10 unspoken rules of open water swimming

Ross Edgley, RedBull.com

February 3, 2017

Fitness guru, Ross Edgley on what all fans of open water swimming will understand…

Open water swimming is completely different to indoor swimming. Yes, they both take place in water but that’s where many of the similarities stop. Something I found out when wading through lakes, rivers and seas all around the world. But it was somewhere between the sun-soaked beaches of the Caribbean and in the ice-cold Lakes of England that I came to learn of the laws that govern swimming in the great outdoors. You won’t these in any fitness magazine or travel book, but here are the 10 unspoken rules of open water swimming.
 
Get ready for salt water mouth

 

1. Your mouth will hurt more than your arms

Before my first 10-hour long swim session in the sea no one told me about “salt mouth”. Of all the injuries that you can sustain when open water swimming — shark bites and jellyfish stings — this is the least impressive which is probably why it’s also the least spoken about. It’s a build-up of salt in the mouth and I’ve heard stories of this getting so bad that swimmers can lose the entire surface of their tongue and be unable to eat any solid foods for days. Thankfully, I wasn’t one of these swimmers, although my breakfast didn’t taste quite right for days after.

2. You must get comfortable with being cold

Your first outing in a cold river might not be a pleasant one. Getting cold is inevitable but your body will begin to adapt in time. One tip is to blow out bubbles before taking off on your swim. This is because the temperature can come as a shock to most people as your face hits the water. This in turn can cause the lungs to contract and breathing becomes difficult. But by going waist deep and expelling air as you submerge your face can help alleviate the shock.

3. Be aware of the jellyfish invasion

We live in fear of a jellyfish invasion. No, seriously. Experts claim jellyfish can make millions and millions of copies of themselves and clone asexually, which is why you get these huge rises in populations. This is why, as a species, they’ve been around for hundreds of millions of years. But it was a recent report from the UK’s Marine Conservation Society that claims UK waters could be prone to a surge in jellyfish populations. It’s not common knowledge — or a spoken rule — but it is a concern that lies below the surface.

4. Nudity is normal

Open water swimming and nudity go hand in hand. It’s like ice cream and apple pie, you can’t have one without the other. People don’t necessarily talk about it, but just know if you join a swimming club it’s likely you will see far more genitalia than you were perhaps expecting. Be warned: the car park — or a nearby tree — will be your team’s new official changing room…
 

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