Tales From The Pool

Going to swim in a public swim session is always an adventure! Here are a few of my experiences from recent trips to the pool.

Three Little Things

Everything was wrong with todays swim. Nothing was going right.

And then, 20 minutes into the swim, three things happened.

A lack of sleep recently, my mind a little preoccupied (stressed?!), a few days of no training, and then some warm water in the pool.

All ingredients for a poor swim.

And sure enough, the first 1000m of my swim felt terrible. No rhythm or flow. No power or speed. No desire.

I was close to getting out and calling it a day.

And then three things happened.

1 – A Fun Set

Firstly, I switched sets. I opted for some broken 100s (5s rest after each 25m) to see if this would help. This initially gave me a focus and a challenge – without being too challenging.

I started having fun.

2 – An Old Friend

Secondly, an old swim friend from back in the day, Jimmy, got in my lane soon after I started my broken 100s set. A five minute break followed where we had a bit of a catch up.

I started to feel more positive.

3 – A Fast Swimmer

Thirdly, a fast female swimmer got in the next lane and began charging up and down the pool.

I started to feel competitive.

A Swim Transformed!

My easy, feeling-sorry-for-myself swim was over. I had a fun main set to get my teeth into and I had people around me who I could be accountable to. I still didn’t feel as good as I have recently, but at least I enjoyed it.

In the end, all in all, a good swim.

I still hope I feel a bit better tomorrow though!

The Lesson?

I share this to show that we can make bad situations better.

“Persevere until something clicks” is what I said to Jimmy when we were having our little chat. I said it, half believing it. However, I was right. Sticking at it, keeping going, something clicked. And then I started enjoying it.

I hope you take something from this?

Four Things To Love

Lots to love about my Sunday morning swim this week.

One

Firstly, it was my fifth swim of the week. That is something to celebrate isn’t it?

Two

Secondly, for much of my session, I had the indoor pool to myself. Completely empty. This meant that the water was super smooth, only my splash spoiling the still water.

Of course, it also meant that there were two lifeguards employed to keep an eye on me and keep me safe, a thought that kept me amused during my swim!

Three

Thirdly, swimming felt great. The first session this week felt awful, no rhythm, no pace, and everything felt hard. Within six days, and 14k later, swimming felt easy.

Four

Fourthly, I managed to control my pace to the second!

Within the session, a set of 10 x 100m, reducing the time on each one by 1 second.

1.28 / 1.27 / 1.26 / 1.25 / 1.24 / 1.23 / 1.22 / 1.21 / 1.20 / 1.19

Great control or a complete fluke?!

A Big Focus On Stroke Timing

Five swims in a week last week. And then a rest day yesterday. I was eager to see how I would swim after that.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

Swim seemed comfortable, controlled and pretty quick.

First five 100s in the warm up … 1.25 / 1.24 / 1.23 / 1.21 / 1.20

Yep, feeling pretty good.

Grant Hackett 50s

Grant Hackett 50’s was today’s main set. And with warm up times like that, I couldn’t wait.

16 x 50m off 1′ – every 4th strong.

12 x 50m off 1.05 – every 3rd strong

8 x 50m off 1.10 – every 2nd strong

4 x 50m – off 1.15 – all strong

There are different ways to swim this set, including:

Short rest.
Making most of the 50s really easy, creating a big time difference between the strong and smooth efforts.
Longer rest, allowing an overall stronger pace, and narrowing the gap between the smooth and the strong.

I went with the latter.

As a result, the smooth 50s were mostly 39s (6 or 7 38’s) and the strong 50s a shade quicker at 37s (with 3 or 4 36s).

Stroke Timing

Throughout the set I was thinking about stroke timing. A theme I thought about a lot last week and which helped transform the way I felt in the water. I was very conscious of deliberately gliding / reaching through the water with every hand entry, not rushing into the pull, and then getting a good pull with every single stroke. No dropped arms or slipping through the water or short pull / push phase.

Stroke timing is also a theme we tried to work on in our Swim Squad Monday evening technique session the night before, with some success. I have felt so much better in my own swimming since focusing on this for the last four or five sessions.

