In history, humans have always been afraid to swim in natural waters, so open waters have always been considered a mysterious place where safety cannot be guaranteed. The ocean is filled with unknown things, and the coastline forms natural lines. For thousands of years, humans believed it would be better to stay on the deck of a ship to observe the depths of the ocean rather than treat it as an enjoyable resource.
Safety and comfort are two important reasons for staying in a stable and solid land. You need not think about this at all, and ancient wisdom will not be doubted.
However, the fear of open water has changed drastically in the last century, and many people now appreciate that open water is a place to explore and test their own physiological and psychological limitations.
Open waters were once just a range of activities for sailors and husbands, and now have a strong attraction to swimmers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, and the challenge of unknown things has replaced the fear of unknowns. Humans used to only use boats to cross sea and lakes, but now there are often swimmers who swim without fear. Rivers and sea were used to be mainly used for commercial transportation, and are now common places for physical and competitive competitions. In the past, humans were far away from open waters; now, swimmers who were challenged were facing open waters without reservation.
Adventure, sense of accomplishment and the pleasure of competition are a few of the reasons why millions of people go to open waters. Modern sportsmen are eager to accept challenges in open waters, and are no longer doubtful, but are encouraged, supported and praised.
The world's population of open water swimming is large and rapidly growing, but what exactly is open water swimming? Who likes this movement?
The definition of open water swimming is to swim for entertainment, fitness or competition. It is natural or artificial waters, including oceans, lakes, seashores, rivers, water tanks, boating pools, oceans, ponds, small seas, lagoons, rivers, watersheds, estuaries, islands and seashores. 70% of the world's surface is covered by water, and the scenery is beautiful, safe and suitable for swimming in open waters. It will only be limited by the swimmer's creativity and the intention to swim off the coast.
Open water swimming can be in sea or fresh water, calm or violent weather, warm or cold temperatures, calm or water flow, depending on the time of day, season and location. Today, more than 3,600 water activities are held in at least 84 countries in —— this number does not include ironman three, solo, lifeguard competitions, fun Nordic Bear Charity Open Waters events, and other multiple sports events related to open waters.
The tools, training time and swimming sport for open water are quite large, so tools, training time and swimming sport vary according to the specific goals of the athlete. ToolsOpen water swimmers' equipment has always been consistent (i.e., swimming lenses, swim caps and swimsuits), but training tools and navigational equipment continue to be more and more sophisticated. The biggest problem facing swimmers in open water is the huge difference between wearing and not wearing cold-proof clothing. The advantages of cold-proof clothing in terms of buoyancy and warmth are quite obvious, so for the righteous, cold-proof clothing is undoubtedly a taboo. For the three choices of iron man and several novices, cold-proof clothes are undoubtedly very important. In addition to cold-proof clothing, open water swimmers also use quite a variety of equipment, from earplugs and water photography analysis tools to global positioning systems and feeding poles. Chapter 4 will explain the types of equipment used by swimmers in open waters in detail.
Training timeYou can train at any time depending on your work or reading schedule and personal preferences. Many swimmers prefer to train in broad daylight, while others prefer to swim at sunrise or sunset. Very few people like to swim at night, especially in the moonlight on cloudless nights.
Since most iron three-point and open water swimming competitions start early in the morning, many people prefer to swim in the morning so that physiological clocks can be matched at this time. Waterways around the world also usually have no ship traffic, water skiers and sailors in the morning, and these people usually appear later. Morning training is also good in places where there are people surfing, as surfers usually appear, and they can help with emergency situations and provide advice on walruses. However, as morning conditions are usually more calm than afternoon or evening, experienced swimmers occasionally practice in the evening to suit the more violent walruses.
Most swimmers who start to feel worried about night swimming will be prepared for the marathon that begins or ends at night and therefore swim at night. Even though you may have no reason or motivation to swim at night, many swimmers are fascinated by bioluminescence (a kind of marine phenomenon reflected by marine bioluminescence on the surface of the water), which is only visible in the sea water at night, and will not be present in fresh water.
SwimmingThe human race began swimming since prehistoric times, but two ethnic groups swam particularly well in open waters, and they also wore military equipment: Japanese samurai and medieval gangsters. Later, indigenous peoples in the Americas, West Africa and the South Pacific swim in early poses of modern freestyle, which became a single-headed swimming posture in the early twentieth century. Chapter 5 will explain in detail how to develop faster, more streamlined, and more efficient freestyles.
But even now, some people still prefer Maxiu. The frog style used by Captain Veber during his 1875 swimmers (Table 1.1 lists the records of the main swimmers in the swimmers and Catalina swimmers). Frog-style open water swimming activities are held in the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan and many other locations around the world. With the exception of freestyle and frog-style, few marathon swimmers prefer other sports.
Challenge and difficult factorsThe swimmer's ability to see and position in open waters may be severely weakened by waves, water surface shattering, dazzling sunlight, rain, haze or mist interference. Since the inability to see the reversing float, ground marks and end areas make many open water swimmers follow the swimmers in front, hoping that the people in front will swim in the right direction.
