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).
The first thing you should do is practice, race day shouldn't be your first open water swim of the year.
Otherwise for tris, get in substantially before your wave starts. As others have stated it takes 5-10 mins for your face to get accustomed to things. Often at races they won't let you get in but you should be able to go to the edge and start splashing water on your face. Then, when your wave is called get in as soon as possible and start putting your face into the water. This will give you up to 5 minutes of cold water exposure immediately.
What you experienced is a common ocurrence. You can fix it quickly.
The hot head cap, earplugs, etc helps for long term heat, probably not an issue in a tri. But for the specific issue of face freeze, there's no other way to get around it than letting your face acclimate - or go numb as the case may be.
The first thing you should do is practice, race day shouldn't be your first open water swim of the year.
Otherwise for tris, get in substantially before your wave starts. As others have stated it takes 5-10 mins for your face to get accustomed to things. Often at races they won't let you get in but you should be able to go to the edge and start splashing water on your face. Then, when your wave is called get in as soon as possible and start putting your face into the water. This will give you up to 5 minutes of cold water exposure immediately.
What you experienced is a common ocurrence. You can fix it quickly.
The hot head cap, earplugs, etc helps for long term heat, probably not an issue in a tri. But for the specific issue of face freeze, there's no other way to get around it than letting your face acclimate - or go numb as the case may be.
