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open water swimming

How to swim in challenging sea conditions

If you are used to swimming in fresh water, swimming in the sea and its ever-changing environment can prevent challenges – and thrills! Firstly, saltwater makes you more buoyant, so swimming is suddenly easier if you are used to freshwater. Take a moment to notice how that buoyancy feels and affects your stroke.

As well as being more buoyant, salt water is also saltier! This can cause problems in two ways, firstly with chafing even with previously comfortable swimming costumes or wetsuits – so lube up using an ocean friendly lube. Secondly, ingesting salt water can make you feel nauseous so practise adjusting your breathing pattern so you can breathe to one side to avoid being hit in the face by waves and chop.

If you must swim out through big waves dive through them rather than swim over them. You will use much less energy and avoid being thrown around. When swimming back to shore, use the power of the sea to your advantage by surfing the waves in.

Waves and swell can make it more difficult to see where you are going and get your bearings. Don’t panic but sight more often and practise sighting when you are at the top of the wave. Consider using water polo stroke to get a better look of where you are. When you are swimming in or across a current, sight more often to make sure you aren’t being pushed off course.

Swimming in challenging conditions can be tough but try not to panic. Concentrating on your breathing will relax you, your stroke and reduce your stress levels. Think about making yourself as streamlined as possible. Don’t fight the sea – it will always win! Instead, think about how you can adapt your stroke to the conditions. Practise when training so you feel confident when faced with challenging conditions in the open water.

Jonathan Cowie

Coach Spotlight: Jem Wallis, Escape Swims

What made you want to become an open water coach?

I’ve always loved being in the water and like so many people find it to be my place of peace. There’s an irresistible pull that draws me to it and from a youth spent competing in the pool to many years of sea swimming and surfing that followed that, the water has always been an important part of my life. From an early age I’ve also loved the process of sharing knowledge and helping people. I taught swimming to youngsters at the pool I lifeguarded at as a teenager and then went on to teach PE for many years. When that career reached its conclusion, I was really keen on the idea of working for myself. I’d ‘coached’ friends to swim, from gaining confidence in the open water to improving their strokes for years and enjoyed every moment of that process so it was a natural progression for me to combine all of that experience and passion into open water coaching. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made!

Who is your main client base and how has your practice developed?

I’ve been really keen to be as inclusive as I can be and have got clients from non-swimmers through to triathletes looking to improve performance. Outdoor swimming comes in so many forms and a swim can mean anything from a quick cold-water dip or ‘swimble’ to a good long ‘adventure’ swim and I try and make sure that I offer something for all of those swimmers.

I started out focussing very much on coaching people to improve their front crawl stroke and gain the fitness and confidence to stretch themselves in their swimming. I love that process and helping my swimmers to develop and access more water. Living and working in Cornwall means that I’ve got some amazing and varied swims and I’m working on some swimming holidays and retreats for next year which is really exciting. I have to say though, I’m increasingly finding that I’m being drawn into the cold-water coaching side. I’ve personally got so much out of the cold and love helping people to access those amazing benefits too. I’m working with social prescribers, individuals and businesses in taking people into the cold water for their health and wellbeing. Running courses which not only focus on safe access and gaining the confidence to continue with swimming after the course, we look at how you can tie in cold swimming and breathing into your life and this is turning into something these course are taking up more and more of my time.

What has been your favourite coaching moment?

That’s such a tough one! I’ve had so many of my cold-water clients who have overcome their fears, found a new lease of life or some reduction in pain which is always inspiring and emotional. I’ll never tire of those moments, but probably my favourite moment happened this summer when I was coaching a swimmer who had lost confidence and wanted to be able to put in some longer swims for fitness and to find a bit of headspace. Over the course of three sessions he was probably the perfect client in that he listened and honestly and openly engaged with the coaching process. I am a bit of a stroke geek and the difference in his stroke from start to finish was huge and there was a moment in that last session where it all came together beautifully. His stroke lengthened and slowed and his speed through the water increased considerably. He looked like a complete natural by the end and he even seemed to be walking taller when we walked back up the beach. He’s wanting more training now, really wanting to push on, so I know I’ve done my job well.

What advice would you give to new coaches?

We’re all on our own journey and you don’t know quite where yours is going to take you. Be open to some directions that you might not expect at the outset. Some of those won’t work out but some might surprise you! Enjoy your clients and be curious. The coaching process is about communication and of course that goes two ways. Embrace that! I’ve learnt plenty of things about myself through my coaching and those conversations that has helped me to grow as a person as well as a coach.

