I started swimming about a year ago and have really fallen in love with it. I've only swam in open water and have no desire to go in a pool.
I swam right through the winter in the ocaen here in New England in 37 degree F water with a triathlon wetsuit. The water is warming up, now it's about 47F.
I was wondering at what temperature should I try swimming without a wetsuit? I was thinking that maybe I could try it when the water hits 50F. Anybody have any suggestions?
I sort of have a goal in the back of my head to swim the English Channel someday.
Former Member
The gasping is caused by the vagus nerve in the nose. You can minimize this response by leaving your face out of the water until you've warmed up with at least five minutes of head-up swimming. I find it also helps to get back on shore for a few minutes after that initial warmup swim, recover a bit from the shock of the cold, then get back in. When I get in for the second time the water feels so much warmer.
I had to do the entire 1000 meter swim with my head up! This was because I was unable to put my face in the freezing cold water since I kept hypervenilating . Maybe if I hadn't tried to put my face in the water right away, I would have gotten used to the water and wouln't have hypervenalited so much! :drown:
I never thought of swimming with my face up for 5 minutes. thanks for the tip :agree:
I was unable to put my face in the freezing cold water
I'd say this pretty much sums up that everyone's a little different. There are some people who can handle swimming in the 40s sans wetsuit, and others who consider 71 to be "freezing cold!" :)
Former Member
Head up front crawl is very hard to do. Did you have a swim cap on? You could have worn two caps. If you were in a wet suit you could have made a little beany out of neoprene and soaked it in warm water then a swim cap on top would help retain the heat.
Most heat loss is through the head. So keep the head warm.
