Avila Beach Saturday Noonish Cold Swim

So, I have Saturday free until the Cal Poly Student Symphony this evening. My daughter is the pianist accompanying the student symphony show tonight.  I woke up with a sore body from yesterday's swim to the first buoy off the end of Avila Pier and back.  Since I'm here with free time, I took advantage of this gorgeous beach and did the same swim again today.
When I got in today, there were small waves at Avila.  And the water felt colder than yesterday to me.  I was cold in my unlined jammers, swim cap, and goggles.  I have a higher degree of respect for Rob D and his crew for their ongoing cold-water swimming. 
I don't know if it's just me, but once you reach the end of the Avila Pier and look for the first white buoy, that thing seems way the heck out there!
Is it about the same distance from the beach to the pier end as from the pier end to the first buoy?
I hit a warmer area half-way to the buoy which was pleasant.  However, today I had the creeps pretty significantly near the buoy.  The creeps, to me, is a feeling of discomfort mentally because I am thinking about an impending shark attack. 
I swam faster because of the creeps and did the swim in 40 minutes today.  I feel good now--about 2 hours later after a hot bath & hot shower.  And some coffee.
No photos because I didn't want to go back and forth to my car with the camera. 
Avila is Awesome!


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

Avila Beach Pier Swim

I got a swim in late this afternoon at the pier in Avila Beach, CA.  This place is a tiny beach neighborhood near Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  While visiting for a symphony concert I took advantage of the beach.  The water per surfline.com was 53 degrees, and I believe it.  The good thing about the cold water was that it kept my mind on the cold and my stroke and off the sharks that live out here.
My swim was 44 minutes.  I just went straight out along the pier and then on to the white buoy about a quarter mile past the end of the pier.  There was a bit of a current moving northward and a rippled chop to the water. Heading out I felt like I was swimming into incoming water.  My neck gave me a lot of grief, so breathing was a pain.
I had a good swim, a good cold water swim, I should say, and I'm tired tonight. 

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

A Good Swim After Work in Warm Water

The dredging barge in Oceanside Harbor is pumping crappy, filthy sand and water through these giant pipes and dumping it at the pier.  The water is filthy there so I swam north of the pier about 200 yards and swam north against a strong current.  It kept me out of the dirty water and was fun.  I swam for 40 minutes and got a little past the south jetty.  Then I turned around and returned to my starting point--this was with the current and took me 24 minutes.  So, a swim of an hour and 6 minutes.  A good workout. 
Dredging Story Link from North County Times


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

Calling an end to my streak.

I was reading my swim logs and it looks like I'm safe calling my streak a success.  I got many swims in and did the cold water swims through the winter months successfully.
I've driven by the beach the last several days and the water is dirty from the Oceanside Harbor dredging and it is also too warm to be called a challenge.
The last time that I tried to swim through the winter with just trunks was about 9 years ago, and I only made it through the first week of February.  In that year's attempts, I was wearing a short-sleeved rash guard also to keep me a bit warmer. 
So, it looks like I improved a bit in my cold water tolerance, and my swimming improved along the way.
I think that I'll just do the swims now as I feel the need.  I'm not sure if I'll continue posting the blog or not.  Thanks for your reading.


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

Avila Beach Pier Swim

I was able to sneak in a swim on our quick trip to see our daughter play her concert in San Luis Obispo.  I got in at Avila Beach and swam out to the first white buoy that says "Detour Underground Pipe"  and than circled it and came straight back in.  Took me 40 minutes and was fun.  It was chilly so I hardly gave the recent shark thing a thought.  A lady told me that a dog peed on my towel while I was out, so that was different.  Up there the beach is a more relaxed atmosphere, I think, because the bad guys haven't taken over yet.  I don't know how far my swim was.  I hope it was over a mile.  No pictures-too bad.  You'll have to look at Rob Aquatics Blog for photos of the Avila Beach area.


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