What is next on your swim bucket list?

My personal challenge is to swim some longer distances. I was a sprinter back in my youth and avoided distance swims as I’d always get the pace wrong and it was hard! Last year this was the aim for me but I ruptured a bicep whilst surfing in the early part of summer and that put paid to any serious training. I’m back to fitness now and looking to book in for a good long loch swim in late summer when we’re heading up to Scotland for a trip away. I’m combining some training for that in with working up some new swims for clients next year here in Cornwall where I’d really like to take some groups out for some adventure swimming journeys, swimming and walking a stretch of coast and river and staying at some lovely places along the way. There’s always a new swim around the next corner!

Find out more: www.escape-unplugged.co.uk

Coach Spotlight: Dee Harmer, Fish 2 Water

What made you want to become an open water coach?

It all happened quite organically with one thing just falling into place after the other. I absolutely love the sea and the open water on all levels. Having taught scuba diving in many parts of the world to teaching swimming in a pool, running our Junior Beach Lifesaving group (Nippers) as a Surf Lifesaving GB coach and Surf Lifeguard and been an avid open water and pool swimmer myself it was just the perfect fit. I learnt of the STA qualification especially as it was tutored by the open water swimming legend herself Keri-anne Payne and decided it would be another string to my bow. It was during the first lockdown in 2020 and I remember my husband saying to me when I told him of the course and the price that If I thought I would make the money back then it was worth it… Little did we know it was going to be a total life and career changer.

Who is your main client base and how has your practice developed?

Right off the back I started with juniors. I absolutely adore teaching kids and there was just nothing like this here on the Sussex coast and with my lifesaving background it felt right. That summer was so busy, aided by the fact that all pools and leisure centres were shut and had been for about three months. I developed courses for different ages incorporating open water swimming skills like crocodile eyes, buoy turns, dolphin diving, starts and swimming in waves, alongside personal survival and water safety. I have core skills and plenty of games and activities to throw in between to keep up the fun factor and excitement. Over the last few years I have now grown my adult base, creating courses to introduce people to the open water and learning how to read tides, forecasting, navigating waves and acclimatising to the cooler water temperatures over the winter. I also coach technique from learning front crawl to open water and triathlon race skills and have a regular group of people who train with my OW club. I also run small events like sunrise swims, full moon swims, swim and stretch, adventure swims etc.

What has been your favourite coaching moment?

Wow that’s a tricky one! I have lots of very fond moments but picking one would be helping a lady who was petrified of the open water (but a good pool swimmer) conquer her fear. On the first lesson she was hunched over my board scared of anything and everything to now entering a sprint triathlon and overcoming those emotions.

What advice would you give to new coaches?

Be fun, be smart and be you.

What is next on your swim bucket list?

I hoped to swim Windermere this year but unfortunately the event was cancelled so that is still on my list! This summer I completed a Channel relay and the Thames Marathon. Now I’m off to Greece to swim guide for a few weeks.

Find out more: f2w.co.uk

Joining a Swimming Community Can Revolutionise Your Motivation (Especially in Winter!)

Hey swimmers, let’s chat about something we all know too well – the ups and downs of chasing those swim goals. Especially when the colder winter months set in and motivation can become more challenging than those sunny Summer days. The trying to keep up when you’ve got a million other things on your plate? But here’s a thought: what if you didn’t have to swim upstream all by yourself? Enter the hero of our story – a swimming community!

Imagine this: a bunch of folks who are all about that open water life, cheering you on and giving you that push when you need it. We all know motivation can be a tricky beast. One day you’re smashing through waves, and the next, you’re just not feeling it. That’s where having your own swim community comes in. Sharing stories, tips, or even just a good old moan about a tough swim can work wonders. It’s about getting that boost from people who really get what you’re going through.

Our community isn’t just a place for small talk. We’ve geared it up to fuel your motivation, even when the temperatures drop and the water looks less inviting. Picture it as your cozy swim café – a place to swap chilly swim tales, warm up with stories, and draw inspiration from experts during our live talks. It’s about sharing that swimming journey whatever the month, feeling accountable, and keeping each other motivated.

For those who want a bit more than just a friendly push, our Straight-Line Swimming Coaches are a click away on our Coach Finder. They’re your personal winter swim trainers, ready to guide you through those cold waters with pro tips and a whole lot of encouragement.

