Hi from the US, Pacific Northwest! Because of you I have found my happy place in the Puget Sound. I had no idea one could swim in the cold water. I’ve been dipping in nearly every day, just working on acclimatizing. One day I hope to swim any distance. I show my husband your videos so he will stop thinking I am going to get instant hypothermia. 😂 Love your gentle teaching and good humor. Thank you for inspiring me!

Nice video!😊👍🏻

Thanks for all the excellent tips and suggestions in this video Rachel. I always appreciate your knowledge, positivity, and inspiration. I have set a goal to swim across my fave lake (and back) on Aug 31 (my birthday… turning 58). I’ve invited friends to join in… those who wish to paddle or sail can be my safety flotilla. Then we’ll have a picnic brunch afterwards at the lake… so I have lots of cooking, swimming, and organizing to do. I have no idea of the actual distance this lake swim is, but I have been swimming everyday for an hour and I feel pretty confident that I can accomplish this goal. It’s pretty remote where I live (and swim), there is no cell service and no other folks to wild swim with, so safety can be quite a challenge. My biggest safety concern is leg or foot cramps, but I started taking supplemental Magnesium back in June and I have not had any problems since then (pretty sure the warm water temperatures are also helping.). I’ve had a lot of orthopaedic surgeries on my left shoulder, knee and foot… I swim crooked, always pulling to the left, so sighting is something I need to work on. I, too, find swimming to be meditative and relaxing… not sure if I will ever work up to 10km, but I am super enthused to follow along on your journey while at the same time learning from you and celebrating your successes. Thanks for sharing these great tips…. I look forward to more awesome videos. Love Tuesdays… 🌎💦Ⓜ️ary🏊‍♀️

great video! thank you for this great insights! I am hoping to swim a 10 k this year as well and your words sparked motivation and optimism to achieve this goal!:)

Hi Rachel, it's good to know, I'm not the only one taking a relaxed attitude to training. Like you I find swimming more than twice a week makes great difference to swimming fitness and general progress. Also training as much as possible in open water under any weather conditions (provided it is safe of course) is a very good preparation because it makes it much easier to cope with the conditions on the day of the event. Pool swimming can be helpful for drills and working on stroke improvement, but you need to get a feeling for the distance in large body of water and get used to the idea of swimming for a long time without ever touching a wall in open water. Motivating yourself to keep swimming by breaking up the long distance into several shorter ones is really helpful. The longest distance I've done in a an event was a 6k river swim with the current. I just trained like I usually do swimming something between 2 and 3k several times a week than trusted the current to help me through it. It worked really well. After the first twenty or so metres I got severe attack of belated stage fever so I just turned on my back and did double arm strokes with abreast stroke kick, telling myself I was only there to bathe and enjoy myself. After a few minutes I relaxed turned on my stomach and started to swim front crawl all the way through. I might attempt to swim 10 k in my river this summer but first I'll go the baltic sea on holiday next week and I hope I'll be able to do some long swims there.

Really useful video. Thank you :)

You're the best Rachel, this came just at the right time! Thanks as always for this great content!

Hi Rachel, very informative so thank you. 10k is too far for me but I'll use the information you've given to try and increase from a mile swimming to 2 miles. I'll be taking on Swim Serpentine in September (just a mile though) but might try 2 miles next year. :)

Yes! Thank you Rachel. Great video!

Another great video as always. I always look forward to Tuesdays 🏊🏻‍♀️🌊😄

Hi Rachel I started watching your videos last year when some friends and I decided to leave our wetsuits at home. I haven't worn mine all year :) Although summer is upon us, I still swim regularly and have taken on more distance than I ever have. This video was very helpful and I hope to make it through my first 3k swim this weekend in English Bay here on the West Coast of BC (Canada) :). Thanks so much. I hope to be able to visit one day !

Thanks for your video, and your Popy showed up at the end👍 ...I am recently extending my swimming to last 1hr here in the Baltic (not so salty😊).

Another informative video Rachel, excellent 😎

I've been so inspired by your videos and your amazing positive attitude! Thank you for so much wonderful info and guidance. I am only just beginning my journey into open water swimming and swimming in cooler water temperatures coming in Southern California. Checking out all your links and am thrilled to find Total Immersion swimming mentioned. 🏊❤️ I'm going to take that as a sign. 😆

Hi Rachel, great video as ever. Just wondering what you do for feeding during your solo long duration swims? Thinking of strapping a drink bottle to outside of tow float but keen to know other ideas Thanks

Thanks for sharing!! 10 km sounds like a long way. Could you do a video on nutrition and recovery as swim distances / effort increase? Thanks.

Great sharing. Rachel go rache!

Good information thankyou.

This is why I’ve wanted to swap the pool for outdoor swimming. I trained and completed the Bantham Swoosh the last time the event actually ran. I’ve been struggling to find like minded people to swim with and consequently, as I’ve mixed feelings about swimming completely alone, it hasn’t happened for me. I have to say, the online groups I’ve been following, haven’t really helped as they are more about dips/leisurely swims and have tended to put me off with scaremongering about swimming alone. As you can tell I’m in need of a boost/kick up the bum. 😂

I swim middle distances: 5K-6K at the moment. Maybe I'll do 10K next year. No hurry about that yet. I train long distances basically swimming in the sea. For me it's important swimming them with a swimming fella. Not only for the safety but to me motivated and push up to not quit if I get bored or tired. Time runs better is you are not alone. As you say, for me it's also very important swimming with a good technique because minimize the effort so you can swim faster and get less tired. So sometimes even I do not swim a long distance if I've been focused swimming well, it's a useful swim. Sometimes I push myself to swim in bad conditions a long distances, not only as a physical tough training but specially as mentally one. For example, sometimes I swim the way back against de current, to suffer the desperate feeling of swim so slow when u are at the end of a training o race. I've suffered this in some races and you must have a strong mentality to not quit and keep on swimming. So suffering that sometimes is something I think it helps. I try ti do some swimming pool sessions doing some series, but I must confess I don't like them much more. Series I know helps you. But as I've said I do them less that I shall do... Keep doing yours greats vids. I like them. Thanks

Hi Rach, I remember you posted a product that you use on your camera lens for the gopro to repel water. I can't remember which it was and which video you posted it on. It's called hydro....? Can you remind me please and can you use it on your Goggles to repel water?

Thank you for your guidance as always. On a recent mid distance swim I suffered cramp in both legs, luckily managing to stretch near the river bank . Which leads me on to ask,do you have any nutritional tips before a swim and what to do if things go wrong? Thank you