Usually when I suggest a fitness activity to Tom, he rolls his eyes and laughs before rejecting me outright. Very occasionally I can get him to run or cycle with me, but I was surprised when he asked to join me for a swim at the Olympic pool yesterday.

I had arranged to meet Lucy for a swim with her and her husband, Glenn. They’re both amazing triathletes and swim a lot so I figured that through osmosis I might get better by swimming near them.

Swimming is such a brilliant cardio workout, tones the entire body and is great when you’re sort of pretending that you’re not injured (whilst waiting for an appt with a knee specialist!). I also might be eyeing up another triathlon in the summer.

Not only is swimming a brilliant workout, but it’s one of those workouts that you can do with others, even those who are different standards, and it doesn’t matter! I can swim with my Mum (who, for the record is a far better/faster/efficient swimmer than I am), with Tom (who apparently is one of those rare people that doesn’t float) or with people like Lucy or Emily who are machines.

The Benefits of Swimming for Runners 

• It’s a great low impact aerobic workout so gives your body a break from pounding the pavement.
• It uses often neglected muscles, and works the entire body.
• Swimming is great for improving oxygen capacity, great for those Yasso 800s!
• You’ll increase your endurance in swim workouts, translating into improved endurance on long runs.
• You can isolate areas of your body to focus on by using bouys, boards, flippers or ankle straps.
• It can help you strengthen, tone and lose weight.
• Swimming can provide a great stretch for tired, aching muscles.
• You’ll be forced to practise breathing techniques, focusing on when you breath, an often ignored part of your running technique.

To kick start my swimming motivation, I’ve downloaded the Speedo Fit App– the app allows you to track your swim workouts, search for pools in your area, and for someone who gets a little obsessed with numbers- you can see the progress you’re making in your workouts. You can download the app here – SPEEDO FIT APP.

Speedo have linked up with Movember MOVE– trying to encourage people to move everyday in November in support and to fundraise for men’s health. We all know what a huge fan I am of a fake moustache…

The Movember campaign wants people to get some extra movement into the 30 days of November (although it’s not too late to start now), whether it’s walking part of your commute instead of getting the bus, riding a Boris Bike, playing golf, anything to get off the sofa. Perhaps you saw the Runner’s World article ‘Sitting is the new smoking’ – well that’s precisely the reason that they’re focused the campaign on reducing our sedentary lifestyle, it’s killing us. Exercising regularly can reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers by up to 50%!

‘Speedo a Mo’ features 8 swimming challenges, which are virtually located around the world and all shaped like iconic moustaches. Mo Bros and Sistas can complete these challenges in any pool they like, at any time, logging their progress as they go, with different challenges for different levels of swimmer.’ 

What are you waiting for? Sign up now, get swimming and raise some cash!

Now, where can I buy a waterproof fake moustache?

This post is sponsored by Speedo but is supporting an awesome cause and I’ve donated my fee to the MOVEMBER campaign.