Cold Water: Every swim is a 'first'.

Photo by Jong Marshes on Unsplash

25th January 2020

Today was another first for me. It seems that every time I get into cold water, it's a new experience for me. As I split into the water on this foggy morning, I was to experience another first. The temperature dropped to around five degrees. 

At these temperatures, the water reacts in peculiar ways. As I splashed through arm over arm, my hands would fling droplets of water high into the air. Rather than splashing into the water, it would skid across the surface. 

At a guess, the surface tension of the water must be stiffening in reaction to the cold. Either way, it's a distraction which allows me to focus while acclimatising to these extreme conditions.

Managing to correct my issues from the previous week, I had a better swim. Sorting my goggles out and tightening my trailing marker buoy meant no leaks and no slippages for me today.

Wanting to swim further and longer, I set out with purpose. I didn't hang about at all; I swam the quickest line I could take, making sure that I concentrated on my technique required all my concentration. I'm not sure how far I swam, losing count is my speciality. Whether I'm in a pool or swimming short loops in a lake, focusing on how far I've gone is almost impossible. I'll always go back to the last number I remember, which means I'll swim further than I think. The way I see it, if I don't do this, I'm only cheating myself. 

Today, I swam further, and for longer in cold water than I have done before, this exposure is going to help me in my Ice Mile attempt. 

After twenty-six minutes of swimming, I knew that my time in the water was up, without a team there to support I didn't want to take any risks. I've loosely worked out that I'll need thirty-four minutes to swim the mile. That's an extra eight minutes of cold water I need to wrap my head around. 

Hauling myself out of the water I shuffled over to my chair, then dashed over to the sauna eager to warm up. Joining another swimmer in the warmth, we shivered our way back to normality. 

1st February 2020

I'm getting closer to my goal, although the water temperature has warmed up to a tropical seven degrees, I had another good swim. Today, I swam for over thirty minutes which is the longest I have managed so far. Also, I swam much further than I have done before, being only three hundred and fifty metres short or my target. At this stage, I feel that I'm progressing in the right direction. Only time will tell.