One day one photo - 6: Swimming training

I was really glad to be able to to get an evening swimming slot at Crystal Palace Sports Centre on the hottest day of the year! Swimming is an activity I have done for many years, though it's something that I have tended to not talk about much or pay much attention to as a sport in the same way I do with cycling or running. While I will watch professional cycle races or running races, and discuss it with fellow fans, I never do the same with swimming. It's just been something that I get on with quietly in an unassuming way.

It's been more of a Cinderella activity for me. When I do triathlons, swimming is my weakest discipline, and is more like something to just get through before I do the "proper" sport of riding my bike and running. I have still stuck with swimming over the years though, because it is great for soothing sore legs after hard exercise - be it running, cycling. I even like to do it when I go skiing as it certainly helps my knees after a day on the pistes.

So it has tended to be a sport I did for functional reasons and I am sure it has benefited me. In more recent times I have come to really appreciate what swimming does for me. Not only are there the musculoskeletal benefits, but it's also an activity I can do for relaxation. Being in the water can help lower blood pressure too. 

With the significant growth in open water swimming I have found myself visiting lots of venues around the London area - Beckenham Place Park, Middle Dock at Canary Wharf, Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre, Divers Cove, Royal Victoria Docks. I also enjoy visiting the lidos at Brockwell Park, London Fields, and Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath. I also like to do open water swimming whenever I travel out of town. Recently I swam in Loch Lomond and on Portobello Beach while on a visit to Scotland. I also swam in the Bassin de la Villette, and the Ourcq Canal when I visited Paris

According to the Strava app, for the first time ever, my stats showed that I spent more time swimming than cycling or running during the month of August. 

All this waterbaby activity has led me to actually work on my technique and do some proper training. I haven't joined a swimming club, but I have bought a few training aids which I use to incorporate drills when I swim at my local pool at Crystal Palace. The kickboard and the flippers have been great for improving my leg technique, the hand paddles have helped improve my arm pull through the water and strengthen my pectoral muscles, while the pull buoy is a nice swimming aid to put my legs in the best position in the water.

I definitely feel that my swimming has improved. I am not necessarily swimming much faster, but I find that for the same speed I don't feel as tired as I used to, and I feel a lot more relaxed during a race. Who knows, this may be the beginning of me channelling my inner Michael Phelps!  

Another weekend another triathlon - Eton Dorney

I can't believe I signed myself up for another triathlon. It's like buses. I don't do one for 10 years and then I do two in 10 weeks. I seem to have gotten a bug.

It's not that I have become a triathlete again; it's just part of my overall plan to stay fit in my 6th decade of life.

I had a phase around 20 years ago when I raced triathlons and duathlons regularly and was even part of different clubs. That feels like a different life. I trained regularly and intensely, planning my daily schedule around it, and even planning life around "the season". Everyone I socialised with was a triathlete and conversations, whether it was during training sessions, racing, or at the pub were "what races are you doing? Are you doing the Nationals? How was your bike splt? How long were you in transition? Did you use a Polar heart rate monitor or another one?"

There was so much triathlon talk, and without realising it I began to lose interest in it as I wasn't enjoying that feeling of being trapped in a triathlon bubble. Sure, I was probably a lot fitter than I am now, but life felt one-dimensional, and even when racing I dreaded it so much because I began to worry about not performing to my potential, what others would think if I was slower than expected, or if so and so beat me! I had to make sure I wasn't the slowest in the club. Many times I was though, and then I would feel a little bit embarrassed because I took 35 minutes to swim 1500m, or because I did 30 minutes for my 5km run. 

Then I got into cycle racing, which seemed to have more "balanced" people who largely had a healthy relationship with their sport. It has to be said that back then triathlon was a bit of a niche sport, with only hardy obsessives doing it. 

I gradually phased myself out of triathlon and didn't actually miss doing it. I had done it and got lots of T-shirts, literally! So it was time to move on.

Finishing the swim at Eton 
Photo: Maggie Easton

In recent times I have started doing a multi-sport discipline called SwimRun. It involves, you've guessed it, swimming and running. Unlike say, an aquathlon, SwimRun, which originated in Sweden, is about repeatedly swimming, then running, then swimming, then running, usually across a large lake with islands or promontories, or even crossing different bodies of water, rather like an archipelago around Stockholm. You do the whole thing wearing the same gear, so you end up running in your wetsuit and swimming with your running shoes on. 

I have done a few of these events and enjoyed them, especially the laid back atmosphere. I think the fact that there's no proper federation or national championships etc may be a reason why a lot 9f competitors aren't hard core. 

