Next month I will be swimming Lake Tahoe with a relay. Expected conditions are 55 - 60 F and wind and chop, with no wetsuits allowed. Fortunately we will be swimming only 1/2 hour shifts separated by 2.5 hr (6 person relay.) Also, there will be a boat that I hope is big enough to see with by bad eyes and close enough to pull my frozen carcass out of the water.
But I am very nervous. I am a pool swimmer who likes his water 79 +/- 2 degrees, and this will be my first serious open water experience (without fins, mask, and snorkle in the Carribean). Is there a chance of cardiac arrest if I don't prepare correctly? Will it help if I hop in the Pacific ocean a couple of times (the temperature is comparable right now, I think.)? Or will I only be making myself uncomfortable? Am I better off not knowing what I will get into?
I know (in theory) about earplugs and cap, but what is the grease that I hear people talking about? What kind and where should it go? I don't have a lot of insulation. Will those big(ish) mask/goggles keep my face warmer?
Is it better for the boat to hang on my breathing side, where I can see it, or well ahead of me where I can lift my head up to sight it (no drafting allowed, of course). I know I wander if there is no line under me while I swim.
My brain tells me that an in-shape swimmer will not become (seriously) hypothermic after only 30 minutes, but I would like someone with experience tell me that, too.
Parents
Former Member
wow, this is better advice than I could ever have imagined. Thanks all! What a great news group.
My team is fairly good, and I don't expect to swim more than two or three times, and yes, there are several "veterans" on my relay, and my team itself is submitting five (or six?) relays, with lots of veterans, also.
But several of these veterans told me that this was "the best experience of their life." which led me to consider doing this, but also makes me take their advice less seriously - they must have been damaged by the cold, I think ;)
Before I got to your post, Sally, I was somewhere between nervous and terrified. Now I'm just nervous. Thanks for reminding me about the sun - I was skiing there this winter and wouldn't go anywhere without sunscreen, but I suspect I would have forgotten it and a hat this time. I doubt I would have brought a thermos, either, but some hot chocolate or coffee sounds like a very good idea. I'll be sure the boat has a counter, and I think I will skip the grease.
Is the altitude an issue, or does the cold overwhelm all senses? Is it very crowded, and do boats or swimmers get in each other's way?
wow, this is better advice than I could ever have imagined. Thanks all! What a great news group.
My team is fairly good, and I don't expect to swim more than two or three times, and yes, there are several "veterans" on my relay, and my team itself is submitting five (or six?) relays, with lots of veterans, also.
But several of these veterans told me that this was "the best experience of their life." which led me to consider doing this, but also makes me take their advice less seriously - they must have been damaged by the cold, I think ;)
Before I got to your post, Sally, I was somewhere between nervous and terrified. Now I'm just nervous. Thanks for reminding me about the sun - I was skiing there this winter and wouldn't go anywhere without sunscreen, but I suspect I would have forgotten it and a hat this time. I doubt I would have brought a thermos, either, but some hot chocolate or coffee sounds like a very good idea. I'll be sure the boat has a counter, and I think I will skip the grease.
Is the altitude an issue, or does the cold overwhelm all senses? Is it very crowded, and do boats or swimmers get in each other's way?
