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Tips for a novice!

Hi all,



I am currently in the final stages of my triathalon training - doing my first tri at blenheim in June, and thus thought I had better get out of the pool and try my hand at open water swimming. I thought that I was doing ok until I got in the lake!! The problem being that I was just so dam cold - I wasnt cold in the body but everytime I went into front crawl and my head/neck was fully under water it just shocked me and I couldnt think or breathe properly - coincidently my stroke went to pot! Have you any tips on this, I was wearing a decent swimming wetsuit and was wearing a swimming cap. I was thinking about getting my hair wet before putting the cap on as may reduce the shock of the cold water - as I mentioned I haven't done this before so am open to all suggestions!!!



Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • tony btony b Posts: 57
    You can get thicker insulated swim caps that might be worth a look at. Do you flush your suit before you go in? If you don't and walk in then swim straight away, I could imagine that shocking you. Flushing gives your body a few minutes to get used to the cold and also traps a thin film of water which warms up and helps insulate you.
  • legalbeaglelegalbeagle Posts: 208
    Hi there,



    I had this same problem last year - it gets better the more you do it. I went every day and for the first week I didn't get to swim for more than about 6 minutes - I was panicky, couldn't breathe, couldn't get into it at all, I had motion sickness as well! I just kept at it and now I'm ok.



    Wearing two hats helps a bit with the cold, but once you get over all the "issues" and get going, you'll warm up anyway, it just takes a bit of getting used to. Stick at it - you'll be surprised how soon you get used to it.



    I'm off this weekend to take a friend for his first ever open water swim before his first olympic event on 1st June - I know he's going to have the same problem!



    Let us know on this post how you get on



  • MikeyBMikeyB Posts: 135
    Take your time is my advice. Once you get in the water put your head under a few times and potter about for a bit to give your body time to adjust before you start trying to swim properly. It supposedly gets easier the more often you swim in cold water as well. So stick at it.



    Mike



  • It supposedly gets easier the more often you swim in cold water as well. So stick at it.


    Thanks to you all for your advice.



    Tony B - no I didnt flush my wetsuit so will give that a go next time and see how I get on.



    I was thinking along the same lines with the swim cap as the wetsuit - kind of having a bit of water between your head and the swim cap to heat up? Good idea or bad idea?



    I'll give it another go this weekend and hopefully will be a little better. If i swim like I did yesterday in the race, the safety boat may mistake me for drowning! [:)]
  • tony btony b Posts: 57
    As far as the hats go, try it. I have never compared methods but it may well work for you
  • toadtoad Posts: 104
    leroybrown



    you are definitely doing the right thing practising in open water before the big event..... I guarantee there will be people in your race wave that havent tried it and will experience the same sense of panic that you had for your first open water experience....... a few more open water swims before the big event and I am sure you will start to relax . Blenheim lake seemed quite cold to me last year ( compared to the warm waters of essex ) however we had at least 3-4 minutes before the start to get used to the water and once over the initial shock of cooler water, adrenaline kicked in and had no further problems...



    Enjoy



  • I'd get in the water as soon as you are allowed and then spend the time warming up by swimming 30-40 m in the direction of the first buoy (good for working out your sighting marker points) and then swimming back - do it as many times as you feel you need. After a few minutes the initial hyperventilation will die down and you should start to feel yourself rediscovering your rythym. As the other guys have said, practice in open water will also reduce the amount of time that you feel uncomfortable (other suggestions I have heard include taking v.cold showers each day to acclimatise the body to cold shock, but I've always been a bit too wimpish to try these out).



    My first tri was also at Blenheim and my swim was a disaster (over 18 mins, with initial hyperventilation, breaststroke pauses and a zigzag course). The water was genuinely cold, but I'm convinced that my key error was that I waited on the bank until the last possible minute in order to stay warm and, as a result, was still hyperventilating from the initial cold shock when the race began. This meant that I promptly swallowed half the lake, panicked and breast stroked for most of the first 100m until my heart settled down and I started to enjoy it. I am now pretty much the first person in the water each time and (fingers crossed) have never felt uncomfortable on an open water swim since then.

