Quick Swim Today--A Replay of Yesterday

  

I'm having a hard time getting my photos and words lined up today so I'll stop at two pics.  Today was almost identical to my short swim yesterday.  59 degree water temp.  Face hurts swimming in that.  12 1/2 minutes only today.  I'm still cold about an hour and a half later.  Boy, I really need to get acclimated to freezing again.  It felt good.

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

Tuesday Oceanside CA Brief Dip

  I got in the water for a few minutes today without a wet suit. 
Our weather is beautiful here; I'm sorry for the vast majority of the country experiencing unnaturally cold weather lately.  But I'm not moving back there; nor would anyone want me back anyway.

Oceanside was quiet today.  Plenty of parking spots.  A handful of friends and families, and there were several surfers trying to look for a wave of any surfable size.  It was soooo flat.

I only swam for 12 minutes.  58 degrees feels colder than it used to.  Visibility was good-about 8 feet. A good quick visit.   "The first time you quit is the last time you try."

What do you think of this news story in Manhattan Beach? Is it a shark?

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/12/28/did-shark-photobomb-manhattan-beach-family/


I saw this story up the coast near Los Angeles and I wondered to myself: Would I swim in it?
Yes, I believe I would.  That water looks beautiful.  And if it is a shark, I'm too big for the thing to eat. 


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

Sunday Afternoon Kicking on my Back with Fins

Nice sky and day today but the beach was stirred up with a little chop, a mild wind, and a mild current moving north to south.  Hardly anybody in the water.  No shape to the waves for the surfers.  Not much visibility and the water at 58 seemed colder.

I wasn't planning on swimming today because my back and neck were out of whack again.  Then I decided that the resistance from kicking with my fins would help my back out and give my neck a rest. 

I was supposed to swim with a few people up north at Avila Beach today but I couldn't face getting in the car for the five-hour ride.  I wanted to go and challenge myself with the colder water--56 degrees per surfline.com.  That I can do without a wet suit if my mind is right.     I lay on my back and kicked past the waves and up the beach for 12 minutes and then I turned around and got out at 25 minutes.  The back held up.  I wore the wet suit but it is pretty thin and old so it doesn't make too much difference anyway. 

Brief Swim Saturday Late Afternoon--Not all that much fun.

    

The sun was moving toward its area of descent at about 3:30 PM today.  The sun shone so brightly that it was difficult to see outward from the sand.  There's lots of shimmering water on a day like today. 

We had a little rain two days ago and the water was still stirred up and a bit choppy.  Waves were about one to three feet occasionally.  I got in thinking I would swim out to the end of the pier and back but it didn't turn out that way. 

The area above in the picture had about ten surfers when I was in.  They were happy with a two-foot wave that would give them several seconds of rush.  I went in on the right side (north side) of this pier picture to the tune of about one hundred yards--that is to be courteous and stay out of the territory of the surfers.  My goggles stayed dirty and fogged up as I was swimming out--I guess it's time to throw them away--and I couldn't see well as I swam.  There were two breaks today.  I was out of the surfers' way on my right and left on the first break, but before I hit the bigger break outside I caught sight of two surfers on my right.  I swam left to evade, and one of them caught a wave and headed right toward my head.  I made myself under the surface instantly, and in time, because this fellow wanted to run over my head.  He missed, I got under, and I continued swimming out past the bigger waves. 

I don't really feel anger about it--more of a sadness that a person is feeling and acting out in such a manner.  Anyway, I continue swimming a couple of minutes and I have to stop because I have no air.  I'm feeling tight around my neck and head, constricted, and short of breath.  I decided the heck with it--swim a few minutes and get out.  I didn't even go out far and I only spent twelve minutes in the water.  Let me look up the temperature now: 58-60 per surfline.com.  Sounds accurate.  I guess that's my report for today. 



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