Just to recap on the Monday
swim. I was testing a schedule to see if it would work for my friend Bekka who
does not swim as often as I do and who only swims for body health maintenance
purposes. It is actually quite interesting trying to introduce swim schedules
for somebody like her. When there is no event on the horizon, no goal in sight
and the exercise only being to keep in shape. In truth, visually she is in much
better shape than me, very slim indeed, in fact I feel positively fat standing
next to her in the changing room; her eating habits are in general more
controlled than mine evidently.
She got to this point by
swimming with me regularly right next to the Lane 1 group and eventually asking
Steve about their schedule. After several chats about it a while back Steve. It
seemed that she did not want to train as such but did not want to gradually get
slower either. This is a person we have know for some years and who would quite
often get into the pool and do a mile BUTTERFLY. Not the best butterfly in the
world but as any swimmer knows it is such a hard stroke but she had got it down
to something comfortable, that was an effort, and that was exercise that she
could feel was a really good work out. It was the butterfly that started to
gentle coaching because Steve who was Sussex Butterfly Champion when he was
young could not resist the temptation of trying to improve her stroke a little.
Steve has tried a number of
little schedules for her but the times were too tight and she (and myself),
were not getting any rest. She is resistant to discipline and liable to stop
for a chat at any time. You cannot however boss somebody about who is really
nothing to do with you at all.
On Monday, swimming alone, I
did the schedule here below and was getting plenty of rest; about 12 seconds. I
was not trying to make it a fast set, but trying to hold the same time on every
hundred.
distance
|
clock
|
Swim rest
|
100
|
60
|
2.40
|
100
|
40
|
2.40
|
100
|
20
|
2.40
|
100
|
60
|
2.40
|
100
|
40
|
2.40
|
100
|
20
|
2.40
|
100
|
60
|
2.40
|
100
|
40
|
2.40
|
100
|
20
|
2.40
|
100
|
60
|
2.40
|
100
|
40
|
2.40
|
100
|
20
|
2.40
|
100
|
60
|
2.40
|
100
|
40
|
2.40
|
100
|
20
|
2.40
|
1500 mtrs
|
||
This morning with Bekka
swimming in front of me we got bundles of rest; fourteen of fifteen seconds and
there is the benefit of drafting for you if you look at my time. She got the
hang of going when then clock read 60 or 40 or 20. I was pleased to see that
she was getting the hang of using the clock nicely. She does work, which
involves getting a train and so never swims for a whole hour and that is why this
schedule is short.
The Lane 1 Schedule is a
hard work plan and the guys in there love to be pushed. The only woman swimming
in with them this morning, was turning a deeper shade of pink with each swim
and slipped under the lane ropes and asked if she could join us. This was
Sandra who is obviously faster than us or she would not be in Lane 1. So she
joined us by swimming at the front and was delighted when we told her what the
generous swim rest was. Sandra is a teacher and she does not swim to the end of
the hour either and left at the end of our 1500 metre set. I said to Bekka that
it would be an idea to try to hang on to Sandra’s feet, a remark that brought
about a rather course comment but the gist of it was; I can’t keep up with her.
“Well, not for the whole 100 mtrs but just try to up your game for as long as
you can each time we go”. I was invited a little bit sharply to go in front
myself!
I know when to ‘Zip It’. After
my friend had left I continued with my usual back stroke until Lane 1 had
completed their set.
It was a lovely day that
greeted us when we left the pool ready for our run but it was bitter cold and
Steve decided that we would go home so that both of us could dry our hair and put
an extra layer on before our run. We arrived in Arundel about thirty minutes
later than planned. We had both added a thin top layer coat but it still struck
cold on my poor old lungs even though it was so beautiful and sunny.
Once we turned into Arundel
Park where a pair of swans on Swanbourne lake were doing their impression of
pretty candy bowls with their wings beautifully shaped to make a pretty dish
shape, we found it to be crunchy underfoot instead of the muddy mess it was
last time we did that run and even though it felt like a harder effort than
usual with the cold air, actually our time was not far off at all. Apart from
the cold it was a fabulous day to be out in such lovely surroundings, we are so
lucky to live nearby.
We sloped into Osteria, in
the High Street where the manager greeted us and then said, “Cappuccino and a flat white?” Then told us to
take a seat and she would bring them over. I grabbed a paper, the Guardian, and
we flicked through the pages until we came to a piece that reported that some
photos from Scott’s famously doomed Antarctic expedition were going to go on
sale and were expected to make around £4000 a shot.
Steve and I had been to the
Shackleton exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society in London not so long
ago and found the whole show very moving with all the photos and the film of
the final crushing of the ship in the ice.
As we read the article we
saw a photo of Captain Lawrence Oates and Steve turned to me and as we sat
shoulder to shoulder, we looked into each others eyes solemnly and said in unison, “I’m
just going outside, I may be some time”. My eyes pricked with tears before we laughed at ourselves for knowing this.
Lane 1
|
10 m. W U
|
|
Distance
|
Clock
|
Swim Rest
|
200
|
60
|
3.30
|
100
|
30
|
1.45
|
200
|
15
|
3.20
|
100
|
35
|
1.40
|
200
|
15
|
3.15
|
100
|
30
|
1.45
|
200
|
15
|
3.20
|
50
|
35
|
1.30
|
50
|
05
|
1.30
|
50
|
35
|
1.30
|
50
|
05
|
1.30
|
50
|
35
|
1.30
|
50
|
05
|
1.30
|
200
|
35
|
3.15
|
100
|
50
|
1.40
|
200
|
30
|
3.15
|
100
|
45
|
1.45
|
200
|
30
|
3.15
|
100
|
45
|
1.45
|
200
|
30
|
3.15
|
2500
|
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