Tag Archives for sea

In the zone

It has been a decade since I felt like a motorboat – todays’s sea deim took me out then along the bouys. I did the return swim in one go, possibly lifted by a gentle swell in my favour. Somehow sea swimming or not having lane ends to think about has me paddling more efficiently; I find I am more aware of various importatpnt stages of the stroke fromentry, to catch, the shape of my hand with my thumb closed inand the consciously accelerated pool down to the trunks. Watching the wake and keeping this constant and smooth became the aim.

A little further every time then and the odd stretch with neither the float/pullbouy or flipflops on a string to follow!

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In rhe chop – swimming off Brighton Beach

Today’s sea swim was different – the swell was a challenge. Breathing only to the left I found I was rotating further or lifting my head almost as if was playing waterpolo; breathing to the left it could feel as if someone was rolling me out of bed. The answer was bilateral breathing with an elbow higher than I felt was comfortable (though may well have been technically better). However I’m not yet good at controlling my breath in the ever soslightly chilly Channel water. Nonetheless I went out to one bouy, along to a second, then back again.

I take a kicker float and my flipflops with me attached to a bungee – the kickerfloat for arms only, legs only and as bouyancy when I want to rest (it’s a wise safety measure too), the flipflops so that I can get in and out if the sea across the Brighton pebbles with some kind of decorum.

I loathe gettinng in with a vengeance but know that wading in and submerging sooner rather than later at least narrows the period of discomfort. This week, in the sea every weekday lunchtime, I have gone from tentative drop and fiddling about to the more purposeful wading in – I still have to get the flipflops off and a Bolen tied to keep them attached. In a small way they must be acting as a drogue, creating resistance so making it harder work. In due course I will ditch fliflops and float on the beach.