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Are you freaking out too?

This is not just another post about “our response to the COVID-19 outbreak”. I need to halt our regularly scheduled programming to freak out for just a minute. I was going to talk about how to rewire your brain to make change; taking the time during a chaotic masters practices to focus on just feeling the water and implementing deliberate practice in your routine.

But chaotic masters practices are a thing of the past. Pools are closed or closing. “Shelter in place” is not a covered picnic table that you can reserve at a local park. Friends and family are self imposing quarantine when it’s not mandated. School is closed indefinitely. Hospitals have cancelled elective surgeries for the foreseeable future. Restaurants are scrambling to advertise pickup and delivery options. And beyond front line doctors, nurses, and grocery store workers, employers are either laying off employees or scrambling to find telework and work from home opportunities.

On a personal level, I’m spending every waking hour with my kids. My husband is in and out of hospitals, teleconferencing follow up care, and trying to figure out what the new reality is for elective orthopedics. I’ve had to cancel my inaugural swim camp and every local event that I just put on the calendar. For financial security I’m contemplating, yet another, return to IT work. So yah, I’m freaking out!

Stepping back…

I am grateful for so much! I live in a beautiful place where social distancing isn’t that hard. I have a roof over my head, a comfortable bed to sleep in, running water, electricity, and food in my cupboards. I have two amazing kids who I love to spend time with. And an amazing and supportive partner.

But when I stop and think about the current state of affairs, it takes my breath away. When I wake up in the morning scrunched between my kids and take a moment to let the new day sink in, I have to remind myself to breathe.

I tell myself everyday that this will all pass, that we’ll get to the other side. But that doesn’t erase the fear of what the other side will look like. How long will it be? Is this the new normal?

In some sense I feel like I’ve been training for this my whole life. My husband is an apocalypse movie junky. We’ve lived in relatively rural towns, a modest distance from convenient services, for the last 11 years. I don’t consider myself a hoarder, but I’ve always maintained a respectable backlog of food and supplies. I’ve worked remotely for the better part of 17 years, so isolation and virtual connection are comfortable to me.

But staring uncertainty in the face is scary.

I’m a planner. I love to create training plans (even more than I like to follow them!) I sit for a few minutes and plan out each day. Even planning for uncertainty, like marathon swims, long hikes, or a vacation with kids; you never know what exactly you’ll need, so you plan for and bring a little bit of everything; I love it!

But in the face of absolute uncertainty, with no parameters, or bounds; I feel paralyzed.

I’m impressed with the amount of free services being offered online. Everything from streaming body weight workouts, free printable education materials, even easy to make recipes in the name of quarantine! This genuine outpouring of support – coming together in isolation – it’s heartwarming. But I still can’t seem to get off my ass.

I finally realized that I’m mourning. Mourning the loss of society as we knew it. I’m somewhere in depression, but on the way to acceptance.

So a new type of rewiring is in order. In the same way that a few times a week I would focus on my stroke and technique to ensure that I was feeling the water and working to break bad habits, I’m committing a few hours each week to connect with people like you – anyone, anywhere, who wants to connect.

It’s early PDT, because I endeavor to meet before my kids are up, but they are early risers, so you might see them. We had three people on the first call and it started my day off just right, the same way swim practice starts your day off; but without having to go anywhere! Join me for Virtual “Swim” Practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30AM PDT: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/3890588216

As soon as I’m out of this funk, in place of deliberate swimming practice, I’m going to be deliberate in working on me. I’ll move, strengthen, and complement my swimming muscles in quarantine. Let’s motivate and encourage each other when we connect!

There are an abundance of free (for now) resources, here are a few that I’ve cataloged:

https://swimswam.com/training/at-home-quarantine-training/

https://outdoorswimmer.com/blogs/how-to-keep-swimming-fit-during-corona-virus-pandemic

https://www.liquidtri.com/blog/coronavirus-swimming-improvements

http://www.swimmingspecificyoga.com/

How are you handling the situation? Connect with me on instagram, Facebook, or email – I’d absolutely love to hear from you!

Next time, how to get swimming outside. Now more than ever, is a good time to swim wild!

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Change is not inevitable

In 2017 I swam the 20 km Mercer Island Marathon Swim, around Mercer Island near Seattle, Washington. I was fortunate to have a kayaker assigned to me. She was supportive, enthusiastic, motivational – everything you want your support kayaker to be – and she had a GoPro.

