Gastritis and a swim

Last night I believe I had recurrence of the gastritis that troubled me 3 years ago. I had abdominal ache an hour or so after eating and during the night it became progressively worse. It wasn't as epigastric in location as I seem to remember that it was previously but it was eased by Omeprazole so I'll take that as diagnostic.

After a light breakfast I felt fit enough for a swim at Hatfield. The water had cooled to 15 degrees and after a break of a few weeks it felt cold. I managed 1800m (2 large laps and one small one) before stopping. The weather was a little better than forecast so I had a low angled sun in my eyes for a third  of the circuit. I find this very difficult and although it stands to sense that it makes sighting difficult I also unconsciously swim away from the brightness so have to look more often. My new-ish polarised ant-mist goggles don't help as they do mist up and there's still plenty of glare.

It must be 'end of season' as the lake was much quieter than usual, which was rather pleasant actually.

Recently I've been doing a run on Saturday afternoons but today I couldn't face bouncing my stomach around and stayed at home. I didn't have much of an excuse not to do some painting that's been due for a month or so.

Ellerton Park

We're away in Pickering for a few days and an online search revealed Ellerton Park to be a relatively nearby open water venue. Sure, Gomire Lake at the base of Sutton Bank was closer but the reviews aren't all that favourable. Ellerton is actually quite a drive from Pickering and not open road so not suitable for nipping back and forth to!

The venue isn't very well signed but following 'lakeside parking' was the right thing to do. The opening times online are basically all day which imply little safety cover and that seems to be the case. The owner, Mr Thompson was in the car park in his pickup collecting the fee and checking for comings and goings. He had binoculars but I suspect they were to monitor the carpark from afar rather than mount a rescue, although I'm sure he'd help if he spotted a problem!

There's a smallish changing block with showers in the carpark. There were 4 of us arriving at a similar time and so there was some company in the water. Three buoys mark out a 500m loop but when the numbers are low there's no compulsion to do a particular loop, although I chose to follow around anti-clockwise to avoid impacts! I was told that some sunny days there have been 100 swimmers, which would be fine in the water, but might make the land-based facilities a bit crowded.

The lake is claimed to be clean and clear, subjectively it was although I can't vouch for it's quality. Naturally there are weeds around the edge and a few trailing branches if you get too close to the bank. Entry and exit is via a wooden jetty and this didn't give me much opportunity to acclimatise as a kayak group were needing to use the steps too. I was told that that water is typically around 16 degrees in the summer.

Swimming is restricted to the eastern offshoot of the lake usually

I swam a leisurely 3 loops to complete around 1 mile. One of the 4 initial swimmers was still in the water as I left, keeping up a good pace.

The casual, open-ended timing is the lake's greatest asset that I can see, so long as you don't need close supervision. To that end, wetsuits are compulsory which reduces the risk somewhat.

Back to back

This morning's Hatfield swim felt a bit harder than previously, I'd expected that since I swam yesterday afternoon too. Good to do a back to back swim though in view of my October commitment. I did manage 3 laps, which is more than I might have achieved. The second felt good, with a good rhythm and stroke length but the third was scrappy and hard work. Basically I was tired by then.

Watch that ankle!

Leaving the house to drive to Hatfield I managed to twist my right ankle ever so slightly whilst avoiding an overgrown rose bush. I did the same last year! My main concern was whether I'd injured myself with 2 weeks to go before The Big Walk 2017. Anyway the water was warm although the venue busy due to it being a lovely day and the triathlon season being underway.

On previous sessions I've ended up with calf cramp and disappointing pace so today I decided to try to minimise kicking and rely on the buoyancy of the wetsuit for body position. It felt easier, indeed as I was doing less it really should have done. I didn't get cramp (although I was aware of a slight hint just before stopping) and I was slightly faster than previously.

I was only a little bit faster but considering that I'd expended less effort that count as a win. Before getting too complacent though it's worth noting that the male course record is less than 10 minutes.

Bonus!

I spent a salary bonus on a Garmin 935 as my aging Forerunner 110 has remained unreliable despite fitting new battery 6 months ago. Really it seemed very expensive but I took the plunge after noting that it hasn't received hate mail on various Garmin/watch/Suunto forums so it can't be doing too badly.

It arrived fully charged which was nice, but I topped it up via USB nonetheless. Today I took it for a swim which it recorded satisfactorily.

Naturally a few corners are missed off but some of that could be may fault as my sighting technique is poor so every so often I did a little lazy breaststroke. This leaves the watch submerged and thus lacking a GPS signal. This also accounts for the start in the lake as I lost signal whilst dithering in the not-all-that-cold water. I also messed up the cessation of recording but I think I've learn how to do that now. At least Strava does allow cropping.

