Friday Mid-Afternoon Swim Rough-Water Oceanside

I've been kept out of the water this week with pain problems-seriously jeopardizing my swim streak.  I had off today for appointments so I got a swim in.  I just need a swim tomorrow for the streak to continue.  The water was rough today, with a big 2-3 foot chop to it.  There was a strong current running north to south.  I wore fins-essential for me today.  Surfline still has the water temp at 57-59 degrees, but my head hurt for a minute or two when I got in.  It was chilly.
The swim through the surf zone was a workout-took me 2-3 minutes.
The water had a pretty green color overshadowing the usual blue.  Bits of kelp here and there in the ocean.
I swam north to south and the waves were big on the south side-not neat waves, but big, sloppy waves throwing me around. Fun.  I sure needed the 35 minutes of cold and excitement.

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

Second Swim for the Week

Kind of a messy beach day today, but I had to get in to get my second swim in for the week to keep the streak alive.  I didn't swim at all during the past work week because of pain issues.  This afternoon at 4 PM I swam south to north against a mild current.  34 minute swim.  Choppy water but not too bad.  No fins today.  Hardly any surfers under a cloudy sky with lousy surf.  Chilly water but not painful.  I felt good during the swim.
I got off to a positive start when a young Marine on a motorcycle gave me his paid parking ticket-so I didn't have to donate $2.00 to the city of Oceanside.  When I was leaving I gave the ticket to another guy for him to use.  So, my thanks to the USMC.
I'll probably hit it tomorrow.

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

Do You Wanna' Swim?

Once again the ocean surprised me.  The current was completely the reverse of yesterday; what the heck happened last night?  It was running strong south to north, and I swam against the current again.  The water was a bit milder than yesterday, but still plenty chopped up out there.  I kicked out on my back and around the pier, then swam freestyle in to the sand.  A 31 minute swim.  Good stuff.

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

My Streak is Alive and Well

Saturday 1 PM.  I had to get my second swim in for the week to keep my streak going.  My goal is two swims per week minimum with trunks only-swim cap ok, goggles ok, fins ok.
The thing is-the water isn't miserable cold yet.  I'm expecting more suffering-of course, there's a bit of cold discomfort ongoing-but 58 degrees or so is a lot different than 55 degrees.  I'm waiting for the 55 degree water for it to get interesting.
I watched the water for a while before getting in and I was of the opinion that I'd be safe without fins; however, I had a bit of doubt so I wore the fins because the current was running hard from south to north.  Once I got in, I found that I definitely required the fins.  The current was strong-and I had chosen to swim against the current just to be a hardhead.
I'm always surprised anew when the water is rougher than what it appears to be from the beach.  This water was more than a few foot chop-it was 2 to 4 foot chopped up swells one on top of the next.  I tried swimming out freestyle for 4 minutes but it was too rough.  I lay on my back and backstroked with the fins on until I got to the end of the pier.  Then I had to kick hard to move southward against the current for ten minutes.  Once past the pier with a safety margin for the current, I swam freestyle in to the sand-a roller coaster ride with the waves but fun because I was going in with the waves. 
A 31 minute swim.  Fun.  Decent workout.  The second swim for the week.  Tomorrow (Sunday) is my first day of next week;  I'll probably be out.  I forgot to say that the water was still dirty from the recent rains.
I saw this article from the North County Times Saturday, Feb. 18th:
Freezin' For A Reason Article North County Times
"The first time you quit is the last time you try."