Friday Evening Pier Training Swim

The water was a beautiful blue on Friday at 5 PM.  Just a hint of green, and visibility was very good at about ten feet.  Warm again, with 3-4 foot waves.  The waves were breaking nicely and significantly more surfers than usual were taking advantage of the good surfing conditions.  The surfers were not limited to the small pier area but were spread out along the beach both north and south of the pier.  Swimmimg in I saw one Dad sitting on his surfboard outside the breakers waiting for a set with his little boy on his board with him.  How cool is that for a boy?  What a great Dad!
I did a relaxed swim Friday, leisurely and smooth.  My brain was thinking about life issues and sorting things out, but in a relaxed manner.  I usually don't think about life stuff while I swim-the swim is my escape from the life stuff-but I was sorting out good things and was relaxed and at great ease.  A cool swim.

Oceanside CA Swimmer Rescues Friends in Rough Surf Connor Stotts

Article About Connor Stotts' Beach Rescue

Check out this link to a news story of a recent beach rescue at Oceanside, CA.  I was swimming there that day and the day before and will confirm that the surf was extremely rough with strong rip currents.

Connor Stotts Oceanside, CA Beach Rescue

San Diego Ocean Swimming

I took my camera out to take some pictures before my swim but my battery was dead.  No big deal; the pictures would have looked like yesterday's.  Actually, the pier swim was pretty much a repeat of yesterday-very good.  Today I thought a lot about my arm stroke and problems that I have with it.  When the water is active, or choppy, or a bit rough, I am adjusting my arm pull to maintain my balance in the water and my ability to breathe.  I find myself as I arm-pull pulling inward toward the midline of my body, pulling outward, pushing up or down, etc. 
I really don't know whether I am giving in to the water and pulling incorrectly, or doing what is just a normal adaptation in my arm-pull with necessary adjustments.  The water had about a one-foot chop to it today and I was  constantly making minor adjustments in my arm-pulls.  Any thoughts or opinions out there?
No other swimmers today, but more beachgoers enjoying the warm water and great weather at the beach.  Signing off for now.

Two Other Ocean Swimmers Today at Oceanside Pier!

Surprise. I saw two young men swimming through the surf and out past a ways, and then returning after a while.  I think they may have been doing some pre-lifeguard type training or something because they ran on the beach and one of them took a long paddleboard out.  They didn't venture out around the pier-that point of no return that makes it exciting!
Warm water, 3-4 foot waves, visibility almost as good as you ever get around here-about ten feet. Blue-green color.  Beautiful.
No current at all out far. I stopped at the pier end to check the drift-none at all.  Flat water-good for breathing on both sides.

I even found three sea shells after the swim.  I tried to get a few pictures of the two swimmers in the surf but they are just specks in these pictures.

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.