[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":124},["ShallowReactive",2],{"latest-published-pool-number":3,"$KdqlPB2EeZ":4},302,{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"description":112,"extension":115,"meta":116,"navigation":117,"ogImage":118,"path":119,"robots":118,"schemaOrg":118,"seo":120,"sitemap":121,"stem":122,"__hash__":123},"content\u002Fabout.md","About me",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":111},"minimark",[10,17,23,28,33,38,43,48,53,58,71,76,81,86,91,101,106],[11,12,13],"ui-heading",{},[14,15,16],"p",{},"Yes, thats me with an inflateable unicorn!",[18,19,20],"ui-paragraph",{},[14,21,22],{},"Swimming was a big part of my early teens. I swam for a local club called Triple-S (Now merged with once arch rivals Perry Beaches), training four nights a week and the occasional 6:30am Sunday morning session, with regular Saturday night swimming galas. Being part of a swimming club was great fun; hard work but very rewarding; I made great friends, travelled a bit and enjoyed (almost) every minute of it… But then life happened, and for nearly 20 years, I left (serious) swimming behind.",[18,24,25],{},[14,26,27],{},"Mid-30s arrived, and I needed to do something to stay active and healthy - I also enjoy food, so a hobby that burns extra calories daily is a bonus.",[11,29,30],{},[14,31,32],{},"Why the 1,000 pool challenge?",[18,34,35],{},[14,36,37],{},"I often travel for work, and being away from my home pool for days or weeks can be a real struggle to get back in the swing of my regular 12 - 16km over 4 or 5 sessions per week routine. I decided to build swimming into my travel - I like prompts to keep me proactive, so researching great pools, revisiting past favourites and writing about them I figure will keep me motivated - If you're reading this and the last new pool was years ago, please do feel free to contact me with encouragement and mild abuse!",[18,39,40],{},[14,41,42],{},"I hit on the idea and started the journey whilst planning a work trip to the US and researching pools along the route as I travelled from New York City to Washington, DC, then Philadelphia.",[18,44,45],{},[14,46,47],{},"I only wish I'd started counting years ago; I reckon I've already covered more than 40 pools over the years, but rules are rules, so if I want to include them, then I'm going to need to revisit some of my favourite (and not so favourite) pools of my past!",[11,49,50],{},[14,51,52],{},"Pool Rules!",[18,54,55],{},[14,56,57],{},"To keep things in order and ensure I'm not recording every puddle and pond, each recorded pool and swim must meet the following criteria:",[59,60,61,65,68],"ul",{},[62,63,64],"li",{},"The pool must be a known, measured length of at least 20 metres",[62,66,67],{},"The swim session must be at least 1,000 meters in total",[62,69,70],{},"The pool has some form of a recognisable lane or lap format",[11,72,73],{},[14,74,75],{},"How long will it take?",[18,77,78],{},[14,79,80],{},"I reckon the first 50 pools will come quite quickly. I've already researched and planned trips to quite a few, but soon enough, I will start to exhaust the easily accessible pools, and progress will slow. I will also continue swimming in my usual home pools for my daily workouts.",[18,82,83],{},[14,84,85],{},"Realistically, I think this will take more than 30 years to complete - but I like the sound of that, and if I do manage to achieve my goal of 1,000 pools, I will be a happy guy - and there will be tears!",[11,87,88],{},[14,89,90],{},"My Swim Kit",[18,92,93],{},[14,94,95,96,100],{},"People do often ask about my watch… I use a Garmin Swim. It's a great bit of kit and has transformed my attitude to my swimming - and suits my competitive nature! ",[97,98,99],"em",{},"Update:"," I upgraded to a Garmin Forerunner 965 in 2024 to give better GPS for open water swims.",[18,102,103],{},[14,104,105],{},"I synchronise my swims with the Garmin Connect app and swim.com to keep the element of competition alive!",[18,107,108],{},[14,109,110],{},"In the good old club swimming days, I had a coach yelling at me from the pool deck, stopwatch in hand, counting every lap whilst hurling endless swim sets on ever shorter intervals! I still wake in the night hearing 'Bi-lateral Summers'! Now it's just me and the watch!",{"title":112,"searchDepth":113,"depth":113,"links":114},"",2,[],"md",{},true,null,"\u002Fabout",{"title":6,"description":112},{"loc":119},"about","4cjQOgdk6q0-9XTIrC8vn1iCV_3AMxBubx_xErSmXqI",1788724904146]