# Semi Aquatic Mamil



## Chris Hobson (Feb 18, 2017)

In some of my previous posts on the subject of triathlons I have mentioned that my swimming is my weakest discipline. I'm a fairly average cyclist and runner too but it is my swimming that needs the most work. As a consequence, with Xmas now out of the way, I am dedicating the early part of the year to improving my swim and trying to, at least, become a bit less rubbish. Here are my thoughts about some aspects of my attempts to achieve this.

Going private.
About six months ago my wife and I decided to join a local health club.
The main reason for this was the restricted swim times at the council run swimming pools. The pool at the club opens at 6am and is available at all times until the club closes at 10pm. This has meant that I have been able to get a lot more swimming done. It has also meant that I had to buy several more bath towels and I now have five pairs of swimming trunks. Keeping these all washed and dried is a somewhat Sisyphian task. The pool only contains people who come to swim so you don't get people getting in your way just messing about. The health club also has segregated changing rooms which seem to harbour two different types of guys. One type emerge from the showers with a towel around their waists and then either put their pants on underneath it, or pull off the towel and put on their pants in one quick movement, seemingly keen to ensure that their dangly bits and bare bum are only exposed for the briefest possible moment. The other type just stride around the place like terminators newly arrived from a dystopian future. The constant exposure to chlorinated water is tending to make my skin dry and itchy so I am now having to constantly apply moisturising crème to various bits of my body.

On the subject of being a bit rubbish.
In his excellent book Accidental Ironman, Martyn Brunt describes the swimmers that form what is known as the Piranha Pack:
“The piranha pack is that collection of triathletes who start on the front row of the race, charge into the water at full tilt and spend the next 750m/1500m/3.8K cheerfully beating each other up...However, the pack always takes the shortest line so you have to decide whether to join the punchy fun for the quickest route, or stay well out of it and take a longer way round.”
Then there is my method of letting the proper swimmers speed off out of the way before setting off behind them and emerging from the water ahead of the handful of swimmers who are even slower than I am.

Swim classes.
I think that joining a swimming club or some kind of masters class is essential if you are going to make any progress. Our health club has classes available at no extra cost and I have now been attending these every week for three or four months. I'm now at the stage where I can sometimes almost keep up. The classes involve swimming harder and faster than I otherwise would, coaching aimed at constantly improving my technique and early attempts at doing tumble turns and butterfly stroke.

Bath toys and drills.
Drills are the various exercises that swimmers do to hopefully improve their strength and technique. I now have a collection of training aids that I refer to as my bath toys. Kick Board, a styrofoam rectangle for doing kick drills. This keeps your front half afloat while you practice your kick action without using your arms. Pull Buoy, a styrofoam brick shaped a bit like a fat hour glass that you clamp between your thighs to keep your rear half afloat and cause drag so that you can work your arms without kicking. Flippers for working your leg muscles harder while doing kick drills and gloves with webbed fingers for working your arm muscles harder while doing pull buoy drills. Once a week I set aside a swim session to doing drills using various different combinations of these.

Slow progress.
When I first started running I saw quite rapid improvements. I started out doing the parkruns and, in the early days, I posted a new PB every two or three weeks. With swimming it seems to take much longer and progress seems to be glacially slow, although that could be just me. I have to remind myself of the time, only a couple of years ago, when just one length of front crawl would leave me completely breathless and unable to go any further. One length with the kick board would leave me feeling as though my legs were on fire whereas I now do sets of twelve as a matter of routine. I don't seem to have become any faster, I used to be able to breast-stroke 2.5K in just over an hour which is pretty much the same pace that I do now. The difference being that now when I finish I'm pretty fresh and not completely exhausted.

It will be interesting to see whether all this effort leads to any improvement in my times for future triathlon events. Anyway,I'm enjoying myself and keeping fit and that's important too.


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## Ditto (Feb 18, 2017)

Excellent. I wish I had your enthusiasm and energy. I just want to walk 2 miles a day, but talk myself out of it.


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## trophywench (Feb 18, 2017)

You may not be faster - however you'll definitely be less knackered when you jump on your Grifter, won't you?  Ergo will be less knackered when you do your impression of Mo Farah !

However - isn't front crawl the fastest style for anything, but especially racing?


