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@meswimming-blog
There is a terrible snobbery in swimming against breaststroke. “If it isn’t front crawl, it isn’t swimming”. But I love swimming breaststroke, being able to see what is going on around me swimming outdoors. And if breaststroke was good enough for Roger Deakin then it should be good enough for everyone
"You must be crazy swimming in cold water". Actually it might be the only thing keeping me sane... While the physical health benefits of coldwater swimming might not be conclusive, the mental health benefits for me have been undeniable. Initial euphoria giving way to a prolonged feeling of energy - and for someone who has been cursed with anxiety - increased resilience.
5 days without swimming
I have a cold, a high temperature and I haven't left the house for four days. But worse than that I haven't been swimming for five.
I'm craving a coldwater dip. The feeling of being in the water. The euphoria that follows the cold.
The last time I went this long (a conspiracy of Christmas opening hours and travel woes), I started to dream about swimming. My mind invented a pool that seemed so real that I will sometimes think about visiting it.
I'm wondering if tomorrow I might be well enough to swim in a heated outdoor pool - the journey to lido being harder than the swim. A small return - testing the water as it were.
What I love about coldwater swimming…
It’s not about how far or how fast. It’s about what you can do.
It’s not about you versus the man in the next lane. It’s about you versus the elements.
It’s not about being the thinest or the strongest. It’s about understanding your body and how it responds to the water.
A mixed bag of swimming this week.
Focusing on my stroke - a frustrating process. Threatening to.turn something I love into a chore.
A much needed dip in Brockwell Lido. 5.6 degrees for eight lengths. The camaraderie of the coldwater swimmers. Spirits raised.
Scouting mission to London Fields Lido, where I’ll do my swimathon. Hard first 1k.
More people in the pool than I’m used to, casual pairs of swimmers talking as they go. Relationship woes, wedding plans and hangover tales soundtrack my swim.
Gets easier heading towards the mile. But 33 lengths is a strange number to end on. Let’s just keep going. Let’s go to 40.
2k swam almost by accident. I’m happier now.
But this morning I ache. Oh how much I ache.
Back to school
First swimming lesson this evening as an Adult Improver.
Determined to be able to do front crawl by summer.
When I’m not swimming, I’m usually looking at photos of places I want to swim. This place is currently high on my list
Parliament Hill - rain and shine Weather a bit more difficult today than last Thursday. But water 7 degrees both times
"Warm" swimming kit. Need to train for this 2.5k swim so mixing my cold swims with longer swims in a heated pool. Did just over 1k on Saturday and 1.65k (a mile) this morning
Justine is raising money to help Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie & The Swimathon Foundation
I've signed up for Swimathon. 2.5k swim for charity in April. This is much further than I've swam before so will be a good challenge for me.
So as well as cold water swimming, I'm going to need to train a bit to increase my distance.
8.4 degrees - 10 lengths. Is the worst of the cold over?
I still haven't got over Kings Cross Pond Club closing. This was my favourite swimming spot. Somehow at one with nature yet surrounded by the urban landscape. I also accidentally started cold water swimming here - swimming in 10 degree water in just a swimsuit.
The joy of cold water swimming
Trepidation or maybe a thrill of anticipation First thoughts ‘ok, we’re in, better get moving’ First half length 'this is awful. why do I do this. I won’t be able to do much today’ By second length - 'this is good’, starting to smile Getting out after 10-12 minutes, skin tingling red, feeling alive
This week's swims - a selection.
This is when I realised I was going to seriously attempt to cold water swim through the winter. A 7 degree swim in Hampstead Ladies' Pond. I'd bought gloves, but not socks yet. I shivered all the way off the heath into a café. I thought I might never be warm again, but I was smiling through the shivers.
A waterblog
Swimming has always been part of my life. Aged 3, learning with a rubber ring (never armbands), then swimming underwater (swimming on the surface came later). At every stage in my life there has been swimming.
So why a blog now? And does anyone even blog these days? In the past couple of years, my swimming has broken out of the three times a week at the nearest pool into something more interesting and more consuming. Trips to try out different pools, hankering for wilder swims and now cold water swimming.
I've been posting my swims on Instagram but I wanted somewhere to post my thoughts, as a novice cold water swimming and swimming enthusiast.
So here it is. Named after a beautiful song by Mary Epworth.