The Day Before: Swimathon 2014

I can’t believe my 5k Swimathon swim is tomorrow!

The start to my year has been OKAY when it comes to swimming and preparing for the Swimathon.  Not ideal.  Just okay.

I spent a lot of time on the road, and got to know some new pools.  A few hotel pools.  And this gem in Singapore.

The Katong swimming pool is an open air 50 meter pool, with night time lighting, and it was AMAZING.  Only one Singaporean dollar to enter – 50 pence! Public pool entry in London is four pounds – so eight times as much, for not nearly as beautiful (in most places). All that is good about social media led me to the pool, where I met up with my friend Desiree and her swim club Yellow Fin for a session. Although I was only in Singapore for less than 36 hours, I managed to get some training in and enjoy the amazing facilities the country has to offer.

Not that where I swim is all that bad either.  I train once a week at the London Fields Lido, which is an outdoor open air heated 50m pool in East London.  I love swimming year round, even in the winter, in the open air.  We were lucky enough for the past two weekends to have spring like weather in London – warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts by the pool. 

I hope the weather is like this tomorrow, but for some reason I doubt it will be!

When I compare the training plan that the Swimathon organisers gave me as one of their Blogsquad team for 2014, it is obvious that my training has been short of optimal.  I had wanted to be in the pool at least three times a week.  In general I have averaged twice weekly.  My aim of logging at least 10,000m per week prior to the swim was short. But I am hoping that my focus on continuing strength work, and the addition of pilates reformer to my training, will help to keep me feeling strong in the water tomorrow.

My aim was – and remains – to do 2 minute 100s so that I can complete the 5k in 1 hour and 40 minutes – shaving 10 minutes off my previous personal best. But with the lack of time in the pool – particularly with the lack of sessions exceeding 2500m, I am not sure how achievable my aim really is.  But I am going to reach for it!

And speaking of reaching, I am going to keep this tip from Duncan Goodhew, the President of Swimathon and Olympic gold medalist, in the back of my mind:

“Think tall and long in the water, make sure to stay as streamlined in the water as possible.”

I am going to finish each stroke long, reach and extend, and keep my form foremost in my mind.  And I am going to keep this tip from Duncan front and centre:

“Make sure to enjoy your Swimathon challenge.”

I love that I will wake up tomorrow and be able to do a 5k swim!

Disclosure: I have been invited to be a part of the 2014 #swimathon #blogsquad, and in return for free entry into the 2014 Swimathon I am regularly posting about my training and the lead up to my 2014 5k Swimathon challenge.  The Swimathon is the UK’s largest swimming fundraising event, with thousands of people participating each year.  For more information on the Swimathon check out their website. I have participated in the Swimathon since 2010, doing the 5k in 2010, 2011, and 2.5k in 2012 and 2013. This year I will be swimming the 5k challenge on Friday 21 March at 7am at London Fields Lido. Tomorrow – by this time – I hopefully will be celebrating with a nice recovery lunch somewhere, and hopefully with a shiny new PR for the distance in hand. Wish me luck!