I had not yet embraced the GoPro world. Selfie sticks, helmet cams, prolific amounts of footage, and video editing, were way outside my comfort zone. However, after the swim I found myself anxious to get a look at my stroke. My lovely kayaker, also a coach for a local swim team, passed along some footage and suggested, ” maybe you could catch… a little sooner?” This insight, and being able to actually see myself swim, sent me down a long and winding path to change my form – that I never would have crossed if it hadn’t been for that footage.

My stroke had served me quite well to date; I completed the Mercer Island Marathon Swim, I had a few 10 mile Kingdom Swims under my belt, the 17 km Portland Bridge Swim, and even suffered through 36 miles of END-WET! Did I need to change?

It’s a grainy image from a video, but you can see it, can’t you?

Look at that elbow drop! Not to mention the lack of rotation.

I’ve studied, practiced, and coached many clients since 2017 (I’ve also invested in a GoPro). As I discussed in my last post, when you turn your head to breathe, you want to be as streamlined as possible. When you have good posture, a powerful pull, and snappy drive, you can capitalize on the moment between one stroke and the next and get a free ride.

With the awareness gained from watching this video, I could now feel when my elbow was dropping on my glide. It was extremely consistent! Not fatigue induced as I had originally thought.

Awareness is the first step. But how do you fix your stroke?

I’ve known for years that there is benefit to incorporating drills in your workout. When I was on deck coaching masters swimmers, I dedicated entire sets to drills and harped on my swimmers to actually do them correctly. However, when I attended a group workout, this was never something that I wanted to focus on: I can’t let Joe (the guy in the lane over) beat me! What if I miss the interval? I might not be able to lead my lane! What if I get lapped?

I started to investigate this further. The more I thought about how I swam, the more I realized that I had always swam for yards, or miles, or what have you. I always expected that my “feel” for the water would develop and be honed by swimming more. That was the way I grew up swimming. As an age group and high school swimmer, the longest race that I competed in was 1650 yard Freestyle, yet we trained upwards of 15,000-30,000 yards a week. Volume was always the emphasis.

Furthermore, it wasn’t until the very end of my swimming career, when I was taking a Water Safety Instructor course to learn how to teach kids to swim, that I received feedback on my stroke. The instructor asked me why I didn’t use my full length: “Why do you cut your stroke so short when your arms are so long?” In 10 years of swimming competitively, this was the first time anyone had mentioned this to me!

If you want to improve, you need a good coach, and you need to see yourself swim! It’s the only way that you can change. You need to see what you’re actually doing instead of just thinking that you’re doing it right.

Have you seen yourself swim? Ask a friend (or a lifeguard!) get some footage. Underwater footage is great, but a lot can be seen above water, I provide feedback for free!

Next time: how to make change.

Me and my crew after completing the Mercer Island Marathon Swim.
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Lean into it

For the fourth and final installment of efficient swimming basics, meet: Glide

When we swim with great posture, a strong pull, and snappy rotation (drive), we can capitalize on the sweet spot between finishing one stroke and starting the next; this is active glide. 

As a marathon swimmer and efficient swimming advocate, the glide is my secret weapon. When I’ve been swimming for hours and hours and have a few more to go: I drive my hip forward, R-E-A-C-H and glide! If I feel like I haven’t been training enough, but it’s time for my long training swim, I really lean into my glide to get through.

The trick is to continue the forward momentum generated by your pull and drive, by not creating drag with any part of your body. Check your posture: Is your neck long? Your low back flat? Where are your arms? Where are your legs? Are they in the same plane as your head and shoulders?

Keep you elbow high, palm towards the bottom of the pool, ready for the next catch.

Make yourself as tall as possible.

If you’re breathing, check your head position: chin up, forehead down, ear near your arm.

Make sure everything is in line.

If you’re swimming fast, you’re probably gliding a lot less! But you can still capitalize on this momentum before starting your next stroke.

Are you ready to glide? Investigate where your arm is when you breathe. It should be near your ear. If you’re pushing the water down to get your head up you’re creating drag by having your arm dangle down as you drive your hips forward. You’re probably kicking harder, which is likely wearing you out (kicking uses the largest muscles in your body!). You’re working against the water.

