Mental Challenges of Open Water Swimming

 As a kid, Joel Wilson was introduced to swimming at the Salinas YMCA and excelled in the sport. He swam well enough at North Salinas High School to earn a college swimming scholarship to U. C. Berkeley where he was an All American. After his college swimming career was complete he became interested in open water swimming and joined the South End Rowing Club in San Francisco. He’s been a member since 1974 and at the end of June will enjoy his 30th Golden Gate Swim. 

When Joel is on dry land he is the Assistant Head Coach with U.C. Santa Cruz’s Men’s and Women’s Collegiate Swimming and will begin his 11th year with the Mighty Slugs this Fall. Joel shares his depth of knowledge of open water swimming by coaching individuals for such swims as the  Trans Bay Swim, English Channel, Catalina Channel, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and swims across Lake Tahoe. 

SZ: What was your first long distance open water event? 

JW: I guess it was a mile swim around Santa Cruz Pier in 1972.  At that time that was considered a long distance swim although there was already a history of people doing Channel swims and long lake swims but it was unusual at that time.

SZ: How did you become interested in open water swimming?

JW: It was so much fun, such a change from being in the pool. I kept doing some small open water swims and then I wound up in 1974 becoming a member of the South End Rowing Club at the Aquatic Park in San Francisco. I would do 10-12 open water swims during the season which is usually a six month period.

SZ: Did you train for your first swim around Santa Cruz Pier?

JW: I did not train in the ocean. At that time I didn’t know enough to do that. I just got in and swam around and got out. It was very, very cold.

SZ: What’s the reason a swimmer only wears a bathing suit during these events?  Is it tradition or does it set a standard?

JW: Both of those things. Tradition and it sets a standard. Today you read about people during open water swims and the media typically does not distinguish between someone who does it in a suit, googles, and cap versus someone who’s out there in a wet suit. It’s two entirely different swims. That difference need to be emphasized.

SZ: Are some people out of the running automatically because they can’t adjust to the cold water?

JW: Most people can train to do it. I think anyone can adapt to the colder water. The first few times I did it I tell you it was pretty humorous to watch me shake.

SZ: Your body can go into shock because it’s so cold.

JW: Yeah, you go running off the beach and diving into the cold water and the typical reaction is that you can’t draw a breath. That’s a normal reaction. That happens to everyone but if you immerse yourself time and again over a period of time your body adapts.

SZ: Does meditation or putting yourself in an altered mental state help? 

JW: I think it can be helpful. It depends on the person. Some people kind of actively meditate and prepare themselves mentally that way.

SZ: What was your first Trans Bay Swim?

JW: For a long time beginning in 1990 I was involved in putting on a swim from Capitola to Santa Cruz. It was called the Pier to Pier, which is a 10 kilometer swim. Hosting this event was super stressful. There were so many safety elements worrying about the forty people in the water. In 2005 I stopped hosting the event and became interested in putting a team together to swim across the bay which was a whole different experience. The team was made up of friends of mine, people that I knew from many years of swimming open water events. I called them up and invited them to be part of a team and that’s how we came together. I still wound up doing the organizing but it was a different kind of responsibility. I knew everyone on the team, and their swimming background. I knew they would work well together. 

SZ: You both organized it and swam the event? What’s the distance?

JW: Yes, I organized and swam, it’s twenty-one miles across the bay from Santa Cruz Harbor to Monterey Harbor.

SZ: Have you swum the event solo? 

JW: No, I’ve always been part of a team. I have never been able to train enough to do a solo swim. Others have swum this distance solo.

SZ: Describe the swim.

JW: Monterey Bay is as challenging as the English Channel. It’s just a different swim. The distance is the same. The water is colder here. We don’t have the wicked current that the English Channel does but I would consider the swim equally challenging.

SZ: How many hours does it take?

JW: It depends on the swimmers but it can take anywhere from twelve to sixteen hours. There’s been a group of University of Santa Cruz swim team members who put together a team that does it a bit differently than we do it but they’ve gotten across in under ten hours. 

SZ: Is the event a race where teams compete to finish the distance as quickly as possible? Do you call up another university and say, “Our swimmers can beat your swimmers in an open water swim to Monterey, come on over.”

JW: Generally it’s pretty hard to find other college kids who would want to make this swim. It’s generally a fundraiser event for the swim team at the university.

SZ: What’s the typical age of an open water swimmer?

JW: Someone who is beginning open water swimming could very well be just out of college and they are looking to continue swimming and want to do something different other than pool swimming. That’s very common. Then there are people who have had a swimming background and have gotten away from the sport for awhile and are coming back to it. A lot of open water swimmers that are taking on the big swims tend to be in their 40’s and 50’s. 

SZ: You’ve coached solo swimmers for the English Channel, Trans Bay, Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. What are the similarities and differences in the preparation and swimming of these events?

