual improvement in pace

This lunchtime I sent the 935 back to Garmin for replacement or repair. The barometer module is clearly defective resulting in fixed altitude and temperature readings which are off the (sensible) scale. Before packing the watch I went for a swim at Hatfield but only managed 1.4km before I was getting cold and aware of the troublesome left shoulder.

I've collated the swims recorded over the early one year I've had the watch. The data has been cleaned a little in that I've chosen laps where the GPS data looks valid and without long pauses.

I really am getting a little faster

The data shows a distinct trend for  faster pace. I know that in the pool I've made gains and some of this is translating to the open water but I think that I'm tending to sight better and swim in a more direct line. The GPS track lacks detail in water so small zig-zags aren't recorded as additional swimming distance.

The cluster of faster swims in October 2017 are from Costa Brava where the saltwater gave buoyancy, a HUUB wetsuit was probably faster than my warm and stiff Alpkit wetsuit and finally the guide kayak helped with sighting.

Carbis Bay Ocean Swim

Before heading to Cornwall I'd made contact with Tom of Sea Swim Cornwall  and had a flexible arrangement for him to lead a swim. Today wasn't ideal for either of us in a way but later in the week I'd find that the weather would be even less favourable. At first the plan was to swim between Newlyn and Penzance but by high tide the sea was far too rough for me. The wind direction made Carbis Bay preferable and so we headed across the peninsula and quickly got changed.

The sea was rougher than I'd find ideal but outdoors you have to take what there is. It was also a little cold, my watch said 13°C but the TV forecast said it was a bit colder and I certainly suspected that it was. We headed west along the bay towards the headland having agreed that a 30 minute swim would probably be enough. After a brief pause we turned back and it was then apparent that there was a headwind. Making headway became hard work against the waves and later analysis of the data showed a much reached distance per stroke.

Overall it was a 1050m swim in 27 minutes which was plenty for me. Tom pointed out a rainbow over the sea which I'd missed due to my focus on forward movement. He was capable of swimming a lot faster than me and just kept a polite distance and checked that I was OK which was enough support; he seemed pleased when I said I was cold enough to warrant stopping.

The next day I ran past Carbis Bay and looked down at where we'd swum and it looked a very little journey.

From the beach to a rocky outcrop, wave movement visible

I hoped to swim along the beach another day but the weather tended to decline and was too poor when I was available and the tide suitable.

Christmas week in Spain

We've had a very pleasant and restful week in Java visiting my parents and getting into the countryside. I arrived with an unpleasant cold and the weather was wet and windy so for the first few days I didn't get into the hills or sea as much as I'd hoped. Nonetheless taking it easy helped my recovery and for the second half of the week I felt a bit more normal.

The trails around Benimuraell are a favourite walk and easy to navigate, just as well as the highest point was in mist. The 'Mozarabic trail' is amazingly well engineered tot make a safe ascent up and around a limestone buttress.

We also walked the tourist path up to Cabo San Antonio from the port, descending through urbanisations to the old town. The paths in this area have been improved over the last 20 years and together with GPS mapping it's far easier to get around the nature reserves that ever before. However, do take care, the paths are steep in sections and change rapidly, so don't get caught out if you're not ready for it! A few years ago fires killed the pine trees and now they have been felled the headland is comparatively bare. Low scrubs are established but it'll be some time before the path is hidden in the trees as it used to be.

I also went for two short trail runs, I didn't have time for any long runs and perhaps wasn't well enough to put in the work either. Early in the week I ran up to the edge of the La Grandella, mostly through the urbanisations. The planes are supposedly protected land and haven't been built-up and I hope that stays the case in the future.

 Even though this is basically an urban run, it's over 200m of ascent from the coast to even this level so I took a few walking breaks! My second run  also included a few walks as I ventured onto the lower slopes of Montgo; one again the route was limited by time and underfoot the rocky paths and water-worn limestone can be treacherous. Although I have used IGN maps on paper and via Viewranger, this area is very well served by Viewranger's Landscape maps which indicate contemporary (usually) accessible routes very clearly.

In under 9km there was 300m of ascent, only a fraction of the total ascent of Montgo but even so this gave great views over the countryside around Javea and showed that there are limits to the residential areas.

