Open Water Skills
by Rob Harvey
Introduction
Open Water Swimming in the UK was until recently a much feared and little practised discipline. You may well have swum 3+ times a week in the pool but you probably swim once a week at the most in open water. Due to the British climate you may even go into your first open water based triathlon of the season without ever having the opportunity to swim in your wetsuit at the local Open Water Venue.
Why is it important to practice open water swimming?
Here is a list of some of the difference from pool based swimming:
- Temperature - The pool will be 30+ Open Water is usually less than 20
- Water clarity - You may not be able to see anything at all.
- Visibility - sun in your eyes, rain, and other competitors arms!
- Currents - Great if they are with you but can lead to a DNF if against you.
- Waves - Can affect visibility, breathing and stroke technique
- Wetsuits - Can aid with buoyancy, but may feel restrictive or take on unnecessary water.
- Other swimmers - potentially lots of other swimmers. You can take advantage by drafting but you also need to get used to contact
- Navigation - No lane ropes or black lines on the bottom to follow. You need to learn your natural navigation and how to sight.
- Deep Water or Beach Starts - No more pushing off the wall. You will either run in from the shore/beach or begin out in the deep water.
- Turning around Buoys - No more pushing off the wall. Most courses will involve a number of 90-180 degree turns around marker buoys.
- Exiting the water - You need to get yourself out at the end. Seems simple but with tired arms and little blood in your legs it can be a challenge.
- Things in the water - weeds, fish, big fish, other stuff!
- Fear of the unknown - People have issues due to some of the above
Making the Transition
OK, sounds tough! Well here are some things you can do to make a successful transition from pool swimming to open water:
Before you get in the water:
- Get the right equipment
- Learn how to put it on, take it off and maintain your wetsuit
- Know the rules
- Think about safety
- Locate your nearest Open Water Venue
- Acclimatise to the environment
Once In the water:
- Practice - Open Water Skills
- Practice - Your stroke technique in open water
- Practice - Race specific training sets
- Race Preparation
1. Get the right equipment
First buy, rent or borrow a wetsuit that fits. For more information about what makes a good fit read our triathlon wetsuit guide. Visit a local retailer that will allow you to try before you buy as you won't know of the suit fits right till you are swimming in it. They should also be able to talk you through and try any other products you might need for open water swimming:
- body glide
- neoprene swim hats
- neoprene swim socks
- ear plugs
- mask and goggles
2. Learn how to put it on, take it off and maintain your wetsuit
Our guide to triathlon wetsuits also has all the information you need on how to put on, take off and maintain your wetsuit.
3. Know the rules
Whether you are taking part in a triathlon, British Long Distance Swimming Association or FINA event it is important to know the rules. Knowing the rules can prevent you from getting disqualified and help you to give you confidence in what you are about to do. Check with the event organiser regarding which rules the event is being run under and then visit the relevant governing body website for details. It's also important to attend any organised race briefing to check any last minute additions or changes as this does happen from time to time.
4. Think about safety
Open water swimming is extremely enjoyable, but not without its risks. Common sense and the following good practice advice will help ensure that your next dip in the water is a safe and enjoyable one:
Temperature
The cold is one of the greatest risks posed by open water swimming. This can include cold water shock (fast immersion in cold water), swimming failure (inability to swim due to muscle rigidity and loss of manual dexterity) or hypothermia (decreased body temperature due to prolonged exposure).
- Always wear a wetsuit. This will keep you warm and also give you buoyancy.
- Never swim if the temperature is below 11 degrees C
- Change into dry clothes quickly once you exit the water
Visibility and Water Conditions
Currents, waves, weather conditions and other activities taking place in the water can all impact upon the safety of swimmers.
- Never swim alone
- Never swim in areas marked against swimming
- Only swim at organised venues where appropriate safety cover is in place.
- Wear a brightly coloured swim hat so you can be easily seen by swimming partners and people watching.
- Be aware of other activities taking place in the water, particularly if boats are using the area.
Water Quality
Water quality tests provide an indication of the suitability of a venue for open water swimming; however they don't mean that that there is a complete absence of potential pathogens. Two potential risks are blue-green algae scums or leptospirosis (often referred to as Weil's disease). More information is provided about these risks in the appendix at the bottom of the page. Below are some simple practices that swimmers should adopt to minimize risk of further infections:
- Only swim at venues where water quality tests have taken place recently
- Cover all cuts and abrasions, however minor, with sticking plasters.
- You should not consider swimming if you have deep cuts
- Wash hands in fresh water before eating after you have swum
- Take a full shower at the earliest opportunity
- Try to ingest a minimum amount of water whilst swimming
- Visit a doctor immediately if you feel unwell in the days following open water swimming
5. Locate your nearest Open Water Venue
In the Northwest try you could try some of the above:
- Salford Watersports Centre
- Liverpool Docks
6. Acclimatise to the environment
The information below is taken from a recent article in 220 Magazine about acclimatising to the cold temperatures you may experience open water swimming. Whilst it is informative and useful advice if you are susceptible to the cold, for most people getting acclimatised is simply a case of biting the bullet and jumping in...........
