Emboldened by the minor success at Carlisle Masters last month, thoughts of completing the February Fitness Challenge began to creep into my head. Could I really swim every day for 4 weeks?
I wasn’t entirely convinced but I found myself awake at 6:00 on the 1st February and the words “go swimming” inexplicably popped into my brain. Knowing the local public session started at 6:30 I was out the house at 6:25 and at the pool by 6:35 what on earth was going on?
I was greeted cheerily by the receptionist, and commented, in response to her “good morning,” that “it felt like the middle of the night.” “I know” she quipped “it’s like getting up to go off on your holidays”. Is it my imagination or is everyone about at that hour more cheerful and friendly?
After a brisk 1600 metres ducking and diving between a couple of head up breaststrokers and a triathlete swimming a form of sidestroke I was at work by 7:30 and feeling quite smug and pleased with my efforts.
I continued this little and often formula for the first 4 days of February. So far so good; but my challenge was nearly derailed when I turned up for my first proper swimming session on the Sunday afternoon without a pair of goggles. No one had a spare pair and a request to the staff to borrow a pair of lost goggles was politely refused on “elf and safety” grounds . Apparently I might contract an eye infection.
A trawl of the foot well in my car produced the grand total of £5.29 which I figured would leave me well short of what I needed to buy a new pair of goggles from reception. I returned and noticed a Barbie pink pair of kids goggles for the bargain price of three quid, and the added bonus was that they matched my trainers.
As you can imagine Pink is not really my colour and I must admit I was wavering about whether or not they were worth the investment but any lingering doubts I had about how cool this all looked were dispelled as my alternative was to face up to the painful reality of swimming without wearing them, a fate too awful to contemplate.
As a swimmer I have often in the past been known to decry triathletes and their penchant for expensive kit, as we all know goggles don’t actually make you swim faster, they exist solely to keep the water out of your eyes. Amazingly my new three quid goggles did just that and were pretty comfortable to boot so much so that I’ve worn them all week, yes I am still swimming every day and I am enjoying viewing the world through my “rose tinted goggles”.
Here’s how I’ve done so far.
- Feb 1st AM
- 600 warm up alt 50 swim 50 drill
- 2 x 200 @ 3:30
- 4 x 100 @ 1:50
- 100 swim down
- 1700
- Feb 2nd
- 400 warmup alt 100 swim 100 drill
- 400 free @ 7 Mins
- 2 x 200 @ 3:30
- 4 x 100 @ 1:50
- 8 x 50 @ 55 sec
- 400 swim down alt 50 free 50 breast
- 2400
- Feb 3rd AM
- 800 warm up
- 8 x 150 @ 2:45
- 200 swim down
- 2200
- Feb 4th AM
- 9 x 100 @ 1:50
- 10 X 50 @ 60
- 200 swim down
- 1600
- Feb 5th PM
- 600 warm up,200 free, 200 drill, 200 change stroke each 25
- 3 x 200 free @ 3:30 steady (3:10-3:12)
- 4 x 100 free @ 2:00 progressive (95, 92, 88, 87)
- 3 x 200 free @ 3:30 steady (3:10-3:12)
- 4 x 100 free @ 2:00 progressive (92, 90, 88, 84)
- 300 swim down
- 2900
February Total 10,800
Bingeswimming 