We want to work WITH the water: start with great Posture. Put power in your Pull. Drive your hips forward. Reach and Glide.

Want to get deeper into efficient swimming? Sign up for my self paced Efficient Swimming Basics course!

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Don’t be a Chicken

First we talked about Posture. Then we put power in our Pull. For part three of our four part series on Efficient Swimming Basics: Drive

Rotate! This is quite possibly the most common feedback that I have for comfortable swimmers who are looking to improve. Perhaps swimmers *think* that they are rotating because they turn their head to breathe. Or because they rotate their arms around and around. But when I say “rotate” what I want to you think about is: forcefully driving your hip forward.

So, instead of rotation, we’re going to call it: Drive

Driving your hip forward, drives YOU forward through the water.

Try this: Stand in front of a mirror. Raise your right arm over your head. Now drive your right hip 45 degrees. Let your body roll with this motion. What does your hand do? It wants to reach! The more you drive and rotate your hips, the more length you can get with each stroke!

We accomplish several things when we employ adequate rotation in freestyle: 

First, turn your boat from a barge into a yacht! While we practice good posture to be flat on top of the water to reduce drag, we also want to slice through the water with each stroke. Reduce the surface area that you’re pulling through the water by rotating your hips as you reach.

Second, gain distance per stroke by reach, reach, reaching… Lean into that hip. How much higher you can reach? This is what we want!

And finally, leverage. Imagine trying to pull down on a weighted pulley with your arm stretched out straight. Now rotate so that the pulley is closer to your body. See how much easier that is? We gain leverage on the water by rotating our body. 

Sometimes I realize during a warm up, or even well into a workout that I haven’t been thinking about driving my hips, I’m merely rotating on an axis like a rotisserie chicken. There’s a difference. Think about driving for distance! Sometimes the Cake lyrics pop in my head:

“He’s going the distance

He’s going for speed…”

If you’re looking for speed, reach and drive!

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Pull Power

Last time we talked about Posture, for part two of our four part series on efficient swimming basics, enter: The Pull

In the pull, our goal is to push the water behind us; as much as you can, as soon as you can. 

It’s that simple.

Start floating face down in the water in neutral position: arms over your head shoulder width apart, neck long, back flat. Now, push the water behind you with one arm. 

Take note: Did you move forward? 

If you didn’t take note, push the water behind you with your other arm.

Could you feel the water as you were pushing it?

Were your fingers closed or open? Were you cupping your hand? (Hint: relax you’re hand!)

What could you do differently to better engage the water to propel yourself forward?

Can you make your paddle bigger? Lock your wrist so that you can pull with the entire surface area from your finger tips to your elbow!

Does your arm come out to the side? Try keeping it under your body.

What if you bend your elbow sooner? You may notice that if you pull with a straight arm, you’ll be pushing your body up until such a time that your palm faces the other end of the pool and you can push the water behind you. Try bending your elbow sooner.

Do you lift your elbow out of the water before your hand reaches your thigh? Try pushing all the way through.

How much water can you push behind you with each stroke?

Be curious. Try different things! Find out what propels you forward.

Don’t get fancy and draw letters (I grew up in the days of the S pull!), just engage the water, and push it behind you. The sooner you start, the more water you can push behind you with each pull. 

If you’re a kicker, STOP. Investigate what happens when you start in a float and just push the water behind you.

That’s it. That’s the pull: push the water behind you. 

Next up: Rotation!

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Posture Project

I’ve been working on my in-water posture for more than a year. For in-water posture, I practice what I call Neutral position: long neck, tummy tight, low back flat, arms over head with shoulders back and down – I try to spend some amount of time in this position every time I’m in the water. I believe this work has helped tremendously with eliminating low back pain on long swims. If this is something that you have faced, check your core engagement!

But that’s not enough.

Better posture in the water, starts out of the water. This is part one of a four part series covering the basics of efficient swimming.

In my Fitness Focus post, I mentioned some of the things that I’m working on in 2020. I mentioned it third, but I would suggest that, first and foremost, I’m working on my posture… thus the POSTURE PROJECT (read with booming, echo-y voice) has commenced.

This is the first tenant of efficient swimming: Posture.

In part, we want good posture to stay on top of the water and not drag our body through the water as we’re trying to progress forward. Notice the difference in posture in the top picture versus the bottom picture.

