31/11/08 [77]: bloody sunday

% swum:

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totals:

77 days, 1374 lengths, only 42 lengths to go, £585.00 sponsorship

Ahead of today’s swim, my plan for finishing this task was for a nice quiet 20 lengths or so today, a normal (but now reasonably leisurely) 30 or so lengths tomorrow morning and then the last 10 or so lengths on Tuesday evening followed by a celebratory meal accompanied by a nice cold beer. What could possible interrupt such a calmly thought out and measured plan?

Well, on arrival at the pool this afternoon there was a notice up saying that part of the pool was taken up with a party (for children). Hmmm… part of the pool? More like over half. So, that meant that I was forced outside which was a pretty intimidating experience given that it is really cold at the moment. I think I have mentioned before that swimming outside in such conditions has something of an Icelandic feel about it, with a gentle mist of water vapour rising continuously from the surface of the pool, but normally the water at least seems warm, whereas today it was decidedly cold. Still, being pushed outside to do ~20 lengths isn’t really such a big deal and I duly swam the 25 lengths that I needed (25 outdoor = 20 indoor). What made things out of the ordinary was the fact that I went to the pool with my youngest daughter and one of her friends, Chloe, with the idea that the two of them would amuse themselves while I swam up and down. This part actually went to plan but the excitement started properly when we left the pool and made our way in and past the indoor pool (and the hoards of screaming children and shocked looking parents). While I was swimming, poor Chloe had somehow managed to cut her foot on the pool steps – “it doesn’t hurt”, “it’s okay”, “it’s not bleeding much”… But as I followed the children in I noticed that with each step the tell-tale smudge of red on the ground grew larger, brighter and more shocking until by the time Chloe had gone all around the pool and was by the entrance to the changing room there were real puddles of blood marking her progress. We grabbed one of the lifeguards and after using up an unfeasible amount of paper towel to staunch the flow a couple of plasters were applied to what was a surprisingly long and deep cut. Chloe was fine, but the bloody trail was really very spectacular and if it had been me I would have been making the kind of considerable fuss that only a man could make in such circumstances. (Obviously, I have exaggerated a little, especially if you are reading this and happen to be Chloe’s mum…)

So, I got my 20 lengths in and now have just 42 to go. I have pulled a muscle in my left arm a little (in my desperation to combat the cold and get moving quickly) but I’m not expecting this to cause any problems tomorrow (although wouldn’t it be exciting if I got injured at this stage…). Here’s the timswim worm for the end of Week 11: