Over the last few weeks I have managed to get two cold water swims in a local river. In the first I was out for a shirtless run in the evening with two of my mates and as the run finished along a stretch of a large UK river that runs a few miles from my house I said I wanted to go for a swim.
Although I had said this before to my two friends they said that I was always saying that and not doing anything about it but talk. Well, that was enough to spur me on so I stopped at a convenient point, stripped off completely and waded into the water. I didn't stay in the water for too long but I think I have broken the ice with them so when I headed out on another run with them a few days ago when we got to the river they asked if I was going to swim again. I said "yes, of course".
So when we got to a place not far from the end we stopped and I stripped off completely again and this time stayed in the water for a bit longer this time. No comment from them this time, they just stayed and watched, but were not tempted to get in themselves.
I have no idea what the temperature of the water was but I do know that the air temperature was around -2C. Once I got out and started running again in just shorts and trainers I warmed up quickly.
I think I need to go out for more runs and swims in the dark evenings as there are less people around, less likely to be seen (apart from by my mates).
Showing posts with label swim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swim. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 January 2016
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Highgate Men's Pond - Hampstead Heath
I had read a lot about Highgate Men's Pond at Hamsptead Heath and the fact that it is open year round but I have never had the opportunity to visit it until an unexpected business trip came up to London this week and I realised I would have the time to fit a short visit in to have a winter swim there.
The approach and changing facilities at the pond are very communal and have a "retro" 1950's feel about them. Although I took my camera I forgot about it until after I left so I am afraid you will have to look for pics on the net. There is a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5mF4y68Fik which gives you a fairly good impression of the place.
I got there around 10h00 and there were 2 other older guys there changing at the same time as me. I spoke to the lifeguards (2 on duty the day I was there) just to let them know it was my first time as I went to swim. The water was a cool 4C and I managed to stay in for around 6 minutes but coud have done quite a lot longer. The water is quite deep so I had no opportuity to stand so was swimming the entire time. There is a cordoned off swimming area with ropes for the winter (to limit the distance the lifeguards have to swim to rescue you?) but this is large enough to get a good distance swim in. The other swimmers were impressed that I stayed in the water longer than they did (and they tell me they swim almost every day)!
The water was of good quality and well worth a second visit soon while the water is still cold. If you need any pointers or more info write me a comment.
The approach and changing facilities at the pond are very communal and have a "retro" 1950's feel about them. Although I took my camera I forgot about it until after I left so I am afraid you will have to look for pics on the net. There is a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5mF4y68Fik which gives you a fairly good impression of the place.
I got there around 10h00 and there were 2 other older guys there changing at the same time as me. I spoke to the lifeguards (2 on duty the day I was there) just to let them know it was my first time as I went to swim. The water was a cool 4C and I managed to stay in for around 6 minutes but coud have done quite a lot longer. The water is quite deep so I had no opportuity to stand so was swimming the entire time. There is a cordoned off swimming area with ropes for the winter (to limit the distance the lifeguards have to swim to rescue you?) but this is large enough to get a good distance swim in. The other swimmers were impressed that I stayed in the water longer than they did (and they tell me they swim almost every day)!
The water was of good quality and well worth a second visit soon while the water is still cold. If you need any pointers or more info write me a comment.
Friday, 18 January 2013
Scotland Run/Swim
I spent most of this past week up in Scotland near Stirling. While I was there I met up for a run and a swim with an online buddy (let's call him Joe) who is a very keen cold weather runner and swimmer. We had been discussing what we were going to do and where we were to run by e-mail in the days beforehand. We also decided that as the place would likely be deserted that we would run only in speedo swimwear (he is a barefoot runner - I ran in my Nike running shoes).
He met me at my hotel and then I drove us out to Glen Finglas reservoir near Callander for a late afternoon start. On the way the temperature kept dropping and was close to freezing by the time we reached the small car park that was to be our starting point. Increasing amounts of snow also lay on the ground the closer we got to our destination. After parking the car we stripped off to our Speedos and got ready to run.
The first part of the trail is actually a steep and winding tarmac road which then turns to gravel after about 1.5km. After the initual climb the road winds its way down to the head of the lake away from the reservoir wall. The road was covered in snow and quite icy in parts so hampered our speed as we needed to avoid falling.
This is a view of the lake from one of the higher points in which you can see the gravel trail path in the foreground:
After about 35 minutes we were close to the lakeside near the far end of the picture and decided to take a short swim before heading back. Joe's watch showed a water temp of around 4C once we got in the water. This is the coldest water I have swum in. We swam and stood in the water for around 5 minutes before getting out and heading back the same way we came in retracing our path along the trail. The run was close to 9km in total.
