Now, to be clear, swimming in cold water will not be the focus of every blog I write. But I wanted to write a follow-up from my first polar bear dip, in which I ended with:
“But what a great time! In fact, our group wants to go to the beach once a month, so we’re doing it again in February! I’ve put my order in for neoprene swim boots. Stay tuned for the next cold swim adventure!”
And so our group DID go again, on February 11, as we had planned. We went to Port Bruce and not Port Stanley, since there is no long sand bar at Port Bruce and one could potentially swim for a bit, or at least get immersed a shorter distance from shore. That long sand bar just killed everyone’s feet! So a bunch of us ordered neoprene booties to protect our tender tootsies.
This time, the air temperature was -1C and felt cooler since there was a breeze coming off the lake. The water temperature was 1.4C, so much cooler than the 4C at Port Stanley.
We first acclimated to the air temperature by hanging out on the beach for about 15 min. I just had my swimsuit and a pair of shorts on. Yes, it was initially cold, but my skin started to cool and get a bit numb after a few minutes, so I no longer felt the cold. I did have my hoodie on and only took it off a few minutes before we went into the water. I wore neoprene gloves to protect my hands and the booties for my feet, which were actually WARM as I sat on the beach! And a toque for my head, as always.
We all went into the water slowly since we didn’t know when it would drop off. The dip didn’t last long, though! One member of our group decided to SPLASH into the water, which got a few of the others screaming and running back out! I quietly immersed myself up to my neck and stayed that way for 10 seconds (roughly, I’m not sure if I counted at a proper pace). At that point, the other person started to leave. I thought I could stay in for longer but didn’t want to be in the water by myself, so I also got out.
While in the water, I felt the rest of my body getting numb pretty quickly. I felt like just a head and no body! Those booties were a godsend, as I could still feel my feet and they did NOT hurt! The gloves did a great job of protecting my hands. Best purchases I’ve ever made, and highly recommended if anyone else wants to do some polar dips!
Getting out of the water, my skin was numb and I could not feel the wind. I wrapped myself in my towels and noticed my skin was red, especially my inner arms and thighs. That cold-induced vasodilation was very noticeable there where my skin is a paler shade of brown. I got my gloves off, but needed help getting the booties off! They were snug!
And of COURSE, as we stripped on the beach to get out of our wet swimsuits, that was the time that another group of people decided to go for a walk on the beach! Oh well….we needed to get into our dry clothes. And I noticed that when I put on my t-shirt and sweater, it felt like a thousand pinpricks were dancing on the skin on my upper back and chest. It was VERY intense. Some people might find this sensation invigorating, but for me, it was like my nerves and blood vessels were screaming at me, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO US?!!” It also felt as if I was about to get a hot flash or fever. So it wasn’t very pleasurable…not like getting out of the cold shower. But my hands and feet and legs were fine….the pinprick sensation on my legs didn’t bother me nearly as much. I suspect this sensation is what many people enjoy about cold water immersion. I’ll need to ask my friend who got me started on this cold water journey.
And so YES, we will be doing this AGAIN! I think the best part of the experience is the camaraderie of the group. We are all members of our Masters swim team so we know each other. For me, they are new friends, teammates I am just getting to know, and it’s nice to do this activity with them. It’s sort of a bonding exercise. The couple in the group had all of us over to their hot tub afterwards, and that was great as we drank wine and chatted.
The best part of this cold water immersion experiment has been the friends I’ve made along the way. It started with one person (not a swimmer) I’m getting to know as a friend, and has spilled over to my new swimming teammates. It’s been a fun journey so far!
A selfie of a woman wearing glasses in a black swimsuit and grey toque on a beach