I was in town for the CDA 2008 Ironman just over a year ago and a cold swim for the race was one of the biggest concerns I heard when I went down to the swim area where many of the entrants were getting in some last minute swimming.
You have to admit, this picture of Ghost Lake does not exactly shout out "COLD."
Over and over again in CDA I heard them talk about how cold the water was going to be and I could tell that it was a major concern for many of them.
There had been a lot of rain in that part of Idaho and often stormy weather will cause a thermal inversion in lakes and it appears that was the case this year. The same thing happened in Penticton back in the 1980's in a few of their earlier races and the water was "really" cold.
With Ironman Ironman Calgary 70.3 fast approaching the main topic of conversation is not the fact that Ironman world champion Craig Alexander will be head-lining the show, but rather how cold the water is going to be on race-day. As a matter of fact, it's reached epidemic proportions and that usually means that everybody is "wrong." Most likely the water will be no different than Ironman Canada in Penticton on any given year.
I can sympathize with triathletes who have concerns about the upcoming race because a cold water swim was one thing I feared most when it came to the Ironman. I spent all year trimming away as much body fat as possible and really paid for it if the swim happened to be a cold one. That was what prompted me to look into ways of overcoming the cold when it came to long open water swims.
It was actually the owner of a local vitamin store who educated me on the benefits of pantathenic acid. He told me how in the past it had been used by long distance open water swimmers to ward off the cold.
When I looked into it I discovered that swimmers who had crossed the frigid water of the English Channel had used pantathenic acid to help build a resistance to the cold.
Pantathenic acid is a vitamin and can be purchased at most vitamin and health food stores.
I used it myself in several colder Penticton Ironman races and have to say it made a noticeable difference and I never had a problem with cold water again. I would take 500 mg a day for one month up to and including the day of the race.
It is inexpensive and I never noticed any side effects of any kind. If it is something you might be interested in trying, I would suggest doing your own search on it and check it out for yourself. It's just a simple matter to Google it and you will find lots of information on it.
This is another picture of Ghost Lake and it's pretty much what freaked out triathletes think it will be like IM Calgary 70.3 race day. Of course with that vehicle parked out on the lake, that's most likely an exaggeration, as this is a winter shot. Besides, I've talked to a few athletes who have been out there getting used to the water in the last few weeks and by all reports, the water may be a little on the cold side, but not nearly as bad as most people fear.
Posts