Never underestimate the power of a fantastic swimming community, especially during these winter months. Whether it’s a coach, a swim partner braving the cold with you, or a bunch of water enthusiasts sharing their winter swim stories and positive energy. They’re not just there to cheer you on; they understand the thrill and challenge of open water swimming.

What to look for in an open water swimming venue

When looking for an open water swimming venue that is right for you, there are a few quick tips that we find to be helpful both from a safety perspective, and an open water perspective:

Who owns the water?

Surprisingly some swimmers don’t recognise that this is a question we need to think about, but if it’s a private lake remember that you would need to have permission so that you can swim there.

With private lakes and swimming venues usually these are manned by a members company or a swimming club. Not sure where to begin to find out who owns the water? Facebook groups are a great place to start: Just do a search of your local area and open water swimming groups, and you might find that there are groups in your area where you can ask the question, where’s safe for me to swim in?

A bonus to that is you might find a like minded community at the same time when you start to delve into the open water swim spots in your local area.

Where’s the safest place to enter and exit the water?

This is really important and we can’t emphasize this enough. Make sure that you have easy access to the water so that it’s not going to be a really steep drop off as you enter to swim. Take nature into consideration and ideally your entry point shouldn’t be close to any animal shelter or nests. Of course it goes without saying that the entry point should be just as easy to exit and so bear this in mind when doing your initial checks that your chosen entry point into the water will be just as easy for you to get out.

Remember you’ll most likely be feeling tired and lethargic following your session and so be mindful that you don’t want your exit point to be a place where you’ll need to have a store of excess energy to lift yourself up and out of the water.

Is there a lifeguard?

Whether that’s an inland body of water that has lifeguards for specific times during the day or a beach in your area that is lifeguarded, check the RNLI’s website for a list of all the manned beaches and bodies of water around the country. Things to look out for include: what time they open, what times the lifeguard is there for and importantly what times they’re not. If you are new to the water or heading out alone for your swim, then we’d always recommend swimming where you have the additional safety of a lifeguard on hand.

How accessible is the water?

If you’re going to be swimming in a river, how close can you get, can you park your car a sensible distance away and then how far is that walk going to be with your necessary kit you need for the swim? Is there any phone signal so if something goes wrong, are you going to be able to get in touch with someone?

Take the time out to do a recce without even thinking about going swimming on your first visit.

Remember our first question about who owns the land, this is key when it comes to accessibility. If you’re swimming on privately owned land you need permission to access, otherwise you’re at risk of trespassing when on someone else’s property.

The water temperature

We’re in the UK so the likelihood is the water will be cold regardless of what season it is. Be mindful of cold water shock and your body’s natural reaction to getting into water. The water is much colder than the resting temperature of our bodies. Naturally most open water locations don’t have showers, so don’t go with the expectation to have a nice warm shower at the end of the swim. The key is to ensure that you’ve got a really good warm kit that you can put on as soon as you get out to keep you warm until you get back home to that hot shower!

Join the open water community

It’s a really welcoming one and you won’t regret it. So if you haven’t already searched for local groups on Facebook, this might be a good time to do that. Or why not join the Henley Festival Facebook group?

Fancy a hot drink and a slice of cake after the event? Who doesn’t! We guarantee you’ll find some friendly faces on the groups who are organising a post swim social.

Why should you increase or decrease your rest intervals when swim training?

When training for a swim event there are a few different things that you can do that can ultimately help you to be a more efficient swimmer or to be able to swim further distances.

Missed our previous blog “Why should you have multiple distances and what to do if you’re off track?” We already covered a few of the basics surrounding conquering distance but let’s talk rest time and intervals. The aim when decreasing rest time when swimming in the open water is to ultimately make yourself fitter.

If we’re looking at doing a cardiovascular based session where you’re trying to hit about 80 percent of your max effort, you might decrease the rest as one option or you might actually feel like you need to increase the rest time – listen to your body.

If you’re aiming to get faster and increase speed then you will need to have just a little bit more rest naturally as you push yourself in the water, but by swimming at a faster pace you’re improving your fitness and the more that you can practise swimming at that faster pace ultimately the fitter your body should feel.

When it comes to the next sessions in the coming weeks you might then be able to decrease that rest again, but still be hitting that slightly faster pace thus gaining an improvement in fitness.

