Top 5 tips for your post City2Surf recovery swim

Running in the City2Surf this weekend?

The weather is looking nice for a long run, with a high of 16 degrees and no rain forecast for Sunday’s race.

When you’ve slugged it out for 14km’s from the sea of concrete in the city, to the sea of surf at Bondi, there’s nothing better than to take a dip in the ocean to cool off, recover, and wash away the hard-earned sweat.

Here are OceanFit’s top 5 tips for your post City2Surf recovery swim:

1. Be a Safe2Surf swimmer

There’s only a small swell forecast for Sunday, so the ocean should be relatively flat and perfect for a swim. Head to the red and yellow flags so you’re swimming in a safe area and are under the watchful eye of the lifeguards.

2. Create a clothes castle

Chances are your running clothes are sweaty and wet, and that means they don’t play well with sand. When you’re stripping off on the beach, lay your bag down first, or use your shoes, and then lay your clothes on top. Just be mindful to leave your towel out and on the top, so you don’t have to pull everything apart when you get out of the water.

3. Take one more run into the water

The water temp has been pretty good lately, sitting around 20 degrees, but it’ll still feel chilly in to start with (especially if the wind is up). You’ll do yourself no favours inching into the water (who’d want to go through that pain!), instead, take a running start (making it 14.1km for the day) and take a shallow dive straight under – you’ll get it over and done with fast, like ripping a band-aid off!

4. Take a natural sea bath

You’ll struggle to find a shower after the run without queueing forever, so while you’re in the water, take the time to rub all the sweat off with your hands. If you’re changing after and hitting the local bars, this will ensure you’re one of the freshest on the scene.

5. Make your towel your changing room

Changing rooms will be scarce, but you don’t need to walk around in your wet clothes to get home or to the bar. Learn how to get changed under a towel in public, and you’ll be the envy of everyone. It’s easier than you think, and we’ve got a video lesson for the guys and the girls.