Still Training for the Oceanside Labor Day Pier Swim

So I had a bad crick in my back yesterday and was not planning to go to the beach after work.  However, the sea called to me and I felt the pull, as the Sirens called to Odysseus.  Impressive literary reference there from the Odyssey, by Homer, eh?  I hope I got that simile correct; it was off the top of my head-no fact checking.
The waves were a foot bigger than the last several days-about 3-4 feet, but friendly waves they were-not angry, hurtful waves.  I read from someone's blog a while back that in a race one should dive under the oncoming waves and "grab the bottom and pull yourself out as the wave passes overhead" or words similar to that.  Well, I have tried to grab the bottom for about four days now and I can't even "GET" to the bottom to grab it as I dive under the waves.  I run out of air quickly and I have a big gulp of air in my lungs before I dive under, so this could be the problem.  Maybe one needs to expel air from the lungs before diving under to help one get to the bottom to grab it.  I say the heck with grabbing the bottom.  Too much work.  Just dive under the wave, and then dive under the next one.  Eventually they will end. 
A bit of a chop Tuesday but warm water still.  Visibility about 7 feet.  No current except the "now customary" rip current pulling northward in the surf zone and inside the surf zone.  As I swam in through the surf, the visibility was great and I could really see the bottom as I was pulled north while swimming in.  It was neat, and strong enough to cause problems for the inexperienced and/or small kids. 
I wore my fins and webbed gloves because I wanted to pull the crick out of my back.  It worked. 
A nice training swim-glad I went.