Cold-water immersion has an effect on breathing rate and muscle function. Cold water shock (sudden immersion in cold water) causes your respiratory rate to rise rapidly in the first 20s from ~16 breaths per minute to 75 breaths per minute. It will then stay at 40 breaths per minute for the next few minutes. Exposure with regular immersion in cold water can lower initial and long-term respiratory responses by over 50%.The cold-water effect on muscles reduces their power by 25% and severe cold can disable them completely. Shivering can then affect co-ordination and cold on the inner ear can cause loss of balance.
There's research to show that six cold water showers can reduce the effect of cold-water shock. If you are planning to start swimming open water in May then this could be your first step to get your body prepared? When you finally get in open water should then be kept short and increased gradually overtime until you are ‘comfortable'. When entering the water during these sessions walk in slowly and allow your breathing to settle at each stage. Whilst standing in relatively shallow water, progress to putting your face in a couple of times before finally beginning to swim.
As well as a wetsuit wearing a neoprene hat and ear plugs can help keep you warm as 50% of heat is lost through the head. The ear plugs can also help if you are experience balance issues from the cold.
7. Practise - Open Water Techniques
What are the Open Water Techniques you need to know?
- Natural Navigation
- Starts
- Sighting
- Breathing to either side
- Drafting
- Turns
- Exiting the Water
- Replacing your goggles
Attending a coached Open Water Skills session is a fun and informative introduction to each of the techniques, how to perform them and when to use them.
8. Practise - Your stroke technique in Open Water
This step sounds so obvious but is almost always overlooked. In the pool we spend hour's fine tuning our front crawl technique using video analysis, drills, focused swim sets, stroke counting, tempo trainers, bands, paddles, pull buoys, forearm fulcrums..... But as soon as we get in open water our first thought is getting through the set as fast as possible and the set is usually just 2, 3 or 4 laps of the course. Our arms whirl round at twice the speed, we exit short and say to ourselves don't worry the wetsuit will sort my stroke out!
The solution is simple. As part of your warm-up add in some drill to work on key areas of your stroke. Not too much, just enough to get you focused. Include some short sections where you slow your stroke down and check that all the key areas are functioning properly. Ask yourself:
- Am I flat in the water with my head, heels and hips aligned at the surface?
- Is my leg kick efficient, narrow, initiated from the hip with nice relaxed ankles?
- How far am I rotating? Is my rotation even to both sides?
- .........
- .....
This questioning will help to focus you back on efficiency in open water which you have worked so hard to develop in the pool.
9. Practise - Race Specific Training Sets
It is important to plan you open water training sets with the same level of detail you plan your sessions in the pool. It is true to say that getting accurate measures of distance in open water can be a challenge so it may be better to use time based intervals or stroke counting instead. Whilst your first few weeks of open water may be focused on increasing your time in the water and completing your target number of laps it is quickly time to consider what you will have to do in your target race.
- How long is the swim?
- What time do you aim to complete it in?
- Is it a sea, lake or river swim?
- How big is your starting wave?
- Is it a deep water or beach start?
- How many turns are there in the course?
- What direction are the turns?
- Will it be easy to sight of fixed objects?
- Do you plan to go off hard or hold back at the start?
- Will you be able to draft off people?
The list of questions goes on, but you should start to get a feel for the things you need to practice in your open water sessions. Here are some ideas:
- Include long intervals at race pace with short rests.
- Add a focus to each of these intervals such as sighting every 4, 6, then 8 strokes or efficient backstroke turns round each buoy.
- Practice your starts then carry on swimming hard for 50-100m afterwards.
- Link your starts practice into long intervals to simulate the feeling off try to settle once the race has begun.
- Swim with other people to get used to having other swimmers around you.
- Share the lead to practice drafting and seeing if you can swim faster as a group than on your own.
- Include sets alternating the side you breathe. This could be bi-lateral breathing or 100m to the right, 100m to the left as you need to be able to do both.
- Finish every session with 1-3 exits from the water at race pace removing your wetsuit on the final one.10.
10. Race Preparation
Here are some ideas for final race preparations you make to be fully prepared for the start:
Sighting Points & Exit:
Walk around the swim course to identify your sighting point for each section. Use fixed objects such as buildings not things that will move; the taller and clearer the better.
Check out the exit point to see whether it is deep, shallow or slippery.
Acclimatisation:
Swim the race course 1-2 days before the race. This will help you get used to the turns, temperature, visibility, currents, and choppiness of the water. You can also practice your sighting points and exit.
Warm-up:
Take advantage of any swim warm-up time available to you. You will either be given a few minutes between start waves or pointed to an area near the start that you can use.