Beforehand I'd hoped to swim every day but arriving ill and in poor weather didn't help me start a habit. The waves were sufficient for surfing and for a beginner sea swimmer that made the water too severe. The coats nearest the hotel was far more rocky than I had expected making it an unsuitable entry and exit point. So I had to walk to safe beach area and messing with access to the apartment and these various barriers I only managed to get in the sea once, for under 10 minutes. But that's a start and I was very pleased with being plenty warm enough (in a thin wet suit) and being able to change out of it quickly enough on the beach to not get cold.

All this mention of cold indicates my major issue in England, but with the water being at 14°C it was in the same order as summer swimming inland at home. Notably my wetsuit and hat took over 24hours to dry on the patio at the apartment so daily dips would have been a bit more cool and damp.

7 degrees

This morning things were a little hectic at Hatfield as the 'winter swimmers' were doing a qualifier event for their Ice Mile. Working around them meant that the rest of us were a little delayed getting into the water, I was cold before getting wet! Anyway, that didn't seem to matter and I managed 4 small laps, which is around 1km in half an hour. As is so often the case, after one lap I nearly stopped due to feeling cold, tired and generally 'why bother?', but pushing-on gave a reward as I settled into the rhythm of the stroke, thought about hip rotation and set my sights on another few laps.

Once back in the cafe the sign noted a temperature of 7 degrees, over two degrees colder than last week.

Although my pace is ridiculously slow, at lunchtime I did reflect on this year's progress, 3km in the Mediterranean and 1km below 10 degrees, and both are within my comfort zone now.

A bit chilled

It's the winter timetable at Hatfield from today and so I wasn't in the water until nearly 09:30. It was a lovely autumn morning with the pond surrounded by a palette of orange leaves and the water still, almost glass-like. This would have been a perfect day for some photographs but I've not really worked out how to do that safety (for me, the wetsuit and the camera), although there's a method here, it doesn't feel healthy for the wetsuit! Walking in was a bit of a shock, distinctly colder than last week's evening swim even though officially there's been only 1 degree reduction.

After a little breast stroke faffing I got my face in the water and completed 1km. I set off to do another small lap but decided that the cold was getting to me, my hands were stiffening and somehow the chill was penetrating. Previously I'd just felt superficially cold, but after the half hour it was feeling different. So I headed back to the beach and teetered back to the cafe and changing area.

It's possible I looked very wobbly as an assistant was dispatched with me to 'make sure I was OK' whilst getting tired and dressed. After a coffee and walk around the cafe I felt almost normal but wished that I'd taken my DryRobe. It's been a waste of time carrying it back and forth over the summer but now I do need it.

The heated seat in the car warmed me through on the drive home. I think that it's mild and consistent enough to complement the hot drink and give core warmth - showers are best avoided after a cold dip.

Some hardy should were swimming without wetsuits ('skins') in training for an ice mile, but that won't be me for a season or two...

14 Degrees

The water was a claimed 14°C this morning although my watch recorded at a whole degree warmer. Really this is quite mild as open water swimming goes in the UK but it's a good 10°C than I was immersed in a fortnight ago. I was torn between acclimatising and getting cold, or just getting on with it! It's been a shame that I was affected by a cough and cold that made swimming here unwise, until today, since my holiday.

I found a single lap a bit of a struggle due to feeling a little cold and also finding the Alpkit wetsuit hard work by comparison with the HUUB I've been using most recently. Having said that, the Silvertip was easy to get on and kept me fairly snug. As is so often the case my goggles were an irritation as they were perpetually misted up and some of the buoys had moved around due to strong winds over the last few weeks. I also managed to mess up settings on my watch and so don't have a true record of the swim pace. I think I kept pressing 'Start' rather than 'Lap'. The numbers don't really matter...

After the slow lap it didn't seem wise to go around again so finished off with a couple of small laps so that I knew I'd swum beyond 1km. Not a lot, but a step in the right direction.

Whilst driving to Hatfield I as slightly aware of my left shoulder, it's been more uncomfortable since being told there some impingement. I think that my minor injury was due to a combination of overuse during this training block when I've been trying to do some sprint lengths and insufficient roll to the right. As I tend to breath just to the right I have an asymmetric stroke with probably a biased roll. The article linked to earlier comments that injury risk is increased whilst fatigued so I am aiming now to keep good form throughout shorter sessions to try to counter this. The article also shows some exercises and I think I'll ask the physio about these.