Another ocean swim today at the shores. Weather was nice at the house, but when I arrived at The Shores, the marine layer was moving in. It made for a cool afternoon and not such a pleasant swim. Water temperature was about 58°, but still a bit colder than I like. I am really happy when the sun is out and the water is in the mid-60s.
There was a decent on-shore breeze that was chopping up the surf a bit. It was definitely going to be a struggle today…
Squeezed into the wetsuit and we all practiced a race entry — being huddled together as tight as possible and then all running into the surf together. A bit intimidating for the newbies, but fun for us already familiar with it. I got to shove a few newbies around to give them a real taste of a race start.
Damn! The water felt much colder than it should have and diving into the wave was a total system shock. A few minutes later my hands and feet became numb and I was getting into a a sloppy rhythm which resulted in me sucking too much water. Breathe, gulp…
Back and forth between the kayaks for what seemed like an eternity. Stopping much more than I should have, I got tired quickly. About 50 minutes of swimming and treading water, I made the turn to shore. Dragging my self out of the water, I tried to “run in” to our setup area but I couldn’t even feel my feet. Stumbling for a minute or two, I elected to walk.
I am a bit disappointed in my swim performance and I am going to really have to step that up.
Not looking as pretty as it normally does..