Other Technique Cues

I also thought about holding a tall body position, with minimal kick, keeping the legs as close to the surface as possible. A one beat and a two beat kick pattern were common, but I also tried a ‘no kick when breathing, two kicks when head in the water’ approach too.

This week looks tight to fit any more swims in, unfortunately.

Just when I was feeling good!

Feeling The Draft

Looking forward to wearing an old pair of trunks on today’s swim. Speedo jammers. Black with orange flashes. One of their mid-range offerings. Fitted. Nice material.

I notice a little extra ‘compression’ since I last pulled them up though. Got in the water and … oh, what’s that? I’m pretty sure I can feel a ‘draft’.

At that moment, two former Swim Squad swimmers in the next lane stopped and starting chatting to me, yet despite my back being firmly against the wall all I wanted to do was make an inconspicuous exit to the changing rooms!

A quick, slightly embarrassed change of swimwear – whilst dropping the drafty trunks in the bin – and the swim could begin.

The Sound of Silence

Swimming wasn’t feeling great. Everything was a struggle. Heart rate spiked at the slightest intensity. Rhythm off too. Bit of a fight through the water.

Half way through the session, a switch was flicked. I pushed off the wall, felt the glide, did two easy fly kicks as I was slowing from the push, eventually breaking the surface of the water, into 14 smooth and relaxed swim strokes. I did the same on the next turn.

“Ooh that was nice!”

These push offs became the highlight of the next 1500m of my swim.

Splash, splash, splash, turn, silent glide, gentle exhale, two rhythmical kicks, up to the surface, splash, splash, splash, turn, silent glide, gentle exhale, two rhythmical kicks, up to the surface.

Suddenly my swim had rhythm, a focus, some pleasure.

This change in focus transformed the chaotic swim, with those near-silent seven metres underwater being the highlight of every length.

I can’t wait to get back in the water and do that again!

Humbled!

Arriving at the pool for my fourth swim session of the week, feeling in a good place with my swim, only to find my usual lane was taken.

A teenage girl, wearing her City of Liverpool swim cap, charging up and down the lane. I love it when I get to the pool and there is a fast swimmer in there. A chance to compare, to gauge efforts, to race!

The swim cap, the toys at the end of the lane, the lengthy session notes in the plastic wallet all told me that this swimmer was going to be good.

I got in the next lane and started my warm up – easy 100s – and was moving pretty well. Yet, the teenager in the next lane caught me and within four or five more strokes was a body length ahead.

Ooooofff!

I hit the wall, checked my time. 1.23.

The teenage girl in the next lane must have been doing 1.12s?

As the swim progressed, as I warmed up, my pace quickened.

But I didn’t dare try to race.

😀

Swimming In A Disco

It’s not easy to take a hard swim set seriously when you’re in the next lane to a busy aqua aerobics class is it?

Warm up in my session done. Ready for some VO2 Max 50s …

Meanwhile in the next lane, the ladies are in position. Chatting is over. Music kicks in. Volume turned up to 11.

I begin my set to a loud rendition of the Village People’s Go West.

“(Go west) Life is peaceful there. (Go west) Lots of open air. (Go west) To begin life new. (Go west) This is what we’ll do”

I’ve done my first set. Puffing, panting. I’m in a bit of pain whilst the ladies seem to be having a great time, synchronised smiling.

Set 2 begins. Billy Joel is currently belting out Uptown Girl. The ladies are loving it, and so am I.

Next set done. Heart rate through the roof. Leaning over the pool. A quick glance in the next lane and I can see a bouncy kind of energy from the 30-strong group next door. Waves are definitely on the increase.

Switching my set from VO2 Max to Threshold. Slightly slower pace, but less rest. No less taxing.

Dolly Parton is the artist of choice for the aqua gang for the start of this set.

“Well, I tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition … “

The aerobics party is in full swing. Yet I’m turning a brighter shade of red by each passing length.

Some more tunes keep me entertained during the painful finish to the set. Wham – and some choppy water – greet me as I finish.

