Hypothermia: What I needed to know before I began swimming in cold water.

The water at the beginning of the season seemed to take an age to warm up, yet now it's nearing the end it feels like it's taken a bit of a nose dive! Not to be deterred I make the (feels like) bold decision to ditch the wetsuit and try swimming in skins. The last time I swam sans wetsuit was over a month ago, when the water was warm, the sky was blue, flowers were in bloom ...  This time, although the water wasn't so cold at 17.3oc, when you're not accustomed or acclimatised to it, it's frankly a bit of a shock when you get in.

I stood on the side of the lake as Shark vocalised many excuses and reasons why she should swim in her wetsuit instead. I reaslised she wasn't being serious when they ranged from tooth damage from shivering to the possibility of it giving her trench foot. I diagnosed a case of acute hypochondria and told her to get on with it.

In our inexperience we entered the water with extreme caution, and closely followed all the instructions from Leon, who was standing on the side. He told us we would be fine by the time we got to the first orange buoy, and he was right. I was expecting at best to have ice cream head, and at worst I'd have the shortest swim in history, however was delighted when neither happened.

We swam for 800 metres before Shark began to feel the cold and wisely decided to call it a day. I wanted to complete a mile if possible and after a quick recce (can still I feel my toes? Yes. Are my hands clawing? No.), I decided I'd be okay to carry on. I'd really enjoyed it, and wasn't feeling the cold, so I carried on. I felt great, and when I got out Shark was waiting, holding my towel and Swimzi ready to put straight on (she's a great swim bud), so I could get dried and warm quickly. I dressed, but as I said before I wasn't feeling cold. This is most likely because I had actually spent the second lap trying desperately hard to keep up with another swimmer (in a wetsuit) who at first sight appeared to be going relatively slowly, but in reality he was actually very, very fast, making keeping up impossible, however all the extra effort meant that I concentrated less on feeling the cold and more on the (fruitless) chase, and so by the time I got out I was exhausted and practically hyperventilating, but not cold.

Shark and I had decided to try and swim once a week without wetsuits for as long as we could tolerate the cold. Swimming in cold water is very much unchartered territory. I realised after our swim that I had not really much idea of how my body would respond to the cold, and actually when I should get out. Just checking if my feet and hands were cold or not wasn't at all thorough enough and so I was wanted to find out more about how it will affect me, and Shark, in particular with regards to hypothermia. Shark is the nurse, not me and if I presented the symptoms of hypothermia I'm confident I'd be well looked after, whereas Shark wouldn't be. I think it would bad form to have replace my swim buddy due to neglect, and I'm not entirely sure I'd have many takers if I'm belong honest!

I read loads, and want to share with you what I've found/discovered/learnt. Whilst I usually attempt to make anything I write a bit light hearted, and can pretty much find something (usually me) to poke fun at, when I began looking in more detail about hypothermia it's just too serious, dangerous and important topic to be jovial about. And so...

The next part in this blog has been taken from various websites and people I know. I'm aware that there are various differences of opinion, and some of which some of you will agree and disagree (as some of the websites did) in parts. I'm not an expert, but would like to share what I've found in the hopes that at least one person, other than myself, is better informed, can recognise the symptoms and get medical help and treatment as quickly as possible if necessary. The information I've included is found in the websites, and folks that I know that know far more about it than I do. I've added at the bottom (and not in any particular order - my university professors would not be happy) if anyone wants to read more broadly.

"Hypothermia is a dangerous drop in body temperature below 35C (95F)." www.nhs.uk

"Hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat fadster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature... when your body temperature drops, your heart, nervous system and other organs can't work normally." (Mayoclinic.org, 2018).

Although most hypothermia happens in low temperatures I have read that even temperatures as mild as 26oc can still be dangerous, and hypothermia is still a possibility, and whilst the colder the water, the quicker and the more likely you are to suffer (there can be other factors involved), there is no time frame for when hypothermia will set in. None of us are immune, and that includes the most seasoned and adapted of swimmers.

Our bodies work best within a certain temperature range, and it's important to maintain this in order to function properly. Many essential chemical reactions that happen in our body can only happen in this range, so when it alters, our body immediately triggers changes to return it back. This is the function of the hypothalamus, which is found in the brain. It collects all the internal and external information (in this instance temperature) and puts changes in place to right the imbalances, to return the body to its status in quo.

When you are swimming in water colder than you, in order to protect your vital organs, your body begins a process. Blood vessels shunt (moving blood to where it's needed) the warm blood away from your skin and limbs towards your vital organs by reducing the blood flow to your extremities. This allows more oxygen to be delivered where it's needed the most. This is to preserve heat in the important bits. Your body is working hard to try and keep your core at its normal temperature. This process is called peripheral vasoconstriction. It's the body's way of protecting against hypothermia.

"Peripheral vasoconstriction basically means the narrowing of your blood vessels that supply your extremities. This means that your blood vessels in the periphery have constricted and hence bring in less blood so that whatever blood is there in the body is diverted to your vital organs"  

Dheeksha (studies at Mysore medical College and Research Institute (2020)) 

This process stops when you get out of the cold water and your body then sends the warm blood from the core back to the skin to warm up again. The problem though is that it also cools the blood as it does so, as it's now mixing the warm blood with the cooler blood, and then recirculates the cool blood back to the core, meaning that your temperature will drop further. This is known as the "after-drop." This doesn't happen immediately, and when you exit the water you'll probably feel great for a short time. This is because your cooler blood hasn't reached your core straight away, however within a short space of time, you will begin shivering (great piece of advice was to get dressed quickly after getting out, as it's really difficult when you're shivering).

