Swim Pembrokeshire - Blog #kit

Be Mindful of Your Dog When Swimrunning

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 15:19:55 +0000

Dogs and Tethers Don't Always Mix

Top Tip:

Don't go swimrunning with your dog, tether him to your waist belt, forget about the tether, then throw a stick for him when resting...

Result:

One obliterated tether clip. Dog didn't even notice!

Now and Then- Swimrun Evolution

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 11:28:35 +0000

Swimrunning is a Learning Curve - Live It and Love It!

I thought I would do a swimrun diary post because it was quite interesting to see the the scope of change in just one year in terms of the type of kit I now use for swimrunning; plus recently I have seen so many posts from swimrunning group members in social media about kit and can fully understand the concern those who are just getting into the sport have about having the right kit. Personally I believe this way too much marketing pressure to use the so-called 'correct' kit when in fact the lot of it is not really necessary!

Get Wild, Get Back to your Childhood!

I was lucky enough to grow up in rural Wales. There is no such thing as 'wild swimming' or 'open water swimming'. It was just 'swimming' and as kids we spent our summers swimming in rivers, lakes and the ocean. We spent hours and hours, often days on end, running around river banks diving in the water, fishing, making fires, running onto the next location, in nothing more than a pair of shorts and trainers. Then we would camp under the stars and do it all over again.

It was a fantastic childhood.

Today there's 'coasteering'. Back then it was just known as rock scrambling and cliff jumping and snorkeling, in a wetsuit if we could afford one but usually in a pair of shorts and and the same old grotty trainers, which had usually not been cleaned or dried since the last time they were used!

I love swimming running because it takes me right back to those days.

What Kit?

After an initial spell of trying out all the kit that I had read was 'needed', I rapidly fell into a minimalist approach.

Paddles

I was a competitive swimmer. I guess this gives me an advantage in in the swimming sections but the first thing that I ditched when I got more and more into swimrunning were the paddles.

Paddles were designed originally for use in swimming training for resistance work. They've been around for decades. Use of swim paddles requires a massive amounts of extra energy during the pull phase due to the additional resistance in the water. They also require well developed shoulder muscles to use them effectively.

Repeated use of paddles, especially if you have not developed the shoulder strength required, is also a sure way to induce shoulder related injuries. Swimrun courses can be 20, 30, 40 + kilometres, so this needs to be considered if you plan to use them.

They are also very cumbersome and can be annoying if attached to your waist belt, or can be restrictive to breathing if you stick them in your wetsuit when you run.

In the end I think it's important to assess the the 'cost' versus benefit. Personally I think it is much better to focus on improving your swimming pull technique rather than using and relying on kit that is designed really only to be used in a pool to condition the shoulders.

Pull Buoy

As an ex competitive swimmer I consider myself to be at home in the water. My foot positioning is good and swimming with shoes on doesn't phase me.

In swimming, good leg positioning in the water is attained by the lower back and glute muscles. The swim buoy was probably introduced into the sport by those who perhaps were not 'swimmers' but who were runners who felt they needed something to counteract the weight of the shoes in the water. It's just a thought.

However, swim buoys are used by swimmers to build up shoulder strength during swim training and are designed to prevent you from kicking, thus forcing the arms and shoulders to do more work. They do not nor are intended to save any energy when swimming. We humans were not designed with a single mono fin and our legs and feet and kick propel us through the water as well as our arms.

Shoe technology has come a very long way with the advent of barefoot shoes which are also actually really good to swim in and very light, to the point that some even float.

In my humble opinion a pull buoy becomes unnecessary and adds to the stress your shoulders will face if you are using swim paddles.

Should I be saving my legs for the running stages?

I have often heard triathletes saying "you should not kick during the swim stage". Each to their own of course and they're entitled to their opinions but in mine you should kick but you should learn how to swim/kick efficiently.

Not kicking will force the legs to sink and this is I think why the pull buoy was introduced as a piece of swim running kit. But by not kicking you are forcing your arms and shoulders to do all of the work, which will use twice as much energy as swimming with an efficient two beat kick. An efficient two beat kick can provide a surprising amount of propulsion if it is done correctly, even with shoes on, for minimal effort.

Shoes

At first I didn't want to jump straight in and spend loads of money on kit for a sport I wasn't sure I would enjoy; and I see many people making the same comment in social forum groups.

However, in swimrunning I would say the shoes along with the wetsuit are the most important if not the only kit you should really worry about.

I rapidly moved away from 'normal' trail running shoes to a lower drop, neoprene sock type shoe from Merrell. From those, I moved to an even lower drop barefoot shoe from Vivobarefoot, which I found was even better to swim in. An excellent choice actually.

