Got to the pool today, and being in no particular rush, chatted to the lifeguards about water temperature, fainting and so on. One thing that the conversation provoked in my head was the idea that there is a time to be in the water that creates a wonderful heating sensation afterwards, and beyond that you just get increasingly cold. I did just 400 yards (4 lengths) and was a nice beetroot colour when I got out. I could have done more, but didn't want to have that cold to the core feeling that I had for several hours on Tuesday. A couple of hours later I still have the wonderful endorphin feeling.
On the way out, I talked to Anne, and we discussed whether there was any regular pattern to the fainters. Aside from them all being women, they were of all ages, had been in the water for different lengths of time, were a mix of experienced and newcomers. One thought was that they'd all spent more than a short time in the showers.
Hello! Good blog :)
ReplyDeleteI had a lovely 4 lengths swim today too. I got out because I could feel the fear creeping in, although I felt like doing a few more. All the fainting stories and warning notices have taken the edge off the fun a little bit...
Has anyone mentioned whether the fainting season occurs every year when the temperature drops, or is this a new thing?
Julie
Julie - there's always one or two, but this year the numbers have gone up. There was some speculation today that the first round of fainting were because the temp went from 15 degrees to 10 in a couple of weeks; and this time because it went from 12 to 9 in four days. People didn't gradually acclimatise.
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