Open Water Swimming
Try an open water swim in Long Island Sound (or any other salt water!) It’s not only great exercise as it’s easy on your joints, but the salt water is great for your skin! Sea salt contains many skin healing minerals like magnesium, which is an anti-inflammatory, so it’s also great for acne and it’s a natural exfoliant. Saltwater also contains sulfur which is a natural antiseptic and potassium which promotes healing. Whenever I had a cut or scrape as a kid, my mom would always say “take a swim at the beach and you’ll be fine”! Maybe there was some truth to that!
– Annette
Yesterday morning Bev and I met up with some friends at 6:30am for our first open water swim together this summer. We couldn’t have asked for a better morning – the air temp was in the low 70s, the water was perfectly calm and flat, at a comfortable 73 degrees. We probably swam about a mile, and it was so great to be out on the water with friends enjoying the peaceful morning views and watching the sun slowly rise.
Although it’s a lot of fun and great exercise, some parts of open water swimming are kinda’ crazy, so we thought we’d give you some of the inside scoop😆
Tips for Open Water Swimming:
- Never ever swim alone – anytime anywhere! And if you’re trying open water for the first time, you might have someone kayak or paddle board with you.
- Wear a bright colored swim buoy! You might look silly, but it makes you more visible to others – especially boaters! (Obviously you should not swim in an area with boat activity)
- Wear a wetsuit! You may have noticed that triathletes and open water swimmers often wear them. Fun fact – it’s not always because of cold water. They’re often worn because they provide some buoyancy, which makes long swims much easier!
- Wear a bright colored swim cap (no dark colors!) It also makes you more visible in the water.
- Wear goggles – duh!
- Lube up!!!! Seriously – if you wear a wetsuit, it’s very tight and it may chafe. I’ve tried every type of lubricant (including cooking spray!) and I’ve found diaper cream to be the best.
- HAVE FUN!!!!