Shivering is one of our body's immediate reactions to generate heat. Our skin sends messages to the brain, which then sets off a series of warming tricks. Shivering is one of them. It's your muscles contracting and expanding quickly to produce heat to raise your body temperature.

As symptoms of hypothermia can happen slowly, you would think that would give you time to get out in good time, however you may not be aware of them as hypothermia can affect, amongst other things, your cognitive ability; your ability to think clearly, and make intelligent choices, which means you may not even recognise the symptoms. Your brain is so sensitive to cold, and electrical activity slows down in response to it, so your ability to do things and move lessens, making it more difficult to take action. I've included a list of the symptoms of hypothermia, that are listed on several websites below, for your reference:

Symptoms of mild hypothermia include:

• Dizziness
• Shivering
• Hunger and nausea
• Increased breathing
• Difficulty speaking
• Lack of coordination
• Tiredness
• Increase in heart rate
• Poor judgement
• Cold, pale skin
• Numb hands and feet

Symptoms of moderate to severe hypothermia include:

• Shivering, but importantly, as hypothermia worsens, shivering stops
• Worsening coordination difficulties
• Slurred speech
• Significant confusion
• Drowsiness
• Apathy or lack of concern (doesn't recognise that they are in any danger)
• Weak pulse
• Shallow, slow breathing
• Paradox undressing - the person removes their clothes innapropriately despite the cold because they feel warm
• Muscles become stiff
• Slow pulse
• Confusion
• Loss of consciousness

Symptoms of severe hypothermia include:

• Shivering stops
• Extreme confusion
• A decline in consciousness
• Weak or irregular pulse
• slow/shallow breathing
• coma - can result in death 

Hypothermia will advance quicker in the cold water, and so it's important to get out as soon as possible to prevent further heat loss, get yourself warm, and if necessary, seek medical help. 

When you exit the cold water Outdoor Swimmer magazine recommends the following: 

• Get dressed quickly and warmly. Immediately after swimming you may feel great as the cooled blood has not yet returned to your core. Best to wrap up warmly before it does. It’s much harder to dress when you’re shivering. 
• Don’t take a hot shower as this will increase the rate at which cooled blood returns to the core and makes the drop faster and deeper. Cold water swimmers have been known to faint in hot showers. Wait until you’ve warmed up again before showering.
• Don’t attempt to drive or ride a bike until your core temperature has recovered. Driving and shivering is not a good combination. If your core temperature drops too much and you become hypothermic it can also affect your cognitive abilities. Again, not good for driving.
• Drink something hot and eat something. Shivering is a highly energy consumptive bodily function. You need to fuel it.
• Keep an eye on your fellow swimmers. Someone who appears completely fine getting out of the water may be in trouble 10 minutes later and may need your help.
• Get out of the water before you get too cold as you will continue to get colder after swimming – give your body a margin of safety.

In addition, here are Jonathan Cowie, Editor at Outdoor Swimmer's six tips for cold water swimming….

1. Acclimatise

As the temperature drops in autumn, just keep swimming and your body will get used to the cold.

2. Be safe

Open water can be dangerous. Only ever swim where it is safe, and make sure you can enter and exit the water quickly and easily. Never swim on your own.

3. Wear the right kit

Wear a swimming hat, or two, to help preserve body heat. You can also wear neoprene gloves, booties, balaclava or a wetsuit.

4. No diving

Do not dive or jump in unless you are used to the cold water. Cold water can cause gasping of breath and cold water shock, which can be dangerous.

5. Know your limits

As the temperature drops, decrease the amount of time you spend in the water.

6. Warm up slowly

Don’t have a hot shower as rapid warming of the skin may increase the flow of cold blood from your extremities to your core, and can be dangerous. Instead, make sure you have plenty of warm clothes, wrap up well and have a hot drink.

Swim bud left, me to the right after our swim

So this week the water temperature had dropped almost a full degree to 16.5oc, and I realise with sadness that all hope for an Indian Summer had now completely gone. Shark and I arrived lakeside and readied ourselves for the swim. We were organised and unpacked our clothes and towels in advance of getting out. Shark told me that in addition to her clothes she had also brought a flask of hot Ribena, her ski socks and an extra hat. What she didn't tell me is that she had also brought a hot water bottle, and had wrapped all her clothes around it! A little OTT? Actually possibly not. We swam a mile and at the end when we got out I realised that we are very different, and it seemed that I was able to tolerate the cold a little better than Shark (I put it down to being a farmers daughter - kind of makes you more hardy I suppose). What is clear is that we need to adapt our bodies to tolerate the cold water better (acclimatisation) so that our bodies will grow used to it as the water gets colder still (I'll write more on this in another blog), but in the mean time, I don't mind admitting that I really did feel envious of Shark's forward thinking as I put on my 'at room temperature' clothes, and fully intend to purchase a bottle in advance of next week's swim. What could be better? Other than perhaps someone serving hot chocolate fudge cake on the lake side as we got out... (for medicinal purposes).

Just a quick note, this blog was written in 2018.

