04/06/2026
Racing Bolton 70.3 at the weekend and worried about the swim? We had conversations with a couple of people last night at 3 Sisters Swim about anxiety in open water, particularly event mass starts. Here's the basic things to understand.
1. Accumulation of carbon dioxide creates the feeling of 'panic' ... it's not a lack of oxygen. When people are anxious they don't breathe OUT properly which worsens the problem.
2. The faster you swim, the more CO2 you accumulate.
3. Based on the 2 things above, to reduce the risk of panic, slow down and make sure you breathe out into the water to get rid of the CO2. Blow the bubbles out in a relaxed manner... no bubbles coming out? no CO2 coming out.
4. Just prior to entering the water is when anxiety is at it's highest. You'll be looking for family and friends for last minute support, Thunderstruck will be playing at full volume and before you know... someone will be counting you down to enter the water with other swimmers. All of these things cause distractions and you WILL NOT be thinking about swimming slow and breathing out. You'll most likely set off like a scared rabbit and forget to breathe at all. This anxiety can unexpectedly catch people out as they don't experience it during training, so they don't have any issues until the actual race day.
5. As you're close to entering the water, use a key word or term such as 'SWITCH ON' or 'FOCUS' as a trigger to bring your attention back to 2 simple things... swimming slow for the first 200m and make sure you're blowing out bubbles.
6. Once in the water, if someone bumps into you or swims over you, you'll lose focus and this can trigger panic. If this happens... SWITCH ON and go back to breathing out and swimming slow.
7. Very few people have panic attacks after the first few hundred metres. Once you're through that part of the swim, you'll be fine. SWITCH ON... do those 2 simple things and you'll be great.
Any questions? Ask below... And if you're really nervous, come to 3 Sisters Saturday and we'll be happy to spend some time with you to help.
Good luck to all our customers and swimmers, it'll be a great day and one to remember! Make sure you smile 😊