Now I have gone more extreme and I'm experimenting more with Vibram Fivefinger Alpha barefoot shoes.

Although I really love trail running I must admit I am not a runner! At this point in my swimrunning I am not sure I can do long-distance routes in the Vibram Fivefingers although I prefer them over all of the other shoes. At 50 years old I have simply been using the wrong shoes all of my life to be able to jump into 40 + kilometres in these extreme barefoot shoes; and am building up the muscles required in the calves and strength needed in the tendons but it's going to take some more time.

For me the Vivobarefoot would be best on longer distances.

Experiment.

But I would advise looking at the shoe as something you have to swim in too, not just for running. Think about the foot position when you are swimming and the flexion needed in the ankle. Regular trail running shoes are not good because of the high heel drop which adds to the weight and acts as resistance in the water. Also the shoe tongue acts as a brake. Cut the top off to streamline it.

Check out our kit reviews for the Vibram Alpha and other swimrunning shoes.

Hydration

I have tried everything regarding water bottles and ended up using a Salomon foldable water bottle. I stuff it in my wetsuit when I'm running. Avoid the cheap plastic foldable water bottles because they crack and and there's nothing worse than reaching for for some water on the trail only to find out it has dribbled down the inside of your wetsuit!

Wetsuit

I've tried all combinations from a neoprene vest and neoprene shorts as two separate items, to a cheap surfing shorty, to the Zone3 Versa entry level swimrun suit, eventually settling on the Head 'Rough Shorty'.

The Zone3 is a good entry suit, check it out here. The latest design as of 2021 has addressed the design flaw I highlight in the review.

I love the Head Rough Shorty wetsuit for many reasons. Check out the review here.

Gels: Pockets v Belt

I have found the inside pockets on all wetsuits to be utterly useless and prefer just to stuff things inside quickly: gels, hat and goggles, etc. They don't move anywhere and it's easy to pull things out. The Versa has an external pocket which is great.

I personally prefer using a homemade swimrun belt which consists of a close fitting mesh running pouch (fits snug to the kidneys), with a strong webbing belt and buckle sewn onto it. An elasticated belt band will not work and will slide down when you dive in or swim hard.

I just found this setup easier to keep things in, rather than trying to use the wetsuit pockets on the inside of the suit. I have also sewn on nylon webbing loops to the belt, which I have attached a clip, which I use to tether my dog when I swim run with him.

Check out this blog about swim running with your dog.

Neoprene Arms and Calves

The Zone3 Versa comes with detachable arms which is a fantastic feature. These arms can be used with any other wetsuit. In the summer though, ditch any detachable wetsuit arms as you will generate enough heat not to need them.

I don't use any neoprene calf compression socks, some of which claim to act as buoyancy aids to keep your legs up: again I would recommend making sure your stroke is correct then there is no need for buoyancy aids.

Extras

Choose a wetsuit that has a whistle sewn into it or sew your own whistle into the zip tag if it does not already have one.

If your swimrun event requires a compass attach it to a tether on the belt. Otherwise ditch it. Most swim run routes are marked and have plenty of marshals and if you are doing swimrunning on your own I would advise researching the course first.

Swim buoy: use it for safety reasons if you feel you need to to but it will be very cumbersome to carry. Ditch it if you are are a confident swimmer and your swimming route does not involve going far from the shore. Use it if in doubt.

Conclusion

Go minimal.
Don't feel pressured to use all of the kit, use what suits you.
Focus on fixing your swim stroke rather than relying on kit to fix it for you.
Practice and practise and practice. The kit you use will evolve as you get used to it.
Never enter an event without training with the kit, you'll regret it.
Don't be afraid to use your imagination and get creative.
If you can't find it to buy in shops or online, make it!

Get in Touch

Feel free to contact us for more details of our swimrunning excursions.

Kit Review: Vibram 5 Fingers V-Alpha Shoes

Thu, 28 May 2020 16:50:25 +0000

Kit Experimentation - Using 5 Finger Trail Running Shoes for Swimrunning

I have been trying barefoot running now for a year or so, mainly as I was suffering from so many ankle roll type injuries using 'normal' trail running shoes like the popular Salomon range, which although look great, with big gnarly soles, limited the 'feel' of the ground to pretty much zero and elevated your heel that much that the clunky heel used to bruise my ankles on the opposing foot.

After trying some well known brands I moved to the Vibram 5 Finger range, specifically the first pair I am trying now is the V-Alpha.

Tongue
The shoe has a tongue, strong with a leather top for anti slip. It seems to shape to your foot and does not poke out of the top, it's great, really comfy. Five toe fingers, like a Ninja boot. Extremely comfy sock-like feel.

