Well done for still going.
The only place I’d be swimming OW in October is the Med 
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There were people in the north sea next to the parkrun start before 9am this morning 
They’ve probably been recaptured now though 
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Blimey, 2 week gap, I’m sure that I wasn’t trying to find excuses, just life getting in the way, honest guv.
Anyway, usual 10 minutes of immersed up to waist and splashing face ears and neck quite a few times before few plunges, then few seconds of breastroke, then 1/2 hour slow crawl.
It was quite cold it has to be said, but hey I’m a triathlete, mentally I’m tough, right, and I like a challenge, right?
Wore a 7mm thick neoprene wetsuit, glove hat and booties. Face initially not happy, but then for some unknown reason, cold all forgotten about as I tootled along.
How long can this continue, can I do the (hu)man of steel monthly throughout Winter, who knows, jury’s out.
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I’ve had a few weeks off due to rib injury, but i’m one of those maniacs that swims in the North Sea at Gorleston, it’s not completely Baltic yet!
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Ventured to local open water swim spot last Saturday for a 20 minute lap non wetsuit. Was cold, and took a while afterwards to warm up but strangely addictive….might go again this week see how deep in autumn I can go….absolutely no swim benefit but hey I ain’t setting no records
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There’s something childish, hmmm, not so much martyr/victim, just something I’ll bloody show you, chuffin weather and time of year. Blowing a gale, pissing it down, no-one about whatsoever at 9 lazy sods, only the brave (foolish?) venture out, be it cycling, running, or in my case this AM, swimming in a loch.
Again, ok after a few minutes, biggest challenge was the choppiness. It’s an odd feeling being out in a loch, with the rain battering down on the swim cap. Anyway, 3/4 mile job done, shit food, beers and general lazyness earned today. Chapeau to myself, if I may be so cheeky and suggest. 
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Ouch, hands have really felt the cold the last couple of weeks, and that’s with the gloves on. I blame my Mum for mittening my hands and general mollycoddling when I was tiny
Have to say during the drive from and to today’s swim, oh and also during said exercise, I really noticed those sublime, stunning Autumn colours - splendid up here in Scotland. Nice calm water today, like swimming thru glass, awesome unlike the wavy challenges of the last couple of weeks.
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I also noticed the golden colours on the drive by Ullswater towards Penrith. Sunny day but the lake looked bitter 
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Here in the Highlands we’ve had some brilliant sea and loch swims this year but temps have dropped massively the last couple of weeks. I think that’s me done for this year. 
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Although the making of a beautiful, stunning AM here in the Southern Uplands, was slightly apprehensive towards this AMs Loch swim when I had to scrape the ice off my car windows and during the journey there, the temp hovered between 4 degrees and -2.5 degrees, frost on the ground in places.
3 women just getting out at 0900 as I arrived, so I knew that I wouldn’t die, if they hadn’t!
Acutally ok again, once I got moving. Maybe the hands, could do with heated swimming gloves I think.
Anyway, nice slow tootle, sun rising, blue sky, alive, and about 3/4 mile done.
Always pleased to get back in the car after half an hour swim, heater on full blast and change, no, not into my dryrobe, that’s reserved for ironman tris I imagine if anyone stole my car I would die of cold, unless I ran in wetsuit, to the nearest habitation for help. Back home, finished an hour ago, heating on, 5 layers on top and a blanket, and core only really starting to slowly warm up fully…do I detect smell of burning martyr.
December beckons (this for someone who before this year, had only ever swam outside during triathlons or those Lake District swimming events). Fun in a weird way. Bring it on.
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I was semi relieved I didn’t get in the Celtman ballot the other day so I don’t have to get in the water in Spring. Wild horses couldn’t have dragged my arse in this morning. Kudos! 
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Am I doing this wrong - when people say that they enjoy open water swimming in the Winter, do they mean get in up to waist or neck, pootle with some breastroke, and then get out again? Is swimming freestyle for about 1/2 hour all wrong?
Snow and ice on the ground when I set off about 645 - temp about -0.5 so not too bad. Get’s to the small road to the loch, ‘road closed’. I thought sod that for soldiers and carried on. Huge grounded trees cut into half next to the road, debris and crap mostly at the side of the road, carries on gingerly ‘ah, they’ve just forgot to remove the sign’. Eventually gets to said loch, all to myself - well I guess what ‘normal’ person would be at a loch during a cold December dawn Sunday morning?