So if you’re going to make a change then choose one of these 3 things to ultimately make you a quicker, more effective, efficient swimmer:

1 – Change the distance that you’re swimming

2 – Change the intensity that you’re swimming

3 – Change the rest intervals that you’re doing between the reps

When training for a swim event, don’t forget the importance of a community to keep you accountable and motivated. Join our live membership events and listen to inspiring open water swimmers from around the globe speaking with Keri-anne and the Straight-Line Swimming team about their open water journey.

How to Swim for Long Distances in Open Water

If you’re thinking about completing a long distance swim, these tips will help you get there.

Swimming is a brilliant full body exercise that uses most of the body’s muscle groups. So it’s little wonder that when you leave the pool you feel tired and could quite easily take a nap. Even during your swim, you may feel like you need to take several rest periods, which is totally understandable if you’re training hard and not simply floating around and enjoying the water, which is also perfectly fine to do!

We’ve all seen those people who make long distance swimming look easy, like they could swim for hours without stopping. But it’s very likely that those people have practiced hard, honed their technique and made sure that they’re swimming regularly. Ultimately, absolutely anyone can learn to swim continuously if they’re willing to put in the time and effort and reward is absolutely worth it. Imagine being able to say you’ve swam the channel. Feeling up for it? Then take a look at our tips for swimming continuously.

Our hit list for swimmers looking to go the distance.

Trickle breathing

You may have already heard of trickle breathing, but this is something that many beginner swimmers struggle with and if you have only just started to go open water swimming, then this is an important thing to master.

Trickle breathing works by breathing out whilst your head is under the water so you’re ready to breathe in again when your head is out of the water once more. The trick is all in the breathing out. If you breath out slowly, through your nose, then you won’t breath out too much. And this way, the inhale will take care of itself.

This is a difficult thing to master and might not come naturally right away, so try practicing in a pool before you venture out into the ocean or a lake.

We appreciate that if you are new to swimming that this is a lot to take in and it might sound awkward! So consider booking a session with an open water swimming coach, who may be able to help you master this technique.

Check your body position

Even the most fit and healthy people sometimes find that whilst they can run a marathon, they get tired after swimming just a few lengths. This is usually because their body position is wrong, and the wrong body position can use up energy quickly.

When you’re in the water, ensure your legs aren’t sinking. Our bodies are like see-saws and lots of people think that our legs are just heavy or ‘sinky’. But that’s not usually the case. If your legs are trailing underneath you, that is likely to be the consequence of your head position looking forward. So to keep a flat body position, try looking directly down to the bottom of the lake and your legs should raise up into a far more streamlined position.

Again, none of this will come naturally, so don’t feel down if you don’t get it right away. Try some strength training along with your swimming practice to increase strength in your arms.

Get the right equipment

The equipment you have is not vital but can be helpful if you’re looking to swim continuously or for long distances.

Try wearing a hat in the water, to keep your head warm and your hair from going in your face. Appropriate goggles can also be a huge help, make sure they’re clear for when it’s overcast and mirrored for a brighter day.

If you find the water too cold, then you might consider a wetsuit. A wetsuit will not only keep you slightly more streamlined, but it will also keep your body temperature slightly raised. If you’re swimming outside in a lake, loch or sea, your body will use up more energy trying to keep you warm. If you’re swimming long distances then you need every bit of energy you can get. Using a wetsuit, will help with your buoyancy and whilst this won’t help you swim for longer, mentally it can be helpful to know you have that additional help during your swim.

Keep your pacing steady

This is important for long distance or endurance sports and if you’re a runner or a cyclist, this will already ring true for you. Pacing is incredibly important when you’re open water swimming, because the last thing that you want is to feel exhausted toward the end of your swim. Ideally, you want to feel in control of your speed at all times and a good way to do this is to start off more slowly than you would usually swim and increase your pace overtime.

Understanding what feels like a comfortable speed for you will only come with time and practice. One way to help get to know yourself better as a swimmer is to time your laps and keep a log of how you’re feeling after each lap. That way, you’ll build up a good understanding of what is an easy lap for you and what feels like you’re pushing yourself.

Technique

Technique is so important for all types of swimming, but as we’ve touched on before, ensuring your position is right and your pacing is steady is a great way to allow yourself to swim more efficiently and preserve energy.

Other elements of your technique are just as important. Your legs are more muscle dense than other parts of your body and so each kick will use up more energy than one of your arm strokes. This means that for long distance swims, you want to use your legs as little as possible. So time your kicks so that they, like your pace, are steady and continuous, and you’re not kicking constantly, as you might do in a sprint.

