Well, title pretty much says it all. Pools closed, so I've started swimming with the open water group. People seem to just get in and go. It takes me a good 20 minutes to find that "groove" with my stroke and breathing. That's with a wetsuit, it is worse without one (water temps in low 60's). I'm breathing every other, feeling like I'm flailing until then, but then I jsut kind of settle, and go every 3rd, and the stroke feels more efficient. We are currently swimming upstream for a while, then turning around, and the current is usually very strong this time of year. So getting in early and swimming easy for a bit is a lot more easily said than done.
Do folks usually warm up, or do you just adapt after a bit of time doing it?
If you send me your email I can send you some information specifically for swimmers new to open water and to being cold. I'm at SFBaySwimmer@sbcglobal.net.
Do folks usually warm up, or do you just adapt after a bit of time doing it?Unless it is really cold outside, I basically do old school calisthenics on the shore, or what the cool kids call 'dynamic stretching' or 'activation' these days. Arm swings, side bends, variations on arm swings, some fast 'sun salutations' and anything else that just gets me moving and a little warm on shore. Then, as it's just a training swim, I've got my Garmin set to buzz at 500M, so i'll go easy for 500, switch to some breaststroke for a bit, then go a bit faster for the next 500, wash, rinse, repeat until I'm done. I also find rolling over and doing some backstroke both 'loosening' and magical if the sky is pretty.