“You put the boom-boom into my heart, you send my soul sky-high …”

Sprawled over the side of the pool, I wondered what was the bigger spectacle. My heavy breathing, red body and pained expression … or thirty ladies having a disco in the pool. 🤷‍♂️

Great entertainment for a very tough swim!

The Randomness of Lane Sharing

Minding my own business, swimming in a pretty empty pool on ‘my’ side of the lane in David Lloyd one morning this week.

A big fella’ gets in my lane. Maybe 6’2”, broad, rugby player build. All arms. All power. Started off well enough. We both swam on our own side, hugging our own lane rope, co-existing in our lane environment, doing our own thing.

And then the middle-of-the-lane butterfly started.

Without warning, or worry that we were likely to collide, he broke into a version of butterfly that you don’t see very often, every couple of lengths.

He could obviously swim butterfly, but it was all power, no finesse and very little rhythm. A full body experience. And that type of butterfly is a guaranteed wave generator – and arm clasher!

Sure enough …

Apart from a few near misses, and some turbulent water, it was actually fine. He didn’t stay in long (that’ll be the ‘power-fly’ he was doing).

He was actually a better lane mate than the swimmer who got in the next lane to us. This swimmer decided that the lady who was already in that lane should be swimming anti-clockwise, rather than up and down the same side, and immediately started swimming towards her. Head on. No warning. No discussion.

Crack!

Ouch.

Just another session, another day in the life of a swimmer in a public pool.

The Curious Coach In Me

Earlier that week I was doing my own thing, a set of fifties probably, when another swimmer in the next lane interrupted me to say hello.

We had a chat. A triathlete training with North Endurance, targeting her first middle distance triathlon later this year.

Spotting my branded water bottles, or was it the Swim Squad cap, or maybe my red trunks, or perhaps the embroidered towel draped over my bag on the side, she identifies me … “oh you’re Triathlon Swim Squad! A lot of our teammates talk really positively about you and your sessions!”

We continued our chat, with my watch paused obviously, and she told me how much her swimming had improved because she was focused on her technique, but she was enjoying swimming less as a result of all the thinking. I let the moment pass without much question, but I regretted that for the rest of the session.

“I wonder what bit of technique she’s focusing on” and “why isn’t she enjoying her swimming?” were constant thoughts during the rest of my swim session!

Sometimes I really need to let it go.

The Spare Goggles

A few hours before Ladies Day at the Grand National, I was in David Lloyd again. A guy I’d seen in there a few times (we were on nodding terms) came up to me wondering if I had a spare pair of goggles.

“Mate, which brand do you fancy?” was my internal response.

I gave him my spare Arena Cobra Tri – the best goggles – and wished him well as he made his way to the outdoor pool. Forgetting all about them, I cracked on with my session in the longer indoor pool. About 30 minutes later he was there, standing at the end of my lane.

“Brilliant! Thanks for that. Had a great swim. That’s set me up brilliantly for a few pints.”

It was 9.15am.

Who am I to judge? Swim your own way is what I say!

Are We Racing … Or Just Sharing A Lane?

Feeling really good in my swim this afternoon.

Was it because …

Lots of work on strength endurance recently?

Yesterdays session wasn’t too intense?

I swam in the afternoon instead of the morning?

I had a couple of jelly sweets before the swim?

There were a couple of fast swimmers on my feet?

Whatever the reason, that was a good swim!

Thanks to the two other triathletes guys for letting me share their lane and for changing their own set (mid-set) to join me in my changing pace 100s – much appreciated!

I think sharing the lane brought out a little of my competitive side! I pushed much harder than I would usually do!

The Session?

Set 1 – 10 x 100m

1-4 smooth (!) – 1.21 / 1.19 / 1.18 / 1.19

5-7 picking up the pace – 1.17 / 1.16 / 1.16

8-9 strong – 1.14 / 1.14

10 fast – 1.13

Recovery Set

20 x 25m smooth

Set 2 – Changing Pace 50s

2 sets of …

4 x 50m smooth

3 x 50m picking up the pace

2 x 50m strong

1 x 50m fast

Cool Down

4 x 25m easy

If you liked these stories, then have a look at Swim Your Own Way for a few more!

Tales From The Pool

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Tales From The Pool