When training for this in my local area I get funny looks from people as they see me running around Brockwell Park in South London, with my wetsuit, swimming hat and goggles on my head. London is generally an "anything goes" kind of place. But even here, there are limits between stylish and ridiculous! But I just smile and enjoy myself.

So nowadays a triathlon takes a very back seat, and on those occasional forays into swim/bike/run it is pretty much for fun, with only one objective, to get to the finish line still smiling.

It is with this frame of mind that I entered the Eton Dorney Sprint triathlon - less than a week before the event, and after I'd seen that the weather forecast that day would be fair. 

On my arrival at the venue the scene for the 2012 Olympics rowing competitions, 30 minutes beforey start time, lots of athletes were already in transition or doing warm-up strides ready for the 7.45am whistle. I calmly cycled across the field to the registration desk, already in my wetsuit and then roughly arranged my gear in transition. 

Eton Dorney bike leg
Photo: Mark Easton

Within minutes I had attended a lakeside race briefing and was swimming along with around 100 other athletes in my wave. The water was a pleasant temperature - around 19°C, and was very clear. Sighting was not an issue, as I could just follow people's legs in the water. For me, it was just about staying relaxed in the water and saving energy for the bike and the run.

It seems I was a bit too relaxed as my 750m swim took almost 25 minutes, and I was one of the last out of the water. I was then the last out of transition, as I took my time towelling myself down, putting on my shorts and cycling top, and making sure everything on the bike was wear I wanted it. I was in no rush!

My bike leg was a matter of pacing myself on the flat 4-lap course. The outward bike ride was straight into a headwind, while the return was a wind-assisted blast back towards the crowds. I past various riders at this point, including others on road bikes. Some of them were a lap ahead of me though, so unless they were weak runners they'd finish ahead of me.

So the 5km run leg, like that of the Paris triathlon, was an out and back along a dead straight, flat path beside a body of water. Where previously I was going along the Ourcq Canal, this time it was Dorney Lake. Similarly, it was all about focusing and not feeling demoralised or demotivated. One woman I passed had not been able to avoid those feelings. "Are you okay?" I asked, as I passed her. "I'm fine," she replied. "I'm just bored and don't want to run anymore!" Trying to motivate her, I said, "Keep it steady, you've nearly finished." I don't know if that was much help.

I overtook a few people along the way, which helped with my motivation. On the return, I picked up my pace a little, and managed to cross the line still smiling, even as a young girl shot past me in the last 50 metres. 

It had been a fun event in the early Sunday morning sunshine, and I savoured my medal. I must say, at my age you always celebrate finishing a race without feeling any pain or injury! So it was a bonus to see that I had done 27 minutes for my run - quicker than my Park Run times, which don't involve swimming and cycling beforehand.

I don't know when next I will do a triathlon, but if I don't do another one this year, I can say that I have had a good season.

Related posts

Wanna do the Paris Triathlon? What you need to know

How I got on in the Paris Triathlon 

Cycle route: Eastern suburbs of Paris by bike (part 2)

Route Summary:

Vincennes - River Marne trail to Chessy (Disneyland Paris) - Dampart - Claye Souilly - Ourcq Canal towpath - Bassin de La Villette (Paris) - Vincennes

Distance: 78km   Climbing: 250m

Route on Strava

Route in detail:

(Continued from the previous post)

As my route would not be straying from the river I didn't venture that way, and in fact it was a treat to have woodland emerge before me, and this landscape was quite attractive. 

From here on, the route continued further into the countryside where there people doing associated activities like trail running, horse riding, and fishing. 

Lac de Vaires - Watersports venue for Paris 2024 Olympics

In fact, near Noisiel at Vaires sur Marne, was a large watersports area which I believe will be hosting rowing and canoeing events at the Paris Olympics, and there were a few rowing clubs practicing along this stretch of water, and also on the River Marne at Lagny.

By this time I had crossed the river again and cycled briefly through Lagny to get back on the riverside. A lot of people were out walking, or were in the cafés. There was nothing special about this suburb, but I guess if tourist en route to or coming from nearby Disneyland Paris wanted to sample a French town, why not stop at Lagny, which is what some people may have done. Or maybe they were hoping to spot Manchester United footballer Paul Pogba, who is from there.

What was noteworthy for me was how the river path up-to-now had been a mixture of tarmac and compacted gravel, but then became a twisty stretch of single-track with tree roots bumps, pot-holes. Maybe I had missed a sign to get me back onto the road, but here I was on a proper off-road trail like in Surrey. 

