Open Water Swimming - Blowing away cobwebs

Whether you would like to try open-water swimming in a race environment, or purely for fun. There are many things to consider, and a hive of resources available to get you started.

We have probably all done some open water swimming at some point in our lives.  The most obvious place we will have experienced this is in the sea.  If you are UK based, like me, then this is a tentative affair, with various scurries in and out of the water due to the temperature.  However, once some sort of acclimatisation has occurred, it is a wonderful feeling to swim in the open-water of the sea, aided by the extra buoyancy experienced due to its high salt concentration.

There are numerous web sites that can assist you in your research of the sport.  Here are some worth looking at below.  These are mainly UK based, but if you search in Google on "Open Water Swimming" in your area you will find the best resources.

http://www.bldsa.org.uk/ - The British Long Distance Swimming Association
http://www.swimclub.co.uk/ - Good UK based online forum to speak to fellow swimmers and get specific advice
http://www.swimming.org/britishswimming/swimming/open-water-swimming/ - Good general Swimming website for the UK
www.greatswim.org - Great web site if you fancy doing an organised swim in the UK this year.
http://www.thelondontriathlon.co.uk/- London Triathlon web site


Prior to any type of open-water swimming, it is important to ensure that you are safe.  Firsty, check that you have the permission required to swim in the region you have selected.  You can check for local swimming clubs in your area via the web.

Secondly - don't go swimming remotely alone.  Find a swimming buddy, and use common sense with regards to the gear that you will need.  If you are not in a remote location, this could simply be changes of clothes relevant to the prevailing weather conditions.  If you are more remote, then first aid kit, mobile phone, extra clothes, food and DRINK are essential.

Prior to swimming, ensure that you do some warm up exercises and stretch thoroughly.  Due to the often colder conditions, it is easier to suffer from cramps when swimming in an open-water environment.  Indeed - when I last participated in the London Triathlon, there were some racers that pulled up less than 20 metres into the race after waiting treading water at the start for 5 minutes, then taking off like a torpedo.  Be careful, and listen to your body.  Start with small and safe swims and gradually move to greater distances in more exposed places if you wish.

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to wearing wet suits.  The more traditional "free" swimmers will turn their noses up at the thought of wearing a wet suit, preferring instead to wear the minimum of clothing (if any at all!)  If you do decide to wear a wet suit then the additional buoyancy is great.

For UK conditions you can manage comfortably with a 3mm wetsuit, but for winter conditions a 5mm or 7mm suit is better.  A wetsuit also affords some emotional as well as physical protection from the various creatures you will inevitably encounter when swimming in open-water! :-)

One of the most memorable things for me about swimming in open water was when I took part in the London Triathlon.  My goal was purely to finish the race.  With 1000's of athletes taking part the organisation has to be good!  "Waves" of athletes go off at different times.  When your time is near, you move to the starting area with the other competitors (usually about 300 in total for each wave.)  Everyone is fully kitted out in wet suits, swimming caps etc.  There is a guy on a microphone, and they play amazing music to you all in an area I call "The Pit".  It is making me shiver just imagining the experience.

When race time comes near - the MC starts to get things revved up BIG TIME.  He asks everyone to shout and chant, and it truly is one of the best experiences I have ever encountered.  It felt really tribal.  By the time you walk through to the edge of the water everyone is so charged up it's amazing.

Then it's into the water to swim to the starting line.  With the additional buoyancy of the wet suit, it's easy to tread water whilst everyone waits for the fog horn to start the race.

Once underway, it's important to be aware of those around you, and to pick your line.  I found that when swimming front crawl, I would raise my head slightly to look forwards, which makes it easier to stay in a straight line.  Take your time, and pace yourself, as it is all too easy to get carried away in the moment.

If you do find yourself getting into any trouble, there are marshals in kayaks that will quickly come to help you.  They also have frog men for extreme emergencies.

One other thing to mention here.  THERE IS NO SHAME IN SWIMMING BREAST STROKE!  I say this form experience.  Not a great deal of people do, but I did, about one third of the way through, and was far from alone.  It's absolutely fine.

At the end of the swim you get out of the water onto a floating pontoon (really easy - even when knackered) and then run to the transition area.  There are always loads of spectators cheering you on and it is a massive BUZZ!  You will run through a spray curtain (which cleans you off a bit) prior to getting to the transition area.  Most people take their suits off en route to save time in transition (well to the waist anyway.)  It's well worth practicing this, as you can save loads of time in transition with practice.

Anyway - that's the end for now.  I might tell you about the rest of the race at a later date.  This post was about open water swimming, so I'm sure you don't want to hear about the bike or run stages right now.

I hope this has inspired you to give it a crack.  If you do - let me know.  If you have any advice for others, please post a comment.  Good luck, and most importantly, have fun.

Best
Rich

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