It was definitely colder on the way back (maybe I was just colder) and because I kept my shoes on when I swam (as I knew that if i took them off I would nevere be able to re-tie the laces with my cold hands) my feet became colder and my laces froze into position on the way back. My hands were painful too as I did not wear gloves the whole run. It took a while to thaw out in the car but by the time we reached the hotel I felt quite normal but elated and refreshed with "tingling" skin.
Not the coldest run air temperature wise that I have ever done but with the swim at the far point of the run it does not leave you with many options to warm your body up on the return leg except to run faster.
Regrettably I was not able to get any more runs or swims in with Joe this time around. However, there is snow on the ground in the South of the UK today so I may get a good snow run in tomorrow morning. And there is always a next time for a trip to Scotland.
One interesting incident happened on the run: That was that we were passed by what may have been a ranger or local farmer in his Land Rover on the gravel track. Initially he waved at us as he went past but after a few minutes he returned and asked us if this was a "dare" or what? And if we were "OK"? We assured him that we were fine and that we were used to doing this type of crazy thing. With that he turned around and we never saw im again. I bet he had a few conversations about that encounter in the local pub or with his wife that evening!
He met me at my hotel and then I drove us out to Glen Finglas reservoir near Callander for a late afternoon start. On the way the temperature kept dropping and was close to freezing by the time we reached the small car park that was to be our starting point. Increasing amounts of snow also lay on the ground the closer we got to our destination. After parking the car we stripped off to our Speedos and got ready to run.
The first part of the trail is actually a steep and winding tarmac road which then turns to gravel after about 1.5km. After the initual climb the road winds its way down to the head of the lake away from the reservoir wall. The road was covered in snow and quite icy in parts so hampered our speed as we needed to avoid falling.
This is a view of the lake from one of the higher points in which you can see the gravel trail path in the foreground:
After about 35 minutes we were close to the lakeside near the far end of the picture and decided to take a short swim before heading back. Joe's watch showed a water temp of around 4C once we got in the water. This is the coldest water I have swum in. We swam and stood in the water for around 5 minutes before getting out and heading back the same way we came in retracing our path along the trail. The run was close to 9km in total.
It was definitely colder on the way back (maybe I was just colder) and because I kept my shoes on when I swam (as I knew that if i took them off I would nevere be able to re-tie the laces with my cold hands) my feet became colder and my laces froze into position on the way back. My hands were painful too as I did not wear gloves the whole run. It took a while to thaw out in the car but by the time we reached the hotel I felt quite normal but elated and refreshed with "tingling" skin.
Not the coldest run air temperature wise that I have ever done but with the swim at the far point of the run it does not leave you with many options to warm your body up on the return leg except to run faster.
Regrettably I was not able to get any more runs or swims in with Joe this time around. However, there is snow on the ground in the South of the UK today so I may get a good snow run in tomorrow morning. And there is always a next time for a trip to Scotland.
One interesting incident happened on the run: That was that we were passed by what may have been a ranger or local farmer in his Land Rover on the gravel track. Initially he waved at us as he went past but after a few minutes he returned and asked us if this was a "dare" or what? And if we were "OK"? We assured him that we were fine and that we were used to doing this type of crazy thing. With that he turned around and we never saw im again. I bet he had a few conversations about that encounter in the local pub or with his wife that evening!
Monday, 13 December 2010
Boring week
I was away this past week with very little time to get out and run (early morning meetings and travel play havoc with running, as does staying in the middle of a city landscape with nowhere to run freely). I did, however, manage to get a couple of 1km swims in the pool at a hotel I was staying at and also to get a rare treat in the form of a massage one evening. I love massage and wish I could afford more of them.
I did a 10k run on Saturday morning in relatively warm 5C conditions compared to those I've been running in of late. Today I did a 7km run this morning in freezing fog (-1C) followed by a cold water shower of at least 4 or 5 minutes duration. The forecast is for colder weather and snow later this week so I may get my first snow run in for the season soon.
One of my blog followers wrote me an e-mail saying that he had re-read some of my earlier posts and how my early experiences with cold water were similar to his own. He also noted that some of my observations about how my body reacts to the cold were correct and how exciting that journey had been for both of us. I think I need to re-read what I wrote and discover some of that early enthusiasm again - maybe it will inspire me to do more and to push my body just that little bit further into experimenting with cold water some more.
I did a 10k run on Saturday morning in relatively warm 5C conditions compared to those I've been running in of late. Today I did a 7km run this morning in freezing fog (-1C) followed by a cold water shower of at least 4 or 5 minutes duration. The forecast is for colder weather and snow later this week so I may get my first snow run in for the season soon.
