Swimmer celebrates first ice mile

Otago Daily Times

2 days ago

It takes a cool head to keep swimming in freezing temperatures.
Dunedin swimmer Cindy van Sleeuwen is celebrating her recent achievement at the New Zealand National Open Water Championships at Blue Lake, St Bathans.
A former "water baby', van Sleeuwen is a member of the Frozen SeaDogs swimming group that swims during winter in Otago Harbour.
The group includes nurses, doctors, anaesthetists and search and rescue responders.
That means everyone focuses on keeping swimmers safe in and out of the water.
''The coldest moment is actually about 10 minutes after you leave the water."
When in cold water, the body protects itself by keeping warm blood in the core, while the extremities lose circulation.
Once out of the water, when the body begins to warm up, cold blood from the extremities moves back into the core.
''That is what is called the afterdrop."
People can experience shaking, finding it difficult to even hold a cup of coffee.
After about two years with Frozen SeaDogs, Ms van Sleeuwen decided to test her mettle at the New Zealand National Open Water Championships, held last month at Blue Lake, St Bathans.
Pre-competition training included acclimatising to cold temperatures.
"So basically, you want to limit all exposure to really warm environments.'
That included not using a heater in the house, something not all partners would tolerate, but her husband, Marcus Ladbrook, was a "tremendous support' and braved the cold as well.
Other methods included cycling to work without gloves.
''The 10 days before the event is really crucial for you to be getting exposure to the cold, so I would be swimming in the harbour for every day in those 10 days.'
The Central Otago event ran in water below 5°C, with a rescue craft travelling alongside the swimmers at all times.
Everyone in the race had a "second' who helped them to a heated medical tent for recovery.
"They undress you, because you can't use your limbs — literally like no finger movement.
''They put my pants on backwards, but that's OK."
She ended up wearing two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, four tops and two beanies, and three hot water bottles were placed to warm her up.
''And then you sort of just sit there and wait for the shaking to stop.
"As soon as you come out, they want you to have a warm sugary drink like a hot chocolate or something and some high-calorie food."
Braving icy water conditions of just under 5°C, and a wind chill of 2°C, van Sleeuwen achieved her first ice mile (1.61km) in a time of 37min 52sec.
Next, van Sleeuwen plans to attempt an extreme ice mile, a more open-ended, longer swim undertaken under close monitoring.
Jackson Arlidge, of Wellington, holds the record in New Zealand, achieving 2.75km in 44min 43sec.
Despite the challenges, van Sleeuwen said she felt ''so amped" after completing her first ice mile.
''It is just beautiful and because we are all on the endorphins, the bonding with the people involved is just phenomenal."
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