Today's swim went well too, around 2km but done very slowly. I'm not sure why I'm so slow as I expected the wetsuit to give me pull-buoy-like speed. I know I'm being cautious in the big pond but I didn't think it was that much! Anyway, today I was in the water at just above 14 degrees for an hour so the wetsuit is certainly helping there. Incidentally  the watch recorded the temperature closer to 12 degrees.

Getting properly cold

I arrived at Hatfield primed to do two laps of the 800m lake. I was changed quickly and face in the water faster than previously. It was a little bit warmer in fairness.

The first lap took somewhere over 20minutes which is slow considering the lift of the wetsuit. I did have a bit of a splutter at one point but that was only a 20second delay! By the time I started the second lap I was cooling, my feet were cold despite the socks, the small of my back was slightly stiff but, importantly, my hands weren't showing any clawing. Half way around this lap I began to feel disorientated and thinking of the route was a bit harder, my coordination less and hampering my inept sighting. As I approached the final turn I went completely off track as I was focussing on keeping going and not looking. I nearly reached the jetty! A little detour got me on the the loop but then I couldn't workout which of the pink buoys was marking the exit. Seemingly I was surrounded by a forest of confusing buoys. Once I spotted the ramp I was Ok, and headed to that to stagger out of the water.

Even though I felt I was a bit more deeply cold I did manage to get my clothes on a little bit faster than previously and only spilt a little of my coffee.

Two hour aquathon

I kept my motivation and arrived at Hatfield well into the morning session meaning that I only had clear 45minutes for swimming. I committed to a big loop, 800m, so reasonable after last weeks multiple small loops. The water felt cold initially but it didn't take me too many attempts to get my head in and get swimming. I kept a very steady pace as I'm still getting my confidence in the water and the feel of the wet suit. Early on I had to stop, calm my breathing, and settle into a fresh rhythm as I was going too fast, but that was OK. My goggles got a bit damp by the end so I struggled to see the route too. As I'd been out for 25-30 minutes I felt I had time for a 200m small lap and certainly not another full lap. The cold was penetrating a little too.

The wetsuit was dragging a bit on my right arm and my left arm was collapsing whilst breathing. Things to try to deal with next time. Socks were better within the wetsuit cuffs although this didn't make them any easier to take off!

A Mr T sandwich (Mustard, Rocket and Tofu)

In the afternoon, after a few little jobs I ran to Oxstones for lunch. Even though I don't really use my legs for swimming much they did feel tired and that 14km was plenty.

Hatfield and Silvertip

At the end of last week I visited the new Alpkit shop in Hathersage to get an opinion of which size to chose of their Silvertip wetsuit. I'd had both a Medium and a Medium Tall sent in the post and felt that the Tall version suited me best. Ben in the shop agreed and so I left with a nice refund.

Today was the wetsuit's first test and the start of my new season and I went along to Doncaster where I first dipped my toes in last year. The water at Hatfield today was measured at 11.7°C which really did take my breath away as it crept through the zip. I had to do head-out breast stroke for quite a few minutes to settle my breathing and get used to the water, then a few face down strokes with eyes closed and eventually managed to get going. Once settled in I was content working around the small novice circuit at a steady (or slow?) pace. After 4 proper laps I could tell that my hands were getting stiff and the cold starting to penetrate deeply so called it a day.

Getting changed was the usual struggle of cold, stiffness and eventually shivers but I didn't take too long to reach the cafe for a hot drink. I was one of the first out of the water although a few of the others around me had certainly felt the cold!

Second time on an introductory open water course

Some months ago I booked with Swim The Lakes  on an open water intro course as my first foray into lake swimming. In the meantime I fitted in a course in Hatfield which made the Lake District seem a little less threatening.

Pete and Tori welcomed our group of 13 to the Ambleside shop and after taking orders for teas and coffees we introduced each other. As I found last time, there were aspirant triathletes, those up for a new challenge and some of us wanting to broaden their swimming horizons. Pete did a short presentation covering key safety matters, cold water immersion and a finally a good demo of how to put on a wetsuit.

Around half of us were hiring wetsuits and I was allocated a Blueseventy Fusion in Small/Tall sizing which made perfect sense. Then we dispersed to our cars to travel to The Badger Inn on Rydal Water; everyone had transport but it is a pity that a minibus isn't organised to facilitate the use of public transport. Perhaps no-one would use it?