Thanks for reading. I also have a "group" on Facebook. It's not really a group, as it's only me, but on it I post more regularly.  I'm also on Twitter and Instagram. You'd be very welcome. 😊

Bibliography and special thanks to:

Leon @Swimyourswim and Chris@Swimzi for you invaluable knowledge.
Jonathan Cowie @outdoorswimmer for your guidance and help.

https://outdoorswimmer.com/blogs/after-drop-is-real-and-how-to-deal-with-it
www.nhs.uk
www.mayoclinic.org
http://www.medicinenet.com/hypothermia_extended_exposure_to_cold/article.htm
risks-cold-water
http://www.active.com/articles/swimmers-avoid-hypothermia-by-knowing-the-signs after-drop-is-real-and-how-to-deal-with-it

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182197.php

https://www.livescience.com/32475-why-do-we-shiver-when-cold.htmllow-body-temperature-symptoms-causes-treat

article_em.htm
word-of-the-week-afterdrop.html

wildie-s-advice-on-cold-acclimatisation-t106.html
https://loneswimmer.com/2014/12/03/what-is-peripheral-vasoconstriction/
http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2016/12/the-afterdrop-rewarming-and-post-rescue.html
why-cool-down-exercises-and-recovery-are-so-important-for-swimmers
http://blog.bridgeathletic.com/the-importance-of-warm-up-and-cool-down-for-athletes

182197.php2. 
http://www.nycaquaticclub.com/The%20Art%20of%20Recovery.pdf4. http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/august/cooling-glove-research-082912.html
after-drop-is-real-and-how-to-deal-with-it
dangers-of-open-water-swimming-hypothermia-and-hyperthermia
Does-swimming-in-cold-fresh-water-affect-body-temperature
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4734854/#
airplane-1549-hudson-hypothermia
what-is-hypothermia
https://www.quora.com/What-is-peripheral-vasoconstriction
hypothalamus
hypothermia
https://www.biologyofexercise.com/images/issues/1022.pdf

'A review' of the IISA 5th World Championships -Samoens 2023

 

First swim done!
Celebrating drinking tea in the jacuzzi

Where to start...

It ought to be with the swimming part. Write about how amazing it was (and it was), how I glided through the water without making even a splash (I didn't), and how effortless and efficient I was in the water after several months of training (I wasn't), but I'm not. I'm instead starting with the swimming costume...mostly because it features heavily.

I'll wager that all professional swimmers know that competition swimwear is designed to be tight. As a non-professional swimmer (although I still have my sights on this) I didn't, and as our costumes had been delivered straight to the event, there had been no time to try it on beforehand. I had accurately measured everywhere, and ordered the size accordingly, however being a complete beginner at all of this, unbeknown to me, it turned out that racing swimwear is meant to be super tight fitting. This is because it's designed to give a compressive fit, making it really, really tough, borderline impossible if you're me, to even get it over your knees without incident... To be honest, I feared that even the Borrowers would have struggled! Anyhow, after 40 minutes of showcasing some pretty impressive flexibility and unusual positions that any contortionist would appreciate, I was (for the most part) in. I feared I would need to either spend the whole weekend wearing it as I was uncertain as to whether I would be able to repeat the same choreographed performance needed to be repeated on one race day, let alone both, or would need to consider the more drastic action of needing to remove internal organs...I decided on the lesser serious choice, and based on the back of the struggle, also that my pre-swim MO of heavy carb loading would have to cease until after my last swim. 

Race day, and I was up early. After a final medical check, I was given the green light, well sticker actually, to swim. I walked into the ice village hall to find many swimmers had already arrived and were doing some quite strenuous warm ups. I felt pretty confident that my walk to the venue carrying a swim bag would be a good alternative to a more structured warm up, and I based this on the fact that my bag was far too heavy with far too much kit that I didn't really need,  as well as a ton of food (mostly Fat Rascals - if you know you know, if you don't Google them... THE best food ever (IMO), which I would not be able to eat based on the aforementioned swimming costume 'issue.' 

I'd been there for a short while when Jonty informed me that Stu (also known by his other name; Coach Ragnar - who coached me during my Windermere 2 way swim) had just walked in. I knew he was joking as we had seen him the week before and he hadn't mentioned it, only he wasn't joking. There he was stood in front of me as large as life telling me he had come to give me a last minute pep talk. I'm still not entirely sure whether this was actually why he was there, but the pep talk was gratefully received, even if I forgot everything he had told me during the race... too many other things to think about, like getting in in one piece and not breaking anything, remembering the 'do not touch the ladder' rule and how to swim... 

After settling in, locating the coffee tent, and being briefed on the why's/wherefores ect, I was ready for my first race. It wasn't long before we were called, and that's when my sartorial panic set in. What would I go to poolside wearing? Just my coat? coat and towelling robe? Just CROCS? CROCS and socks?Eventually, I decided to throw on everything, which I thought was a great idea (not because of how stylish the whole outfit looked, but because with this many layers, there no way I would get cold). I was poolside when I quickly realised that I was very overdressed for the expected time between the announcement to 'disrobe' and 'get in the water," which was incidentally a nanosecond. My fellow swimmers were waiting by the ladder to get in, waiting for me as I attempted to take off my robe without dislodging my goggle, at speed, along with my footwear, gloves and coat. Goes without saying that I was all flustered by the time I eventually got to the ladder. Despite this, I knew I needed to focus, and quickly... wooden stairs and I have history - one which included me headbutting a wall at a.n.other swim venue many moons ago. I needed to have my wits about me in order to not have a repeat performance whilst a crowd watched on.

 

Again, within miliseconds of successfully entering the water the buzzer went off and we were swimming. Interestingly, I really didn't feel the coldness of the water (3.7 degrees celcius), which my left eye really appreciated as it was submerged in it for the duration of the swim thanks to my aforementioned dislodged goggle, which began leaking the second I put my head in. Despite this, all the hours, days, months of training, and the moment was finally here, and gosh it was swift. It felt like it was over in a heartbeat, before I knew it the race was finished. 