Whilst this might all sound like it’s a lot to think about, a good coach will be able to help you understand how to improve your technique in just a few sessions, arming you with enough knowledge to continue practicing and perfecting it.

Training Plan/ Fitness

This might be the most important element of all, which is to practice, practice and then practice some more. Like any skill, your swimming and technique will improve over time, so don’t feel disheartened if you don’t feel like you can swim for miles from day one. It’s perfectly possible that you’ll achieve your goals and by keeping a log, you will be able to track your improvements over time, which is always very gratifying to look back on.

A good tip to sticking to your practice is to develop a training plan, ensuring that you’re swimming at least three times a week. Make sure you include a good diet as part of your plan as eating the right balance of foods can play a big part in your swimming performance. For more tips, you might want to watch our talk with the Wild Swim Brothers here.

Just as important as training is getting lots of rest and keeping well hydrated. Feeling tired will mean that you lack the energy to swim continuously, likewise, being dehydrated can be draining.

Long distance swimming can be incredibly rewarding, particularly if it helps you to accomplish something on your bucket list. And that feeling will ultimately be worth all of the time and effort you’ve put into your training and technique. For more extra tips on training and a free training plan, our Straight-Line Swimming membership is a great place to start. Hear first hand advice from experts, get free courses and gain access to a brilliant community of like minded swimmers to swap tips and tricks on achieving your open water swimming goals.

Should I Swim Even When My Body Is Tired

The five factors to consider before you continue your open water swimming training when you’re feeling low on energy.

We’ve all been there, that feeling of overwhelming tiredness when all you really want is a nice comfy sofa. Training for an event is the last thing on your mind. But we also all know that sometimes it’s important to push through a bit of tiredness. Sometimes, exercise can really revive you and you always feel much better for it. So If you’re training hard and you come across that feeling of total exhaustion, does it mean that you should take a day off?

This feeling can sometimes be down to mental exhaustion. If you’ve been busy at work or you’re juggling a lot then taking some time out for yourself to go swimming could re-energize you and make you feel much better in yourself, particularly if you take it easy and just enjoy the water, rather than putting too much pressure on yourself.

However, if you’ve been training a lot and it’s your body that feels tired, rather than your mind, you could have muscle fatigue. In which case, it could be time to take a rest. How do you know that it’s time to take a break from your training? Here are our five top things to consider.

Are you sleeping well?

If you’re an active person, chances are you train hard and sleep like a log and that’s to be expected. If you’re sleeping perfectly well after a day’s training then you should be in tip top condition to swim the next day if you choose to. Even if your body feels tired, if you’ve slept well, it should give you the energy you need to continue on with your session, though you might simply choose to take it a little easier than usual. It’s important not to give up at this stage as your body is getting stronger.

However, if you’re sleeping poorly in general, this may be a sign that you’re overtired. This may or may not be down to how much training you’re doing but it is a sign that it’s time to give your body a break. Spend a day or two doing something more gentle, like a walk or a cycle or simply having a well earned rest.

How long do your muscles ache for?

It’s perfectly natural for your muscles to ache after a swim, after all, swimming is a brillant full body workout. Working all of your muscle groups simultaneously is bound to burn through lots of energy and so it’s easy to understand why many swimmers report feeling so sleepy after a session.

If you find that your muscles are still aching after a day or two then you may have delayed-onset muscle soreness or DOMS. Again you may feel fine to do a light swim during this time but if your muscles are feeling extremely sore and tight, it might be better to take a rest day, to avoid it turning into an injury, so why not put your feet up.

What’s your resting heart rate

Just like sore muscles, it’s normal for your resting heart rate to be slightly elevated after training. But as you train more and get fitter, your resting heart rate should get lower over time. If you do take note of your RHR before and after your swim, you will likely notice that it’s slightly higher after your session, but probably not for very long. You should ideally take a note of your RHR in the morning, for best results.

If you’re finding that your RHR is still elevated 24 hours after your swim, this could be a sign that you’re fatigued and not allowing your body the recovery time it needs. If this is the case, it’s a good time to stop swimming for a day or two and enjoy some downtime.

Are you drinking enough water?

There’s a misconception that you don’t sweat whilst swimming and it’s easy to understand why. The combination of cool water and even just being in the water at all, would make sweat difficult to detect. But if you’re working hard and pushing yourself during your training, it’s likely that you will be sweating.

