Faulty Flipper

Open water swimming does seem to be bl**dy marvellous. Nevertheless my Google news feed for swimming tells me of several deaths a week in the activity. I do not think we should not do it, but there may be some ways we can reduce risks.

• Not alone. We swim at Gaddings. The nearest passer by to the dam will be half a mile away and exactly the same layout which makes it such a glorious evocation of isolation means that you are just that – isolated.
  Given the size also of the dam, and the fact that you are, necessarily, at water level, you will not be able to see much of a swimmer more than a few yards away. It might be better to swim as a kind of loose shoal. That doesn’t mean swimming on each other’s feet, but it does mean knowing who you are swimming with and where they are and that they are not too far away.
• Wear a swim hat (or two). It should be brightly coloured – and not of a colour which might otherwise already be there. Avoid any dark colour and, suprisingly perhaps, not white or silver. A hat keeps your head warm, it would otherwise lose heat quickly, and is the only bit of you which can be easily spotted at a distance.
• Wet suits. I have one but do not use it regularly. A wet suit will keep you afloat if all else fails.
• Whistle. You will hopefully never need a whistle, but kept on a rubber band around your wrist or stuffed up the leg of your swimming costume, or wherever, it will not get in your way. If you get in trouble, repeat three short blasts, keep your hat above the water and visible if you can, and wave an arm in the air. Tread water rather than swim on your back. If sans whistle, learn to whistle loudly. Depending on conditions, a big splash is also visible from a distance.
• Cramp. Cramp is an intermittent fact for swimmers. It can be acute and very painful, and it can be disabling. In an open water swim it can be a threat. You cannot predict it save to say that energetic activity in cold conditions is more likely to generate it.
  • Swim hydrated. Poor hydration can also severely affect your performance. I do not drink the water I swim in, and in any event, by the time you are exercising, it is too late to hydrate. You will, at best, slake a thirst. Hydration starts several hours beforehand, with nothing more complicated than drinking one or two large glasses of water. Do it. Your urine should be nearly clear. If it isn’t, start again. As the swim approaches, top up with smaller glasses, switching (perhaps) to an electrolyte drink about an hour before swimming.
  • A banana can assist in maintaining levels of potassium – and the absence of which will increase the chances of cramp. I used to ask jokingly where to put the banana, but the answer, simply is to eat it a good time before the swim. Of course, we should all be properly fed so as not to have any such deficiencies, but a multivitamin a day will assist, and in any event, I like a banana.
  • It is said that a proper loosening warm up might help. I am not convinced – a cramp will usually occur some considerable time into a swim and long after any effect of warming up. Even so, it will not hurt.
  • Cramp is associated with those people who are getting fit. If you aren’t fit, you possibly cannot do enough to be threatened by cramp, and if you are fit, you might be beyond it. If you are cross training, remember that fitness is specific to the activity. You may be fit as a lop on a bicycle, but if you are just starting swimming, you are only getting-fit-for-swimming. Your muscles are learning new strengths.
  • Listen to your body. If you start shivering, that is an indication of the need to bring what you are doing to an end fairly quickly.
  • If you get do get cramp, stay calm, stay long, and stay gently swimming. The real threat is when you bend the part of the involved. Remember that typically in a pool, a cramp comes after a turn. Contract the muscle and you risk it continuing to contract – to cramp. A minor cramp you should be able to swim through – with care but it might make sense to swim a little closer to the bank until it passes. Major cramps are usually preceded by lesser cramps. Again, listen to your body. That lesser cramp may presage something more challenging.
• Acclimatise
  • Get yourself into the water slowly, splash’n dunk. The first and immediate reaction to cold water can be a physical one making it impossible even for a good swimmer actually to swim. Give yourself a minute between a first full dunk and setting off.
  • Get used to it. The more you swim in cooler water, the easier it gets as your body reacts less violently to that first dunk. Recognise this and take one or two opportunities for shorter swims at first.

Above all enjoy it. Common sense and proper caution are all that is required.