Anybody that does ocean swims or open water swims, how do you deal with the cold water on your face?
I just did my first triathlon this weekend and I believe the water temp was 59 degrees, but could not free style more than a couple of seconds because everytime I put my face in the water, I just couldn't take the cold. I ended up doggy paddling and *** stroking the whole 400m and it took me 28 minutes.
(I was wearing a full length wetsuit so my body had no problems).
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Former Member
First: I'm a scuba diver in Seattle, not an open water swimmer.
From my experience: There's nothing you can really do for your mouth and neck areas. You're just going to be cold.
Keep your head and body as warm as close to comfortable as possible. Keep the water away from your eyes. If your head is and core body is warm then you'll be fine and will not suffer hyperthermia. You loose most of your heat through your head, and that should be your main concern.
If your issue is just your face - get used to it. It's really not that bad after a few minutes (about 3 minutes for me). In fact, your face should go numb and you don't have any sensation at all if the water is cold enough.
I think you may of actually made the feeling of having a cold face worse by doing *** stroke. In this way your face stayed warm enough to notice the temperature of the water.
Next time: before the race - put your face in the water for a few minutes. It'll be tough at first, but I think you'll find that it's not so bad after you get used to it.
First: I'm a scuba diver in Seattle, not an open water swimmer.
From my experience: There's nothing you can really do for your mouth and neck areas. You're just going to be cold.
Keep your head and body as warm as close to comfortable as possible. Keep the water away from your eyes. If your head is and core body is warm then you'll be fine and will not suffer hyperthermia. You loose most of your heat through your head, and that should be your main concern.
If your issue is just your face - get used to it. It's really not that bad after a few minutes (about 3 minutes for me). In fact, your face should go numb and you don't have any sensation at all if the water is cold enough.
I think you may of actually made the feeling of having a cold face worse by doing *** stroke. In this way your face stayed warm enough to notice the temperature of the water.
Next time: before the race - put your face in the water for a few minutes. It'll be tough at first, but I think you'll find that it's not so bad after you get used to it.
