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I freeze swimming. Asking for help.
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This season I really worked on weight and lost about 15 pounds. With being leaner comes a low tolerance for cold, especially swimming. Tonight I made it about an hour in 81 degree water before I was shivering and had to get out and warm back up in the hot tub. Did another 400 in the pool and I was done. It's ridiculous. Is there something I could wear that would help? A light shirt type thing? Or how about thermogenic capsules! IMTX is coming up and for the first time I'm concerned about the swim and warm 78 deg. water!
Thanks for the help.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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I am ALWAYS cold swimming. So cold that I live in Hawaii and wear a sleeveless wetsuit most of the time when I swim. I did IMTX last year, and I thought the water was disgustingly warm.

I don't think you have anything to worry about.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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What is your height and weight? 82 is the warmest temp I've ever seen at an indoor pool, if you are having serious problems swimming in that temperature I would start looking at your diet for possible nutrient deficiencies.


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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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I feel ya, I was 135 lbs soaking wet in high school and turned blue every once in a while I was so cold, honestly one of the reasons I burned out back then was the practices in the dreaded pools kept under 78 degrees.

Wear a swim cap to keep some of your heat, also doing mainly low rest intervals (not saying this is the case, but if you take 5min between 400s you are going to freeze to death) may help.

Also, though I have not experimented with it, some body lotion prior to swimming may help (just a little extra layer, always helps me when I gotta leave the pool in cold weather to warm up).

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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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Run or ride beforehand so your body temp is elevated. Barring that, do some jumping jacks.
Silicone swim cap.
You can get some "swim socks" that will help feet.

That said, do you have any signs of anemia? That can cause people to feel quite chilly.

I swim in an 81 degree pool and am plenty warm if I am doing fast intervals but I get cold swimming slowly.

You could also try wearing a wool sweater. You'll look ridiculous, but most swimmers do anyway ;-)

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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I'm a freeze baby too. I usually warm up a but after a few hundred yards though. I've never swam with anything other than a wetsuit for warmth.

who's smarter than you're? i'm!
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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Congratulations on the weight loss. I am sure you feel better and I bet it will translate into faster races. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic but 81 degree water should not be an issue, nor should 78 degrees be too cold. I view this as an exercise in mental toughness. Do the workout and don't get out until you have completed it.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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We make a .5-1mm "wetsuit" of sorts.

Free divers use these suits in and out of the pool.

They work great to just take the edge off the water that you can't quite stay warm enough in.

They are called Aqua Skins. We make them in a full body suit, a shorty, and a short and long sleeve top that are somewhat similar to a rash guard with a neoprene core.

http://www.aquasphereswim.com/...ance-wear-aqua-skins


jake

Get outside!
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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We make a neoprene short that will help in the pool or in non-wetsuit open water training swims. It's designed for another purpose (to mimic in training the buoyancy of a wetsuit) but will help take the edge off a cold pool (or a fairly warm pool in your case). As mentioned, would also wear a silicone cap. And you can also take a neoprene hood (lots of brands make them), cut off the neck strap, and then put a silicone cap over that. With the short + insulated cap combo, you should definitely feel warmer in the pool. Lastly, you didn't mention it, but would also recommend not consuming very cold drinks during workout, as that can lower your core temp.

Best of luck at IMTX!!

Rob

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rob canales
ceo + co-founder at ROKA
http://www.roka.com
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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I have the same problem as soon as I drop below about 6% fat. I just get into the hot tub after 45 mins.
Or just do 10 x 100 at a very fast pace and you will warm up.

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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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Try a De Soto speedvest: http://www.desotosport.com/product/SV2

It'll help keep you warm in the pool w/o being too bulky or restricting your stroke. Kinda reminds me of the "Warm Jane" that QR made back in the '90s.

You might also want to consider picking up one of the neoprene speedsuits that are no longer legal (available cheap in the classifieds).

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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My wife used to DNF every second race from getting cold in the swim.

She used to wear a compression top under her wetsuit but we realised it was making it worse.

She changed wetsuits to DeSoto Green Goma material and has had no problems since.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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try 2 silicon swim caps, a bit bulky but keeps me super warm.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [lschmidt] [ In reply to ]
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lschmidt wrote:
82 is the warmest temp I've ever seen at an indoor pool,

So jealous. My pool never dips below 84 else they feel the wrath of the active older adults. Even at 84, they are right on the edge of mutiny.






Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [jakers] [ In reply to ]
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jakers wrote:
We make a .5-1mm "wetsuit" of sorts.

Free divers use these suits in and out of the pool.

They work great to just take the edge off the water that you can't quite stay warm enough in.

They are called Aqua Skins. We make them in a full body suit, a shorty, and a short and long sleeve top that are somewhat similar to a rash guard with a neoprene core.

http://www.aquasphereswim.com/...ance-wear-aqua-skins


jake

I have two of these - the shorty and the short shorty!! - they are the best thing since my new TT bike, my neoprene swim cap and a good bed romp :-)

Although I'm a bit horrified to see that you don't have the sleeveless version of the women's shorty anymore? I wear that one almost every time I pool swim and I don't know what I'd do without it being a low body fat type. Neoprene cap with the chin strap in open water makes a huge difference.

Plus, when you add the aquaskin to the bag of pool toys it absolutely confirms your status as a triathlete and not a swimmer:-)
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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Don't worry about IMTX being cold. It's more like tepid bath water.

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"Unless you have a ... GF who might put out that night and that night only ... skip it and race." - AndyPants 3-15-2007
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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In losing 15 pounds (congrats!), perhaps you inadvertently cut out too much iron from your diet.
Low iron levels will certainly give you a low tolerance to cold.
And make it challenging to warm back up once cold.
Sufficiently low levels and your performance will also be negatively impacted.

Have fun at warm IMTX! If you haven't done this one before, it's a blast.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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tigerchik wrote:
I swim in an 81 degree pool and am plenty warm if I am doing fast intervals but I get cold swimming slowly.

I also wanted to say increasing your typical pace helps stay warm, but was trying to figure out how to say 'swim faster' without sounding overly snarky.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [Tri-Banter] [ In reply to ]
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Tri-Banter wrote:
lschmidt wrote:
82 is the warmest temp I've ever seen at an indoor pool,


So jealous. My pool never dips below 84 else they feel the wrath of the active older adults. Even at 84, they are right on the edge of mutiny.

That is my pool right there(!)...sadly this is only around 3rd-4th on my complaint list...
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [FLA Jill] [ In reply to ]
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FLA Jill wrote:
tigerchik wrote:

I swim in an 81 degree pool and am plenty warm if I am doing fast intervals but I get cold swimming slowly.


I also wanted to say increasing your typical pace helps stay warm, but was trying to figure out how to say 'swim faster' without sounding overly snarky.

Hydrate with plenty-o-coffee before hand...this will provide a three pronged attack: (1)warm yourself up with hot liquid, (2)get some caffeine in for "swim faster" stimulus, (3)emission of "thermal" pockets of warm water...
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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I had this problem when the pool T dropped to mid 70's and below a few years ago. I can't imagine being cold after ~100yds in a 81deg pool...

What worked in the cold pool - two swim caps (maybe this was psychological?) speedo under jammers (if a guy), if a girl, maybe two one-pieces, fast repeats on short intervals. Kick hard during your swims and don't hang out on the wall!

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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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How much of that hour were you actually swimming and not resting? I'm barely pushing 125lbs and can for for around an hour in water around the low 70s. The key is keep moving and not rest as much. Oh, getting out and warming up in the hot tub was probably the worst idea ever. Bet it was quite the shock getting back in.

http://tricook.blogspot.com/

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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [TriCook] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for all the replys and tips. I'm going to stop getting into hot baths, hot tubs, hot water. I'll do,some rowing or something to warm up before getting in the pool. Hot coffee sounds good too. Then just tough it out. Increase my pace, er, thrashing level!
Thanks, kurt
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kjanracing] [ In reply to ]
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Damn! 81 degrees? Our pool (Hawaii) never gets above 75 and for most of the year hovers in the low 70s with a month or two of upper 60s.

And there are kids as young as 6 in the pool for up to and hour and half. The older kids do around 2 hours. Slightly less when the temp drops below 68.

I think you need to HTFU.
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Re: I freeze swimming. Asking for help. [kini62] [ In reply to ]
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that's not a fair comparison. Kids are practically cold-immune. Ever seen them in the ocean? They'll stay until their lips are blue.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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