Open water swim season starting

Got Chipstead swim tonight after work (7:15). My fourth swim there this year. Also booked for both days of the weekend. Swimming for fun, not for racing!

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Saw Lauren Steadman at the lake last night. With 1 fewer limbs than me, she’s still so much faster. It’s incredible what para-athletes are capable of!

On a OWS note, it’s twice now that I’ve been, each time I come out and start uncontrollable sneezing within 10 minutes and within a couple of house my sinuses are completely blocked. It ruined my sleep last night and with lots of drugs I’m only now starting to recover. Any ideas what I could do to prevent this? Nose clips? Any preventative drugs?

I have the same, in the pool I’m fine but OW swimming really messes with my nose. Nose clip works but I hate using it

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I’m the other way around - pool ruins my sinuses and sleep; OW (fresh or salt) cause no problems.

try Beconase (nasal spray) about 15 mins before you go for a swim, and another squirt up the schnozz when finished. works most of the time for me with my chlorine intolerance although not always.

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Yeah it doesn’t really make sense that OW - hopefully with fewer chemicals - gives me more problems than the pool!

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It may be pollen on the surface if the water. As mentioned take Beconaise - or a cheaper knock off - beforehand, I’d give it an hour to kick in.

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I believe it relates to the water washing the protective coating off the membranes in your nose, making them sensitive, rather than the chemicals themselves.
As well as Beconase already mentioned, a smear of Vaseline up each nostril before swimming can help too.
ETA - just read that back, a thin film on the inside of the nostril, not blocking it up with Vaseline.

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It’s not just me then! I do the beconase beforehand, start coating it an hour before, fine for the first 24 hours after swimming but the next day or two brings blocked sinuses and sniffles. Clear that with saline spray but would prefer for it not to happen in the first place

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I use a noseclip all of the time.

In other news…if anyone was thinking of swimming in Pickmere DO NOT
Well, unless you like swimming in blue/green algae and spending a week in the bathroom :wink:

Coming to an open water venues near you soon :open_mouth:

Anyone got any experience with a Zone 3 Aspire?

4 O/W swims this week totalling about 7.5km, inc 800mtrs in skins this afternoon.

I’ve done some running & cycling as well, but meh.

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5 times how me this week, 13.6km total. Still not running so swimming is a welcome substitute & conditions have been perfect.

Edit: remember I had a Garmin fail on Wednesday so was 6 times 15.2km

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3 for me, but will likely be doing just two 4km swims a week from now on

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FOMO for me

Local lake claims it’s opening next week.

New wetsuit ordered hopefully it turns up I’m time but with this weather it might be bearable without

I can’t get a slot.
Probably one for the rant thread, but infuriating to miss out today. I’ve been refreshing the app for the Docks all day, and it’s only when I randomly decide to actually force close, and kill, the app and reopen it that suddenly all the slots show up, but of course they are already booked. So infuriating.

Who would design an app that way, especially when the app takes 15+ seconds each time you kill it to reopen. Why is the data within it not just dynamic and automatically updated whilst the app is running.

Having been swimming the first week they opened, I’m now going to be lucky if I get a slot for the second week of June, which will then mean 3 weeks between swims. Kind of defeats the point of even bothering.

I jumped in the local river this evening, first swim since the gym closed and it was torture, but the water was actually quite pleasant.

Had to go in a bit further upstream as the park we normally get in is closed for cars and there’s a clearway outside and on the estate over the road, didn’t fancy walking across in the wetsuit either.

Tried out my towfloat which was a bit of a balls up as I think Wiggle sent the wrong thing but it’s too late to send it back, but I’ve used an old inner tube which just about works, kept kicking it but at least I know it’s there.

The park is supposed to open tomorrow and they were clearing the bollards from the road as I went home so we can hopefully get in there from now which is a bit easier.

I’ve been swimming (playing) in the sea and river 3 times this week. Just a pair of boardies. It’s been lush.

Swam non wetsuit this morning, not as warm as I thought is was from inside a wetsuit :cold_face:. Also much slower than I was expecting 0.64/100

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Thinking about it. 20 miles from Loch Lomond. Apparently all access areas have been closed off so I would have to be creative… may have to cycle up to carron valley… there are a few other places further away and I’m desperate to try out my new eyesight excuse if stopped by the police :grin:

Yes. Great! Snug fit. Comfy. Good value. My first suit in 2017 - it’s still great and survived a lot of OW plus 4 IM and many OW events and other triathlons. One small hole easily fixed with that puncture repair-like stuff.