How to (almost) have it all in swimming
Last weekend I took part in a masters meet – a pool-based competition for swimmers over 25. I raced 100m freestyle, 100m individual medley and 200m freestyle, and I posted a set of respectable times, apart from the individual medley where my goggles fell off (but that’s another story).
The week before, I did a 10km sea swim – 100 times the distance I raced in the pool.
Doing it all
Sea swimming and pool racing require different sets of skills. But they both involve swimming. If you can do one, you can do the other. Moreover, you can do both to a good standard. In fact, practising for one may help the other.
For example, my best race in the pool at the weekend was the 200m front crawl. After the start, I quickly fell behind the other swimmers in my heat and was in 5th position at 50m, some 2 seconds behind the leaders. But I eventually finished first, overtaking everyone else in the final 25m.
I was able to do that because I’ve built my endurance through long-distance swimming and practised pacing.
Likewise, in the 10km, after a feed stop, the swimmers I was with got away more quickly than I did. Because I’ve also practised sprinting, I was able to increase speed, catch up and then draft them.
Much more than racing
But being a Renaissance Swimmer isn’t just about racing. It’s about enjoying and benefiting from a wide range of swimming-related activities, such as leisurely summer swims and bracing winter dips. It’s about building endurance through long-distance swimming, strength and power through sprinting and mental fortitude through cold water immersion.
Rather than aiming to be the best in a narrow swimming specialisation, the goal is to embrace and become competent across a range of disciplines.
The Renaissance Swimmer project is designed to guide you through this with insightful advice and practical challenges. If you haven’t done so already, I’d be delighted if you sign up.
A mindset
But even if you’re not ready yet, you can still practice and benefit from adopting a Renaissance Swimmer mindset. Explore the possibilities and options. When presented with something new, don’t say, “I can’t”. Say, “I can’t yet, but I’m willing to give it a go and learn something new.”