I had managed to avoid the disqualifying ladder, and finish the race in what was for me a pretty decent time (obviously not in terms of the faster swimmer's standards, but for me, I was thrilled and in my excitement, combined probably with a bit of relief that I hadn't cocked it up, I lost my step getting out, grazing my nose on the side of the pool. It has been noted before that I am rarely the epitome of style and grace, and this would be yet another one of those occasions where once again I was not. Nonetheless, I couldn't have cared less, I was jubilant, and once I had warmed up, I headed over to the jacuzzis where I partied hard for the next 20 minutes, I say partied hard, I sat in it with Cathy Monro, or Fast Cath(y) as I named her, on account that she was an incredibly fast fellow swimmer in my heat, basically gold medal AND world record holder in her age category kind of fast (and also called Cathy, which I hope goes without saying), with a cup of tea talking about the swim, swimming in general and debating as to whether cake (me) or scones (Fast Cath (y)) were the ultimate post-swim treat. Cathy is lovely, as well as fast, but (IMO) my choice of treat by far exceeded hers. And less messy. 

Tea in the jacuzzi

Reflecting on it, I realised that I had not followed the race plan I had practiced countless times in the weeks leading up to the swim. The only thing I did the whole swim was to chant (in my head, obviously - ACTUALLY saying it would have resulted in me drinking half the lake. Also, they had drone coverage, it would have looked weird) 'do not get disqualified by touching the ladder,' which definitely worked, so there's that. I knew our relay was soon after, and so had quick bite to eat (replenishing calories obviously) of 3 chocolate biscuits, 1 slice of French apple tart and a substantial amount of very strong coffee (there's extensive research conducted that found that caffeine consumption is associated with an increase in performance, and therefore I was expecting great things in the relay...). You would be correct in thinking that after my swimming costume issued that I should probably not eat quite as much, and you'd be right, but I wouldn't be wearing it for the relay, on account that it was still wet. Instead, I would be wearing my spare, non-internal organ squashing costume - or so I thought at the time, and after I had finished, I was very quickly informed that any photos taken of the swim we would look more 'teamly' if we were all wearing our official GB costumes and so very reluctantly, and slowly, put it back on. It wasn't long after when Jonty announced that the VIP relay would be in 30 minutes, and asked as to where Lara (one of our teammates) was. Some unsuccessful frantic and panicked phone calls, texts, announcements on the tannoy followed, with still no sign, before eventually she appeared looking sightly dishevelled with her muddy costume in her hand. Unbeknown to us, she had finished her swim, and whilst undressing had taken a tumble, droppping her costume in the mud as she had gone to grab one of the Swimzi flags in a bid to save herself from hurting herself, and any public humiliation. Her tactic didn't quite pay off, and she informed us that she 'went down like a sack of potatoes,' not naked I should add, thankfully she was wearing her changing robe, swim coat, a woollen deetstalker and a leg warmer/ugg combination, before hitting the deck and hadn't realised that whilst she was busy trying to style the whole incident out to the gathering crowd, she had eleventy billion missed calls and messages asking her to hurry back, as we needed to head to the pre-race holding area. 

She eventually arrived in a flurry, and after a quick reminder from Jonty that unless she was planning on swimming naked, which would definitely result in an immediate disqualification for all the team, she would be best putting it on. I shot her a quick look. We had already dicussed how tight our costumes were, and both knew the odds of us getting her into it in the short space of time we had was slim, and would no doubt need to include some manhandling and possibly rejigging of her intestines to get her in. 

Before I go on, I first should explain the VIP relay. The relay consisted of 4 teams. 3 of the teams included some of the best of the best ice swimmers in the world, with a history of accomplishments, including; olympic medal winners, world record holders, the winner of the WOWSA Award for Woman of the Year, one of the world's 50 most adventurous open water women, the expedition leader of the Antarctic 2020 Internatonal swim, and the founder of IISA. The other team, the one I was in, consisted of 4 residents of Yorkshire with a shared passion for Fat Rascals. 

Anyhow, back to the enfolding drama. The team (Jonty, Emily and I dressed and ready to go, and Lara dressed in part, but definitely not ready for action) moved to the holding tent where several of the other teams swimmers were either talking strategy, warming up, having a quiet completetive moment (probably visualising their swim) and getting ready. Our team, on the other hand, were busily erecting a makeshift tent out of a towel and a swim coat to put around Lara as she put her still wet and muddy costume back on. After several failed attempts I joined her to assess the problem, and several frantic minutes later Lara emerged, looking no worse for wear (if you don't include the broken finger nail), with it securely on. 

Onto the swim. After discussing swim order, and of course the ladder rule, we decided to follow the lead of the other teams and talk tactics, however, after deciding that we couldn't think of any, we waited to get in. Swim order, first Lara, who did a pretty impressive first leg in breast stroke. Unfortunately, as all the other teams had opted for front crawl, and as they happen to be mostly olympians and ice swimming Titans, Emily, who was next in had a bit of catching up to do. A sterling effort followed, in fact Jonty slightly underestimated how fast she was and almost didn't get in the water in time (a bit trickier and time consuming to climb down a wooden ladder to get in with only 1 leg). Jonty was fast, and was holding his own racing against the other teams. Unfortunately, he was racing their 4th, and final swimmers, and as he completed his 2 lengths for me to swim our final leg, they had all finished and were getting out to celebrate, whilst I, on the other hand, had to swim 50 metres in the pool. On my own. With probably the whole village of Samoens watching. Several cameras. Oh, and a drone. I admit, as we were last anyway, and as I was about to swim it on my own, I would use this to practice my race plan for the following day's 50 metre swim and try to not cock it up by dislodging my goggles or swallowing half the lake. As I came to the end (avoiding the ladder at all costs obvs), I was pleased to see Jonty still in the water, and whilst I was touched that he had stayed in to cheer me in, he later admitted he was just having a 'rest break'... I cannot articulate how relieved I was (not a deliberate pun, but it fits) that my practice swim was successfully executed and not a drop of lake water was swallowed. 

