The last time I went swimming in open water was in a river in Cambodia. I learnt an important swimming lesson that day: keep your mouth shut. I spent the following day sat on a chair half way between my bed and a shared bathroom unsure which way to go. Yesterday, as panic began to [...]

I'm lucky to live less than half a mile from a swimming pool. This is quite uncommon in London. Living so close removes the obstacle of having to make a special effort to trek across the borough with wet hair and carrying a soggy towel.Although there's a pool on my doorstep, I swim in other pools too - I'm [...]

This week saw the last of my 'beginners' swim sessions. From Tuesday I take to the advanced group and all the fresh scariness that that involves. In this week's session, in response to an innocent inquiry by me about when I should be ready for a sprint distance triathlon, my swim coach said: "You'll be able to do [...]

A couple of years ago, running showed me that things I had previously thought were impossible were actually within my grasp with a bit of hard work and application. When faced with a brick wall I think back to the days when I couldn't run for a mile without stopping and collapsing in a big heap. [...]

"Open your moth under the water and let the water in." This was the advice of my swimming coach, who I'm slightly worried is trying to kill me. I keep swallowing water and, although it's probably not going to kill me, I'd rather not drink my own bath water let alone water that a good [...]

When I say that I can't swim very well I mean that, while I wouldn't drown if you threw me in a pool and that I could do a few lengths before exhausting myself, when swimming I look (ironically) like a fish out of water. I can't do that thing where you put your face [...]

Session two of trying to learn to swim the Total Immersion way from a book is in the training bank, and in my second session I learned a few things about swimming.1. Nose clips stay on your nose better if you take your make-up off first. However, wearing a nose clip raises people expectation of [...]

After reading three chapters of Total Immersion I was ready to dip my toe into the world of swim training. On Friday I used the last afternoon of my week off work to head to the local pool and start swimming like a pro in my quest to become a triathlete. I had all the [...]

Nose clip? Check. Goggles? Check. Condom-style hat? You bet ya! This can all only mean one thing... I've given up all hope of ever having nice hair ever again and decided to get better at swimming.When I say 'get better at swimming' it pretty much means 'learn to swim', because what I do when submerged [...]