But, in an effort to get my 'page views this month' up from zero, I thought anything was worth a try. If this doesn't work, I still have the option to turn on the setting that records a page view every time I log on myself to check my page views.....
Does this really qualify as a tip in the sense that you will see a drastic improvement in your swim technique or speed ? Highly unlikely. Is it perhaps more just a case of common sense - more likely.
So, to set the scene. It's a regular kind of Thursday, my good friend and some time training and racing buddy is on a taper week for an upcoming Iron Man race and invites me to join him for a lake swim after work. So, we arrive at the Tri Farm (See here), get changed and wander down to the lake. I remember to dip my goggles into the water first so they don't fog up....but as soon as I'm in the water and put them on, of course, they fog up. So I clear them and set off for the first marker buoy. En route, they fog up, so I stop at the marker, clear the goggles and off I go again. No sooner do I set off, than they fog up. This time, I can't be bothered to stop again so just plough on.
My navigation gets worse and I have to keep stopping to see where I am versus the next buoy. This process repeats itself for the first lap (800m). At the end of the lap, I clean the goggles, they fog up and again, I leave them. I complete another awful lap of unsighted swimming, going off course, stopping to see where I am and become increasingly more frustrated at what feels like a waste of £7 quid entry on what is a lovely evening to be swimming.
At the end of my second lap, some strange things happen. I challenge myself to an extra lap, the lake isn't due to close, I'm sure I'll have time to get round once more....that'll be an all-time open water distance PB for me. But what if I can't make it, can I cut across the lake and take a short cut - as with me, the usual doubts try to outweigh everything else. After a few seconds deliberation, I decide I owe it to myself to get one more lap in, I can't get out now after two awful laps. But, the goggles...the fog will surely return and make the last lap just as rubbish as the other two. And then I recall, didn't I see my training buddy spit into his goggles before he set off? But surely, that's an old wives tale, it can't work can it?
So there I am, treading water and spitting into my goggles. Back on they go and off I set, expecting 'the fog' to descend any time. But, guess what, no such fog descends. The goggles stay clear as day to the first buoy and the second.....my navigation is immediately much better and it feels as if I'm swimming quicker, my confidence has returned. What a great last lap, I was amazed at how much better I swam. It had to be faster I assumed, based on the fact I didn't stop and my navigation was better as the goggles stayed crystal clear for the whole lap.
It seems obvious really, but I'd never considered how much fogged up goggles could impact a swim. The change in my swimming for that last lap was remarkable, just from having clear goggles and being able to see where I was going.
So there you have it, my first (and I'd suggest maybe last) open water swimming 'tip'. Make sure your goggles are treated to a pre-swim anti-fog treatment or you are spitting on them before you start and as I did, reap the benefits of a better, more confident, straighter and generally more enjoyable swim.
At the end of my second lap, some strange things happen. I challenge myself to an extra lap, the lake isn't due to close, I'm sure I'll have time to get round once more....that'll be an all-time open water distance PB for me. But what if I can't make it, can I cut across the lake and take a short cut - as with me, the usual doubts try to outweigh everything else. After a few seconds deliberation, I decide I owe it to myself to get one more lap in, I can't get out now after two awful laps. But, the goggles...the fog will surely return and make the last lap just as rubbish as the other two. And then I recall, didn't I see my training buddy spit into his goggles before he set off? But surely, that's an old wives tale, it can't work can it?
So there I am, treading water and spitting into my goggles. Back on they go and off I set, expecting 'the fog' to descend any time. But, guess what, no such fog descends. The goggles stay clear as day to the first buoy and the second.....my navigation is immediately much better and it feels as if I'm swimming quicker, my confidence has returned. What a great last lap, I was amazed at how much better I swam. It had to be faster I assumed, based on the fact I didn't stop and my navigation was better as the goggles stayed crystal clear for the whole lap.
It seems obvious really, but I'd never considered how much fogged up goggles could impact a swim. The change in my swimming for that last lap was remarkable, just from having clear goggles and being able to see where I was going.
So there you have it, my first (and I'd suggest maybe last) open water swimming 'tip'. Make sure your goggles are treated to a pre-swim anti-fog treatment or you are spitting on them before you start and as I did, reap the benefits of a better, more confident, straighter and generally more enjoyable swim.
