River Swims

Over the last few weeks I have managed to get two cold water swims in a local river.  In the first I was out for a shirtless run in the evening with two of my mates and as the run finished along a stretch of a large UK river that runs a few miles from my house I said I wanted to go for a swim. 

Although I had said this before to my two friends they said that I was always saying that and not doing anything about it but talk.  Well, that was enough to spur me on so I stopped at a convenient point, stripped off completely and waded into the water.   I didn't stay in the water for too long but I think I have broken the ice with them so when I headed out on another run with them a few days ago when we got to the river they asked if I was going to swim again.  I said "yes, of course".   

So when we got to a place not far from the end we stopped and I stripped off completely again and this time stayed in the water for a bit longer this time.  No comment from them this time, they just stayed and watched, but were not tempted to get in themselves.

I have no idea what the temperature of the water was but I do know that the air temperature was around -2C.  Once I got out and started running again in just shorts and trainers I warmed up quickly.

I think I need to go out for more runs and swims in the dark evenings as there are less people around, less likely to be seen (apart from by my mates). 

Cold water showers

One of the hardest things for me to do is to get directly into a cold water shower directly from my bed in the morning, especially the first 30 seconds or so.  This winter I have tried a new technique which seems to work for me and is a lot less harsh and a shock to the system.

I now start off with a reasonable temperature from the showerhead get all soaped up and then I turn the temperature dial down a notch.  I have numbers on the shower temp selector that go from 1 to 8.  However you can override the control and go full cold or full hot.

Every 30 seconds or so I turn the dial down a notch till I hit  the number 1 and then after another 30 seconds or so I just turn it to full cold and stay there under the shower rose for a few minutes.  I find that when I get out the shower after using this method I warm up pretty quick  - well faster than if I start full cold and then turn the heat up a little to take the chill off before getting out. 

If you decide to try this, let me know how you get on in the comments section.