It should have been fun, especially as I was on a cyclocross bike, but the cumbersome pannier made it difficult to get between the trees at times and on a couple of occasions my tripod, which was on my back got caught in the branches and yanked me backwards!

My overriding (pun intended) worry was that I would see the bridge I'd been hoping to go over, above me and I would have no way of reaching it due to being a long way from the road leading to it. Furthermore, I didn't know if bikes were allowed on this trail and I was worried about the path just leading to a mass of undergrowth that it would be impossible to get through. 

Chessy-Dampmart footbridge set in a sculpture park and among cyclocross/MTB trails

My fears were soon assuaged when I crossed paths with a guy out walking his dog, and he bid me a friendly "Bonjour" like seeing a cyclist was an everyday thing. 

Shortly after, I noticed a guy riding up behind me on Canyon cyclocross bike. As I gave way to him he greeted me and zoomed along. Yay, a kindred spirit. Another guy rode along the trail on a cross bike. So it's fair to say this is cyclocross country. 

This area, known as Chessy, is also within spitting distance of Disneyland Paris. All I needed was to head onto the roads to my right, and four miles later I would reach Alice's Curious Labyrinth. Well, I had already been through one maze in the woods; I didn't need to go through another one. So I continued my planned route to cross the River Marne via the bridge which turned out to be a wooden footbridge, to Dampmart and eventually Claye-Souilly.

Eventually the path took me to the Jardin de Sculptures where the pedestrian bridge was located. As well as cyclocrossers, there were a number of mountain bikers too. 

It's worth making a mental note that this area of Marne la Vallée is a place to do off-road training.  After a short break for my lunchtime snack, I crossed the river to get onto the road to the Ourq Canal.

My route took me along some undulating roads to reach a village called Claye-Souilly. This was no longer the nearby suburb. In fact, Meaux, a stage town for the upcoming Women's Tour de France was just 10 miles from this point, and on these country roads Paris seemed a world away.

On my arrival at Claye-Souilly it was easy to find the Ourcq Canal. It was a case of look at the road from where lots of cyclists were emerging (just near the town hall), and that was the place to go.

It was good to be on the homeward trek, as it had seemed quite a long day. This area was not far from Charles de Gaulle Airport, and knowing how long it can take to get to Central Paris told me it would be a while before I reached my entry point into Paris, at La Villette. 

The straight towpath back to Paris, along the Ourcq Canal

My ride was straightforward, with the emphasis on straight! Ourcq is a very straight canal. There only seemed to be about three turns on the whole ride back. Granted, I was kept on my toes when  the signposted route took me onto the opposite side of the canal, and a section between Villeparisis and Aulnay sous Bois had a few steep rises and falls. But overall, it was just a case of following your nose for 15 miles along this straight, mainly tarmacked towpath that ran parallel with the RER B suburban line.

In the early part of the canal the area looked pretty as the route ran through parkland and woodland. However, after Aulnay sous Bois there was definitely a "banlieue" kind of ambience, with rough-looking flats and wasteland nearby with graffiti on the walls. There were lots of young lads on scooters, skateboards, or doing tricks on their bikes, as well as well as teenage girls hanging out with their mates on this late Saturday afternoon.

Yeah, it was Saturday - what was I doing still on my bike ride when I could have been hanging out with some young people?! Or more like enjoying a glass of wine with some middle-aged folks in Vincennes! 

Even though there was a route that would take me straight down from Bobigny, where I was to my suburban base, it only seemed right to complete the route properly by going right up to the Bassin de La Villette, and continuing through Paris to reach Vincennes. So, on I plodded.

Bassin de La Villette - A popular hangout with boules and beer

Once in the vibrant area of La Villette, I felt quite motivated. Apparently the cool thing to do these days is boules. It's not just the preserve of old "Marcel" blokes, but loads of groups of young people were doing it on the many pitches that had been set up, while having a beer. That's another thing to do next time I'm there. 

From La Villette I headed to the Stalingrad junction to pick up the segregated cycle path along the Grand Boulevard to reach Porte de Vincennes and back to base. 

When I entered my hotel the receptionist asked me if I'd enjoyed my little bike ride, to which I replied, it was super. If only she knew it was just 80km little! 

Nevertheless, it was a fun day out.

Related posts

Cycle route: Eastern suburbs of Paris by bike (part 1)

Cycling in Paris - La vie est belle!

Cycle route: South London to Central London (mainly traffic-free)

Cyclists of Paris