Alec Swim Coach

Great series of local events, supporting your local training venue - get stuck in! https://drive.google.com/…/1xuF4MGgF-aN 6wrlfJJdc7X_EFT…/view

I have, at last, finished writing about my Bristol Channel Swim and self-published it via Amazon (link below). Trying to write a blurb to make it sound like an enticing read was harder than the book itself. I failed. Luckily for me, Emma Pusill and Marc Molloy (both adventurous souls themselves) stepped up and knocked it out of the park. Marc's is below, and Emma's is on the Amazon listing. "After 10 years of living with frequent discomfort and exhaustion from an unidentified... condition, teamed with the struggles of balancing fatherhood and work alongside nagging doubts about his general place in the world, Alec Richardson found open water swimming. As a middle aged man, with three busy kids and a teaching job to fill his days, Alec returned to the sport that gave him so much pleasure as a youngster to try and re-find his sense of adventure, to give him a focus, and to give him an excuse to up his calorific intake (an extra layer helps with the cold apparently!). While gazing across the Bristol Channel from England to Wales one morning, he started to wonder if he was capable of swimming across this scarily difficult, yet enticingly challenging stretch of water. This is the story of how Alec planned and completed the resulting swim from Penarth to Clevedon in a respectable time and recounts tales of sunrises, seaweed caresses, mermaids and mashed boiled eggs. A first-hand account of what goes in to a journey like this, full of self-reflection and off-beat ponderings which are sure to strike a chord with anyone toiling through their own mid-life adventure, but also full of helpful tips and advice for anyone planning their own endeavours. Not just a book about swimming, a life affirming tale of frailty, endeavour and a man’s struggle to wear Speedos in public."
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Come and brush up on your gala skills tomorrow morning! The water will likely still be about 20 degrees, so we can stay in long enough to actually practice some starts, turns, relay handovers etc. More sessions to come as the water cools down for the Popsicle! Normal swim cost, plus £3 to join the coaching session. (Other lanes will be open for those who just want to swim)

'Swimming Under the Sky' at the Curzon, 14th October. Films, talks and paintings with Steve Price, Alec Richardson and Nancy Farmer, hosted by the one and only Ella Foote. For those that have been asking, tickets are now on sale! https://www.curzon.org.uk/event/42459

Triathletes – why is the swim so hard?
I’m not saying anything new here, but……..
You wouldn’t ride a BMX in a Tri – you’d sort out a more efficient way of turning your hard-earned fitness into forward motion.
... (….and I’m sorry if it comes across in any way patronising, but this has genuinely been borne out of my conversations with triathletes across a range of performance levels)
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SHORT NOTICE, but this Thursday evening (9th August) Laura and Alec are running two open water skills coaching sessions at Clevedon Marine Lake. 7:00 to 7:45pm - Beginner/Intermediate 8:00 to 8:45pm - Intermediate/Advanced £7 a session. Maximum of 16 swimmers per session, but we will split groups accordingly depending on experience and skills to be covered PLEASE EMAIL alecandlauraswim@outlook.com to book your place

Sole Cycling are a fantastic bunch. This is aimed at kids, but adults also welcome. My boys all developed their mountain biking as they grew up with these guys. My eldest happily grabs his bivvy bag and disappears with his bike for a few days (with his phone and strict instructions to let his mum know he's still alive!). Sole Cycling gave him the skills and confidence to do this. They are all about getting kids involved in sport, developing skills, social integration and resilience.

FEEDBACK PLEASE..... Tuesday Evening Coached Lanes at Portishead Open Air Pool. The pool and I are trying to decide if/how to continue with these, so I would appreciate some honest feedback from those of you who attended (or anyone else with something helpful to say). In particular: One possibility is to run them again before the end of the season as a continuous 9 weeks from 4th September to 30th October - would you be interested? A normal swim is £5 - would £6 for the coach...ed lane session seem fair to you? If they ran for the whole of next year's heated season (April to Sept/Oct) how important to you is it that they run every week? Did I pitch the sessions ok? Anything missing? How did you find out about them? Anything else helpful to add? Please comment below or p.m. me. If it helps, I don't do it for free, my basic costs are covered, but beyond that the revenue goes to the Pool Community Trust. Thanks, Alec
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A few images which say a little bit more about me...... The coaching certificates are the important ones really!

CONGRATULATIONS!...... To Hannah Poore who won her category in the Fugitive 3.0K swim in Marlow this morning. More importantly, a TEN MINUTE personal best (42.24) over exactly the same course from only a few weeks ago - some serious exorcising of swim-demons today. Hannah trains regularly and trains hard by the way.....

Early morning swim at Portishead Open Air Pool Fairly relaxed lane swimming, so no hard graft, but a good opportunity for a bit of sensory development. The low sun was shining straight down the pool, brightly highlighting any bubbles - perfect conditions for practising a relaxed, splash-free hand entry - developing awareness, tuning in to the feedback from the water. Your nervous system is complex - the more tuned in to it you are when you're swimming, the better you can control what you do and adapt to conditions. It's not just knowing your a**e from your elbow, it's knowing what they're both up to......

MARLENS Registered Coach. There are a few of us - but what does it mean? THE BASICS...... We have permission to use Clevedon Marine Lake for coaching and we pay for our use to contribute to the upkeep of the lake. We have submitted our risk assessments and insurance details for approval. BUT THERE'S MORE......... We also do stuff behind the scenes to promote use of the lake and increase participation - we are part of the swimming community here. Aside from us, we have English Channel, North Channel and Bristol Channel Swimmers in our midst. Ice Mile swimmers, Cold Water Champions and a bucket-load of people who know an awful lot of stuff about enjoying the water all year round and in all conditions. If an open water event exists, we probably have someone here who has done it! Whatever you feel you need to work on - if one of us can't help you we probably know someone who can. Laura Nesbitt (Lauraemmakatept), Row Clarke (Swimmable), Kate Gay (Swimpigs) and Jackie King (SwimJax) are all registered and fully immersed in the development of open water swimming in Clevedon. Contact one of us, keep an eye out on facebook and lakeside for group or individual sessions - collar us and have a chat.
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Alec has taken me from not swimming front crawl at all to swimming a balanced, efficient and smooth front crawl that I can sustain for longer (3-6K) open water swims. His holistic approach, includes physical technical and mental development. Over the coming months I hope to further improve on the foundations he has taught me to develop my speed and endurance particularly as the temperature begins to drop! Thank you Alec.