Physiological Responses to Swimming Repetitive “Ice Miles” The swimming of so-called ice miles (1 mile swimming in water of 5 ° C and colder) is always greater popularity. Since the founding of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) in 2009, official races as a World Cup race and World Championships will be held. Ice swimming was demonstration sport at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This case study aimed to determine the body temperature and selected hematological and biochemical parameters before and after repeated “ice miles”. An experienced ice float completed six consecutive ice miles within two days. Three ice miles fulfilled the strict criteria for the definition of ice miles, while the other three were very close to the temperature limit (5.2, 6.1 and 6.6 ° C). Swimming times, changes in body temperature, and selected laboratory parameters were recorded. The athlete showed a metabolic acidosis after each ice mile (an increase in lactate and TCO2; a decrease in base surplus and HCO3) and an increase in blood sugar, cortisol and creatine kinase. The decrease in pH correlated significantly and negatively with the increase in the cortisol mirror, suggesting that this intensive movement causes a metabolic stress. The change in body core temperature between the beginning and end was negatively associated with metabolic acidosis. The increase in creatine kinase indicates skeletal muscle damage by chills after an ice mile. As a practical consequence for athletes and coach, swimming in cold water during ice miles leads to a metabolic acidosis that tries to compensate for the float with a respiratory reaction. In view of the increasing popularity of ice swimming, the results have a practical value for swimmers and supervisors (eg trainers, exercise physiologists and physicians) working with them, as our results provide a detailed description of acute physiological reactions to repeated swimming in cold conditions.
These findings are of importance for athletes and coaches in importance for national championships and world championships in the ice swimming according to the IISA rules. The case report can be found under https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29878984/