Temp 51 F Water Temp 55 F. Drizzly, grey day. It’s been raining all day.
Today at the lake, it was grey and raining. I should say “still raining” because it’s been raining all day. I decided to change up my gear because I felt too warm the other day, but it ended up being a big mistake.
I swapped my hood for a thermal cap, my 5mm gloves for my 1mm gloves, and my two layers of neoprene socks for my Vibram FiveFinger shoes. I also brought shorts and a t-shirt for my after-swim gear and left my warm slippers at home. Dumb. Just because we’ve had several sunny, warm days does’t mean it’s summer.
I knew it would be nasty when we pulled into the parking lot. I could see the water was choppy, and the wind was making it colder than usual. The wetsuit I was wearing is also quite short in the legs, leaving about 5 or 6 inches of leg exposed. I didn’t think it would matter to ditch my socks because they don’t feel like they do much, but it did matter. A lot. My legs were freezing from the edge of the wetsuit to the tips of my toes as I entered teh water. I wanted to stop, turn back, call it a day. But I never do that. Never.
I waded into waist-deep water, the waves breaking on my body, and dove in. Holy balls. My face, neck and ears instantly froze. I wanted to get out so badly, but I didn’t because that not the kind of woman I am. I push through it. Mostly, I didn’t have the energy to get out, get the gear off, then go home and do a walk. No matter what I chose today, my workout was gonna be unpleasant.
Focus, Focus, Focus
The waves were pretty strong, so I was struggling to swim straight out and south of the cement dock. I had to work hard to move forward at all, and my swim buoy strap was getting tangling in my legs. Every time I tried to do breast stroke kick my foot hit the buoy. Still, I tried to focus on my form and my breathing.
I finally pulled up to see where I was and was completely not where I thought I’d be. In glassy water I’m 80% likely to swim in a circle without meaning to, but when the water is as rough as it was today I never know where I am. I tried some crawl, then went back to breast stroke. Really need to get some help figuring out crawl.
I wanted to swim out farther from the dock so I could do fewer out and backs today. The water had other ideas, tossing me around and making it really hard to do focus. Didn’t even try to swim under the dock because it seemed like a dumb idea with the waves reaching the underside of the dock. Instead I did one trip around the dock. I don’t mind that much when the water is rough; I just focus on pulling in my abs so I don’t mess up my back with my kick and coordinating my breathing and my arms.
When You Can’t Even Set Your iPhone Alarm Correctly
Today I set three different alarms, with three different songs, so I would know when it had been 20 min, 25 min, and 30 min. And then not one of them worked. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong, but I seem completely unable to operate either one of my iPhones. Then on land I can’t figure out how to set them up so they ring when someone calls. My friend texts me all the time, “your phone is going to voicemail.”
My home aide was with me today, and I wasn’t sure if she would jump into the cold water after my swim; she almost always does. Then we shower together; we are so happy for the hot showers. She did do a quick plunge while I wrestled out of my wetsuit. It is so hard to remove that I have to lie all the way down on my back (I use a transition mat, but it’s not that long so my upper back touches the wet concrete) to wriggle out of it. Daily humiliations have been a constant in my life. I should be used to them by now. Two of the woman I swim with are half my age with perfect bodies. They seem to effortlessly and elegantly put on and remove their wetsuits while still standing….and even while still in the shallow water.
I need to get back into yoga and train to remove my spring wetsuit. Ugh.
Oh, back to the freezing cold part…my neck and ears warmed up quickly, but my lower legs and feel were freezing the entire swim. I kept wanting to get out, feeling a bit worried I would get frostbite or something and end up getting them amputated. Guess I wanted to swim more than worry because I didn’t stop. I just ignored it, and pressed on, wondering why the hell my alarm wasn’t going off.
Eventually, an alarm went off, but it was not one that I set; it didn’t even have a song. I continued to swim for a few minutes, then turned myself around and swam towards the shore. The water was so dark today, so it was nice to reach shallower water and see the grody fur-covered rocks.
Lesson Learned
Hoping to swim again tomorrow. Glad I learned / got reminded about a good lesson – always have enough gear for whatever the weather brings. Next time I will keep my hood and wear my socks.
Now it is Friday night, and I get to eat junk food even though I ate a bag of Flamin’ Cheetos last night like a carefree 7th grader!
Onward. Thank you, lake.