Drainage
The upper shoe is nylon mesh and drains quickly. There is another model 'Aqua' that has drain holes but it uses velcro fastening straps that in our opinion will loosen and/or degrade over time and lose their fastening power. The Alpha model drain fine.

Shoe Body
Sock variety. Very comfy fit. Pull on loop at heel. Nylon lace and quick tighten/release 'widget' help you to get the shoe on and off. There is a velcro fastener to stop the excess lace flapping when tightened.

These shoes seem not to let in any sand, which reduces the chance of blisters due to grit/sand on the foot. We did chat a lot with the Vibram sales person online beforehand though to ensure we got the best fit. The shoe seems very high quality and should last a long time. These are probably the hardest core 'barefoot' shoes on the market, so take some getting used to but the feel they offer is amazing and they are even better than the Vivobarefoot swimrun shoes for swimming in.

Weight
Very very light. The lightest shoes we have come across. Absolutely minimalist. Weight is not affected when wet.

Drop
No drop whatsoever. These are true 'barefoot' shoes, in fact they are more like a sock with a sole. The feel is the same as running barefoot, which goes so well with swimrunning. Take time to get used to the shoe. Build distance up slowly. Swim propulsion is the best we have seen due to the 5 toe design.

Sole and Tread
The grip offered on this model is surprisingly excellent as the grip looks quite minimal. The sole material is almost 'sticky', the only material it is not great in is wet river mud, but we're yet to see a shoe that is! There is an excellent 'feel' of the ground under your feet and the 5 toe design means your toes can splay around rocks and tree roots etc for extra grip.

Conclusion

Great shoe. Great 'feel' of barefoot running. Superb to swim in.

Swimming and Trekking

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 06:03:19 +0000

Swimming combined with trekking was recently shown as a new activity on the BBC Breakfast programme. Basically a mix of hiking and swimming, where participants travel through a mix of hiking and swimming from point A to point B, carrying their gear on their backs when hiking and in a specially designed tow float when swimming, towing their gear behind them.

Our swim trekking routes can be tailored to your needs/available time and fitness levels and will take you along the wild and rugged Pembrokeshire coast along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, then across bays and inlets stopping here and there for a camp fire and hot cup of tea.

What Kit Is Needed?

As with any normal trek we'll be carrying a small rucksack with all of the essentials: warm clothes, food and drink, as well as a small stove/fuel and snacks.

How We'll Carry the Kit

We'll be using a special float or RuckRaft to carry our backpack containing our gear.

The backpack goes in a special robust waterproof bag and clips into the ruckraft.

How Far Are the Swims?

The swims will range from a few hundred metres to 1 or 1.5km. The ruckraft wil be used to tow the equipment and its robust design means everything is kept dry.

Continuing the Trek

Once we complete the swim the trek is continued on the other side and the ruckraft can be carried on your backpack to save deflating and inflating every time.

The Swimming and Trekking Season

We will be running the swims and treks from spring through till the end of the year.

Contact Us

This is a fantastic way to see all the amazing coastline of Pembrokeshire has to offer.

If this sounds interesting please get in touch here.

What Wetsuit Should I Get for Swimrunning

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 13:18:09 +0000

Quite a few people have been asking me recently about swimrun wetsuits and which one would be best.

Swim running is a new sport and the kit is evolving year-by-year but there are definitely some key differences between the standard triathlon wetsuit and a swimrun wetsuit, which are important considerations.

Shorty

Most swimrun wetsuits are 'shorties'. As swim running is typically a spring summer autumn sport this is usually enough to keep you warm but if you do tend to feel the cold you may want to consider a model that has full length arms or one with detachable arms.

Zips

A swimrun wetsuit typically opens at the front. The zip should be heavy duty and have a velcro flap at the top as with the standard tri wetsuits.

The front fastening zip allows you to undo the zip during the running stage to allow yourself to cool down and helps with chest expansion during the run.

I also find the front opening useful to stuff gear down either side, for example my cap and goggles on one side and foldable water bottle on the other. This keeps all of my gear close at hand and prevents it from rattling around and falling off.

Some swimrun suits come with zips on both front and back sides, for example the Head Swimrun Shorty.

This makes it easy to get the top down for 'decabbing' if you want to do the run with the wetsuit rolled down. Personally I find 'decabbing' an inconvenience because the wetsuit tends to fall down around your ass when you do the run and you need a tight belt to keep it up! Each to their own, but a double sided zipper will allow you to decab by yourself and not waste time/having to rely on your partner to help rolling the suit down and back up at each transition.

