Conor Pope: Fifty lengths. I swam 50 lengths of a 25-metre pool in a single session this week. And I managed to do it in 55 minutes. It would have been faster but I took a three-minute pause in the early part of the swim to have a blazing row with aman who crashed into my legs as I glided like a merman through the water (or, more accurately, thrashed about like a soon-to-be beached whale).
I am not proud of rowing for part of my swim, and I mention it now only for the sake of full disclosure. But back to the 50 lengths. I am very proud of myself on that score, although I am not as proud as you might think. This is because part of me feels guilty about how I covered the distance.
All told, I did 40 of the 50 lengths using the breast stroke, so right now I feel like I am cheating on the front crawl.
Trainer Pete is partly to blame for my guilt. The breast stroke has always been my best one and even in the early stages of the Swim for a Mile process, I could cover a few lengths using it. Peter quickly identified this as my strong suit and then, almost as quickly, said “Don’t even consider covering the mile using it.” It’s annoying sometimes how he can get into my head and see my thoughts form before they have taken proper shape.
Peter didn’t want me to focus on the breast stroke because that was the easier road. He wanted me to challenge myself by focusing almost exclusively on the front crawl, which is widely considered to be the most regal (and certainly the most effective) of the strokes, the one all the best long-distance swimmers use almost exclusively.
The breast stroke is a cop-out.
But needs must. I will try and do as many lengths in the weeks that are left – in the challenge, not in life – to get better at the front crawl. And when Trainer Pete is watching I will work hard on it. But I like knowing that if it comes to it I can swim an entire kilometre using its lesser cousin. And it’s not as if I’m breaking the rules. Using the back stroke; now, that’s a whole different story.
Dominique McMullan: 'In less than two weeks I'll attempt to swim one mile. Only 12 weeks ago I struggled to swim one length'
The Final Countdown is playing in the back of my head. It's been on a loop since the beginning of the week. I realised this morning as I ran (walked) up the stairs at work that I might be living out a real-life, if watery, Rocky fantasy. In less than two weeks I'll attempt to swim a full mile. Yet only 12 weeks ago I struggled to swim one length. Yesterday I managed 54, only 10 off the full mile. I'm more than a little chuffed at this and when I complete the mile, I may burst into screams of "Adrian".
The big swim takes place on May 22nd, the day of the Marriage Equality Referendum. This means that every time someone mentions the referendum – and when you work at The Irish Times, this happens quite a lot – I think about swimming. Gay marriage and front crawl have become inextricably linked in my mind. And it's hard not to be positive: I treated myself to a new Speedo swimsuit yesterday, grinning and humming my new theme tune in Lifestyle Sports. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought a Speedo anything would make me quite so happy, but how things change.
Tomorrow, I’m heading to the National Aquatic Centre to have a look at the 50m pool and join a training session with the Aer Lingus Masters. I’m hoping to get some tips from the pros. Then it’s only a week until the swim. *Deep breath.* See you on the other side.