This difference in posture comes from engaging the core (tighten tummy), tilting your pelvis back (flatten low back), and bringing your shoulders back and down.

But we also want to quickly snap from one side to the other. Think about it: if you’re a noodle in the water, the transition from one side to the other isn’t nearly as effective as if you’re a board, from your head to your tail bone.

In working on my out of water posture, for starters, I try to catch myself slumping and immediately: tighten tummy, flatten low back, shoulders back and down. I think about it when I’m:

…doing dishes

…driving

…walking the dog

…folding the laundry

…sitting at a table/desk – this I a big one for me!

…playing with my boys

Inevitably, I tighten my tummy and realize my low back is arched, and my shoulders are sneaking up to my ears!

Tighten tummy, flatten low back, shoulders back and down.

Another activity that I’m engaging in to bring awareness to my posture is yoga. This week I’m attending a yoga retreat in Playa Chacala, Mexico. I couldn’t be more thrilled with how much focus has been on correct posture and proper technique—just like in swimming! So far I have been able to bridge this into impromptu swimming classes where we focus on floating (posture), and feeling the water.

It’s a fantastic marriage: yoga and swimming. After yoga, meditation, and a delicious, local, organic breakfast we digest for a bit then swim down the bay and back. A short, but adequate swim amid the relaxing that is called for in a place like this.

I expect more to come from this marriage of yoga and swimming, stay tuned!

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I can do it myself!

I crave efficiency. Perhaps this is why, I’ve always thought, “I can do it myself!” Whether it’s moving into a new house, moving across the country, filing taxes, financial planning, buying a house, installing irrigation, designing a logo, setting up a website, getting where I need to go, swim coaching. I’ve always thought: why should I pay someone, why should I take the time to find the right person, why should I trust someone else with my personal information, my idea, my stuff– I can do it myself.

For years, and years… and years, I’ve found my way like this. Sometimes taking two or three or more times as long to do something than if I had just reached out for help.

When I started marathon swimming, I thought I could swim by myself too. But how do you train for long distances? Besides that, it turns out you need a team just to get started. Someone to show you the way. Someone to carry your feeds. Someone to observe and document your swim.

Marathon Swimming opened me up to the idea of people helping people to pursue their dreams. I can’t achieve my goal without a team.

Can I be on your team?

For me it took the time constraints imposed by having kids to realize the power of relinquishing some of my “I can do it myself” responsibilities to experts. And wow, have I learned more about how things should be done and how efficiently they can be done! This is a work in progress, but I have particularly found value in my coaches.

In my journey as a coach, my need for efficiency has driven me to simplify the vast world of swimming tips, tricks, drills, quick fixes, to just four focus areas–posture, pull, rotation, and glide. For new swimmers, these are guideposts: start with good posture by floating, then add a pull, rotate to generate power, ride the glide. For experienced swimmers, these are check ins: how’s my posture, am I pushing water behind me when I pull, am I driving my rotation from my hip, am I gliding.

Can I help you swim more efficiently?

What will help you get started?

It’s true, I need you. If you didn’t fill out my survey for whatever reason, drop me an email. I love talking to people about what’s holding them back. I want to know how I can make you more comfortable and confident in the water so that you can take on whatever is challenging you. Whether you’re just trying to get your face wet, you want to give your joints a break and take up the life long sport of swimming, you want to steer clear of shoulder injuries, or you want to challenge yourself to swim further than you ever thought possible, I’d love to hear from you!

More than anything, on this Thanksgiving, I want to thank you for being you. If I’ve taught your kids swim lessons; thank you for trusting me with your little ones. If I’ve taught you lessons; thank you for confiding in me. If I’ve coached you to achieving a personal goal; thank you for having faith in me. If you’ve learned to swim more efficiently through one of my virtual programs; thank you for connecting with me through the ether. Thank you for having the courage to seek help and be part of my team!

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Deliberate Practice

I recently finished reading, Grit, by Angela Duckworth. I listened to her TED talk ages ago but it wasn’t until I was at the Portland airport on the way home from my length of Lake Memphremagog swim that I saw her book at a kiosk. Arrogantly, I thought, “I just swam 25 miles, I know all about Grit!”

