Swim Challenge. Approaching 400 miles.

[Chris Hobson]

My latest update on my 500 miles in 2022 swim challenge follows.
On the 1st of January 2022 I started my 500 miles swim challenge for the guide dogs charity.
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-hobson9
At the time of writing I have covered 389 miles so I'm within touching distance of my every fifty miles beer and curry night and well on the way to my 500 mile target.

I will be 64 years old in September so, when it comes to physical activities, you would have thought that the best that I could expect would be a kind of managed decline. After being diagnosed in 2013, I started distance running and, as I'd never really done it before, I kept scoring personal bests for various distances for quite a few years after I started. When it comes to swimming, I learned to swim as a teenager but never took it in any way seriously until taking up doing triathlons as part of my diet and exercise routine. This year of course I have done more swimming than I have ever done in my life before and have also been having improver lessons, so personal bests should surely be a possibility, yes? Sometimes I just swim steadily just to clock up the miles. Even just doing this my performance has improved such that my original 4 kilometres in two hours has become 5 kilometres in just over two hours. If I push myself I can get to 5 kilometers just inside two hours, a personal best when I first managed it of course. Today, having not pushed myself hard for quite a while, I decided to set myself a couple of targets to see if I could score some new personal bests. First, how fast could I now swim 5k? Second, if I do get inside two hours, what distance can I cover in two hours if I keep on swimming?

The results of this enterprise:
5 kilometers time:- 1:49:59 New PB.

Distance covered in 2hrs:- 5,450 metres
Not a PB as I've not measured this before.

My sports watch registered an additional new record 1,000 metres in 21:30.

So altogether I'm pretty happy with these results, the managed decline seems to be going pretty well. I can actually claim to be a pretty good swimmer. My shoulders and upper arms are pretty sore though.

 

[ColinUK]

Seriously great work!

I learnt to swim as a little one (like most did back then) but haven’t ever felt that comfortable in the water. I can swim but given that I don’t currently open a pair of swim shorts I don’t think I’ll be swimming soon!

 

[arthurocannon]

@Chris Hobson That is incredible what you're doing. You're staying fit at 64 years old, and swimming is quite challenging. How do you manage to stay in the water for so long for miles at a time?

 

[Chris Hobson]

Mostly it is only a couple of hours. I break the swim sessions up into 1k sets, 40 lengths which each take around 25 minutes, a little less if I'm pushing myself. Mostly I do the front crawl but I mix in some breast stroke too. I sometimes start with a short set of kick drills because these are really important for technique and they hurt less if you do them regularly. The drills don't register on my sports watch as it only thinks that you're swimming if your arms are moving. There is also the odd distraction that appears on the poolside from time to time.

 

[Windy]

Chris,
Well done on your hard work with the running and swimming, you put us all to shame. I go out for the odd walk or cycle ride, but 40 lengths of front crawl would just about finish me off, and I'm 15 years younger than you! I had improver swimming lessons and couldn't get the hang of breathing and front crawl, was too uncoordinated to do it all together. I must follow your lead and return to the pool though, used to be able to do 32 lengths of breaststroke or backstroke, and I suspect I couldn't do that many now .

There is also the odd distraction that appears on the poolside from time to time.

It's not @ColinUK with his no swim shorts is it 😉?

Hope your arm and shoulder pain eases off, Sarah

 

[ColinUK]

Chris,
Well done on your hard work with the running and swimming, you put us all to shame. I go out for the odd walk or cycle ride, but 40 lengths of front crawl would just about finish me off, and I'm 15 years younger than you! I had improver swimming lessons and couldn't get the hang of breathing and front crawl, was too uncoordinated to do it all together. I must follow your lead and return to the pool though, used to be able to do 32 lengths of breaststroke or backstroke, and I suspect I couldn't do that many now .

It's not @ColinUK with his no swim shorts is it 😉?

Hope your arm and shoulder pain eases off, Sarah

You should see my pool noodle!

 

[Chris Hobson]

There was a very gym fit woman wearing a bikini that had less material than my hanky. I'm now up to 394.7 miles, two more swims should get me over the 400 mile line.

 

[Chris Hobson]

This morning's 5k swim was a bit of a slog but I got through it. The tally is now 400.3 miles. Curry ingredients and Tiger beer in the fridge. Rest day tomorrow.

 

[arthurocannon]

You're going strong. I applaud you for your strength. After 400 miles a rest day sounds good. I can imagine that you're in great shape, as swimming is an excellent exercise for the body.

 

[Chris Hobson]

"I can imagine that you're in great shape..."

Yes, I now pretty much have the classic swimmer's body shape, skinny waist with slightly over developed shoulders abs and lats. I could pass for someone quite a bit younger but my wrinkly bald head spoils the illusion. My current problem is that keeping the weight on while limiting carb intake is proving to be a challenge. In terms of sustained exercise, what I'm doing is a bit like running a half marathon every day. Each 5k swim burns off around 1,200 calories according to my Garmin.

 

[ColinUK]

I’ve wish I’d got a similar physique to that. Classic six pack, defined lats, good delts etc.
I just care for mine so much I’ve got out all wrapped in a good layer of fat for protection!
Subconsciously I’m preparing for a cross channel swim or something lol

 

[Grannylorraine]

Well done Chris, you are doing fantastic.

 

[Chris Hobson]

I've come a long way. Ten years ago I was shaped like a light bulb. When I was diagnosed I had the classic rapid weight loss and then I ended up looking a right state with my skin all wrinkly and hanging off me.