A long time ago, I did a set in Stockport where I wore fins and paddles. In that set, by virtue of these mechanical devices, I just sneaked in under 30 seconds for 50M free. That was before I started entering competitions. And I remember talking with a (much older) chap who said I should enter Masters events, I retorted that I couldn't swim "fast" because I had never broken the 30s barrier. But on that day I did, but only with some help from my "friends".

Fast forward to last Thursday, I was completely full of cold so had a shorter/less intense session, but we ended with a 50M free wearing paddles and fins again. Martin went 24.something and I went 25.high with a bad start. What's hopefully interesting about that is that I remembered my first sub-30 swim (above) and thought I just couldn't understand what it'd feel like to swim _that_ fast. And here I am again, through artificial aids, I hit a sub 26s time for the first time ever. And that felt odd, and again I can't (yet) understand what I need to do to achieve this kind-of speed, and may be I won't but with a new record of 27.59 "unaided" it looks like my next "challenge" is to get really quick - sub 27s. Perhaps I've bitten off more than I can chew, but it's time to step up to the plat...