But I was curious what was under that bold red and white cover; what could be discussed inside all of those pages? At a lull in my reading queue, I picked it up – or more accurately, downloaded it from Audible.

A scientist by degree and a data analyst for the last 20 years, Ms. Duckworth captivated me with her scientific method to gather data. Her courage to discover and pursue preeminent experts in their respective fields to discuss her hypotheses was awe inspiring. She sprinkled anecdotes from swimmers throughout the book. And having never considered myself a particularly talented person, I loved her take home message that Grit is more important than talent. But, according to the Grit scale, I am not gritty.

While Ms. Duckworth doesn’t discuss parenting itself, I feel as though I’ve learned the most about grit from being a parent. Showing up everyday for my kids and trying to be my best self even when my kids push buttons that I didn’t know I had, has by far been my grittiest endeavor to date – and I can’t just apply for a new position, quit or walk away. As I commonly joke with people who ask why I like to swim marathons; marathon swimming is a veritable vacation from parenting! All I have to do is plan for and execute a swim with a crew that is there to support and encourage me along the way – I wish I could say the same for day to day parenting.

“Grit is more about stamina than intensity,” Ms. Duckworth says. While on the surface, this sounds like marathon swimming to a T, the kind of Grit discussed in the book is that which leads to excellence. Being so passionate about something that you stick it out through the good times and the bad – while I can make this claim about swimming for a 14 hour period, in life, I have room for improvement. Fortunately, Grit can grow.

Ms. Duckworth has given me plenty of things to think about: My larger life goals. What I want my business to do for people. How I can encourage my kids to be gritty. But for the purposes of this post, I’d like to reflect on deliberate practice – this is the type of practice that sets the gritty apart. In all of my coaching, and my own practice, I like to stress a form focus, or technique focused training. In other words, practice deliberately – don’t just go through the motions. Make sure that your time in the water counts.

Even if you are not striving for excellence, improvement is inevitable with deliberate practice. If you need help to swim more efficiently, I offer a self paced virtual course that covers the nuts and bolts of Efficient Swimming. If you’re ready to leave the concrete box and go wild, jump in our virtual Quickstart for Wild Swimming group coaching course to summon the courage to brave the unknown. If you’re ready to push your limits, join our Quickstart for Marathon Swimming virtual group coaching course to surround yourself with like minded limit pushers.

This is a great time of year to take a break from counting yards and instead focus on how often you are practicing deliberately. If you’re not ready for coaching, send me some footage of you swimming – above and/or below the water – and I’ll analyze it for free. If you’re looking to improve, it’s one of the best gifts that you can give to yourself (or a loved one!). Seeing yourself swim can do wonders, and with just a few seconds of footage I can give you a few things to work on in your deliberate practice.

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I Need You

For years – decades, actually – I thought that I had a pretty good drive to exercise and stay fit. I grew up swimming just about everyday, sometimes twice a day, with dry land training before practice. I rarely missed a practice or a meet. I thought I was internally motivated.

I might have had a clue in college. I quit swimming after high school, but found that I did best if I built exercise classes into my school schedule. I picked up racquetball, jogging, and water polo. This led me to intramural soccer and water polo leagues which continued into my twenties. I was often the first to the pitch or the poolside and never missed a game or tournament. I thought I had a natural inclination to workout.

Another clue might have come when I started signing up for running races and triathlons but couldn’t make myself train on my own. Some times I would stay out the night before an event rather than get a good nights sleep. Then suffer through an event wishing I had trained more and rested up.

I’m finally realizing that I much prefer exercising WITH people and with other people in mind! I have a pool in my backyard, but have the hardest time prioritizing swimming with so much else on my plate. However, when I practice and train with others, I’m accountable. As I have fallen in love with marathon swimming, I’ve realized that I need the people on land and by my side in the water to stay motivated. I don’t want to let my crew down. I don’t want to let my kids down. I don’t want to let my clients down. I want to be part of a tribe!

Here’s your chance to be part of the tribe! Intrepid Water is hosting its first swim camp at Lake Shasta April 22-26, 2020. We’re training for marathon swims! Whether you’ve done one before or you’re just looking to test your metal and see how far you can go, join us! And there are more camps to come! Do you want to learn to swim more efficiently? Are you ready to break through your personal barriers? Were you once a swimmer and you’re intrigued with the idea of getting wet again? Looking to realize the adventure that wild swimming can provide? Whatever your experience, please take a minute to fill out this survey to help me understand what would get you to Southern Oregon to swim with me (if you’re local, what would bring you out to a lake)! We can’t wait to swim with you!

