Adirondack Sports June 2024

SWIMMING & TRIATHLON
JUNE 2024 41
Enjoy Open Water Swimming
■ LIFEGUARDS
SUPPORTING THE
LAST SWIMMER
OUT AT CDTC’S
CRYSTAL LAKE
TRIATHLON.
By Kathy Meany
“Open water swimming” means different
things to those of us who live in
Upstate New York. For many, open water
swimming means jumping off a dock or
the side of a boat into a quiet lake or river
for a refreshing dip on a hot, summer day.
For others, it’s those opportunities for
steady, but leisurely recreational swims
for exercise and to enjoy nature during
time spent at a state park, a lakeside family
camp, or while away on that coveted summer
vacation. For the more fitness conscious,
an open water swim might offer
an occasional alternative in our weekly
schedule of visits to the gym or pool. And
finally, for athletes, open water swimming
means regular trips to a lake for specific
workouts while training for a triathlon or
open water swim race.
Regardless of your purpose, this information
will hopefully support and further
your journey as an open water swimmer
in a region replete with magnificent lakes,
ponds, and rivers (well, the unpolluted
ones, at least!).
Let’s start with keeping ourselves SAFE
while swimming in open water. The adage,
“Never swim alone,” is especially true for
open water swimming. When I’m heading
to a lake to do a workout, I try to enlist one
or more of my like-minded friends to join
me, or I have my husband accompany me
in his kayak. At a minimum, I make sure
my family knows where I’m going and
how long I plan to swim.
For short swims, many of the state
■ PRACTICING OPEN WATER
SWIM SKILLS IN A CLINIC
AT GLENS FALLS YMCA.
park, town, and village beaches have
roped in swimming areas with lifeguard
supervision. In many of these public locations,
you are allowed to swim outside of
the designated swimming area but do so at
your own risk. Check with the lifeguards.
For those of us interested in lengthier
swims, the best bet is to connect with one
of the triathlon clubs in our area. Whether
you’re training for a triathlon or an open
water race, or you simply want to swim
for fitness, at least three triathlon clubs in
the Capital Region – Bethlehem Triathlon
Club, Capital District Triathlon Club, and
Saratoga Triathlon Club – offer weekly
opportunities to swim at your own pace
on a course marked with buoys with full
lifeguard coverage for a reasonable fee.
State boat launches provide another
great venue for swims of greater distances.
Again, do so safely, especially in
a setting where motorboats, pontoons, jet
skis, and wave runners are allowed. Take
a route that allows you to hug the shore.
Wear a bright colored swim cap and invest
in a fluorescent green, orange, or yellow
open water swim buoy that makes you
more visible to boaters. Swimming with
a swim buoy provides the added advantages
of using the inflated buoy as a float
if you need to take a rest, having something
to attach an emergency swim whistle
to, and, with some models, providing
a dry compartment where you can carry
some essentials. A wetsuit provides extra
buoyancy for ease of swimming and is
essential for warmth and safety when
water temperatures are on the cool side,
along with a brightly colored neoprene
cap and neoprene swim socks and gloves.
Additionally, I always wear my Road ID
with essential contact information on
every open water swim.
How about for those who want to
improve their skills and abilities as an
open water swimmer? Like it or not, the
best place to improve your stroke is in
the pool while working with a certified
swim instructor or an in-person or virtual
coach. Unless you had the great fortune
of high-quality swimming instruction
throughout your childhood and adolescence,
improving your swimming stroke
as an adult typically involves undoing a
lot of bad habits and relearning aspects
of this highly technical physical activity.
As Kevin Kearney, coach and proprietor
of Excel Aquatics, has said, “Swimming is
not a natural activity for humans. Human
beings are a land, not a water, species.”
See SWIMMING & TRIATHLON 43