NEW – Open water Swimming

How to Avoid Cold Water Shock

This is the time of year when northern hemisphere swimmers and triathletes are returning to open water venues for training and races. At most locations water temperatures are still pretty chilly and the shock of jumping into water this cold can make you short of breath and anxious when you start swimming. It can also cause panic attacks which are deeply unpleasant and can ruin your swim and your race. Here’s a quick tip to help overcome this:

Before you get in and swim, splash cold water on your face from the lake, river or sea. Doing this for around ten to fifteen seconds allows your face to cool down to the water’s temperature so your body adjusts and the shock passes. Start to enter the water when the initial shock has passed. Get some cold water into your wet suit and move around to warm it up. Re splash your face and neck.

Start swimming soon afterwards to generate some heat into your body and warm the water in your suit. If your particularly nervous, start with a bit of breast stroke, so you can breathe easily but keep dipping your face into the water and blow bubbles under the water to help you relax, cool your face and control your breathing. You should find things more comfortable and you can start swimming properly straight away, exhaling smoothly into the water to settle any remaining nerves.

Note that this trick only works with your face, not any other part of your body.

Sounds simple? Try it – it really does work!

 

Also please see the attached link how to put on your wetsuit:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXsblGWpvM0

Dave Brayer

Cycle Lead Calender 2015

Revitalised Sunday Cycling

Sunday Bike Leads _ Click link
 
Starting from this coming Sunday 8th February (and subject to weather conditions) the club will be running two cycling groups again. We now have 22 club members who have volunteered to lead rides and so our ability to provide two rides every week will be consistent.
A copy of the cycle lead rota can be viewed on the MVH web site.
The two rides can be defined as;
A faster / longer group – This will typically be cycling faster than 15mph average speed (adjusted to suit those attending) and will typically cover routes between 40 – 60 miles.
A shorter / slower group – This will typically be cycling slower than 15mph average speed (adjusted to suit those attending) and will typically cover routes between 30 – 50 miles.
For both rides the distances ridden are likely to be shorter in the Autumn / Winter months with mileage increasing as the season and member’s fitness progresses.
 
Please note: The lead cyclist on each ride will keep the group together adjusting the speed to the slowest rider. No one will be left behind
 
It is likely that most rides will start from Barton Marina at 9am each Sunday morning. However, so as to provide more variety some cycle leads may choose to start their rides from a different location and this will be advertised in the club newsletter and on Facebook with as much notice as possible. Where we can, details of the next ride (distance and location) will also be provided during the week before.
In order to make this a success we need as many riders to attend as possible so please give it a go.