This sense of trust for the peers and their innate ones forms an invisible connection and emotion among swimmers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Before a competition or a solo swimmer, swimmers usually calmly and reflect inwardly, which is a strong contrast to their post-game view and personality. The common links formed in open waters have allowed many life events to share experiences with rivals, including people they didn’t know or had talked about before the game.
Even if swimmers adopt their own positioning route in the competition, they often want to know how their competitors use it in the competition, and to remember or actually position the advantages in their minds for the next swim. They keep pursuing progress because the dynamic nature of open water often makes the environment of each swimming differently.
Facing obstaclesOpen water swimmers understand the many obstacles they may face: cold water, long distances, waves, oncoming water flow, water surface shatters, jellyfish, aquatic plants, spikes, squids, reefs, floating bones, wastes and pollution. Although this sports focus on champions and performs the fastest swimmers, most open water athletes do not swim for the sake of winning, but to achieve good results or just to finish the game so that they can achieve some level of self-satisfaction.
John, legendary basketball coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In his famous book, "Pyramid of Success," John Wooden defines success as "the tranquility of the mind comes from self-satisfaction because you know you have tried your best." This definition is just right for swimmers in open waters. Many swimmers are striking during the swimming process, so they feel satisfied with just being able to finish the race.
How far is the distance? How cold is the water?When planning for the upcoming open water swimming, most athletes will ask two questions: "How far is the swimming distance?" and "What is the water temperature?"
Since the water temperature (10 to 31° C) and distance (1 to 54 miles, or 1.6 to 87 kilometers) varies greatly in the open water competition, the answers to these two questions affect the total amount and type of training required for subsequent decisions.
The 54.6 miles (88 kilometers) race from Elnandarias to Parana in Argentina is the longest professional marathon in the world. The 50-mile (80.5 km) Indian National Open Water Swimming Competition held in the Bhagirathi River in West Bengal is the longest-running competition in the world. The 28.5-mile (46-km) Manhattan Marathon Swimming Tournament held annually is the longest race in the United States, but in 1963, a 60-mile (96.6-km) career competition was held in Lake Michigan.
Some swimmers wear cold clothes when the water temperature is low, and their feelings about the water temperature vary according to the swimmer's experience and residence. In the three recognized competitions of American Iron Man, athletes can wear cold-proof clothes below 78° F (25.6° C). For the ruling priests, there is no reason or excuse to wear cold-proof clothes. The coldest sportsman believes this is a challenge and is proud to never wear cold clothes no matter how cold the water is. However, many open water swimming competitions around the world allow candidates to wear cold clothes.
The elastic approach of allowing cold-proof clothing can help this movement expand beyond traditional ethnic groups. This exercise regulations originally require that cold-proof clothing that helps float or maintains warmth must not be used. Many competitions have this limitation, and some newbies wear cold clothes when starting this exercise, and then switch to swimming without cold clothes; others feel comfortable wearing cold clothes all the time.
If the distance of the open water race is longer than you have swam before, you must plan your physical and psychological training plan appropriately. Chapters 2, 6, 7 and 8 will provide information to teach you how to adjust your body and endure long distances under extreme water temperatures. There are no simple shortcuts, and to swim far, you must formulate corresponding plans and practice hard. To swim in very cold or very warm water, the body must be able to adapt from uncomfortable water temperatures to unbearable water temperatures.
Choose the trackIf you have insufficient experience, consider the configuration of the open water track. The types of races vary, including point-to-point races along the coast, lakes, swimming across the sea, or flowing down the river. These diverse environments have different appeals to different athletes.
For example, if you don't like swimming in the waves, avoid taking part in point-to-point maritime competitions that require shore and across the waves. If you prefer to swim over a floating float in a sea or lake, and not encounter water flow in a river, it is more appropriate to participate in a lake than to participate in a river. The beauty of swimming in open waters lies in the fact that every love has a suitable place.
The importance of the partner systemThe partner system is very suitable for all open water swimmers, regardless of whether the swimmer has experience. When swimming with friends, you will feel a sense of tranquility and comfort, which is definitely safer than self-swimming. The partner system is the perfect way to progress, especially when you pair with more experienced or faster swimmers. Experienced swimmers prefer to seize opportunities and share information on swimming skills and provide positioning suggestions to less experienced swimmers.
Alternatively, a friend or family member can accompany you on a dinghy, pedal boat, a solo boat, a vertical pedal board or a small inflatable raft. Once you swim through the waves or coastlines, the companion can serve as your eyes in the water. If you can't find someone to accompany you in the water, when you are swimming parallel to the coast, you can ask someone to walk along the coast. Enjoy it and be grateful because someone pays attention to you and can help you and feel safe.
In the marathon exclusive field, paced swimmers are sometimes allowed. Paceful swimmers will accompany the contestants in the water under certain conditions. Their role is to strengthen the swimmer's mind by sharing their experiences in swimming. The paced swimmer can be a teammate, family member or friend.
※ This article is excerpted from "The Complete Book of Public Water Swimming Training: The Essential Knowledge, Technique and Strategies from Entering the Door to Proficiency".Book title: "The Complete Book of Public Water Swimming Training: The Essential Knowledge, Technique and Strategies from Entering the Door to Proficiency"
Author: Steven. Munatos
Translator: Xu Yijun, Huang Tingmin
Publishing House: Face
Publication Date: 2023/08/03