Winter Swimming (open water or outdoor pool) - advice needed.

kallemann67

Howdy tri folk. Got a question to raise here. The lake I swim at (just outside if London, England) throughout April to September has introduced winter swimming this year. Normally we swim in the lake through the the regular season with a wetsuit on - I have the Orca 3:8 with a thermal swim cap for the earlier and later parts of the season. But this winter swimming appears to be an entirely new beast. The coldest nights are -8C to -10C here with day's going up to -3C otherwise we're averaging +4C throughout winter ( the cold snap can last 2-3 weeks).

The organisers have asked lake swimmers to pay in advance for the winter sessions - so they can budget and commit their lifeguard staff and pay lake fees). While this appeals to my adventurous spirit I am trying to establish the logistics of getting in a swim in such temperature which is longer than a 1000 m.

I'm just looking for advice/ experience from anyone who has done consistent open water training in winter conditions. From insulating tricks to distances covered, staying warm post swim, brain freeze and breathing or positives and negative experiences - etc. anything really that will give me some insight before I make the decision to pay my membership in advance.

I don't HAVE to go to the lake. I have a 25m community outdoor heated pool (quite chlorinated) with 3-4 people per lane which I did last year so I got my swimming covered either way.



Thanks!

Capt_Apollo

i have a group of people in my tri club that swim in the open water at coney island beach here in new york city. the water never gets as cold as the outside. in fact, they often do it without wetsuits! it's completely free, but i still won't go!!

personally, if i were you, i'd rather swim indoors where i can get longer and more focused workouts.

kallemann67

@Capt_Apollo - appreciate your input. I'm coming around to that thought - that my pool time in the outdoor heated offering allows for the outside experience yet I can focus on strike technique et al until spring when open water starts and it will be pretty chilly then anyways.

3dogsrunning

Damn. You guys are tough. I complain about one of the pools my master's swim group uses that is pretty cold. No way I'd be doing open water in those temps wetsuit or not.