Murky Waters
Well it’s kind of a different day today - overcast skies and a touch cooler. Still I can’t complain. It is certainly not what I would call cold.
I leave the house at about 6:15. After parking at the Strand, I begin with a 7.5 mile run through the harbor. I watch the Dana Outrigger folk take off from baby beach and I wonder if I will see them later on my swim.
Speaking of Baby Beach, the water looks extra disgusting today. The water at Baby Beach always kind of grosses me out. It is inside the harbor break water and just seems dingy. However there are always kids, and in the summer there are lots of kids (and adults), swimming in it. You don’t hear news reports of people dying after swimming in Baby Beach so I guess it is ok? But today, it looks noticeably dark brown. I am suspecting this is Red Tide related and I hope that my swim will not be through water quite as bad. Passing through Dana Cove just a little later in the run, the water does look much cleaner.
I get back to my car at 8:45, change into my trunks and head down to the beach. I realize just as I am leaving the car that I didn’t look at the buoy temperature readings. As if this was some crucial pre-swim procedure I had omitted. I think I’ll be just fine.
By the way, the buoy temps yesterday climbed steadily over the afternoon and peaked at 65 at 5:00. It was back down to 60 early in the morning and is now (as I write this) at 61. This is good! Over the next week it only looks like we will have west wind on Wednesday and not that strong so we are set up for more warming. Spring is here!
When I get to the water I see a couple swimmers making their way back to shore. The water does feel warmer this morning but not warm. Their is very little heat fluctuation today. Maybe because of the lack of sun?
One thing I have noticed is that when the water is in the low 60s, the water can feel colder than in the 50s. What I mean is that you feel the coolness of the water over the duration of the swim. It is not cold enough for your blood to rush to your core and bring some numbing warmth to your skin. It is also not so cold that you feel “wrong” in the final stretch. You are just kind of cold, but not a suffering cold.
One thing is for sure. The water is generally yellowish/brown over the entire swim. There are a few patches where things clear up but there must be a red tide in the water. This is typical April conditions. Unlike Baby Beach, I don’t feel like I am submerged in grimy goup. It looks concentrated further below the surface.
Overall it is a good swim. I never see the Outrigger canoes. Maybe they went to San Clemente today. There is a south wind blowing but not too hard that creates a current that I fight heading south and ride going north. It also tries to push me toward the shore so I have to keep course correcting.
Both at the beginning and end of the swim I notice that the sand is really filling in here in the shallows. There are just a few rocks and they are barely exposed. It is much easier to get in and out of the water this week. Just like old times again. Or almost.
Swim is wrapped up and I go through my pre-church rinse off, change clothes and get Starbucks routine. I feel like I have a bit more motor control this morning than I have in the recent past, but we are not out of the woods yet. I still feel like I walk into church looking like I’m on the edge of hypothermia even though I feel pretty great.