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Pushing Perceived Limits

Have you heard of the benefits of cold water swimming? Brightening mood. Increased stress tolerance. Decreased inflammation. Improved immunity. To name a few.

Eight years ago someone was introduced to me as a certified ice swimmer – really, this was a thing? Sure enough, I read the International Ice Swimming Associations website. This piqued my interest, but I couldn’t quite fathom it, not yet.

About 5 years ago, I shed my wet suit for early spring swims when the water was mid 50’s. It was cumbersome to get it on and off, such that preparing to swim felt like it was cutting into time that I could actually be swimming! So I stashed it away and never looked back. But I hadn’t heard about the benefits of cold water swimming, not yet.

It wasn’t until two years ago that I started to tune in to the tales of swimmers jumping into lakes and rivers long after ‘known’ open water season ended. It sounded kind of fun. My training partner and I experimented with a swim in November and I was surprised at how easy it was to go… around just one more bend. But I didn’t put any time or energy into arranging cold water swims, not yet.

But last year, after my open water season concluded with Swim the Suck in October, I had my sights set on swimming the length of Lake Tahoe in July the following year – water could be in the low 60’s. My training partner and I did some late season test swims (read about one of them here), then I convinced a few buddies to see how long we could swim into the winter. I needed support because, quite frankly, I can think of a million things I would rather do than go jump in a cold lake! But once I made a commitment to my swim buddies, I was there.

Twice a month we tested our fortitude against the elements. We sought the purported benefits. We shared the boat ramp with fisherman as the thermometer sunk into the low 50’s in November. By December the water level was too low for boats to use the ramp, so we enjoyed having the lake to ourselves with water in the mid 40’s. Come January we had snow covered peaks as a backdrop to quick dips with temps in the low 40’s. Our time shortened, but we still got wet twice each month. February was the coldest, 39.1F, but we knew that it would start going up (both the water level and the temperature). By March everything was on the rise. April saw water temps in the low 50’s which now felt quite comfortable for a respectable distance! Then it was May, and we were back to the traditional kick off of open water season with water temperatures hovering in the low 60’s.

All over the world, most notably, in the United Kingdom, I hear of groups gathering to swim in cold water. Not for distance, so much as a dip. I find it to be the most inspirational thing to hear of men and women of all ages and abilities gathering to get wet regardless of temperature or conditions. Check out these photos of winter wild swimmers in Scotland:

https://www.boredpanda.com/photography-wild-swimming-all-weathers-stories-scotland-anna-deacon/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic

I started cold water acclimatization in an effort to prepare for my scheduled 21 mile Tahoe crossing. I wanted to be comfortable in low 60’s. And it totally worked. In 2020 I’m going for similar distance, but colder waters. So we’re shooting for weekly Wednesday dips for this years over winter swimming. I’m going to push the envelope this winter and not rest at just ‘getting wet’. I’m not sure I’m ready for an ice mile, but it’s on my mind. One of these years I’d like to make it to the Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival!

As for benefits, I’m generally a happy person, so I haven’t noticed a more buoyant mood as a result of cold water swimming. But I have discovered a zeal for the experience. I have redefined what cold is for myself. I have gained a sense of confidence as I’m in awe of my body and what it can do. And it’s always invigorating!

If cold water swimming sparks any interest in you; start with your language. I hear so many people say right away, “I could never do that!” Or, “I’m always cold.” Using words like ‘never’ and ‘always’ closes the door right away. Catch yourself and instead try saying, “I’m not sure about that,” this leaves the door open. Ask around and try to find some open minded plungers, or look online for a wild swimming group. Then imagine yourself disrobing and getting chilled to the bone. Only to come back to temperature – quite literally – and luxuriate in the warmth and glow of the experience. If you’re local, join us at the Emigrant boat ramp on Wednesday’s at noon! Be smart and be safe out there, glance at the references below for tips on acclimatization and safety.

The many faces of our local boat ramp where we dipped from November through March.

How to Acclimatize to Cold Water

Open Water Swimming Safety in Cold Water

The Big Chill: The Health Benefits of Swimming in Ice Water