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## KookyCat (Feb 19, 2017)

Sounds great, I'd quite like to do a triathlon, but I'm not allowed to run because of my wonky joints so that puts a bit of a damper on things, perhaps I could cycle, sit and have a cup of tea and then swim 

How are you doing with the butterfly?  I am quite a strong swimmer but I can't get the coordination right for the butterfly, my legs want to do some sort of hysterical mermaid movement and my arms are all over the shop, it's less butterfly more splashing mess.  

Glad you're enjoying it though, I think it's easy to forget how much fun it can be . Incidentally chlorine irritates my skin massively so of you find a solution to that let me know!


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## Chris Hobson (Feb 19, 2017)

"However - isn't front crawl the fastest style for anything, but especially racing?"
Yes but it is slightly more complicated. Crawl is faster and more efficient but takes more effort to sustain. This means that if I want to do it without having to keep stopping for a breather I have to slow the pace down.

"How are you doing with the butterfly?"
Not very well but this was my first ever attempt.
"...it's less butterfly more splashing mess."
That would pretty much sum up my effort.

On the subject of irritated skin, I've dug out a scrunchy thing that came in a Lynx gift pack that I use to give myself a really good rub down during my post swim shower. I'm also using E45 cream and bath soak. Nivea and Bulldog moisturiser on my face. The problem hasn't gone away but has been vastly improved.


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## Chris Hobson (Feb 25, 2017)

Today I have done a 3.8K swim. Time was 1:42 which isn't great but I'm going to use as a baseline that I can hopefully improve on in the coming months. According to my watch I have burned 1,112 calories. Not ever having done the calorie counting thing I have no idea whether this is impressive or not.


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## trophywench (Feb 26, 2017)

Expect lower BG levels at least for 24 hours if not 48 after that Chris, I'd have sunk to the bottom after the first 0.1 .... (I wouldn't but I'd still be there, floating on my back!)

I've no idea what you are sposed to burn swimming either!


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## Anthony Stirrat (Mar 12, 2017)

KookyCat said:


> Sounds great, I'd quite like to do a triathlon, but I'm not allowed to run because of my wonky joints so that puts a bit of a damper on things, perhaps I could cycle, sit and have a cup of tea and then swim
> 
> How are you doing with the butterfly?  I am quite a strong swimmer but I can't get the coordination right for the butterfly, my legs want to do some sort of hysterical mermaid movement and my arms are all over the shop, it's less butterfly more splashing mess.
> 
> Glad you're enjoying it though, I think it's easy to forget how much fun it can be . Incidentally chlorine irritates my skin massively so of you find a solution to that let me know!



You could do a Tri as part of a team and only do the bike ride or the swim


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## Chris Hobson (Mar 15, 2017)

Update. One of the features of my swim classes is six weekly timed swims to see if we are getting any better. As I mentioned in my OP, progress in swimming seems to be very slow and this seems to confirm that. Basically we swim flat out for half an hour and see how far we can get in that time. Six weeks ago I managed 48 lengths, yesterday I did 51.


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## Chris Hobson (Nov 8, 2017)

Update 08/11/2017
The encroaching darkness and crappy weather has brought an end to my cycle commuting so my intention was to return to working on improving my swimming. Unfortunately the health club have chosen this precise moment to close the pool for six weeks in order to do some repairs to the roof. We have been given a free month's membership to compensate but it is still a bit of a nuisance.

Regarding irritated skin.
In the OP I lamented that the constant exposure to chlorine was making me itchy and I mentioned the various measures that I was taking to relieve this problem. The biggest difference was made by using a scrunchy thing to scrub myself down in the shower. This more or less dealt with the issue.

A new bath toy.
Actually an old bath toy, I bought it at a triathlon show and put it to one side after giving it a try and not really liking it. Later I dug the thing out again and decided that I do like it after all. It consists of two plastic torpedo shapes with a flat plastic piece in between. It can be used as a kick board or a pull buoy and that means that you have one less piece of kit to lug around in your bag.

On the subject of being a bit rubbish.
Having now done a full 140.6 triathlon, I was encouraged by my time for the 2.4 mile swim. The times varied between the seriously good swimmers who complete their swim inside an hour and the less able swimmers who take more than two hours. My time was around ninety minutes which, while being decidedly average, was much better than earlier efforts that involved being in front of only about six other swimmers.

I am now chomping at the bit wanting to get some serious swimming done, only five weeks to go.


