December Swim after 2 1/2 months off

    

It has been so long since I swam that I have to remember how to do a blog entry.  September 26th was my last swim, I think.  I know that writing about chronic pain is repetitive and pathetic, but maybe some readers are also in a chronic pain situation and can relate.

I got 3 more steroid/anesthetic epidural injections in October--one per week.  I cancelled a fourth because I was too miserable. It doesn't make sense, I know; neither do I.  For some reason I felt OK this morning and had energy and minimal back pain.  Crazy. 

I drove down there and felt some anxiety about getting in cold water, since it has been a while.  The beach was beautiful, with a very low tide, at least six feet of visibility, and one to two foot waves.  No wind, no current, a flat surface, and an overall beautiful day.  The water temp was quoted at 59.  I wore a short-sleeved rash guard tee shirt and jammers shorts with compression underwear under them. I spoiled myself with my neoprene cap which was great.  I actually only swam ten minutes.  Not ready for the cold.  I think it might have been colder than 59.  Maybe not.  Oh, I also wore my elastic low back support.  My back held up fine, I only swallowed one mouthful of water because I forgot how to breathe, and I feel good now.  Maybe I have turned a corner.  And that's my report from fabulous Oceanside, California for today.

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

DAMMIT I WANT TO SWIM

     This cooler weather that we are having now is really calling me to the beach.  I gotta' get there.  The pain keeps me yelping but some magic medicine might make a pier swim possible.  Give me strength (mental) oh swimmer up above.


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

Still on Dry Land

      It has been a long time again without salt water.  Swimming season is here with the appearance of a fall chill in the air in the mornings and evenings.  It makes me yearn for cold water for some reason.  My back is still a mess.  More shots.  Epidural steroid injection L3-4 right side last Friday and more the next two Fridays.  I've begun to feel like a former ocean swimmer.  (Well, I was never much of one in the first place).
   

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

Thursday, Sept 26 Pier Swim Letdown

     I swam at the beach about 2:30 PM today for a total of 18-19 minutes; and it kicked my butt!  The ocean is angry, a little less angry than yesterday, with a chop up to 4 feet.  Today the chop was up to 3 feet but I think instead of steady, constant nonsensical swimming, the swim today was an unpredictable tossing about in the chop.  I did get out farther through the surf, stopping half-way between the bathrooms and the Pier end.  This was for safety today; yesterday it was because I didn't have the fitness to swim around in the rough water.
     Did I say the water was rough?  Yesterday it was difficult to get a breathing system going but today I decided to swim south because I could breathe on the left and make some progress.  I got tired after a little bit and did an arc into the sand.  I hit the sand at the pink vacation hotel and the Tyson Street park.
     I have a swimming fault that I don't look up much before I enter the surf and while I go through the surf.  This afternoon a big, crazy wave just smashed me good and ground me up.  I actually got a scare in me.  Oh well, I am what I am, as Popeye said.  Warm water, about 68 degrees.



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

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 Pier Swim Attempt but Crazy Water!

     So what a difference a day can make!  I felt like another trip at the Pier so I drove there at noonish.  The water was very rough, with a chop up to four-feet all over and whitecaps whipped up by a strong, steady wind to the north.
     One surfer tried to surf the mess for ten minutes and moved on to something more fruitful.  I have no idea what they might have been, but just watching the water would have been fun enough.
     The water was warm, probably another 70 degree day; but from the first step into it the waves were throwing me around like nothing.
     Nonetheless, I swam out through the surf zone, through the surf zone, and through the surf some more.  After five minutes I realized that the surf zone was endless today.  What a crazy washing-machine, heavy-duty big chop to the water.  I pulled up three times to see what the heck...eventually I let reason control my actions and I stopped just a little past the bathrooms on the Pier.  There was no way "I" was gonna' get around so I swam back in.  The entire deal was 15 minutes.  It really made me wonder how the long-distance swimmers do it in the rough water--they must have a helluva' powerful kick.
     Anyway, I did have fun.  I'm glad I went, and I'm a fortunate man.



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