I do like the double-sided zip idea though, purely to get the wetsuit off easily at the end!

Upper

The upper part of a swimrun wetsuit may or may not be nylon covered neoprene and should be as flexible as the triathlon suits. Typically now they are evolving to be smooth surfaced neoprene, at least on the front panels, to minimise water resistance, but are often nylon covered neoprene on the back and upper arms.

Nylon covered neoprene will allow you to sweat and is definitely tougher, which is an important consideration given swimrun routes are normally through rough terrain.

Arms

Swimrun wetsuits are normally shorty style wet suits with short arms and some models come with detachable full arm sets which you can add or remove based on the water and air temperature, Eg. Zone 3's Versa. See a review here.

I have found this to be very useful and it does allow you to do swimrun training year round.

Hips and Legs

The hips on a swimrun wetsuit are wider which allows greater mobility of the hip flexor muscles when scrambling in and out of water and running long distances.

The trend now is for the legs to be shorty style length, however some models do have slightly extended length on the legs such as the Zone 3 Versa.

One thing I would consider as essential on a swimrun wetsuit is for the legs to be nylon coated as opposed to smooth neoprene.

As you can see from the Zone 3 Versa review the smooth neoprene legs rubbed through on my inner thighs within a short time and the legs of any swimrun suit take a real bashing on rocks, thorns, brambles and so on. Smooth neoprene just get shredded whereas nylon coated neoprene is far tougher and is abrasion resistant.

Pockets

A lot of wetsuit manufacturers market inside pockets as a great feature but in my experience they are useless! When the wetsuit is on, the snug fit means it is near impossible to get anything in or out of the pockets, let alone when running.

In my opinion the best pocket design are the ones on the outside of the wetsuit. The Zone 3 Versa has a single pocket in the small of the back which can be open and closed with a tough zip, which importantly fastens shut with downwards, which means it does not open when you start swimming.

The Colting Swimrun Go wetsuit for example, also has two outside zip pockets in the kidney areas of the back of the wetsuit.

Hoops and Attachment Points

The latest swimrun wetsuits come with small nylon hoops at strategic places on the wetsuit, for those who want to use a tether line with their swimrun partner.

If like me you don't use a tether line another option could be to attach a small clip to one of the loops and use that to attach your hand paddles to whilst running.

Whistle

Many of the new swimrun wetsuits come with the mandatory whistle in the front zipper lanyard. this is a really good idea because it means there's one less piece of detachable kit to worry about, especially important because you can be disqualified for unknowingly dropping kit along the course.

Conclusion

Swimrunning is on the rise and has great appeal for both competitive swimrunners and those who just like to get outdoors and experience the elements.

The latest wave of swimrun wetsuits do have some great features, but there is no need to rush out and buy the best model - try it first with a standard shorty wetsuit, or even a cut down triathlon wetsuit, and see if you like it.

Then match the features you think would be important to you, along with your budget, and hopefully you will end up with the best suit for your needs.

Swimrunning involves a lot of experimentation - what works for one person may not work for you - try different things and don't be afraid to do some clever hacks or even make your own kit.

Try with an entry level suit first like the ones mentioned here which are excellent value for money; then upgrade after a year or two.

A decent, well thought out wetsuit with loads of features helps of course, but is not the be all and end all and should be seen as an investment only once you're sure swimrunning is for you.

Swimrun Diary - Experimenting with Kit

Mon, 21 May 2018 13:33:11 +0000

Swimrun is a new sport and thus much of the kit is still 'new' and rather limited in terms of choice on the market.

Swimrun events take place in wilderness areas with very little in the way of rules and regulations, so too is the kit pretty much up to you to manage and master, often by experimentation.

Basic rules are:

You need to use a wetsuit.
The running segments obviously require trainer shoes, style is totally up to you.
You don't need to swim in shoes, most do, but you could tow them in a swim tow.
You need to carry a whistle and have this at the start and end of the event.
Some events require a compass/maps depending on how far/off grid they are.
You need to carry a reusable water bottle and have this at the start and end of the event.
You can use hand paddles.
You can use fins if 15cm or under measured from the toe.

That's pretty much it!

It is absolutely essential therefore that you build in time to try your kit, learn what works, what doesn't, get comfortable running and swimming long distances with the kit, unsupported, over rough terrain.

What works for others may not work for you. When watching videos of swimrun events we noticed most people using pull buoys, for example, but we found, being strong swimmers, that pull buoys were kind of clumsy and prevented us from kicking, which we both felt we could, even with shoes on. It's really up to you.

Here are a few options being mulled over prior to our second week of swimrunning....

Contact Us

Want to try swimrunning? Get in touch!