JW: All these swims are long swims, that’s what they have in common. They are also all very difficult swims. The preparation is similar in that they are going to be doing a lot of training, a lot of meters over a long period of time. For instance the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim is generally water that is warmer than the ocean but Catalina, Monterey Bay, the English Channel are cold water swims. Swimmers must do a lot of preparation in that cold water. But in terms of the training we set up a plan so that most of their yards are swum in a pool because that’s typically what they have access to.

SZ: To build up their mental and physical endurance.

JW: Yeah, building yards over a long period of time so the training is going on in the pool and then we get out and begin training in the open water.

SZ: How far in advance are we talking about? Months, a year?

JW: Generally about a year, ten to seventeen months.

SZ: It’s a huge commitment.

JW: For many of these swims to get on the list you’ve got to plan at least a year in advance. 

SZ: What do you mean get on a  list? Like announce you are going to swim the English Channel?

JW:  Yeah. For the English Channel sometimes the wait is two or three years out. They don’t have room for you so you have to get on a list.

SZ: That many people are attempting to swim it? I had no idea it was such a popular swim.

JW: Yeah, the English Channel is very much that way. One of my swimmers right now is going to get a slot. She’s about a year and a half out and the only reason she got the slot is that another swimmer gave up her spot.

SZ: Are there fees involved?

JW: Yes, you pay a fee to the swim association and you pay a fee for your escort boats. That’s standard in Catalina and the English Channel.

SZ: Is there a periodization protocol that leads up to these events? How do you plot it out?

JW: Yes, we back up from the day of the event, week by week, month by month and figure out a plan. It’s very detailed. It has to be. These are the most difficult swims you can do anywhere and the preparation is vital.

SZ: There are potential dangers involved in the open water swims, cold water, jelly fish, sharks, how do the swimmers prepare their minds for these potential unknown distractions to prevent the fear factor from interfering with their performance? 

JW: We are swimming in an environment not completely familiar to use. I think we all understand that we are getting into an environment that is not our own and so we have a sense of there’s stuff out there. Those elements are part of what we are taking on as part of the challenge. When I was hosting the Pier to Pier swim we were swimming a half mile off shore between Capitola and Santa Cruz. I used to tell people when they asked about what was out there in the water, I’d say, “It’s more dangerous driving your car to the event than what you’re going to experience in the water.” Over the years swimming across the bay we’ve seen a lot. All kinds of creatures and really the biggest barrier as open water swimmers are the jellies.

SZ: Jellies can stop a swimmer.

JW: Your response to the sting and it can just be the pain of it and then you add the toxins which can cause an allergic reaction. If you get stung but don’t have an allergic reaction you can still be taxed mentally in that you just get tired of being in pain for so long.

SZ: Are there mental training exercises recommended for practice on land that swimmers engage in besides meditation?

JW: Swimmers will rehearse the swim in their mind, by visualizing the various elements of the swim. The start off the beach, the swim at sunrise, the swim at sunset, having the escort boat next to them in the water. They can run through all the various segments of the swim in their mind. I think it’s really helpful, for swimmers to visualize themselves all the way through the swim, completing the swim up to the point of walking up on the beach at their destination.

SZ: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your open water swims, pre-race or during the race both mentally and physically. 

JW: In large events with lots of swimmers in the water it’s an adaptation to being in a big group of people who are anxious. There can be a lot of bumping into people or grabbing. All of that can be part of a large group swim and it’s unnerving. It mainly happens in triathlons. In most open water swims you are swimming close to someone and can be side by side for hundreds of yards. It does take some time to get used to but you have to get used to it.

SZ: What are some of the challenges for you pre-swim and during the swim as a coach both mentally and physically?

JW: For me it’s more nerve wracking to be the coach than to be the swimmer. Part of my job is to know my swimmer well and know how they have prepared mentally and physically. When the event starts to be present with them in a way that’s supportive for them and doesn’t create more stress.

SZ: Do you have a favorite quote, tip or story that has inspired you over the years to continue your involvement in open water swimming?

JW: I’ve met open water swimmers over the years and generally these people are older than me and I marvel at what they are doing as an older person. These people were doing the same very challenging swims that I was doing. They are out there in the water a lot longer than me in very cold water, it’s amazing. That’s always inspired me, ever since I was in my twenty’s. Just watching these folks do these swims I would always say, “That’s the way I want to be when I get to be that age.” 

SZ: Anything you would like to add?

JW: We are lucky to have an extensive line-up of open water swims in our region. Our regional Master’s group, called Pacific Masters Swimming is a great source of information about open water swimming. Anyone interested in learning more can contact one of the local Masters clubs listed on the Pacific Masters website.

SZ: Joel thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give me some insight about the world of open water swimming.

Photo By: Joel Wilson

*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro

*This article can be read @ examiner.