18 Sep 2020

Swim over 40 metres on one breath

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One of the 40s 4 40 challenges I set myself was to swim 40 metres underwater. I would do this with no fins; this is defined as Dynamic No Fins (DNF) by the International Association for Development of Apnea (AIDA).

I have been able to swim 25 metres under under water since I was a child. Nonetheless, turning around and doing more remained unfathomable to me.

I found myself taking a tape measure to the pool to measure how far 40 metres was and putting a submersible marker down so that i knew when i had reached 40 metres. I soon got tired of this hassle and so decided that I would simply aim to swim 50 metres or 2 lengths of a 25 metre pool.

Here is one of my earlier attempts:

I managed to do this and subsequently replicated it to ensure it wasn’t a fluke!

I became concerned that I was completing over 40 metres by pushing off the wall twice. For example, in a 25 metre pool you can push off the side at the start and again around half-way through; in a 50 metre pool, you can only push off once.

There happens to be a large pool near where I live and so it naturally became an aspiration of mine to see if I could swim the full pool length underwater.

My friend Mike measured the length with a golf range-finder and it is actually 55 metres!

I’ve done quite a bit of scuba and free diving in the recent past and have learnt a lot. Of the greatest importance is to relax, followed by having strong but smooth actions and a hydrodynamic position that allows you to glide. These things enable you not to build up too much resistance in the water and to limit carbon dioxide build up and thus, the desire to breathe.

To that end, I must thank my talented friends who gave up their own time to help me achieve this safely, Mirka, Amr, Shohreh, Mike and Zak who helped me to learn a real appreciation of apnea and some of the techniques required to make this possible.

Pictures or it didn’t happen:

18 Jul 2020

I can’t breathe… for 4 minutes 40 seconds?

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In advance of any 40s 4 40 related content, it’s important to recognise the origin of this phrase and why it has become a slogan associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.

I’m using it here to maintain awareness of the worldwide protest against police brutality in the United States and against the lack of police accountability due to qualified immunity.

The phrase originates from the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by New York City Police. A number of other African-Americans, such as Javier Ambler, Manuel Ellis, Elijah McClain, and George Floyd have said the same phrase prior to dying during law-enforcement encounters.

I make a choice to hold my breath – it shouldn’t be a privilege, it’s a fundamental human right. I hope these terrible events bring about the social change we need. My next charity donation will reflect that.

Breath holding or static apnea was not one of the original 40s 4 40 challenges but I was prepared to be doing a lot of it in preparation for free diving 40 metres both deep (in the Constant Weight category) and 40 metres length (in the Dynamic No Fins category).

Breath-hold training is definitely best done on dry land unless you are with a trusted and experienced buddie or buddies.

The down side of dry training is that the mammalian dive reflex does not occur but hopefully this means that when I do finally get in the water that my performance will be even better.

When I got my AIDA 2 qualification I managed a breath hold of 3 minutes 20 seconds so naturally, I challenged myself to 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

Well, I achieved 3:40 and then, probably in some part thanks to lock down, I managed a full 4 minutes, twice.

Screenshot from the stopwatch on my mobile

I actually thought 4 minutes might not ever be possible, certainly as a dry static apnea so I’m pleased with the result; this just goes to show what can be achieved if you commit and put your mind to it.

I train either lying on the sofa or first thing in the morning when I wake up. It is essential to have a low heart rate and relax into it to achieve good results.

I made a choice to do this, I can’t imagine the terror of being forced to do so against my will – “no justice, no peace”.

14 Mar 2020

I’m donating 40 x £40 and more…

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I’ve been busy as of late. I started a new job, have been away on business and have been in an intense planning phase for the 40s 4 40 challenge I set myself. The above has left little time to train for long distances but I’ve done numerous 10 kilometer runs with some speed work and cross-training by hiking and cycling. Currently, still keeping my feet out of the local pool to be socially responsible….

With the onset of the corona virus pandemic I appreciate my current plans may be impacted but for now, I’m aiming to complete the 40s 4 40 challenge as follows, starting with the main events:

Run over 40 kilometers: I entered the Manchester Marathon on the 5th April 2020

Climb over 40,000 feet and climb the 4th of the world’s ‘7 summits’: To achieve this I will summit Aconcagua and Puncak Jaya. I summited Aconcagua in January of 2020 so that accounts for 22,837 feet of the cumulative 40,000 feet I have to climb, I will achieve the rest when I climb Puncak Jaya (16,024 feet) for or around my Birthday in November. Puncak Jaya will be my 4th of the 7 summits. To achieve the final thousand feet or so I will include the climb of my favourite hill, Great Hill (1,252 feet). By my calculation, this would give me a cumulative total climb of 40,113 feet (not including training ascents).

Some friends are climbing Denali in July and I really want to to climb with them but based on the time it takes, my already depleted leave balance, having started a new job and with Ironman Kazakhstan in August, I’ve concluded that a Denali attempt in July is probably too demanding of myself and is likely to have a negative impact on my other commitments.

Ironman 70.3 in 4 hours 40 minutes: I have entered Ironman Kazakhstan

Free dive to 40 meters: I will use the travel restrictions to my advantage and should events get cancelled will spend more time earlier in the year off the Red Sea coast with Zakaria

On a month-by-month basis the current schedule looks like this:

January – Aconcagua

February – Train and first attempt at 40 press ups in one minute

March – Train and static apnea practice

April – Manchester Marathon

May – Free dive

June – Train

July – Train

August – Ironman 70.3 Kazakhstan

September – TBA

October – Cycle 40 kilometers in one hour at the Riyadh Wheelers’ Bonita time trial

November – Puncak Jaya

December – Schedule margin, rest and inshallah celebration…..

That of course leaves the less rigid challenges that do not need as much organisation and can either be attempted flexibly around the others or require constant attention throughout:

Donate £40 to 40 charities: Time now, this requires at least one donation per week so I will attempt to post a blog once per week and follow each post with a donation.

Drink a ’40’: Unless someone brings a 40 to me this could mean me travelling to the USA for the first time!

Run 10 kilometers in 40 minutes: This is going to take a lot of work because based on my current performance and ability I don’t think I even know how to run this fast…. so, I will spend a few months doing speed work and then commit to a race later in the year.

Do 40 press ups in one minute: I gave this a go in February and although a handful of the press ups were of questionable technique, by practicing throughout the year, I think I will be able to perfect the technique.

Sleep 40 winks more often: if I get round to it….