  • bryanbryan Posts: 45
    hey all, iam from oz and used to surf so really used to wetsuits. 5am on the beach in winter is pretty cold, so to warm up we would pee in our wetsuits!! sounds rediculous and really gross but this works an absolute treat, guarunteed remedy! cant beleive iam the first to say it. anyways bit of advice though, wash out the wetsuit once you get home[:D]
  • FastWestieFastWestie Posts: 26
    bryan wrote:


    hey all, iam from oz and used to surf so really used to wetsuits. 5am on the beach in winter is pretty cold, so to warm up we would pee in our wetsuits!! sounds rediculous and really gross but this works an absolute treat, guarunteed remedy! cant beleive iam the first to say it. anyways bit of advice though, wash out the wetsuit once you get home[:D]



    I thought everyone did that [:)]

  • All,



    Thankyou very much for your advice. Seems the key is just getting accustomed to freezing your arse off. That in mind I took the tip from Tiring Tri ing, set the shower to cold and jumped in. I am going to force myself through this agony every morning up until tri and will get back out in the open water this weekend and come back with a full report.



    Thanks for the tips for race day, hopefully flushing the wetsuit and warming up in the water should get rid of the initial shock! Heres hoping that adrenalin keeps me warm inside, if not ill certainly be using plan B curtesy of Bryan! [:D]



    Thanks,
  • epacseepacse Posts: 92
    leroybrown......

    Well, without sounding horrid, i'm glad it happned to msomeone else!!

    I went sunday eveing @ 5pm!

    Organsied via the local Tru club and i'd have to say, those guys, could quite possibly, have saved not only my life, but my time in TriAthlon!!

    I went in, didn't aclimatise, just tried to get on and never recovered from that inital shock!!

    As you said, the suit did it's job a treat, but my face, now that wasn't for playing ball, which in turn knocked my stroke out!

    I then had a panic about not being able to get out, i was in the River Dee, not pleasent, and no shore, then a boat came, then i panicked about panicking, then i bailed....huge let down, Ego knocked about, should i go on....well, i'm going in tonight!!

    I seemed to have felt all you have, but then again, so has so many people!

    This time, i've been reading some tips on here, and will try that! Tiring Tri ing made a great point, which i should have done.... "I'd get in the water as soon as you are allowed and then spend the time warming up by swimming 30-40 m in the direction of the first buoy (good for working out your sighting marker points) and then swimming back - do it as many times as you feel you need. After a few minutes the initial hyperventilation will die down and you should start to feel yourself rediscovering your rythym" So i'll try that!

    I'll try anything at the moment, my events on JUNE 8th!!

    Good look with it all.... [:D]



  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I think it has happened to a very high percentage of us, I am racing Sunday in my first O/W race since my panic attack race.....ooer!
  • dannymackdannymack Posts: 58
    Just keep at it Leeroybrown.



    I'm not a strong swimmer and have now swam four times in open water. The fourth, my first race (an olly distance on Sunday) was actually good fun. The first, however, was as hideous as your description. It was at Datchet two weekends ago, I couldn't keep my head under at all and kept hyperventilating. I exited after "swimming" about 200m and was pretty downbeat the rest of the day. I did star-spot Robbie Earl though, so it wasn't all bad...



    My tip would be to get in the water slowly and dunk yourself completely under for a few seconds a few times. Then get your face in for a bit. When you've fully acclimatised, head out to the deep water to start your swim. That works for me in that it allows my face and neck to get acclimatised to the (ridiculously) cold water - and consequently no breathing problems.



    Good luck.







  • Apologies for my lack of response, but didn't manage to get out into any open water until yesterday, but it appears as if my combination of cold showers, two swim caps, flushing my wetsuit and dunking my head a couple of times seemed to work! No hyperventilation at all. The only problem I has with breathing was when I attempted to down half of the Serpentine!! [:D] Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your tips, and to those who are doing Blenheim best of luck!!!



    Cheers
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