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## HOBIE (Nov 8, 2017)

Made me smile when I read first post about "Xmas over". Did I miss something ?   Good luck with swimming


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## Wirrallass (Nov 9, 2017)

I've never been able to master the art of tumble turns ~ I become totaĺly disorientated and end up the wrong way round and half way across the next lane! 
The 'fly is a stroke I haven't mastered either ~ it's the coordination that I'm unable to get my head around. I feel and look like a blubbering idiot!

I think I have already mentioned to you that I only learned to swim at the ripe young age of 63! Since then I've swam several separate miles ~ 64 lengths per mile of the pool without stopping to take a break ~ my best time i think was 1hr 10mins for 1mile. I'm a slow swimmer. I also learned to dive and retrieve a brick from the bottom of the pool. My coach would throw the brick a little further each time. That and diving was quite an achievement for me as for the whole if my life I've never liked water on my face since some lads threw me into a pool mistaking me for someone else when I was 10yrs old and couldn't swim. So I have overcome that lifelong fear.

I'm led to believe that we can burn approx 300 calories for each 30mins we swim so your watch is pretty much on the ball.

Well done on all your achievements to date Chris.


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## HOBIE (Nov 9, 2017)

Well done you Wirralass ! . An achievement at that age. I used to spend 3 days a week in the North sea. At times in very rough water & used to love being out on catamaran in force 5 plus & 6ft waves. I have a photo on my garage wall of me 10ft in the air jumping a 6ft wave on a stand-up Jet ski. I have skied around the Bass Rock which is a few mile out. Keep at it Wirralass .


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## Wirrallass (Nov 9, 2017)

HOBIE said:


> Well done you Wirralass ! . An achievement at that age. I used to spend 3 days a week in the North sea. At times in very rough water & used to love being out on catamaran in force 5 plus & 6ft waves. I have a photo on my garage wall of me 10ft in the air jumping a 6ft wave on a stand-up Jet ski. I have skied around the Bass Rock which is a few mile out. Keep at it Wirralass .


Thank you for your encouragement HOBIE  ~ it means a lot and will spur me on to resume swimming following my recent injuries to my ribs and my right shoulder. Can't wait to get the all clear


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## New-journey (Nov 11, 2017)

wirralass said:


> I've never been able to master the art of tumble turns ~ I become totaĺly disorientated and end up the wrong way round and half way across the next lane!
> The 'fly is a stroke I haven't mastered either ~ it's the coordination that I'm unable to get my head around. I feel and look like a blubbering idiot!
> 
> I think I have already mentioned to you that I only learned to swim at the ripe young age of 63! Since then I've swam several separate miles ~ 64 lengths per mile of the pool without taking a breather ~ my best time i think was 1hr 10mins for 1mile. I'm a slow swimmer. I also learned to dive and retrieve a brick from the bottom of the pool. My coach would throw the brick a little further each time. That and diving was quite an achievement for me as for the whole if my life I've never liked water on my face since some lads threw me into a pool mistaking me for someone else when I was 10yrs old and couldn't swim. So I have overcome that lifelong fear.
> ...


You are amazing @wirralass! How inspiring to read your story of learning to swim after such a traumatic event. Soon your ribs and shoulder will heal and then you will be back in the pool.


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## Chris Hobson (Nov 11, 2017)

I didn't learn to swim until I was in my mid teens and I thought that I was a late developer. To learn at age 63 is really impressive. The fear of water on my face was something that held me back as well. It eventually dawned that this was the thing that was stopping me from progressing and that if I was ever going to get anywhere I needed to deal with it. I eventually learned to breaststroke by swimming with water wings and gradually letting the air out of them until I could swim without them. I taught this method to my mum and she learned to swim in middle age as a result.


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## Wirrallass (Nov 11, 2017)

HOBIE said:


> Well done you Wirralass ! . An achievement at that age. I used to spend 3 days a week in the North sea. At times in very rough water & used to love being out on catamaran in force 5 plus & 6ft waves. I have a photo on my garage wall of me 10ft in the air jumping a 6ft wave on a stand-up Jet ski. I have skied around the Bass Rock which is a few mile out. Keep at it Wirralass .


