By Diana Pimer, Swimming World College Intern
Warm sun, tanned skin, swimming with a view; the list of summer swimming pleasures goes on and on. There is just something different about not having schoolwork, being more relaxed, and especially if you’re from the north, finally being able to swim outdoors.
No matter where you swim, most people can’t deny that summer swimming is full of bliss. But with all this bliss must come some a little bit of sorrow. Transitioning to summer swimming is not always as easy as it seems.
With the warmth and brightness of the sun covering the pool, these 5 pains of transitioning to summer swimming temporarily distract swimmers:
1. Cold Water
Photo Courtesy: Heidi Torregroza
So some of us may not know what this really is. If you are a northerner and your long course or summer pool is, in fact, just a summer pool, chances are it was filled…yesterday? That water could take days or even weeks to warm up. You may be in the sunshine, but the water of a freshly filled pool can be worse than the cold of the winter. No one is ready for a 70-degree pool temp practice, no matter how hot it is outside.
2. Sun Glare
Photo Courtesy: Kara Sekenski
Forgot your tinted goggles? Good luck, and pray you’re not doing backstroke that day. Swimming outside adds that ever-blinding sunlight. Yes, we get used to it after a while and yes, goggle companies have really helped us out with this problem over the years, but transitioning from moderate to dim lighting to following airplanes or clouds in the sky can be tricky for any level of swimmer.
3. Tan Lines
It’s finally May. The weather is warming up, you’ve just gotten back into shape after short course taper, and (for females especially) you’ve been dying to wear that new training two-piece you got for Christmas. Whether you have the latest styles or you go with your casual one piece suit, you’re going to develop a tan line that doesn’t go with any “normal” suit, dress, or tank top. Some swimmers take pride in their tan lines while others get annoyed. Either way, the transition from pale to tanned skinned can be complicated.
4. Long Course
Photo Courtesy: Kelsey Lynch
There are plenty of reasons to swim long course. But going from training 25 yards everyday to 50 meters can be a real struggle. It’s like every year the pool magically gets longer and longer. While this training will certainly pay off, this transition definitely takes some adjusting. When your training year is split in half, getting back into long course will take time.
5. Weather
Photo Courtesy: flickr
Sometimes, a bolt of lightning can be the saving grace in the middle of a challenging main set. But when the storms start to come every day for a week, and then two weeks and so on, it can really mess with your training. And nothing is worse than sitting at an outdoor meet huddled under a tent wearing sweats because it’s July and freezing outside. Swimming outdoors comes with risks. Those lines on the ceilings are not always there and your dependable tile walls are no longer there to keep you in line.
Whether you swim outside all year long, or you spend your winters indoors, there is always a little internal struggle of swimming in the summer.
Samantha Wyllie Kobie Markham
Emily Mulqueeney
Dot Badik-Randolph that picture of the girl freezing reminds me of little Faith!
Ellie Wargo Brooke Perrotta so famous
Julia Brinkhagen