Despite coming last, we were nonetheless over the moon, and celebrated with an impromptu photo shoot, lots of jumping up and down with our Yorkshire flag, and shared some Betty's biscuits in the jacuzzi. The sharing extended to rival team member Henri Kaarma, oh, and several other swimmers/supporters who also celebrated with us by also sharing the remainder of our biscuits, before dispersing once they had polished them off...

Team Frozen Roses and Henri Kaarma
celebrating 4th (and last) in the VIP relay

The final day, and my final swim. The 50 metres. My costume, towel and fur lined CROCS were now dry after spending the night on the ski boot drying contraption (note to self - fur lined CROCS are amazing if your feet are dry. Less amazing, and very tricky to get your feet into when they are wet and cold.  Also, when conditions underfoot are wet and muddy the risk of trenchfoot is high. 

The time of the swim had changed, and was now later leaving me time to chat with some of my fellow team mates, and when I say chat, I mean that several of them came over to help me eat some of my edible supplies under the pretext of 'chatting.' Anyhow, once suitable fuelled, my race was called, and I headed to the pen. This time I had ditched the socks as well as the towelling robe, and was more appropriately dressed for getting into the water at speed. The temperature was difinitely cooler than Saturday, and I was worried that despite me really not feeling yesterday's water temperature (I'm assured that it was the adrenalin that made it feel nearer to 20 degrees), I would feel it today. I needn't have worried, again the pace was so fast, and I really had no time to think about the temperature, I was too busy trying to remember to fit my goggles on correctly, to execute my swim plan, avoid the ladder, not slip and fal in and not cock it up in general really. 

The swim felt far more relaxed than yesterdays, and although definitely not a world record, was pretty speedy for me. I celebrated once again (once warmed through in the warming room) in the jacuzzi along with Fast Cath (y), Kate Steels (also fast) and Millie Bell (again, really fast), where we stayed until Cathy's hands went pruny and I declared I was ready for food.

And just like that, I had finished. No world records, no medals, (although IF I do this again, alongside my training, I will definately consider growing my nails really long to see of this helps with my placing. Don't want to miss a place by a milliseconds), but what I did have was a massive sense of accomplishment, pride and patriotism. 

Before I finish, I would like to say a massive thank you to my fellow Yorkshire swim camp members, Jonty Warneken, Lara Fawcett and Emily Smailes with whom I have had THE best time with. We have laughed until I nearly coughed up a lung, danced until I almost strained a limb, cheered until our throats hurt, shared several indecent exposure incidents (all Lara, I'd like to add), shared all of their amazing pre- and post swim snacks (not including the boiled egg - Lara) and they kindly forgave me when I shared none of my own (mostly because I ate them on the way to training camp), lost several ear plugs between us, 1 hat, 1 CROC, a pair of UGG boots and 3 socks (mostly down to the dog stealing them), talked and talked and talked (mostly to put off getting onto the cold pool), became fellow cheerleaders, (non-illegal) partners in crime and made the whole getting into really cold water every day bearable and fun (in its loosest sense).

I give you

The Frozen Roses

Finally, I had met/caught up with some fabulous people, to name a few:

Nick Hungerford - 50% Australian and 50% Londoner on your normal average day changing to 100% Australian when competing. 

Just to confirm that is not some kind of growth on Nick's soulder. It's Nigel photobombing.

Fenwick Ridley (and his fiancé) - Part Viking, part dolphin, and  thoroughly decent person (people), who will try and win by any means necessary. I give to Millie's lucky belt, the ice swimmers equivolent of heather/4 leafed clover/rabbit's foot/shamrock/horse shoe/elephant...

Millie Bell - uttery amazing swimmer, and the lovliest of girls - also from Yorkshire, bringing hope several well deserved medals, so absolutely of course gets a mention.

Robyn Dyson - swimmer of all distances, stroke and temperature, and despite her young age, imparted one of the best pieces of advice I could receive over the weekend 'try really hard not to hit the lane ropes - it stings. A lot.' Thanks to her I was mindful in all swims to stick to the middle of my lane. 

Nigel Robertson - team GB manager, who successfully managed my self inflicted high drama moment and turn it into something resembling a low farce. 

Kate Steels - utter legend, who, I can confirm (because she told me I had to) that despite how the photo looks, is not demanding that Fast Cath(y) elevates her hair above the water whilst she enjoys the jacuzzi. I recal there was a legitimate reason for it, which escapes me, but she did tell me it was absolutely NOT because she was being a princess. 

Evidence of the non-princess like behaviour 

Casually hung around with Chris and Liam Tancock (as in Olympian/world record holder Liam Tancock) from Swimzi. I've known them for ages and ages, but am still unable to persuade Liam (or Chris for that matter) into the water. 

Ram Barkai - founder of IISA, and from all accounts a relatively okay swimmer (I'd heard he's quite modest, and really wouldn't want me to list all his accomplishments, so I won't, but if you've an hour to spare at any time, there's an extensive list on openwaterpedia that I don't have room for. I did ask Jonty if I should courtesy when I met him. He said no. I did anyway - just in case Jonty had got it wrong. Here's the link.  https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Ram_Barkai) 

Ram's Sam (Whelpton) (as she was introduced as, and will be for me forever known as that) - utterly lovely and also happens to be pretty fast when it comes to ice swimming. Thankfully, as I am a gazillion years older than her we will never be in the same age category, as I fear if we were, I would have my a** handed to me on a plate! 

