More training with swim lead/rope

For the last 2x training sessions my SwimRun Buddy and I have been trying out a swim lead/rope connected between us. There appear to be more positives than negatives so we will most likely be using it on race day. More training needed but we certainly feel it is the way to go..

Positives:

- Places me neatly behind the feet/fins of my SwimRun Buddy (stronger swimmer) so benefit from his draft

- Less stress of losing pace and being dropped (and worse disqualified for being more than 10m apart)

- My swimming was generally no slower and fortunately my partner didn't notice any slowing/pulling him back

Negatives:

- The rope does move quite a bit in the water (especially in the sea) so you can easily hit it with padddles (at back) or feet (at front) - it is elasticated but it can sometimes be a nuisance. The best position is a very slight pull, which keeps it tight and straighter in the water. As the rear swimmer (so the rope is in front of me) I find it easiest to rotate my arms either side of the rope.

- You obviously have to carry the rope, which I generally wrap around my waist, for the entire race. There is also that extra step in transition - clipping ourselves in/out and re-wrapping/un-wrappring the rope.

By the way I saw a large jellyfish in Brighton yesterday, which swam by me within inches of my hands - it looked reasonably big, I would say 40-50cm in length!

Need to fully comit to SwimRun training

Me again - time for a brief update.

The SDW100 relay never happened (more COVID related issues) - the team has deferred to next year - may be I will have a crack then.

Meanwhile, my focus is on my one and only A-Race, which does look like it is going ahead - I have 48 days!

I have committed to a weekly SwimRun with my partner in crime (Graeme) but also need to have an additional 2 sessions (pool/sea/lake) to assist with my training and especially arm strength using the paddles for longer periods - the event includes a total 8km of swimming, which is considerably more than my longest swim (3.8km Ironman swim), albeit that was done as one. We are going to try to use an elasticated cord between us for our next swim so we keep with 10m of each other (event rules).

I should also be including some strength work (TRX, Zenn 8 swim trainer + other) although that is a bit 'hit and miss'. My running is OK (I regulary punch out sub 5 mins (per km) paced runs, even on 10km+) - I probably need to complete a couple of longer/slower trail runs before the event - possibly a run into work across the Downs. The cycling is just cross-training for now whilst my focus is on SwimRun.

That is the plan!