SWIMMING IN LOCKDOWN // tips from Lizzie Welborn on training in the ocean 🏊♀️🌊
This blog post was written by Lizzie Welborn. Follow along her journey via her IG @lizziewelborn.
I am about to enter my 12th week of lockdown, along with many other water-based athletes here in Sydney. This also means I am entering my 12th week of doing swimming training without the aquatic centre. My 12th week of swimming in the freezing cold ocean and ocean pools, in the middle of winter. I know I am not alone. I know so many iron-women and swimmers in Sydney who have been grinding it out in the freezing cold ocean pools this winter so we can keep fit for our upcoming competitions. It has been so inspiring to see so many amazing girls and women overcoming the obstacles of lockdowns to keep on striving towards their goals.
Even though we're starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, right now, there are more athletes than ever stuck without their swimming pools. And as we start to edge into summer, it is so important for so many of us to start swimming now. However, it is so hard to keep up motivation to swim without our normal pools, especially when we have to wear wetsuits to prevent us from getting hypothermia while we swim.
I want to try and help as many of you as I can gain the confidence and motivation to keep on working towards your goals, even if it means doing it a little bit tough during lockdown. So, here are six tips and tricks that can help keep you motivated to swim in the ocean or ocean pools while we wait for our pools to re open.👇
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If you have to wear a wetsuit while you swim in the ocean or ocean pool, make sure you PUT VASELINE OR GLIDE ON YOUR NECK, OR TAPE IT UP. If you’ve already been swimming in a wetsuit, you probably know where I am going with this... I have ended up with some horrific neck rashes from swimming in my wetsuit. I wish I had known to protect my neck before I started swimming in it. So if you haven’t swum in a wetsuit yet, this is must.
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SWIMMING IN A WETSUIT SUCKS AND YOU WILL FEEL SLOW. The hardest thing for me is feeling uncoordinated in my wetsuit because it makes me feel like a terrible swimmer. But I just keep reminding myself that any swimming is worth it.
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WEAR TWO CAPS! It makes such a difference when the water is cold. I truly think your whole body stays warmer if your head is warm.
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START SMALL AND EASE UP. If you are feeling highly unmotivated to swim in an ocean pool but you want to give it a try, just start by swimming 1km. Any swimming is better than nothing. When I did my first swim in an ocean pool, I was certain I would only be able to swim 2km before I got too cold. So for the first few sessions all I did was swim 2km. Then I realised I actually wasn’t too cold when I was finishing, so I swam a bit more, and a bit more. Now I can swim 5km easily without getting cold.
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PLAN WHAT SESSION YOU ARE GOING TO DO BEFORE YOU GET THERE. I have found this makes it so much easier for me to keep on swimming. I did a few sessions where I thought to myself ‘I'll just make it up as I go’. I ran out of inspiration pretty quickly and then didn’t want to keep on swimming.
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GOING FOR A QUICK JOG BEFORE YOU JUMP IN THE OCEAN OR OCEAN POOL can make such a difference. You’ll be nice and hot when you jump in, postponing the cold feeling for a little while.
Swimming training is always the hardest and least enjoyable part of training for our sport, and I've never loved the pool. Stepping out of my comfort zone and swimming in ocean pools has been a huge challenge, but I have loved it. Every time I finish a session in the ocean pool I feel so accomplished and proud of myself. But I can tell you now, I have never been so excited to get back into a heated swimming pool with lane lines and chlorine. I cannot wait for them to open!
I hope this helps anyone who is looking to get back swimming and can’t right now. And one final reminder, YOU CAN DO IT!!
This blog post was written by Lizzie Welborn. Follow along her journey via her IG @lizziewelborn.