Training Advice
Head for open water
Outdoor swimming is great fun - and if you have some experience of pool swimming, it’s relatively straightforward to make the transition to open water.
Unlike your local neighbourhood swimming pool, a stretch of open water is likely to be a fairly wild and uncontrolled environment, which adds markedly to its appeal.
Outdoor swimming allows you to feel more a part of nature while enjoying some great all-round exercise too.
While swimming up and down a 25m pool can be boring (it will take you over 60 lengths to cover a mile), outdoor swimming can be incredibly exciting and there’s often the added sense of battling with, and overcoming the elements.
The secret of success is managing the components of outdoor swimming that can be controlled – and knowing how best to cope with those that cannot.
What’s for sure is that the more outdoor swimming you do, the more you will learn from the experience and the more proficient you will become.
For instance, swimming in a wetsuit can take some getting used to as it gives you added buoyancy, lifting you more out of the water.
There are four main elements to open water swimming that you will need to try and control or adapt to, if you are to become successful:
- The temperature (of the water and the atmosphere);
- The visibility (your view from the water);
- How safe you are (what kind of support you have and how easily you can be seen by others);
- The general weather conditions.