went for my first Open Water Swim this last Saturday.... I admit I am a bit of a wimp as far as water temps are concerned....Part of the problem is the pool I swim in is kept at 84-85 degrees all the time. Per request from noodlers...(see thread in general discussion "death to all noodlers") which makes it a big difference to jump into a lake. I have been monitoring our local lakes temperature, and it has been slow to warm up this year. Saturday, although the air was 62 the water was 73. When I jumped in I had a hard time breathing.. kinda small convulsions, gasping for air....after a few minutes they went away and I had a very enjoyable swim (except for the part I looked to see my 18 yr old daughter pacing me, doing ***!)..this is the second time it has happened to me....what to do? Thanks in advance.
Parents
Former Member
Breaststroke is good...and so is backstroke and walking ankle-high, then knee-high, then waist-high in the water ahead of time, also splashing the face as has been recommended. You can also purchase lanolin from your local medical supply store and firmly wipe a very thin layer of lanolin on your upper body. It will act like a VERY thin wetsuit and will help take away some of the shock of getting in the water. Wearing 2 swimcaps and earplugs (as all surfers do in cold water) are also helpful. You can also build up your brown fat cells (see www.10kswimmer.com/.../staying-warm-with-brown-fat.html) by methods as described by others in this thread. Lastly, you can read the book Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming by Conrad Wennerberg for a lot of very inspirational cold-water swim stories. Good luck.
Breaststroke is good...and so is backstroke and walking ankle-high, then knee-high, then waist-high in the water ahead of time, also splashing the face as has been recommended. You can also purchase lanolin from your local medical supply store and firmly wipe a very thin layer of lanolin on your upper body. It will act like a VERY thin wetsuit and will help take away some of the shock of getting in the water. Wearing 2 swimcaps and earplugs (as all surfers do in cold water) are also helpful. You can also build up your brown fat cells (see www.10kswimmer.com/.../staying-warm-with-brown-fat.html) by methods as described by others in this thread. Lastly, you can read the book Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming by Conrad Wennerberg for a lot of very inspirational cold-water swim stories. Good luck.
