Sunday Two Miler Swim Goal Oceanside CA

The last two days I did one-mile swims and had energy and warmth to spare.  So, what's next for this silly guy.  I uttered the words "two mile swim" to my son this morning; then the gauntlet was laid down.  So I went out with the intention of doing a two-miler.  I started at Wisconsin St. and swam out to that float that can be seen in some of the photos above.  Surprisingly, that pole is far; it took me eleven minutes to get to it.  But I learned something important getting into the water there; there are a couple of logs sticking up out of the bottom.  I hit one hard, but there is a positive side to that; the pain took my mind off of getting into the oh-so-chilly water.
I turned north to the pier at the float and hit the pier at 47 minutes.  It was a smooth swim--a very mild southerly current.  I had two scares.  Scare #1:  I swam smack into a ten-foot patch of kelp that was startling.  Scare #2:  fifteen minutes or so later I breathed to the left and was very close to what looked like the head of a harbor seal.  A second and third glance revealed it to be a float for a lobster trap that happened to resemble a seal's noggin'.
So at 47 minutes I'm cold, but I have a plan to swim to a little south of the harbor south jetty and turn around and do a round trip.  I figured that might be 2 miles easy.
At Surfrider Way, I am colder and looking at my watch.  I had decided to change my plan to turn around at 60 minutes.  This I do at 60 minutes and head back toward the pier.  I am very cold at 60 minutes.  This surprised me.
The water gets a little choppy and I start to wonder if I am swimming into a current--making mental excuses.  It's human nature.
I am pulling hard to get to the pier again--this time from the north side.  My fingers are freezing; I can't keep my fingers together to make an efficient 'pull' of the water with each stroke. 
Oh, exciting episode #3:  I am west of the pier 75 yards, look up, and close on my right is a family boat--about 60 feet long.  We wave 'Hi' to each other.  I should have been paying more attention.  The effects of the cold.
At about 75 minutes, just past the pier, I revise my plan due to cold and head in toward the beach.
What went first: the will or the effects of the cold?  The will, I say.  Cold will reduce Arnold Schwarzenneger (the movie version) to a little girl in an hour.

On my swim in to the sand I had a difficult time keeping my swimming stroke going decently.  I imagine the Lifeguards in the Tower looking at me wondering (or taking bets) on whether they'll have to get the jet-ski out to drag my sorry butt out of the water.  This helps to motivate me.  I hit sand at 1 hour and 34 minutes.  Cold, but feeling better.  I jog about a half-mile south to my starting point, Wisconsin St.
OK. This is where I have my final bit of excitement.  I had left a t-shirt and a coke on some rocks at Wisconsin and some character stole them.  Agghhhhh. 
I did my two-mile swim plus some, I think.  I didn't achieve my goal, but I did break some barriers.  Good swim.





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