Overcoming fear of swimming in open water

As a younger athlete I was petrified about swimming in the ocean. It was a real barrier to me getting into triathlon. I wanted to share how I got over it with some practical tips.

The worst thing you can do is to "try and block the fear out". You must acknowledge the fear. It is normal to have a little fear - that's healthy. "Feel the fear and do it anyway" is a marketing mantra that rings true. Recognising the fear and taking steps to overcoming it is the first step.

Try and work out what aspects of swimming in open water causes your anxiety. If you can narrow it down this will help to deal with it. For me it was not been able to see the bottom. Once I worked this out I started swimming along the shore and gradually exposed myself to deeper and deeper water. This gradual exposure really helped desensitise my anxiety. For some people it's people flailing arms. By swimming away from the main pack and then training close to friends and asking them to purposefully hit you will get you used to the experience in a controlled way.

Once these factors are taken into account it's then a great idea to talk to your coach about developing a plan that addresses the specific aspects of the fear and gradually increase exposure in a planned way. Having the athletes input will give the athlete a sense of ownership of the plan and also give a sense of control.

As you get into the open water training have a calming mantra that you can repeat to help calm you. I tended to focus on my stroke and used to repeat "long and smooth" and really focus on my breathing. You can also have "an out position" like rolling on your back and getting your breathing under control before getting into it again. It a race situation you can also swim to a kayak and hold onto the side to get under control before continuing. Having these back ups can help ease the fear.

If you have any more questions regarding this please get in touch. I'm finding my daily "mindfulness" practice is very helpful with dealing with anxiety in all aspects of life. Please check out the HEADSPACE app for more information on this, and my article "The Wholistic runner - part 1" in the KIWI Trail running magazine.