So with wetsuit half on, I then went for the arms, aways the biggest challenge of the day… bosh, biffed myself in my gob during the struggle - drew blood on the lip, luckily tooth stayed intact, prize chump award goes to…
Gets in, whoooaaaaaa, that water is cool, welI guess it would be with puddles of ice on the ground next to it.Are these new thermal gloves and booties going to provide more protection from the cold than I normally get? Really felt colder than normal (no shit Sherlock) so as I was just starting to get into the swing of crawl I pondered whether I should just do 10 mins, my usual 5 min warm up/down along perimeter, hmmmmmmmm.
The thoughts were struggling to block out the cold, but I did ponder about those 1st world war heroes who probably slogged thru colder mud in the Winter etc etc etc. So at the turning point, I did my usual 90 degree turn to face outward towards the long side of the loch. Sod the 10 minutes, grow up!
The rest of the swim was actually ok, apart from the carnage of the trees, my usual markers. So many had fallen vicitm to the cruel NE storm, I guess cos they grow with roots always primed and ready to face the constant SW wind, caught out this time! I managed to get to the other end in 1 piece although my feet did feel frozen and I had to move my legs occasionally to get some blood flowing to the feet. On the way back, my hands started to cool, and I noticed that something had affected my breathing, ah, it was my mouth starting to freeze. Anyway, got back all tickety boo.
The race was then on, to see if I could get to my car keys (wrapped up in drybags in float) before my hands completely froze up. The shivvering was starting, I’d drawn blood on my thumb in the frantic rush to get the gloves off and phew, breathe, made it into the car with heater on full blast.
Getting everything off was the usual challenge but at least I was now in my warm car. 5 layers on together with a hat and heating on full blast, and probably 1/2 hour later as I got home did my shivvering stop.
So I’m not sure whether I’ve got this wrong and most Winter dippers just do that, dip? I would like to continue thru the Winter, but jury’s out at the moment. I may even drop the distance even further for the next few months.
A nice but cool challenge.
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I don’t see or hear of anyone that swims properly up here throughout winter. But then many seem to swim skins and just dip. I think swimming alone in winter temperatures for 30 minutes would be beyond my comfort level.
On this scale, it’s hoora cold for me
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I think you’re a little mad to be winter swimming solo but I enjoyed reading that 
You’re probably in the 0.01% of OW swimmers that actually swim outdoors in winter and I bet most of those are the dip your head, photo on Facebook, straight to the nearest cafe types.
Edit to add: I’m a May to October swimmer in NE Scotland. I’m skinny and below 12oC I start to suffer if I’m doing a few k.
Chapeau
It’s completely different temps, but people here think I’m hardy because I was the only one still swimming through an Australian winter in a wetsuit
I agree that winter dippers are already a very small group especially as far North as you, and I imagine there’s very very few doing 30 minutes swimming. I think most just try to get in and do 10 minutes when it starts getting that cold, but I don’t actually know any personally just my perception.
Think I’ve also heard before it’s also the kind of thing that takes more than just one year to acclimatise to? So this winter might become just 10 mins when it gets bad to swim more next year.
Second thoughts:
I really want to encourage you because it’s madness and amazing… but a nagging part of me thinks be careful on your own. It wouldn’t take much for you to just be on a slightly bad day, minor illness and then water be 0.5c cooler and things go wrong. Small “inconsequential” things suddenly become very important at those limits.
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Wasn’t quite 28C at 6 this morning, and we did have to pause while putting wetsuits on to make sure the fin we could see was a dolphin not a shark, but otherwise that’s about right 
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The simple fact that it COULD have been a shark would be enough for me to not so much as dip my toe in
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unless it’s one of these Viz Pathetic Sharks…
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So I looked for the thread: stupid things I did today but couldn’t find one, so this is probably the right place.
The first stupid thing was to promise my daughter I’d go in the sea with her today as she wanted to try out her new surfboard. The second stupid thing was to stand by my principles that includes never break a promise.
Positives.
My Zone3 heat tech gloves/boots never fail to make me smile. Great kit.
Dry robe is not fashion wear on a Scottish beach in December.
My van’s heated seats.
She loved her new board.
Negatives.
It was COLD. A 20 minute swim was more than enough for me.
Walking out I got surprised by a 2m wave wave that tore my goggles from my head. It was their first outing since buying them too.
A pair of Predators now polluting the sea 
There’s a reason why I only swim outdoors between May and October. Today I remembered why that is.
#bobisnotashardasClive
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I’ve just been asked if I’m doing a ‘loony dook’ in the morning. My reply was no, I’m doing dry January.
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