Learn various skills and knowledge useful for Open Water swimmers
With the Northern hemisphere open water season getting underway, and temperatures in many locations edging around the magic number, (10C/50F) , open water related questions inevitably arise as each year brings new swimmers and more triathletes. A common question is some variation of: I want to swim 1.5k/3k/3k/10k, can I do it or what should…
Because I live and swim in Ireland, I am constantly made aware of the large tidal range here. I’ve written extensively about tides previously because I feel they are an aspect of open water swimming not appreciated by enough swimmers and because global variations can mean that many people never see nor even realise the…
The variety and utility of different breathing patterns for open water swimming is a subject of different concerns to pool swimming, as with so much of our side of the swimming sport. I once read an US coach who said about breathing patterns; “if they gave medals for bilateral breathing, I’d coach bilateral breathing“. I…
Beginning or intermediate swimmers considering a long or marathon swim nearly always start with two area of concern: Worrying about their capacity to endure cold water, and asking what training is required. I’ve covered cold water extensively, probably more so than elsewhere, and will continue to so do as long as I find things to…
I think I may have reached a new level of banality with this one. Or have I? Can I get more banal? After all, I’ve previously told you how to wash your swimsuit. And yet when ever I write a banal HowTo post, it ends up being useful to someone. Funnily enough, at MIMS this…
(Apologies to the subscribers who got three unfinished versions of this on Saturday. I was sick for a few days and should have stayed away from the computer, especially after the first mistaken post). Feed schedules for long swims are often discussed amongst swimmers, but for some reason we are reticent to show them, possibly…
In a world of short attention spans, why write one post when I can write two three? 🙂 I had intended the previous post on Moderate and Severe Hypothermia to include diagnosing hypo in swimmers, and what to do when it happens. In fact that was how I started writing this series originally. And I’m…
Previous article: Understanding hypothermia in swimmers: Mild hypothermia. Moderate hypothermia is obviously more serious than Mild hypothermia which I covered previously in the first part of this series. I’m always a bit bemused by the medical terminology of hypothermia. Many serious open water swimmers will have experienced moderate hypothermia and can tell you there’s nothing moderate about it.…
When all fails and I am at a loss for something to write about, I can write about cold, my favourite subject. Especially in the context of Cork Distance Week coming in two weeks, when we had a few people pulled from the water with hypothermia last year. For anyone involved in open water swimming…
When writing the article on how to swim in rough water, I acknowledged that it’s an area I need to do a bit more about. And the popularity of the post caught me a bit by surprise, as it always does when such happens. But I wasn’t sure what I could do next. After all…
When talking to different open water swimmers one often find that they may highlight different skills and areas on which they believe it’s important to focus. Since I’ve written a lot about cold, it’s a safe assumption (and correct) that subject is one of mine. But there’s another I don’t write about enough, parly because it’s…
I’ve been picking up pain in my left shoulder for the past couple of weeks again, so I’ve just started doing a little Theraband work, good old swimmer’s shoulder. Therabands are just large elastic (latex) bands, categorised according to resistance/strength, which can be used to isolate and work specific muscles. The colour indicates the amount…
We put ourselves through torture, pain and injury and that’s a good day. And we do it obviously in and around one of the most dangerous environments on earth. So you need to be somewhat prepared. Obligatory IANAD (I am not a Doctor) disclaimer! Warning: In this post I will using, with no shame, terminology…
Evan did a great 4-part series on open water marathon feeding and nutrition. I’ve covered the possible use of Choline supplementation and I’ve a long-standing request in with a friend for a guest post on the subject of further supplementation. Given some questions that have arisen though, it seems we haven’t covered enough of the…
First, Happy Imbolc, the Celtic first day of spring, more commonly known as St. Brigit’s Day and also known as Candlemas. Pool and marathon swimmers use intervals to train. One of the regular misconceptions we come across is the belief that our training involves lots of slogging up and down the pool whereas we train…
You know, right? All those towels ready for wash, in the wash, drying, hanging up? I thought I’d sort it for you so I wrote this flowchart. On a completely separate note, many of you will know USA swimmer and idol Janet Evans qualified for the 400 & 800 metres in this year’s summer Olympics,…
I get asked various questions related to cold because I like to write about it. Those questions often inspire further writing ideas. One thing I realised was there was no good agreement on cold water. A poll of open water swimmers by DNOWS gave the following results. Under 5ºC (41ºF) – 0% Under 10ºC (50ºF) – 7%…
Swimmers train a lot. A lot of time is spent in the water. One consequence is tight muscles. Another problem for some is insufficient flexibility for swimming, like ankles and legs. Apart from the essentials of regular massage, and probably direct icing, stretching becomes necessary if not essential. Each of us will probably have some…
This post and the subsequent Part Two post should not be construed as medical advice. This is another example of how I deal with something related to swimming, in which I have made mistakes and learned and adapted and which may be instructive or useful as advice or warning. Throughout the two articles I will…
Courtesy of another question. Though as Julie Galloway pointed out in her interview yesterday on Daily news of Open Water Source, we (Irish) call them togs not costume or swimsuit. And we never knew we were different! This applies mainly to chlorine, which eats the nylon/lycra mix. We’ve all been there. One day you are…
I don’t like dietary supplements. B Complex, multivitamins etc. The little reading I’ve done so far on the subject indicates little or no benefit is gained from commercial multivitamins for endurance athletes But I don’t rule it out… Since my EC, (too late that is), I’ve had a few interesting conversations with an online friend…
You are thinking this has to my most inane post ever. You may be right, though I believe it is possible for me to be more inane. But bear with me … How do you tie your togs? Granny knot or bow? Well that’s fine. Usually But there are times when neither of those will…
This article is, once again, a variation of the most popular question here: “What temperature of water is too cold to swim in”?, which I’ve written about before. The temperature at the Guillamene last Sunday week (October 16th, 2011) was about 13° Celsius (55° F). That’s far warmer than what most people will imagine, not…
We’ve all had this problem. You try to stick your towel in there. You stake your head and bang it to the side. For hours. But there’s a simple solution: Hop up and down on one leg, the leg on the same side at which the water is in your ear. The water will simply…
Following on from the discussion on hectopascals and atmospheric pressure: Let’s use the same chart again. This time you know what the numbers mean, various high and low pressure areas. But there are different kinds of lines to be seen also. In this chart we are concerned with five types light black line with numbers…
LoneSwimmer 