Friday, June 22, 2012

Rough, Open-Water Swim Oceanside, CA

I didn't bring the camera because I just got my car cleaned out today, so I didn't have any junk in there, including cameras.
Friday night--about 5 PM to 6:30 PM.  I just had a great 70 minute rough swim out there.  The water really is warm:great for beachgoers, but I could use more cold.  I will look up the temp now on surfline.com
64-66 degrees. Probably the high side of that.  The surf zone was rough.  It took me about 3-4 minutes to swim through the continuous 3 foot waves.  I have found out through experience that I swim more effectively and quicker through rough surf if I swim with short arm strokes with a quicker cadence. 
There was a strong enough current running south that I decided to swim against it.  I swam north into the current about fifty yards past the surf zone where there was a big, irregular, nasty chop to go along with the oncoming current.  All I needed was to be cold and I would have been really happy.
I swam to the first rock jetty and turned around.  I reached the jetty at 40 minutes. I swam 30 minutes back to where I started-about 100 yards north of the pier.  I still felt good.  I had good wind, no fear, and deecent swimming technique for me, I think.
A really nice swim workout for me.  I had not felt up to getting in the water all week-4 days without salt water-so it was a welcome treat.

"The first time you quit is the last time you try."

Monday, June 18, 2012

Sunday Swim Oceanside Pier










Late Sunday afternoon the sky was totally clouded over, but the air temp was pleasant and the water too warm in some spots.  The water was a bit choppy, which made swimming out a bit difficult. However, then on the way in I was trying to catch the small waves and get a push from them. There was a strong wind onshore and a mild current to the south.  I had a 34 minute swim, which is quicker than usual for me.  Lots of people enjoying the water.

"The first time you quit is the last time you try."