I’m doing IMFL and was looking for information on the salt water swim. Mostly about getting water in your mouth and if it affected anyone at all. I know drinking too much salt water will make a person puke. I just wanted to see if anyone has ever had any issues with their stomach for this reason.
And yes I know the obvious fix is to not swallow the water.
Thanks
Since I’m not used to it anymore now that I’m in Colorado, salt water “works” on my lips and mouth over the length of time it takes to swim the 2.4. I loaded up my lips with balm which helped. I also practiced swimming with hard candy in my mouth to stimulate saliva to dilute any salt water but I never got the hang of it. In the end, the salt water didn’t bother me that much so maybe you can take comfort in that.
I swim and surf in saltwater all year round. Pumping surf to OW swimming and tri’s…I never had a problem. but then again, i don’t drink it. Drinking water can mean that you just drowned… so I wouldn’t be worried about puking! a little sip of funky salt water never hurt anyone 
good luck.
Did IMFL and it was my first saltwater swim, ever… (well, with the exception of beach resorts). No issues.
Do you typically swallow alot of water, like in the pool, whatever?
All the tris down here are in ocean or brackish water. One issue I have is that if I keep tasting salty water, it screws with my ability to feel thirsty when I normally would, as odd as that might sound.
I did Cancun 70.3 last fall and that was my first ever salt water swim. I practiced a bit and noticed the taste immediately. I put a piece of fruit gum in my mouth which made it more tolerable as the abrupt salt taste was diluted a bit.
In my opinion, its not something that will effect your swim too much.
I’ve been to IMFL 5 times including participating twice.
I have heard of a couple folks that have DNFed due to swallowing salt water during the swim. Obviously best not to swallow it but sometimes it happens.
Nausea on bike after swallowing water could point to this issue if other factors are ruled out.
My masters coach always says, “if you swallow some salt water, it’s coming out of 1 of 2 places. Your mouth or your ass”
Ocean water has such a high salt concentration that it will pull water out of your cells to accommodate for the huge concentration difference. Drinking too much can actually kill you but a few accidental gulps on a swim will be fine (other than the whole wanting to vomit thing). Be sure to pack tons of water for the bike and transitions and you may need less gatorade or whatever sports drink you prefer at least for a while after getting out of the water. Good luck and keep your mouth shut
the first time I did an extended swim in salt water I realiized how much I swam with my mouth open because my tongue and inside of mouth felt ‘funny’ in other wordds they absorbed quite a lot of salt. other than that if it’s rough people sometimes say they get sick on the bike because they swallowed so much salt water. excuse? who knows.
So I guess that training for a salt water swim would best be done by drinking Margherittas?
Never done IM distance in salt water, but had my fastest olympic distance swim which still stands about 2 min faster than my fresh water PR. The water taste’s a little funky but you will inevitably swallow some, don’t worry about it too much, the extra salt might help actually if you get crampy not saying to drink it but don’t fret. Practice spitting out any water you get in your mouth in the pool and should work the same. Some parts of florida can have rough surf, get some experience in rough waters before that long of a swim! Good luck.
People that do not swim in salt water are always amazed how much water goes in and out of their mouths when they swim. People who swim in salt water, surf, paddle or bodyboard know to keep their mouth shut in the ocean. The learning curve is pretty fast. Do try to learn to swim without washing your mouth out the whole time before you hit the ocean.
Ocean water is not dangerous because of the salt - it is dangerous because it is a freaking petri dish of bacteria, microbes and lil’ critters.
My regular pool is a saltwater pool (vs Chlorine ) and several hours a week are spent in salt water with no problems. Virtually everyone
prefers the NaCl H20.
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I love the taste of salt water while ows. Beats chlorine.
Ocean water is not dangerous because of the salt - it is dangerous because it is a freaking petri dish of bacteria, microbes and lil’ critters.
My regular pool is a saltwater pool (vs Chlorine ) and several hours a week are spent in salt water with no problems. Virtually everyone
prefers the NaCl H20.
Sea water and salt pool water are not even close to each other.
Saline content in sea water is 30-50 ppt while a salt pool is 1.8 to 6 ppt; about the same as your tears.
Also, the salt in a pool is broken down to create hypochlorous acid, and sodium hypochlorite which are the same sanitizing chemicals added to non-salt pools. So, you still do have your chlorine in your salt water pool.
Snickers anyone?
I race in the ocean frequently here in SoCal. I’ve gulped a few mouthfuls of water and never had any issues. My biggest issue I’ve had is getting my sinuses power-flushed by the surf and then riding or running with the sound of water in my head until I can drain it out after the race.
No, not with salt per se, if you’re like me and prone to nasal infections, there’s something else to think about with ocean swims.
For a couple of days after every good rain in SoCal, a lot of ocean swimmers/surfers will end up coming down with upper respiratory infections. Lots of nasty things wash into the water (dog poop, etc), and it takes a day or two for the sun to kill them off. When you get in the water before the nasties are dead, your nose and throat can suffer for it. Not much you can do about it, but if you’re prone to that sort of thing you might want to take whatever measures you normally employ - nasal rinsing, zinc, or prophylactic meds if that’s part of your existence. Maybe not so bad in FL because it rains so much more often - the poop, etc, doesn’t get a chance to build up that much??.
But I don’t think the salt will bother you too much.
Ocean water is not dangerous because of the salt - it is dangerous because it is a freaking petri dish of bacteria, microbes and lil’ critters.
As opposed to any other open water? Hell even the pools are a petri dish with all the kids and triathletes pissing in it.