Phoebe swims to France in 2021 (with “Cinq au Swim”!) [Swimming the English Channel]
As lockdown eased, Phoebe ventured to Charlton Lido for some proper training in a 50 metre pool…
Monday April 12th: 2 Kilometres
Five sets of four 100m loops. These sets had no real order as I got very confused and started counting them as 50m lengths instead and so thought I was finished half way through. It wasn’t nearly as cold as i expected it to be, although I always knew this was the warm one I had somehow convinced myself that it was going to be cold- so a pleasant surprise! Perhaps my biggest issue was actually my goggles as the pair I tried didn’t work and it took a while to sort the out.
Tuesday April 13th: 2.4 Kilometres
Six sets of four 100m loops, one of warm up, one of cool down, one of finger trailing, one of pool buoy, one of down the middle and one of breathing every five strokes instead of three. The second swim was more difficult, not only physically but mentally.
If the first was new, overwhelming and shiny then the beginning of the second was tinged with fear, which was strange to me since I had done it before, and yet somehow the feeling persisted that maybe this time i wouldn’t be able to make it. That i would fall apart on the second lap. To my great relief, the feeling dissipated quickly once i had done a few lengths.
I spent a lot of the second swim counting lengths but about half way through I began considering the aerodynamics of my legs. I was using a pool bouy so they didnt have much to do but sit there, and I started wondering if I would go through the water quicker without legs- but then it occurred to me i wouldn’t be at all balanced if i didn’t have legs. Something over my legs then, it would have to be light and aerodynamic while still balancing me, like a tail. But then if I had a light aerodynamic tail, why would I ever use my arms? I went back to counting lengths.
A short while later I high-fived someone in the lane across, and I took that as a sign i was swimming way too close to the lane rope. Discovered the warm showers.
Saturday April 17th: 3 Kilometres
Seven sets of four 100m loops. One of warm up, One of pool buoy, one of catchup, one of finger trailing, one of breathing every five/ down the middle, One of sprints, One of cool down.
A lot busier down at the lido today, but absolutely gorgeous weather, which made it colder to get in but really nice once I got going. I’m not a fan at all of sprints (which is why I don’t do swimming races!) but I was very happy since I was only aiming to do 2.8 today. I felt much better for the three day rest I had had, but I wonder how it will affect me tomorrow!
Monday 19th April: 3.2 Kilometres
[Report to follow]
Thursday 22nd April: 3.6 Kilometres
[Report to follow]
Monday 26th April: 2.6 Kilometres
[Report to follow]
Wednesday 28th April: tbc
[Report to follow]
Saturday 1st: Dover Harbour training starts (30 mins in; 60 out; 45 in!)
The entrance was the worst – the cold bowled me over and I couldn’t get my breathing pattern steady, worried that I wouldn’t be able to get enough air in my lungs.
Afterwards however the sea was just like a large lido, except for no one doing breast stroke incredibly slowly, and slightly colder. No that’s not right- throughout the swim I tried not to think of it as cold, more as a comforting embrace of thousands of tiny needles.
The sea, as if to apologise for the low temperature, sent a bouquet of flowers floating towards us by the slopy groyne. Whilst the gesture was appreciated it was heavy and impractical to drag along as so I had to leave it and continue onwards. The sea didn’t seem too offended!
We swam for 33 minutes. Once back on shore it was difficult to find my balance, I kept falling backwards into the water, but once I had crawled my way up the rocks I found that the air was not much different from the water- I wasn’t shivering at all!
Ha I thought for about two seconds – before my body began to contract my muscles involuntarily to produce heat energy from respiration (biology revision!).
The second time I went to go in all the memories flooded back to me and I expected the same terrifying entrance of cold and being unable to breathe. I was pleasantly surprised however when it was a lot easier. That time we swam for 45 minutes.
Sunday 2nd May: Dover Harbour training continues (35 mins in; 60 out; 45 in!)
It was so shallow on Sunday I could see the bottom nearly all the way round the harbour, and by the time we got to the slopy groyne we were clawing through seaweed.
The sun petulantly refused to come out until half way where it peaked through the clouds, ascertained that the crazy people were still there, and left again. There were spatters of rain but the wind and waves had subsided even from Saturday, which weren’t that big to start with.
We swam for 35 minutes, and my body began to give up quicker on protesting, as if to say ‘I guess this is what we do now’.
The second swim, although dreaded because I had just got my warmth back through a dry robe and an entire punnet of chips, was great fun. We went for 45 minutes and the sun made an appearance for the majority of that,
Dad would swim off every once in a while but luckily since I figured out how to de-mist my goggles (a blinding problem) I could always spot his hat poking out as opposed to earlier that day when I couldn’t even see the massive yellow buoy!
Wednesday 6th May: 2.5 Kilometres
So, so, so much warmer than the sea, although a lot more complicated what with the lanes and overtaking.
What I at first thought to be rain clouds gathering turned out to be a hail storm in the making, pounding down on the pool for a good 10 minutes, but it was good to get my arms moving round again, if only for an hour. It was like little ice picks being shot into our backs as we completed the 2.5km sets. And it is MAY!
Saturday 8th May: ZERO!
Although Dad had arranged for me to miss sailing on Saturday afternoon, the forecast had other plans with force 8 gales forecast coming from the south (i.e. the harbour entrance). So after consulting Freda, my coach, we decided not to go and I went sailing… or not as the winds were too strong to go out!
Sunday 9th May: 4.4km and a 2 hour Relay Qualification swim
Disappointed that I couldn’t swim on Saturday, I was slightly nervous when Sunday came as a whole week had passed with only the hail lido to keep me going. Never the less I was very much keen to get into the water and not delay on the shore too long, I wanted to take as much advantage of the good weather as we could.
Dad refused to have any vaseline put under his arms, a fact I would like to state for the record – in case he tries to deny it later – and we were off.
The wind was so much better than Saturday when I couldn’t even get out sailing, and in the beginning the sun shone brightly (before giving up on us). We went all the way down to the wall (wavy), counted strokes to the groin (750) then took chase in the pursuit of the red hats.
Then it was off again, a little bit colder, down to the slopy groyne and back up to the red hats, and to finish it off a tiny circle around the first yellow duck before curving back into the shore.
Random thoughts for the week: Fish swim all the time, and to them that movement is as natural as breathing- they must be better at it than me as the swim left me famished. That was the energy I attempted to channel (haha) when my strength felt like it was waning, I was just a fish and my arms move of their own accord. I even tried closing my eyes at one point to see of what dad said about falling asleep whilst swimming was possible.
Cloud diary: saw a cloud that looked like the capital ship from star wars.