It’s commonly understood that when you sweat, you need to rehydrate, and nobody would look out of place with a water bottle after a heavy gym session. But often in swimming, people forget to re-hydrate and actually, it’s equally as important as it is in any sport.

If your body is feeling tired and you have a session planned then try drinking lots of water ahead of time or use a rehydration drink if you don’t have all day to catch up. If you start to feel less tired then you’re good to go for your swim. If it is a case of dehydration, then you are perfectly safe to continue your training sessions and in fact, you should! Just make sure that you’re taking lots of fluids with you for when you leave the water.

Are you resting in between sessions?

Muscle fatigue is often caused by excessive lactic acid, which accumulates in the muscles. The best thing you can do to remedy this, is to take a rest. If your body is feeling tired, you will probably know in yourself whether or not you’re resting appropriately in between swims.

There’s no issue with swimming daily if you feel happy to do so, but if you’re doing a tough training session in the water, followed by a busy day on your feet or you’re combining your swimming training with running or cycling on the same day, it’s reasonable to suggest that you might not be allowing your body time to recover. If you’re training for a triathlon, it’s perfectly possible that you can combine your swimming with other forms of training, but just be careful to not overexert yourself. Try a long run, followed by an easier swim, or crush your laps but then go for a gentle cycle.

Swimming is a wonderful way to feel reinvigorated after a busy day or week, especially in the calming environment that open water swimming can provide. So if your body is feeling tired and you still feel motivated to swim, give it a go. But make sure you listen to your body at all times. You know your body better than anyone else, if you think it’s time to take a rest, it probably is. Sometimes a little rest, can improve your training and allow you to come back to the water refreshed and raring to go.

Our Straight-Line Swimming membership comes with a free training plan, a great way to maximise your efficiency in the water without feeling muscle fatigue. Sign up here.

Is it Safe to Open Water Swim in the Rain?

Swimming in open water always seems more tempting when the sun’s out, but swimming in the rain can sometimes be a wonderful experience so long as you do so safely.

Open water swimming is on the rise and is always increasingly popular during the summer months, particularly on warm days. But this is the UK after all, and if you’re training for an event, you may not have the luxury of good weather all the time. So, is it safe to swim in the rain and if it is, what’s the best way to go about it?

We can absolutely confirm that swimming in the rain is perfectly safe under the right conditions and often, can be enjoyable too. So if you’re brave enough to give it a try, here’s our guide to open water swimming in the rain.

Things to Consider for Open Water Swimming In The Rain

Visability

There’s a big difference between a gentle springtime shower and a torrential downpour and whilst one is unlikely to affect the environment around you, the other may stop you from being able to see where you’re headed. If you’re swimming in a lido or an outdoor pool, having poor visibility isn’t ideal but may not be dangerous. However if you’re in the ocean it’s always advisable to be able to see the shore from where you are and poor weather may affect that. Likewise in the sea or a lake, there may be boats or other water traffic that will be unaware of your presence if they can’t see you. And whilst you can carry a whistle to be heard and a tow float to be seen and to use as a dry bag, if the rain is very heavy, they may not be able to hear you either. Make a judgement call for yourself but our advice is that if you’re struggling to see where you’re going, it’s better to not swim at all.

Conditions

Sometimes, it’s not as simple as just a drop of rain and there are occasions that a thunderstorm may be on the approach. The advice from The National Lightning Safety Institute is “If you can see it, flee it; if you can hear it, clear it.” and this makes sound sense to us too. Don’t go open water swimming during a thunderstorm and if you happen to be caught in one, it’s a good time to make your way back to land. This even applies to outdoor pools as it’s possible for lightning to strike the pipes. It’s unlikely that many pools will open in extreme weather, but it’s worth considering should you be caught unexpectedly.

Location

As mentioned previously, the location you’re in may affect whether you feel safe to swim in the rain and not just because your visibility may be affected. In the ocean in particular, bad weather can mean choppier waters than usual and will ultimately be harder to swim in. Likewise, in most natural bodies of open water, the currents can change and even if you think you know the water well, during a storm, it can feel quite different.

Another, slightly alarming consideration is that heavy rain can cause overflows from sewage or waste into certain areas. Whilst you may wish to avoid these areas completely, it’s particularly important to do so during or after a heavy downpour. The Rivers Trust have an excellent resource for those in England to check whether your river is at risk from potential sewage. Likewise, the Surfers Against Sewage provide this useful app for checking your nearest river or sea nationwide.

