Need More Info For Open Water Swimming

[Micheal Artinda]

Thanks to all who have been so helpful. Many of my questions have been
answered. However, some still linger. Here they are:

1) What to wear -- the temperature of the water is about 65F or 15C. The air temp(the one that is
in the forcasts) can be between 20C -- 35C(70F -- 90F). it has been suggested that to do a
swim of what i want to attempt (7-8km) i need a wetsuit. What style is best(i have never worn
one before.) There are 3 styles that i have seen; full, sleeveless, and shortie-sleeveless. I
have never been "cold" in the water whether wearing a speedo, or trunks. I also dont get cold
easily in the winter, so ... what style should i get that will be best for the distance,
keeping in mind that I'm kind of a newbie when it comes to open water swimming of any lenght.

2) Food and Drink -- like i said, the swim is about 7-8 km in a resonably clean freshwater lake.
should i have tap water in the support boat? or can the water be taken out of the lake(it is
drinkable)? how much water should i intake per hour? I like granola bars. are they a sutable
energy snack(i hate powerbars and such). should i stay away from the chocolate coated and
chocolate chip ones? what are good evening before meal, breakfast before meals? i will be
swimming one way, stay the night, and head back the next morning. what should i eat while
out?(we are staying on an island) Besides water, what else should, or could i drink while
swimming? and should i turn on my back, or just tread water when i eat or drink?

3) goggles -- shoudl i wear them, or use the 3+ months of thawed lake to get my eyes used to it.

4) prep up to the day -- for the week before the swim, what should i do to better prepare myself so
that when i do the swim i can actually have a fighting chance of it? thinks like excersises,
eating, sleep.....? anything is a good suggestion.

5) Media -- I live in a small city of just over 50 000. anything that isnt normal is always on the 6
o'clock news, and on the front page of the local paper. in all honesty i dont want that to
happen, but if it does, how can i "avoid" the coverage? or, atleast not be on the front page?

just to refresh what i will be doing. an 7-8km swim one way. going one way then spending the night,
and swimming back. the lake is in central-northern Ontario. it is relitively clean. the swim will
take place in august (probably around the middle of the month.) the air temp is usaully around 20-
35C, the water is atleast 15C.

thanks.

Micheal Artindale

 

[Duncan Heenan]

"Micheal Artindale" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks to all who have been so helpful. Many of my questions have been answered. However, some
> still linger. Here they are:
>
> 1) What to wear -- the temperature of the water is about 65F or 15C.
The
> air temp(the one that is in the forcasts) can be between 20C -- 35C(70F -- 90F). it has been
> suggested that to do a swim of what i want to attempt (7-8km) i need a wetsuit. What style is
> best(i have never worn one
before.)
> There are 3 styles that i have seen; full, sleeveless, and shortie-sleeveless. I have never been
> "cold" in the water whether wearing
a
> speedo, or trunks. I also dont get cold easily in the winter, so ... what style should i get that
> will be best for the distance, keeping in mind
that
> I'm kind of a newbie when it comes to open water swimming of any lenght.
>
> 2) Food and Drink -- like i said, the swim is about 7-8 km in a
resonably
> clean freshwater lake. should i have tap water in the support boat? or can the water be taken out
> of the lake(it is drinkable)? how much water should
i
> intake per hour? I like granola bars. are they a sutable energy snack(i hate powerbars and such).
> should i stay away from the chocolate coated and chocolate chip ones? what are good evening before
> meal, breakfast before meals? i will be swimming one way, stay the night, and head back the next
> morning. what should i eat while out?(we are staying on an island) Besides water, what else
> should, or could i drink while swimming? and should i turn on my back, or just tread water when i
> eat or drink?
>
> 3) goggles -- shoudl i wear them, or use the 3+ months of thawed lake to
get
> my eyes used to it.
>
> 4) prep up to the day -- for the week before the swim, what should i do to better prepare myself
> so that when i do the swim i can actually have a fighting chance of it? thinks like excersises,
> eating, sleep.....?
anything
> is a good suggestion.
>
> 5) Media -- I live in a small city of just over 50 000. anything that isnt normal is always on the
> 6 o'clock news, and on the front page of the local paper. in all honesty i dont want that to
> happen, but if it does, how can
i
> "avoid" the coverage? or, atleast not be on the front page?
>
> just to refresh what i will be doing. an 7-8km swim one way. going one way then spending the
> night, and swimming back. the lake is in
central-northern
> Ontario. it is relitively clean. the swim will take place in august (probably around the middle of
> the month.) the air temp is usaully around 20-35C, the water is atleast 15C.
>
> thanks.
>
> Micheal Artindale

My advice to you would be to join a good swimming club, and get to know other open water swimmers,
and train with them. That way you'll not only get the best advice and experience, you also make new
like minded friends and get the practical help you need, such as a support boat. You must have a
proper support boat with emergency equipment on board and an experienced crew for the sort of swim
you are contemplating, otherwise you could easily end up dead, and endangering the lives of
rescuers. However tough you may think you are, you can't navigate yourself properly on a long swim,
and you and the world changes in ways you don't yet know when you've been out there in the cold for
a few hours. Don't try going it alone. Most of those who have tried it either died or were
considered a complete pain in the **** by everyone who had to pick up the pieces.

 

[Carolyn]

Excuse me for not responding to your specific questions, but I though
you might find this one website a good resource:

http://soloswims.com/

I don't know where in Ontario you are, but you might be able to contact one of the swim masters'
listed there, or the organization directly, for some advice specific to Ontario, and maybe even the
specific lake.

If you look around the site, there is a list of useful books and websites about distance/marathon
swimming, some advice about training, and information about the rules and regulations in Ontario.
Just reading some of the site/links might give you a better idea what you're up against. I don't
think you can decide what food to eat, what wetsuit to wear, if any, and all these things without
trying a lot of training swims with potential suits, feeding plans, and so on to find the problems,
what chafes and what makes your stomach upset and so on.

I personally like the book "Open Water Swimming: A Complete Guide for Distance Swimmers and
Triathletes" by Penny Lee Dean, although the advice is overkill for a hack masters'
swimmer/sometimes triathlete like me.

I wouldn't say your dream is impossible, though, just that you probably need to do a lot of
research, and be willing to devote this summer to training, possibly putting off your swim for a
year if you can't get all the preparation done.

Good luck, Carol