One of my blog followers wrote me an e-mail saying that he had re-read some of my earlier posts and how my early experiences with cold water were similar to his own. He also noted that some of my observations about how my body reacts to the cold were correct and how exciting that journey had been for both of us. I think I need to re-read what I wrote and discover some of that early enthusiasm again - maybe it will inspire me to do more and to push my body just that little bit further into experimenting with cold water some more.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Two Runs and a Swim
Since my last post I have been quite good. A run on 2 Mornings and a 2.4km swim. 2 cold showers and a hot one (just for a change) as well as some physical work in the garden and a spot of suntanning.
Weight is down to under 69Kg and my time for my regular run was completed in under 40 minutes! No reason to slack off though. Hope the sun shines this weekend - highly unlikely but I can always dream can't I!
Weight is down to under 69Kg and my time for my regular run was completed in under 40 minutes! No reason to slack off though. Hope the sun shines this weekend - highly unlikely but I can always dream can't I!
Monday, 4 May 2009
Monday Update
A long weekend of exercise and relaxation is probably a good summation of the past 3 days. I managed to get my standard road/woodland of approx 4.5. miles in on Saturday in a personal best time of just over 41 Minutes. I am happy with this time although a little disappointed that I did not run the whole way - so there is room for improvement. I guess my longer run up north during week helped up my fitness just a little more.
Today I managed a 2Km swim in a little over an hour in the local swimming pool. Again a pretty good time for the distance. I think I can improve on that time too as the 2Km was done using breaststroke rather than front crawl. I am still having problems with getting my breathing correct on the crawl. I did a few extra lengths to try and improve my crawl strokes and breathing rhythm so maybe one of these days this time will come down too. At the moment its more about getting more aerobically fit and burning some excess fat off.
I even managed a few hours out in the garden in the sun and have the start of a suntan developing. Here's hoping that the sun keep appearing over the next few months so that I have a tan before my summer vacation this year.
Today I managed a 2Km swim in a little over an hour in the local swimming pool. Again a pretty good time for the distance. I think I can improve on that time too as the 2Km was done using breaststroke rather than front crawl. I am still having problems with getting my breathing correct on the crawl. I did a few extra lengths to try and improve my crawl strokes and breathing rhythm so maybe one of these days this time will come down too. At the moment its more about getting more aerobically fit and burning some excess fat off.
I even managed a few hours out in the garden in the sun and have the start of a suntan developing. Here's hoping that the sun keep appearing over the next few months so that I have a tan before my summer vacation this year.
Friday, 1 May 2009
3 Months in: let's drop the day count
Well, here we are at over 3 months of this routine now. It seems to be working for me at the moment. During the summer months I guess posts to this blog will become less frequent and only include highlights. From now on in I think it better to have more meaningful headlines rather than a day count.
At this point in time I am running around 10 -15 miles per week and swimming at least once per week of 1k to 2km each time. My weight is down to approximately 71Kg although this varies slightly from day to day depending on what I have eaten and how much exercise I have done.
As this is the first post for a couple of weeks I can tell you that since report that I have been taking cold showers each day and also swimming again (2km in one session taking around 75 minutes to complete that distance).
I can also report that I met up with a member of the toughness yahoo group (see link on the right) for a run up in Scotland. We did a run (for me more of a jog/walk) around 6 miles (10km) along a mixed tarmac/dirt trail around a local reservoir. The air temp was around 10C with a cooling wind. It was a bit more of an up/down path than my normal run so I did a fair amount of walking, especially up the steeper gradients.
We finished the run with a swim in a different lake of around 10 minutes duration. Water temp approx 9C to 10C. I was pretty cold and starting to shiver by the time I had finished drying myself off at the car afterwards, but did not feel cold at all in the water.
I was definitely not as fit as my running companion - but then he is almost 20 years younger than me and has been running and competing in events for quite a while. He is certainly a lot more acclimatised to the cold weather than I am.
Till next time......
At this point in time I am running around 10 -15 miles per week and swimming at least once per week of 1k to 2km each time. My weight is down to approximately 71Kg although this varies slightly from day to day depending on what I have eaten and how much exercise I have done.
As this is the first post for a couple of weeks I can tell you that since report that I have been taking cold showers each day and also swimming again (2km in one session taking around 75 minutes to complete that distance).
I can also report that I met up with a member of the toughness yahoo group (see link on the right) for a run up in Scotland. We did a run (for me more of a jog/walk) around 6 miles (10km) along a mixed tarmac/dirt trail around a local reservoir. The air temp was around 10C with a cooling wind. It was a bit more of an up/down path than my normal run so I did a fair amount of walking, especially up the steeper gradients.
We finished the run with a swim in a different lake of around 10 minutes duration. Water temp approx 9C to 10C. I was pretty cold and starting to shiver by the time I had finished drying myself off at the car afterwards, but did not feel cold at all in the water.
I was definitely not as fit as my running companion - but then he is almost 20 years younger than me and has been running and competing in events for quite a while. He is certainly a lot more acclimatised to the cold weather than I am.
Till next time......
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