And last, but by no means least, the GB Team - we've had an absolute blast!

Team GB preventing anyone from going up or downstairs for the best part of 20 minutes.
Herding cats would probably have been easier! 

And, that's it. If you'd like more regular swim updates, as well as finding out what's next, follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook group Open Water Woman.

Some of the photos are my own, others are credited to @marketing adventures

 

Short Setback To Training

Despite many practice sessions, and a notable improvement when it came to tolerating the cold temperatures, I was yet to become that swimmer that confidently glided into the cold water and literally bossed it from the off. I was/am working towards being that swimmer though, which I know will take time and great effort to achieve. To help I have purposefully surrounded myself with fellow swimmers that have a great mindset, along with coaches (Leon and Stu) who allow me to get away with absolutely nothing whatsoever if it was not serving me well. Included in this was faffing around, general pre-swim 'tomfloolery,' and lack of a purposeful stride into the water in this. I was also following some great advice from the likes of Dr Heather Massey, a researcher at the Extreme Environments Laboratory at the University of Portsmouth, who says that; ‘the secret to acclimatising to cold water is just to swim in it, often – at least once a week, and preferably two or three, gradually extending the time that you stay in the water," and I must say, my training and acclimatisation was going really well until, after 3 years, COVID finally caught me. It hit me like a freit train, and despite the temptation to carry on regardless, I was effectively 'banned' from swimming by The Swim Buddy (also nurse), and ordered to just get well first. She is my swim buddy for many reasons, however what tops this list is that she knows what I need to keep my strength up (cake and Berocca - obvs) and, after checking I hadn't lost my sense of taste (because that would be a complete waste of good food), arranged a doorstep delivery.

As it turned out, after many, many tiring hours on the sofa watching t.v and reflecting on life/the universe/swimming, I came to the conclusion she was right. I didn't want any part of this experience to be negative, and so I didn't swim. Part of my reflecting included some pretty frantic Googling of the effects that illness had on illness and exercise and thankfully, to quote Heather Massey again, 'research has shown that a couple of weeks off cold water swimming while you recover from illness has little impact on your cold adaption'. 

This information did stop me from panicking for the most part, but what did panic me was the weather forecast that Wincy Willis (Jonty - fellow swimmer) rang me especially to share. The bleakest of winters was about to descend pretty much overnight in Britain, and the water temperature had dropped significantly from 7 to 0.5oc overnight. Under normal circumstances I would be untroubled by this news, I'd either just dip rathre than swim, or wait out the cold spell. Unfortunately, right now I did not have the luxury of this option. I felt pretty certain that my return to the water would be pretty horrid at best. 

I'd like to point out, before I go on, that Jonty also did ask how I was feeling and really hoped I would be back training soon. I suspect he was disappointed that I wasn't swimming as I had promised to bring with me some home - made fudge cake (not technically home-made in its entirity - the Jane Asher one I once bought from Sainsbury's (other supermarkets available etc...) many, many moons ago to donate to the school Christmas Fayre and passed off as my own, fraudulently declaring it a 'family secret recipe,' should anyone ask, but now as absolutely everyone loves it, and as I'm too far in to tell everyone I have been deceiving them all this time, I have to go to buy from out of town so I'm not seen ...what a tangled web we weave... anyway, I digress). Skip forwards 2 weeks, and FINALLY I declared myself well enough to swim. My little swim tribe rallied together to ensure my safe return into the water by turning up with extra hot water bottles and cheerful words that let me know I'd been really missed, such as; 'great to have you back. Don't suppose you managed to bake that cake whilst you were off?' 

So, in the short time (but felt really, really long) I was off, the Baltic weather that had arrived so abruptly had left at the same pace, and whilst the water temperature was still not as high as it had been, don't get me wrong, it felt really cold, and some post-swim 'home-made' fudge cake would have made all the difference, however I was thrilled that at 4.5oc I nailed it. Okay, not nailed it in its entirity, but there was a seamless water entry worth mentioning, and although after that I didn't put my head under the water for the first 25 metres until Lara reminded me to, and it wasn't a vigerous swim, although I also cocked up setting my watch so it could have been vigerous, but we'll never actually know for sure, aside from that, it wasn't half as bad as I had imagined, which was something of a great relief with only a few weeks to go until the world championships. 

Finally, if you'd like to follow me for more regular training updates, I'm on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Look for Open Water Woman. 

Also, for those interested in reading more from Heather Massey the link is here. HOW TO ACCLIMATISE. The science and practise of adapting to cold water. https://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/how-to-acclimatise-to-cold-water/

IISA 5TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023 - Part 3 Purposeful Training

At the Yorkshire GB Training grounds

 

Once I had told people I would be representing Team GB at the IISA World Championships it began to feel quite daunting. On the back of it though, I was blown away by the wonderful, endless tide of good advice and recommendations I received from so many experienced ice swimmers, as well as swimmers that prefer less cold conditions to swim in. One such piece of advice which really struck me was the importance of simulating race conditions - albeit minus the mountainous backdrop, opponents, adreneline or the crowd. Why? Because it would highlight any issues (I was expecting this list to turn out to be quite lengthy), identify weaknesses, and hopefully quash my nerves and give me the best chance of actually enjoying the swim. 

Pete Pfitzinger wrote; 'if you do not prepare your body for the demands of racing, then you cannot expect it to be ready to handle those demands. Therefore, the more specific you can make your training to the terrain, pace, environmental conditions the more effective your race preparations will be.' 

