I wasn’t planning to swim today, but my achilles is feeling a little tender and I think it may be a good idea to swim instead of run. I leave the house at about 9:15. The sky is mostly sunny until I get to the coast. The grey over the ocean looks like it really wants to burn off. It’s a beautiful morning. As I get out of my car I can feel a pretty steady breeze and the ocean surface is pretty well textured.

As I walk down the stairs, the sun feels good mixed with the cool of the breeze. The water looks colder than it really is. Water is good at doing that. I’m thinking that I am really getting used to these summer temperatures and not looking forward to the cold water’s return in the Fall. At the same time, I have had these thoughts so very many times and know that once I dive into that cold water, all is well. Honestly part of me misses it. Today I feel pretty good emotionally but on those days when I struggle, that cold water really does help to snap me into a different place.

As I expect, the moment the first fairly good sized breaking wave hits me, it is indeed not as cold as it looked. It is absolutely not warm but it is good. I take the plunge and swim out past the surf and then South. The water is definitely providing some good resistance today. Lots of bouncing around with a mouth full of salt water - nothing to complain about though.

The current seems to be pushing harder South than North. I get to the South end in what feels like pretty good time though I never carry a watch so I really have no idea. I take a few pictures of the big rock and then turn around to head North. The ride is a bit rougher now. The sun seems to be moving in and out of the clouds as I notice the brightness intensifying and then going dim. As I reach the North, it’s hard to find the Green Monster buoy. With the water bouncing around, the buoys do not enter my field of vision until I am pretty close. I have a pretty good idea of where it is so I aim in the direction where I think it might be.

I am getting further and further from shore and I stop to see if I can spot the buoy yet. I look all around and then notice that I have just passed West of it and it is super close to the North of me. I swim around it and then head back to finish the swim. As I make my way into the surf, I make another failed attempt to capture some action shots of the waves. No luck but some of the shots look oddly cool - to me anyways.