It was a lovely countryside walk from the carpark (well once the road was crossed) to the beach area on the lake. The southern bank appeared to offer several bathing spots and two other groups of swimmers were making their way into the lake as we arrived. Some time was spent getting changed but the day was fairly warm and so this was fine. For once I wasn't the last one to be ready and so started to acclimatise by standing in the shallows. My recently bought Zone 3 socks did a good job of buffering the cold on my feet although I wonder if the top fastening is a bit tight.

The swim started with a few laps of some buoys, around a 80m loop, with Pete in a canoe and Tori leading in the water. After each lap we were given a few coaching tips, mostly a need to relax, reach and not gasp for air! Then Tori demonstrated two ways of sighting so that we had a chance of staying online. After a 'race' around the buoys, which resulted in a bit of a scramble around the first turn, the main swim was explained to us. We were to swim to the next beach, to the island, then around it and then choose a route back to 'our' beach. Pete outlined the approximate distance of each leg and options for stopping if anyone didn't feel they could do it and off we went. I was very much mid pack and at my steady pace found that I was warm enough, not tiring, but veering to the left a little.

After the loop of the island I set off across the lake at which point I got cramp in my left calf. I stopped to massage it a little, Tori noticed that I'd stopped and came over to check up which showed that the leaders were looking out for us. After a few seconds I was Ok to set off, although the cramp moved to the left. Of course the wetsuit gave a lot of buoyancy so I tried to ignore my legs and just got on with the swim.  My tendency to the swim to the left was very apparent in the open part of the lake and I had to repeatedly sight and correct to keep a good line. I'm going have to relearn non-dominant side breathing to help to keep me straight.

Back on shore everyone struggled to get the wetsuits off and clothes back on whilst feeling slightly dizzy and hoping not to get a chill. The sun was warm but I was very happy to walk back to the pub in my Dry Robe. Tori reckoned that open water swimmers are often recognisable by the vast amount of clothes being worn.

Despite Pete's planning we were running a little late and so the group started to break up during coffee at the hotel. Everyone seemed to have big smiles and to have had a good time, I was certainly very happy to have been in the water again and achieved a 'proper' swim beyond the edge of the lake.

I wasn't very keen on the wetsuit even though the Fusion is a well regarded model and the sizing right by the manufacturer's guidance. I found the shoulders tight and thought the legs could have had bit more buoyancy. Perhaps I was merely more aware of these aspects on this swim than I was on my very first time out? On the positive side, I noted little ingress of cold water during the morning.

First open water swim

I was already booked on an introductory open water swimming session in July, but the promotion of the Great North Swim and ongoing mild weather made me itch to have a go. Luckily a local organisation, SwimYourSwim, had a session today and I was able to get time off work to leave early.

The traffic to Doncaster was terrible, to my inexperienced eye, and made the journey rather stressful. At least this confirmed to me why I live within walking distance of work. There was a bit of a delay in starting the session even after we'd filled in the usual forms and disclaimers. This made sense as  it enabled the regular swimmers to get in the water as quickly as possible but really there was no need to arrive 30minutes early, as advertised.

Alistair got us to think about his 'pool' and how it differed from the local tiled, chlorinated swimming spot. This useful exercise highlighted the dangers and opportunities as well as the chance to relish the deceptively rural location of this 24m deep gravel path. After instructions on the wetsuits we were told about cold water immersion and how to acclimatise to the water. Actually, at just below 20°C the water was pretty mild.

Initially I certainly felt the reflex and could appreciate the danger but the process (and wet suit) were effective and eventually submerging my face didn't seem so bad. Gradually we made our way into the water with a few easy strokes to a buoy and then the next until I felt confident enough to get a good rhythm of freestyle. We'd been told to try lying on our backs, using the buoyancy of the wetsuit, to have a rest, or call for help if need be, and I was surprised at how easily I floated.

The water was reasonably clear and certainly in the shallows it was possible to see pond weed and the sandy floor of that part of the lake. Naturally along the way I had a mouthful and although I endeavoured to spit it out it tasted fine.

After completing 1 lap of the 200m course in sections we set off to do a second lap. Straightaway I went face-in for freestyle and only stopped at the halfway point whilst we regrouped. Sighting was a bit of an effort as it broke my rhythm. It wasn't clear that my unilateral breathing made me veer off in any particular direction as sometimes I was tending to the left, others to the right.

The session came to an end all too soon, really I could have gone around again, and that's a great way for a training session to end. Far better than to feel you've been pushed too much. Alistair and the club swimmers were very supportive and made us newcomers feel at home. I'd recommend the course but do remember to take some flip-flops along.