Fear of the Water - Triathlon Week

hez78 · 01-16-2007, 08:45 AM

Hello all,

I'm sure that this has been posted here before, but here we go...

I have this thing that when I put my face in a lake water I try to suck in air, or water as it were. I don't know if it is a fear response or if it is because of the coldness of the water. Can anyone offer advice to get over this?

pyschosyd · 01-16-2007, 01:33 PM

Does this occur all the time, or only when you first enter the water.

when it is cold in the water your body can take a bit of a shock. My trick is to get in the water, and let some into the wetsuit right away. I then bob around for a bit while the heart rate comes down and the water in my suit warms up. I'm fine after that.

If it is fear of open water, all I can say is that swim in it as much as possible. The more experience you have the more you will not fear what is unseen. Unless you are swimming in shark or jelly fish infested parts of the ocean, there really isn't much out there that can really harm you. It may also be good to take a flutter board out a few times can and practice kicking with your head in the water. This is a more controled way to get used to it.

Cheers
syd

trifly · 01-29-2007, 09:24 PM

I had a similar experience the first time I jumped in the ocean to do a serious swim. I freaked out with the cold, waves, etc. I think alot of it had to do with the fact that I trained so much in a pool, where you can always grab a side or stand up.

But I can tell you after a few times, I now love swimming in open water way more than a pool. Remember if you need to rest, just float on your back. You'll start loving the open water...

rhino52 · 02-14-2007, 09:37 AM

Open water swim is a completely different monster i am a horrible swimmer so i am a back of pack swimmer i had an escort the last half of my first sprint tri being 2nd to last out of water ingesting while swimming is not recommended, however get used to swimming in open water when possible visit more public lake swim areas whenm possible fortunately in CNY plenty of lakes and ponds w/ guards;; i also helped a young girl in my 2nd tri attempt i breast stroked 1/2 mile i could tell she was disoriented while she was swimming and i shouted to her when i saw her pannick in the open water fortunately an observer came to her aid and eased her fear remember to relax in open water because water panic sets in and freezs the muscles, i have just hired a swim coach to improve my stroke because i want to compete and destroy my old marks Good luck and dont give up TRI- ing