Turkey Trot Afternoon Swim on Thanksgiving

I went for a swim around the pier at 2:30 PM on Thanksgiving.  Not many people down there.  The surf was small with only a dozen surfers.  The ocean was flat.  The tide was very, very low.  My swim took 30 minutes because of cold and mild currents.  The water is still dirty after recent rains.  I think the temp of the water was 58 degrees.  It felt like a new level of cold for me. 

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

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

First Time Shivering This Year Swim Around the Pier

So, I have plenty of fat on me to insulate my body from the cold water.  I also have a body thermostat that makes me warmer than typical people.  This is why I can swim in my bathing suit in freezing-ass cold water and deal with it ok.  Well, this afternoon was my first time that I was shivering with cold after my swim while changing my clothes.  Yay!  The water was calm and flat today, with a gentle 2 foot swell to the water every hundred feet or so.  Very small waves with only about 5-10 surfers there.  I got in and lay on my back with fins on today and backstroked out to the end of the pier.  I relaxed and enjoyed a slow, clear swim.  I had to stop for a bit a couple of times to rest my arms as I don't backstroke much.  I freestyled around the end and back in.  I went north to south with a mild current today.  Visibility about 5 feet.  No fish life seen.  Overcast sky.  I found a few good shells.  I'm actually still wrapped up and cold as I write this an hour and fifteen minutes after getting out of the water.  My swim was 29 minutes.  A beautiful hour of time at the beach today in that winter ocean-a deeper blue color with few white bubbles and little foam to the waves.  I was off from work today and got to the beach an hour earlier than usual, so I swam before dark.

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

Night Swim Oceanside Pier

So what's going on with the sunset?  I thought that after the time change the days would get longer, but now I think it's the opposite.  I'm swimming in the dark now and it's getting creepy.  The current was strong to the south inside and far out.  A little bit choppy and the swim was kinda' difficult tonight.  I probably should have used the fins tonight.  However, if this darkness thing keeps going on I'm not going to be able to swim the pier after work.  We'll see.

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

Swim After Work

I barely got in the water before dark today.  The sun was setting as I swam out and it was dark coming in.  The current was hard to figure out so I wore fins as a precaution.  The current was strong heading south before the end of the pier.  I didn't feel like taking the extra time to swim against the current in the dark so off the end of the pier I turned around and swam in with the current.  Total swim time 29 minutes.  17 minutes out and 12 minutes in.  The water wasn't too cold.  Just a quick, uneventful swim. 

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