Seemed like pretty sound advice to me, however before any simulated race conditions happened, I was reminded of my first issue, which was the impossibility of avoiding some kind of trip hazard or other that I seemed to always find on my way to the waters edge, such as: my own toe, small pebble, grain of sand, nothing at all, things that prevented any kind of normal water entry. I made a mental note that I ought to spend at least some part of each training session practicing a seamless water entry, or at least find a way of stylishly cock it up, if only, so the whole event did not come to a grinding halt whilst they waited for the medical team to patch up my stubbed toe/chipped nail varnish.

And so Day 1 of training, and after standing (outdoor) poolside for many several minutes, lets call it  'visualising my swim,' rather than what Leon refered to as classic 'faffing around', I disrobed and was ready to get in. The water temperature was 8.5 degrees, and a long way away from the expected temperatures in France, but I had to start somewhere. A seamless (and careful) water entry happened, and after my initial disbelief, I was sorely tempted to immediately get straight back out and enjoy what felt like a very triumphant moment, however, this was short lived, when I realised that muttering a few sweary words as I got in immediately brough to my attention issue 2. My swim friend, Claire, informed me she was 100% sure that despite me claiming it was a natural part of my cold shock response, there was a very good chance that I might be at best disqualified, or worse, arrested for cursing in a public place. 

Because it was day 1, we collectively decided that it would be a great idea to start with a benchmake swim, and then regularly again after that to assess our progress. Off we set, and I very quickly remembered that I was not a natural sprinter, and so swimming faster than, well slow really, I was very much out of my comfort zone. It was one thing getting into a cold lake for a dip, it's a completely different thing when it comes to getting in the water, and immediately setting off, at speed and racing. It took a good minute for my breathing to settle, during which time my stroke was compromised by some pretty eratic breathing (part of the cold shock response), leading to my head being out of the water for pretty much around half of my actual swim time. 

That couple of minutes in the water felt like an hour. It was cold, uncomfortable, and highlighted some pretty important points which we discussed afterwards over post - swim biscuits - mine as the case was, as everyone else claimed to have 'forgotten' theirs at the exact same moment they saw the Betty's chocolate shortbreads I was attempting to pass off as 'just a plain old digestive' when quizzed. Unfortunately, despite my very best efforts to eat them undetected, Jonty had a nose for a decent chocolate biscuit and I felt obligated to share as he had already offered around his Hula Hoops, despite me not liking them...

I needed to not lose sight of the fact that every training session was going towards the planning and preparartion of my swim, and needed to remain aware that not every session was going to feel easy, with this one being no exception. With this in mind, a couple of things the session highlighted included;

1) I needed to research an appropriate warm up (in short, ask some folks that know their onions).

* I immediately messaged 2 people whose opinions I value. Firstly, Kate Steel. Ice swimming royalty, someone the ice swimming hall of fame described as 'one of the toughest and most skilled ice swimmers in the world,' 3rd person to complete the Ice Sevens, and 10 (yes, this is not  a typing error, 10!) ice miles under her belt, an absolute legend and all round good egg. She told me that with regards to a warm up, she may swing her arms a bit, but did not stretch as muscles contract when you get cold, and Leon Fryer, also an ice miler, STA open water rescue tutor, who created their endorsed CPD to assist other coaches and safety teams in the safe recovery and winter swimming, which is focussed on ice miles. Also, genunely lovely person who has piloted all of my endurance swims, and trust *implictely (*not with unsupervied cake  - where one may call it stealing, the other calls it fair game...), and coach at Swimyourswim, also suggested some gentle stretches, nothing vigorous, and definitly not running around waving my arms 'like a testosterone fuelled gibbon.' Noted.

2) I had underestimated how long it would take for my body to settle into what I would consider my normal stroke which, in part (along with the cold), was likely to be responsible for my decrease in pace.

* In short, my head elevation caused my hips and legs to sink, which increases my body’s contact area with the water (it's the angle between hip and shoulder in relation to the water surface) which then increases the drag (look up Toussaint & Hollander, 1994 and Zamparo et al., 2009)). Something that I was sure would improve the more I became used to the cold. 

Despite the aforementioned, I am a firm believer that one of the key components to my success includes looking at the negatives, for example, wrong body position, the cold and how it's affecting my performance, the unsuccessful biscuit camouflage incident etc, and work out how to adjust them before race day (not the biscuit incident - I have prioratised, and have already taken measures to ensure there is no repeat incident - My adjustment is to, going forwards, leave them in my locked car, so consider that covered).

For more regular (and shorter) updates,you'll find me on Instagram😊

See you soon for the next installment.

IISA 5TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023 - Part 2

 

A snapshot of my IISA jumper (new)...

With the excitement of beling selected to represent Great Britain in the World Championships still in the front of my mind, I immediately went out and bought new stationery because, well lists... and thanks to my lists, within the day I had all the essentials sorted: flights and accommodation booked, transfers organised, a medical booked, insurance sorted and signed off as complete with a big highlighted tick with my highlighter pen... also new. 

In the interest of honesty, the above was achieved relatively quickly and seamlessly, which gave me plenty of time to move on to other essential items I would need to get, like a new swimming costume for starters. Something I felt the occasion warranted. This would no doubt take more time, as carefull consideration was required if I were to find one with a pattern that said, without words, that I was representing GB and I have done this by swimming in exceptionally cold water. I wasn't entirely sure that there was a costume out there that could say such a thing as it was quite a niche message really, however I felt that a huge Union flag emblazoned across it would, in part, achieve this AND it's not like I would never wear it again after the event... I can say with certainty that I will be wearing it at absolutely every opportunity, and probably not just for swimming - if it's at all possible to get away with it. It needed to firstly comply with the IISA rules, but also had to be zipless (once bitten, twice shy. I am refering to the horrid pool exit once when a costume with a zip spectacularly malfunctioned) and very importantly, that it covers everything it needs to - I would prefer neck to ankle, which would 100% rule out the possibility of a mid-swim exposure incident, however rules are rules, and above the knee was as long as was officially allowed. 

