More Cold Water - Triathlon Week

kgarnier · 05-27-2005, 05:40 AM

Wondering if anyone out there has some advice / comments on getting ready for racing in cold water. All of my races are done here in Atlantic Canada and on race morning sometimes the water temp has been as low as 14-16 degrees C.... makes for quite rude awakening at 7am. Wanted to see what others did to combat the cold..... I find that if try to get a thorough warm up before start, by end of swim my hands and feet can be literally numb (makes for hard running up a 400 m hill in transition). On the other hand, if try to do warm-up out of water and quick one before the gun, the cold shock is enough to throw my breathing off completely for a good portion of the race. I don't normally find cold water a problem in other sports (I've dove (scuba) in a 7mm wetsuit in 0 degree C water before for up to 17 minutes) but seems the initial cold shock coupled with race start / washing machine sends the breathing and heart rate to moon. Thanks to anyone who's got some help.

kevin

Walterh · 05-30-2005, 09:25 AM

I don't have a whole lot for you, but I know that they make all kinds of warming-rubs that the hard-core cycle guys use when riding in really cold temps (grab a Nov Dec issue of bicycling mag maybe). If they don't wash off it stand to reason that might provide some help. Even if it only bought you 10 min you're way up.

This is gonna sound lame, but practice. We can condition ourselves to almost anything over time. Maybe a few chilly mornings out there pre-race day just practicing adapting to the cold-shock and breathing would help.

The only other thing that leaps to mind is that new book "Swimming to Antarctica". I've not read it, but its on the list. This lady did some remarkably cold water swimming, there maybe some tricks hiding in there. Comes to that, poke around on the internet and see what the English-Channel swimmers do? I seem to recall seeing them slathered up in some kind of stuff from time to time.

Good luck! (Ocean swimming.....you have my sympathy and my respect!)