Can you get used to cold water?

-


I do not like swimming in cold water, but I don't dislike it as much as I used to. Cold water is soo...cold.


I am from Sweden and lets face it, the water is cold there, even in the summer. You either tolerate the temperature, or you never swim outdoors.

When I lived in Houston, Texas, I did not have to deal with that, I swam in pools that would get too hot in the summer. When starting triathlons, I was so relieved to find that the open water temperature on my first race was comfortable. But I soon had to confront lower temperatures.

In 2018, I was to swim a Swedish open water event called Vansbrosimningen. I had bought a full cover wet suit and I went to Sweden in early June to start training in a lake. The water temperature was maybe 57f (14C). This is not extremely cold by any means, but it felt icy to me, even with the wetsuit on. My neck almost immediately locked up, everything that came out of the wetsuit ached when water contact was made. I almost panicked, I can't do this!

Next day I tried again, hmm, cold, but I could swim for a few minutes and every day was better than the previous. Of course, the summer got warmer and race day was easy. I was used to the cold water and it really was not a big deal.

So I learned my lesson, you can get used to cold water. First open water swim every year is difficult and not enjoyable, but it is better already the second time. The third or fourth time, you wonder what the fuzz was all about and you enjoy it! Cold water swimming is refreshing and invigorating, research even says it battles senility and makes you younger. Personally, I have noticed that it reduces inflammation.

This is how I do it. I go in slowly and let my feet get used to the temperature before proceeding in stages to deeper water. I never shock my body by jumping in. The first minute fully swimming is an act of willpower, but very soon I feel ok and I start to really enjoy it. The key is that I know it will be fine.

When I do this regularly, my body responds quickly and I can even feel it flushing in anticipation. A neoprene hat is very helpful to keep comfortable. I have tried swimming socks and gloves, but they did not work for me, probably I did not have the right size. They are prohibited to use in competition anyway.

I practice swimming in low temperatures so I can enjoy normal, open water swimming events. But to be clear, I am not dealing with extreme cold water, like ice swimming, that is beyond me. 

So yes, you can learn to better tolerate cold water.

/Gunilla

Vansbrosimningen




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do not wait until it is too late!

-
Image
Since my last post, I have not been competing, just training. It has been going well, I think I have improved my swimming a little bit by doing several sessions almost purely focused on speed. It has been intervals of 25, 50, 100, 150 and nothing longer than 200 yards, with the bulk in the shortest range.  But the last few days, I have hit a snag, a new pain in my left hip. At first, I ignored it, I always have pain somewhere, but it nearly always goes away after warmup. Last Saturday, I was going to run 10k in 4 parts of 2.5k, with two minutes rest in between. I warmed up on the treadmill, but the pain just got worse. Then at 9 min mile speed on the treadmill, my left leg gave in, and I almost fell over.  Ok, I thought, best not to push it on the treadmill where I can hurt myself, I will just run my 10k on the road and take it slightly slower than normal. But it was impossible, I was limping, and I had to stop after a few minutes. Ok, calm down, I told myself, no catastrophe if I miss
Read more

Carbon plated running shoes

-
Image
In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to run a marathon under 2 hours. On his feet were a pair high tech shoes featuring a carbon fiber plate and air-filled pods. Since then, numerous long-distance records have been shattered by runners wearing these types of shoes. Strava data suggests that a change to carbon plated shoes improves running time over 5%! I have been wondering, is it just a fashion, or are these shoes really faster? Seems hard to believe that shoes could make a noticeable difference today. Can they help me to be faster or is it just for elites? Finally, these shoes are being made by various brands in larger quantities and are available in low enough price for the general public. As I like to try all new shoes in person, I went to town to buy a pair, any brand. That did not go well, all shops were sold out.  I decided to gamble and order on-line. I read a lot of confusing reviews and learned that shoes higher than 40mm mid sole just have been banned for competiti
Read more

Multisport National Championship Festival Irving TX April 19-23

-
Image
This year, I participated in 3 national champion ship events: individual super sprint time trial triathlon, draft legal sprint triathlon and draft-legal mixed relay triathlon. I am now the youngest in my age group (65-69), and I hoped to place top 10, maybe top 5 in something. The first race was the super sprint time trial, which also was my first triathlon competition in 2023. I decided to use bike shoes for the ride (5k), and not try to save time by biking in running shoes as I did last year. I also swam the 250m in wetsuit, I have calculated that despite additional transit time to change, it is faster.  As this time trial has individual start, I had no idea of my position as the race progressed. But it felt ok, I passed people on the bike and on the run (1.2k), I shortened the gap to the runner in front of me. My time was 24.57 and it was enough for a second place in my age group! Way better than expected. Next day was the draft legal sprint triathlon (750m swim, 12-mile bike and 3.
Read more