As an injured runner, about a year ago I took up swimming. I never had been an avid swimmer, but I needed a good exercise that would keep me off my injured foot. I developed an unexpected problem immediately. After my workout, I discovered nasty looking marks around my eyes from my goggles – raccoon eyes. Sadly, the marks hung around for several hours. I planned on swimming about five days per week. Would I go around looking like that a lot of the time? No way. A friend confessed this same issue caused her to stop swimming completely.
Mask
I looked into a few different options meant to reduce the problem. Eventually, I settled on the Aqua Sphere Vista Lady Swim Mask at about $30. The photos in the product’s ads make the swimmers look pretty great, but donning my new swim mask I sure felt uncool. Thankfully, another swimmer in my class had the exact same goggles. A male swimmer wore an even larger mask. The rest of the class did wear the normal, small goggles, but at least I was not the only one in a mask.
In terms of visibility and peripheral vision, the mask offers a far better option than regular goggles. It feels like you can see twice the amount when wearing the mask. You can put this to good use by keeping a better eye on the swimmer racing in the next lane. Another swimmer said that the mask is especially useful in ocean swimming as smaller goggles may pop off due to crashing into waves.
Fog
Now my main problem became foggy goggles. I could see so well for the first ten minutes, but as soon as I got warm the goggles fogged up. I battled this issue for quite some time and even went through several pairs of goggles to alleviate the problem. After many months, I finally found the winning product – Foggle wipes. Just rub these wipes on the lenses to prevent fog. Highly effective and not too expensive, they give you a fog free workout.
Cleaning
You really need to rinse your goggles under clear water after every swim. I did not believe this but after some time of trying it, I realized it does work. Lastly, soak your goggles in a small amount of water combined with a drop of baby shampoo about every two weeks or whenever they seem to need it. This step keeps the goggles super clean, helps the Foggle wipes to work and avoids mildew from growing on the plastic.
Summary
To avoid sporting raccoon eyes after a swim workout, try using a swim mask. Clear up that frustrating fog with Foggle wipes. Avoid black mildew from growing by keeping your goggles super clean. These tips will help you to enjoy your swimming even more.
Maura Sullivan is a freelance writer and swimmer based in Bellevue, Washington.