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.
Former Member
Bobinator...is the Forest Park Pool where they have the "Enchanted Something" swim meet for age group? Or is that somewhere else/
two things:
1st thanks for posting the SIPE info (name). I googled it and feel that is totally what bothered me during my younger swim carrier. I could run or bike, play soccer or ultamite and never have a problem breathing, but put me in a pool and I would cough so hard after a hard workout or long race that people thought I was coughing up a lung.
2nd. I found that by wearing two caps, and pulling them as far down my forehead as I could reduced the amount of time it took me to get use to the cold water. but I still swam 25-40m then a few breasstroke pulls, another 50-75, with more breaststroke before being able to swim normally.
water temp when I started summer training was 59-61F
Thank you for all your advice... I will try and get more acclimated to the water ....not just jump in....Bobinator...have been to the Enchanted meet many times. Generally it is 90 degrees and a lot of sun! Tough on parents. I believe my daughter Mallory has started swimming with you guys in the mornings. (she loves cold water) To do 10k for her is nothing... not that much for me, if you give me a week to get it done! lol Thanks again to all.
Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Perhaps the OW just needs to be warmer, and you'll race again!
Descending a ladder into water that's cold causes me some respiratory discomfort initially, but it goes away in ca. 30 sec. Acclimating is very important.
Thanks, VB! My spirit wants to but right now the body is unwilling. I need to work through it for the present, maybe try to find some medical help, though that is difficult. I mentioned the problem I had with this last year with my PCP and the advice I got was: well, stop swimming then. So I need to find a specialist who isn't going to waste my time or money. And that won't be easy.
I hope you're thinking of doing Crystal Lake Saturday! :applaud:
JIM
Hoosier, that hyperventilation is called "cold shock response". See this article: www.sportsscientists.com/.../exercise-in-cold-part-ii.html.
It can be overcome pretty easily at those temps. I really struggled with it when I started in cold water last year, in temps of 64. Now I swim in 55 without much any initial difficulty. With repeated exposure you can train this reaction of your body away. The harder part is dealing with the effects of vasocontriction (resulting in numb fingers and toes), and from the fact that cold water makes you a weaker swimmer.