Time and thought also went into researching other important factors, such as new snow boots, new fleece lined hat, new, official IISA jumper, hand warmers, feet warmers (which are an actual thing), fleecy jumpers, skiing gloves that would not be used for skiing (I do not have the knees, or the inclination for it), but as they say, when in Rome... and a hot water bottle, also new... In addition to this, and something I honestly cannot believe that I will need to pack in my 'essential' list is an umbrella, after my research uncovered the rather unexpected, and completely unbelievable fact that it in January in Samoens it actually rains for 6.5 days a week! 

I confess, as I read this list back to myself, it did sound a bit over the top, as well as expensive, however, I should add that having spashed out on most of the aforementioned (I couldn't bring myself to buy feet warmers - a decision I hope I wouldn't regret), I did manage to absorb the cost of the new costume I was yet to purchase. I was able to achieve this with the multiple discounts I had been offered if I entered my e-mail for their mailing lists, and in return they also all promised to keep me updated with future new products and offers, which at first sounded very appealing, however 2 days in, and there seems to be a lot of them, and when I say a lot I am not exaggerating when I conservatively put the number in my inbox to be near eleventy billion notifications already. When my hunt for the perfect costume is over I will unsubscribe from them all, but in the meantime, I shall leave them there on the off chance that I don't miss that offer for that perfect costume. I feel I would regret not being inundated if I didn't... 

Thanks for reading. Next week's blog promises to include actual swimming and includes some of the concerns that my first 'meaningful' swim brought to light. There were a few, and for more frequent, and shorter updates, please follow me on Instagram. 

IISA 5TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023 here I come!!!

 

Earlier this week I found out, via a pretty offiial looking e-mail, that I had been offered a place on the GB squad at the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) 5TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS taking place in January in France (I must add, I had to qualify for this, and in some awfully cold water as well). My immediate jubilation and swiftly followed by feeling mostly overwhelmed, scared (actually more terrified than scared), apprehensive and completely out of my depth (no swim pun intended - but if one fits...).  I have no-one to blame but myself, after all, when you enter something, whether it's the Wimbledon ballot (still waiting for lady luck to shine on me after several long years of trying) or the North American Wife Carrying Championships (not entered for several reasons, including a motion sickness issue), there is a chance (Wimbledon being the exception), that you could get in. And so here I am, completely and utterly delighted and terrified at the same time.

The realty did not take long to sink in, and I realised I felt ill prepared for such an important event and needed to immediately formulate a training plan, after all, if I had been picked, I really needed to prove I was worth the place, but first I needed to call The Swim Buddy for some words of wisdom and sage advice. After congratulating me, she told me to pull myself together and start (and this is a direct quote) "getting my sh*t together," adding that to ensure that I did this, despite declaring that she would not be swimming through the winter on account that the water was "a bit too nippy" for her, she would accompany me to the lake, and on the days she couldn't she would be enlisting the eyes and ears of Leon Fryer as a stand in...We both agreed that the former option was the lesser of the two evils, and agreed to meet at the lake the following day for a team talk, take a couple of photos to document my journey and some serious planning. I informed her this would be a more productive discussion if proper refreshments were available, by which I inferred her delicious, and legendary, lemon drizzle cake. By all accounts - well hers actually - to make this happen, she had spent the whole of the evening driving round 3 supermarkets hunting down a particular brand of Sicilian lemon oil...well worth it I felt, after I decided that only eating the finest ingredients from now on in would be an essential part of my training - I should add that I consider ALL chocolate to be in the 'finest ingredients' category.

The swim buddy and I arrived at the lake all kitted out for a dip. Me with my hot water bottle, towel and CROCS (gws) and The Swim Buddy, meaning business, with massive note book, several coloured highlighters, clip board, cake tin and a Nikon Z9 round her neck. I was unsure whether David Bailey would miss this impressive, and I would have though essential, piece of kit, which The Swim Bud disguarded rather quickly, citing a severe neck strain, as well as the need to consult with her online camera instruction guru (Google) for ensuring she got the perfect shot... it was 25 minutes before she finally felt able to achieve this, during which time I had happily entertained myself with some extensive cake trials.

Finally, after much faffing whilst The Swim Buddy captured the moment, once in the water I realised that the milder autumn weather had also meant that the water would too be warmer than it would normally be. I was torn, on one hand it was lovely to get in for a refreshing, and dare I say long (well, 1,000 metre) swim, however this also meant that it was nowhere near the 2oc it would be in France in January. There was nothing I could do to change this. Once I was out I mentioned this concern to The Swim Buddy, imagine my surprise when she suggested I look at the notes she had made on several options for cold dips at home in case summer decided to extend into winter, including; an old bath, chest freezer (I hold Merthyr Mermaid responsible for this suggestion), a wheelie bin (cleaned) and several purpose built ice tubs. This much research lead me to suspect that The Swim Buddy had not spent as much time looking for lemon oil as she first said she had, however I was not complaining, she had a point. I needed as much cold exposure as I could get... 

and in the interest of losing anyone's attention by the blog being too long, there'll be more in the next blog. 

Always, there's more and frequent posts on Instagram if you care to follow... 🙏