Who you’re with

In general, we would never advise open water swimming alone unless you’re experienced, but this goes double when it’s raining. If you happen to be caught in a rainstorm and something does go wrong, having an experienced open water swimmer with you is important as they will likely understand the best thing to do in an emergency. The safest option is to swim with an open water swimming coach, either as a group class or in a one to one session. Check out our coach finder, to find your nearest coach.

Temperature

Swimming in the UK in open water is always going to be a chilly affair and if you’re new to the sport, acclimatising by dipping or using cold water showers is always advisable. Whilst a springtime shower might not change the temperature dramatically, bad weather in general tends to bring colder climates along with it. This might not be an issue for the hardier swimmer, but if you’re new to open water swimming, you may experience something called ‘After Drop’ once you leave the water, particularly if it’s a cold day. This can be avoided by ensuring you have warm clothes and a non-alcoholic hot drink at hand. A top tip is to get dressed quickly, starting from the top and ensure all your clothes are kept dry, so they’re nice and toasty for when you put them on.

Whilst it is important to take these things into consideration, open water swimming in the rain can be a wonderfully pleasant experience. A light shower on a warm day can really add to the sensation of being in the water and if you feel safe and confident to do so, we would recommend giving it a try!

Why you should swim different distances when training for open water swimming events

We’re talking distance sessions as part of your event training, This is about either increasing the incremental distances or just completing your overall event distance.

So why have different distances?

Despite it sounding logical, you don’t always have to just aim to go for 100 metres then 200 and 300, 400, 500 and so on! That can of course be a little bit boring, and in turn affect your motivation for continuing on with your training.

So to keep things interesting – Week one: you might think about doing 200 but split into two 100 metre swims. The next week you might feel ready to take on the 200 straight, and week 3 might be breaking up a 300 or if you are feeling good going straight to that distance.

The idea is to gain confidence over the training plan so you know you can cover the event distance. Even if that means breaking it up a little to start with. For the example above if you feel you need to break it up then just try to take as little rest in between as possible.

Once you’ve got it? Try and replicate the same thing again that you did already. You don’t have to do it all from cool, take confidence that the distance is the distance and you’ve covered it (even if you did break it down a little).

The aim for many event swimmers is continuous swimming, the most efficient way to do that is by swimming frontcrawl but not everyone can swim distances doing that and might need to change strokes here and there. So whether that distance you are targeting is broken into frontcrawl, some of it breaststroke, and then back to frontcrawl again, that’s fine. Of course we all aim to be at our best pace in frontcrawl during an event and so when doing the stroke consistently for the whole time the key is to make sure that your technique is good.

If you haven’t had a coaching session before, we’d encourage all of our event swimmers to really think about having a session or two with a coach in your area (Not sure where to find one? Check out our Coach Finder Tool) because that’s really going to help you to make sure that your frontcrawl is efficient and not hindering you in any shape or form.

At the start of a training plan for a mile swim, 1600m can feel like an impossible task? Keep your mind focussed on taking bitesize chunks out of that distance. If by week eight you’ve done 800m with minimal stopping, that’s something to be proud of! We’d love to hear more about your journey on our social media.

The reason a tailored training is so helpful is because we recognise that if you try to swim the full distance right from the start, tiredness will set in and your confidence might take a hit. By adding the extra distance incrementally your body has time to get use to swimming continuously. We also know that life gets in the way and one week you may have smashed a session getting to 1000 metres straight and yet next time you struggle getting to 800 metres and you just have to stop. You need to have a rest. That’s OK. Make sure to stay well hydrated, keep your nutrition on track and get a good night’s sleep before taking on a swim.

If you’re off track for a session or 2, it’s not the end of the world. Just be sure to keep realistic goals in your sights and if you feel you are beginning to struggle more than you succeed then maybe it’s time to reassess the distance. We can’t recommend seeking out a coach highly enough and this is where a coach can really help, it might just be a technique issue that’s holding you back from completing the distance.

For us our number one tip is to make sure that you’re being as consistently efficient with your technique and your training plan can be, because that’s how you’re going to make sure you can swim the full race distance or event distance that you’re doing. Technique always comes at the top of the list.
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Find out more: www.escape-unplugged.co.uk

What made you want to become an open water coach?

Who is your main client base and how has your practice developed?

What has been your favourite coaching moment?

What advice would you give to new coaches?

What is next on your swim bucket list?

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