TECHNIQUE TRAINING
contaminated water comes into contact with your eyes, nose, mouth or unhealed cuts. In the UK, Weil’s disease is very rare (33 cases in England and
Wales in 2009, of which 14 were contracted abroad) and the National Health Service says “there is no reason why you should not participate in freshwater recreational activities, such as swimming, sailing, waterskiing or windsurfing.” The NHS advises taking precautions such as covering cuts and grazes with waterproof dressings, and showering after your swim. Another good reason to keep your mouth shut is blue-green algae, which tends to develop during hot summers and sits like blue-green clouds in the water. These algae can be poisonous to humans and should be avoided.
GETTING IN AND WARMING UP
Always enter open water cautiously – there may be hidden hazards just below the surface. Tread lightly. There could be sharp stones or broken glass. Float as soon as you can (easier in a wetsuit) and use shallow strokes to take you into deeper water where you can start swimming normally. For some people, the sudden change in temperature can cause hyperventilation. Acclimatising in advance will help prevent this. When you enter the water, start by splashing cold water on exposed skin, especially your face, neck, hands and feet, before swimming. (See also ‘Breathe Easy’ on how to avoid hyperventilation.) Next, slowly mobilise your larger joints and muscles, perhaps with some head-up breast stroke before moving into front crawl. Spend three or more minutes doing this, then maybe try some deep breathing. Finally move into a faster warm-up and short sprints to elevate your heart rate.
STAY CALM
Breathing is the most important aspect to calm and relaxed swimming. Practise sighting and breathing bilaterally, as described in last issue’s 'Swim Plus' feature. If you watch an experienced swimmer in open water you will notice that every 3-6 stokes their head comes higher out of the water following a longer roll and arm recovery. This helps to stabilise the stroke as they look around to see where they’re going. Staying calm is especially important in crowds – a tense situation for many open water swimmers. Both starts and turns can become horribly congested in open water races when it can feel like you have a million arms and feet all over you. Mentally prepare yourself for this. Most collisions are accidental so keep focused on your own swim. At the turn, try to relax and ease around the buoy by staying consistent with your stroke and maintaining a horizontal position in the water. Kick harder if necessary. The common theme through this is that experience,
knowledge and preparation make for safer, more enjoyable (and faster) swimming. The more you practise, the better you get, and the less likely you’ll succumb to fear and panic. Assistance is usually close at hand if you need it. In the unlikely event you do get into any difficulty, roll on your back, raise your hand in the air and call loudly for help. Whenever you go out in open water, no matter how experienced
you are, you may have legitimate concerns but there’s never a need to panic. Just remember to respect the water, don’t be blasé about it and always follow the advice of professionals. And, most importantly, relax and enjoy yourself. ∆
26 BREATHE EASY
Open water swimmers sometimes experience tightness of breath, which can be confused with asthma or exercise induced asthma. However, in many cases it’s a result of failing to breathe out properly, or hyperventilating. People keep trying to breathe in when their lungs are already full. The trick is to relax and empty the lungs first so that normal breathing can resume. I recommend ‘parasympathetic breathing’ to achieve this, as follows. Breathe deeply and slowly into the stomach through the nose over a count of three. Listen for the air hissing through the nostrils. Then breathe out, again for three seconds, but this time through the mouth, and let out an ‘ahh’ sound as you do so. Continue for at least a minute. The combination of focused breathing and the sound it
makes is deeply calming. At rest we typically take 13-15 breaths per minute, rising to above 30 during intense exercise or as a result of stress. With parasympathetic breathing this can be reduced to three or four breaths per minute. This is such a good pre-race exercise I recommend all my athletes do it, whether they suffer from hyperventilation or not.
RESPECT THE WATER, DON’T BE BLASÉ ABOUT ITAND ALWAYS FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF PROFESSIONALS
To calm down, reduce your breathing to three or four breaths a minute
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