Natasha Sones is woman on the search for adventures. As an adventure writer and ambassador for several outdoor brands, she knows a thing or two about seeking out new experiences. This year she is challenging herself to swim the Mile at the Outdoor Swimmer Henley Swim Festival, something she admits will push her, as she describes herself as ‘definitely more of a dipper than a proper swimmer’.
She’s going to keep us updated on her training in the months leading up to the event in July, and you can follow her progress with us.
DIARY ENTRY – MARCH
After signing up for the swim and downloading the training plan, it didn’t start off very well. I got struck down with the winter virus that seems to be doing the rounds (thanks kids!) and didn’t get in the water for a couple of weeks. But by the end of February I was back to outdoor swimming.
Using a swimming coach
The Henley Swim’s free beginner’s training plan for the Mile from Straight Line Swimming recommends that it can be a good idea to find a fully qualified coach right to give you a big of guidance right from the start. A coach can give you the confidence in your technique and open water skills so you can smash your Henley Mile.
So at the end of February I went along to my first SwimFit class, a swimming coaching class at my local leisure centre. I found it really hard, I’m not going to lie. But I got some useful tips about my breast stroke kick and I amazed myself by managing to do 30 lengths of breast stroke in an hour. I hadn’t really faced up to how many 25-metre lengths is in a mile, but the answer is roughly 64. I was really pleased I could do so many but worked out that if I do 30 in an hour, that means it will take me 2 hours to swim a
mile! However at least I now know I am capable of swimming for an hour, and just need to improve my speed.
Pool Swimming
I got myself some new swim goggles and a nose clip so I could learn to put my face in the water. I would love to improve my front crawl too, so I am not just limited to breast stroke. (Although there is a breaststroke only wave in the Mile swim at the Festival, so breaststrokers are welcome!)
I then went along to a leisure centre to try out my goggles. I swam 24 lengths in 40 minutes and had a go at swimming with my face in the water. It took a bit of trying to get used to and I’m not sure I am much faster but I definitely felt out of breath afterwards. So that must be the sign of a good workout! All I can do is to keep practising.
In March I went along to The Big Swim in Brighton to celebrate International Women’s Day. After an amazing swim with 500 women, myself and friends Angela, Sarah, Sam and Claire went for a swim at Sea Lanes Lido. I swam a few lengths, trying out some different strokes and got some coaching advice from swim coach Claire about breaststroke breathing which reassured me a bit that I was doing it right.
Now that I am a bit more confident I will next start the 12-week training plan. The first 4-week cycle of training is all about getting in. Session 1 is swimming 20 minutes in the water and aiming to swim 100m in the water non-stop. I have got longer than 12 weeks until the swim so I’m not going to follow the programme absolutely, I will take it at a bit of a slower pace but it’s definitely a great guide.
The Outdoor Swimmer Henley Swim Festival is a great place for those starting their open water journey. As well as the Mile that Natasha is taking on, there is the Half Mile swim, the 200m Splash (untimed) and a free river Lido run by the Swimming Teachers’ Association, where swimmers can go in for a dip across the weekend to have a go at river swimming in their own time.