Wow HOBIE that is amazing ~ Rough seas aren't for me! I'm afraid I can't even go on a ferry/catamaran from Liverpool to the Isle of Man without feeling nauseous It was an annual summer trip my late father and I would take in particarly to watch some of the beautiful sunsets on our return journey. I'm hoping to gather all my family next summer to make the trip again to the I of M.


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## HOBIE (Nov 11, 2017)

I have been to IOM twice on a ferry with my M/bike. Have been to Norway with my bike in a force 10 & 40ft waves. I am pleased I double strapped my bike down as a lot of others where all over. Can you remember when Mr Fish said it was not going to be windy ? I was competing in a Catamaran championship. I was the last boat on the water & went over 3 times. Hard to put on its hulls once never mind 3 times. You could not walk when I got back in   I don't like being up ladders when windy


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## Wirrallass (Nov 11, 2017)

Chris Hobson said:


> I didn't learn to swim until I was in my mid teens and I thought that I was a late developer. To learn at age 63 is really impressive. The fear of water on my face was something that held me back as well. It eventually dawned that this was the thing that was stopping me from progressing and that if I was ever going to get anywhere I needed to deal with it. I eventually learned to breaststroke by swimming with water wings and gradually letting the air out of them until I could swim without them. I taught this method to my mum and she learned to swim in middle age as a result.


Well done for overcoming your fear of water Chris and also for encouraging your mum to learn to swim. One of the best tips my youngest gave me to help toward overcoming fear of water on my face was to hold on to the side of the pool with arms stretched out straight ~ then after taking a big breath I would lower my face into the water, then exhale before resurfacing. I would practice this several times. This method helped me tremendously toward swimming the front crawl & breast stroke. It took me weeks to jump in the deep end which of course I had to overcome before learning to dive. At least I made other swimmers laugh as they watched me almost jump in, then hesitate!
I've found swimming is of great benefit too when my back is being naughty ~ its the easiest exercise for me that doesn't put a strain on my back.


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## Wirrallass (Nov 11, 2017)

HOBIE said:


> I have been to IOM twice on a ferry with my M/bike. Have been to Norway with my bike in a force 10 & 40ft waves. I am pleased I double strapped my bike down as a lot of others where all over. Can you remember when Mr Fish said it was not going to be windy ? I was competing in a Catamaran championship. I was the last boat on the water & went over 3 times. Hard to put on its hulls once never mind 3 times. You could not walk when I got back in   I don't like being up ladders when windy


You must have nerves of steel HOBIE ~ and yes I remember Michael Fish saying people had been in touch with him to ask about a hurricane that was heading towards the UK but he poo-pood it!!! Then it hit us! I don't think he has ever lived it down and of no-one will let him either!


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## HOBIE (Nov 12, 2017)

wirralass said:


> You must have nerves of steel HOBIE ~ and yes I remember Michael Fish saying people had been in touch with him to ask about a hurricane that was heading towards the UK but he poo-pood it!!! Then it hit us! I don't think he has ever lived it down and of no-one will let him either!


I "Turned Turtle" 3 times, That is when the mast is straight down under the water. with a 23ft mast its a stunt to right it. When I got in I had a hypo & was looked after by a Dr who was also competing.  I think I won do you


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## Chris Hobson (Nov 13, 2017)

I've managed to get a little swimming in now. We went off to Stoke as my daughter is at Keele Uni and the Keele Drama Society were doing The Crucible. The hotel has a swimming pool so I did 1500m on one day and a load of drills on the next. The hotel pool is only 15m long so I had to reset the counter on my watch. I'm also having a day off work today so I went to the Hornsea leisure centre first thing and got another 2.5k in.


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## HOBIE (Dec 16, 2017)

Its better for you being out & about


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## Chris Hobson (Jan 7, 2018)

I'm hopefully doing a repeat of the start of last year by working on my swimming until the weather improves and I can get back to my bike. I have entered the Lakesman 140.6 triathlon as my 'A' race for 2018 so I have lots of work to do. On the semi aquatic mamil front, For 2019, instead of entering another long triathlon, I have been contemplating attempting to swim 500 miles in a year. I have been doing the sums and of course this works out at nearly ten miles a week, every single week. I would have to do 2k daily or 80 lengths every day. One problem is that there may be days when I can't get to the pool and So I would have to do extra work to get ahead first or spend time playing catch up afterwards. Thinking it over I'm not sure that it is possible for a swimmer of my limited ability although I would expect to have improved a little by the end of the year one would think.


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