Starts:
Getting down to the swim start early enough to take advantage of any warm-up time.
Decide your preferred line into the first corner and where in the group to start. This could be far right, centre, far left, front row or back of the group.
Identify people you may be able to draft off if the opportunity arises.
Do you need to go out hard or is it better to take the first section easy?
A few final things to think about
- Read the race information clearly to find out course details and practice times. Try to get an idea of water temperature and conditions in advance.
- Look at the entry list to get an idea of your competitors in the race and the size of your wave.
Appendix: - Risks when Open Water Swimming
Leptospirosis
The following information has been taken from - http://www.leptospirosis.org
Please visit their site or consult your doctor for more information.
Causes of infection - guide for the public
Human infection is always caused by exposure to the bacteria that have been shed by an infected animal, and in 90% of cases it will be their urine (although infection direct from blood is also possible). Direct transfer, where the urine comes into contact with the patient and enters their bloodstream, is very rare except in accidental exposure when handling infected animals, and the usual route is via water that is subsequently drink, or used for recreation such as swimming.
The bacteria have to physically enter your bloodstream in order to cause an infection, and as they cannot easily penetrate dry undamaged skin, they can only enter at certain locations - injuries where the skin is broken are the obvious places, but mucous membranes lining the airway, mouth, and lungs are also potential routes - so breathing in or swallowing bacteria is a risk.
Dry unbroken skin is a perfect barrier against the bacteria, but cuts and scrapes need only be tiny for the bacteria to find an entry point. There is also a suggestion that the bacteria can pass through very waterlogged skin (such as when skin is immersed in water for a long time), as the cellular structure of the skin changes slightly. This is still only a theory and we have no cases on file.
The bacteria are not generally airborne, so the only risks for breathing in the infection are where water droplets are being created - such as pressure-washing work or in the spray chambers of some air conditioning plant. Being "generally close" to an infected person or animal will not cause an infection!
It's important to realize that the bacteria are incredibly small, and so even a pinhead sized drop of water can carry millions of them. In theory it only takes one to cause illness, but in reality your body's immune system will attack them to a certain extent and so the chances of illness increase as the volume that enters the body (the 'innoculum') increases.
What are the chances of catching this infection from my local river/pond/cess pit?
Obviously this depends on two things - if the water is infected with the bacteria, and if you and said bacteria get in close enough contact!
On average in the developed world (Europe, mainland USA, etc.) about 20% of feral rats carry strains of leptospira that could cause illness in humans. This of course varies locally - in your area you may have 100% rat carriers, or 0% - it just depends on the social lives of the rats in question. It's therefore sensible to assume that on average 10% of all freshwater sites are infectious, with more probability for sites which stand good chances of hosting rats nearby (urban ponds, slow-moving rivers and canals, lakes near farm buildings, etc.) and less of a risk for non-rodent-friendly sites such as rapid flowing highland streams or very large estuaries and river deltas. Obviously any site with a high water throughput (such as a river) is less of a risk than stagnant water, as rodent urine will be diluted by the flow. Any water treated with chlorine or UV-sterilisation will be totally safe. This means that swimming pools, and many municipal water fountains and architectural features, are usually of no risk in terms of leptospirosis.
The chances that being exposed to contaminated water would lead to infection depends on what you do in the water. To become infected you must actually allow water to enter your body, though that could be as simple as through an open cut, or by licking a finger. Swimming is the highest risk activity as there is no way to prevent some ingestion and skin contact, though other activities such as fishing, waterskiing, sailing and kayaking can also present risk. Remember that the bacteria cannot survive in saltwater so there is no possible risk from swimming in the sea, or in tidal regions of rivers where the water is briny.
In general in the developed world people are wary of open water sites from general cleanliness viewpoints, and would not drink from a lake without a very good reason. The chances of infection are therefore quite low, but these statistics hide the fact that in many cases the infection is mild, and goes unreported. Despite only a few thousand cases being reported in the developed world each year, there will be many times more cases which are simply written off as a cold or stomach bug - we estimate the total number of cases in the developed world could be up to 100,000 per year.
In developing countries the risks are greater, as rat populations are more widespread and water use is different. The quantity of untreated water used for washing, bathing and drinking is far higher, and the association between hygiene risks and open water is rarely made. Education in developing countries is the only solution to this issue, as the bacteria and the rats are there to stay.
Blue Green Algae
Blue green algae are minute plants which occur naturally in lakes, ponds, reservoirs, rivers and the seas. Some, but not all blue-green algae release poisons into the water so all algae masses or "Scums" should be regarded as poisonous. Scums commonly occur in periods of prolonged hot weather in calm waters, such as near the shore line. They are particularly in water polluted by agriculture, domestic or industrial waste. Testing will pick up traces of poisonous algae. Don't drink the water and try to ingest as little as possible whilst swimming.