Lucky for me, my friend and client, Joe, lives on the Peninsula here in Long Beach so, yesterday morning, I drove to his place a little after 9, used his garage as my changing room, squeezed into my wetsuit and scurried across Ocean Boulevard to the channel between the Peninsula and Naples.
Feeling a bit self-conscious in my wetsuit, I was hoping to sneak across the sand and into the water relatively unnoticed. No such luck... 4th of July, holiday, beach goers were already en masse!
Look, it's Sandra Bullock in her first nude scene!
Made yuh look!Not sure exactly how far I swam but let me tell you, that water was cold with a capital C-O-L-D!
And it wasn't about me being a little, wussy boy either, because I met a fellow swimmer, Karen, who said she'd come out the day before in her swimsuit not realizing the chill factor so she, too, was in a wetsuit, and she even had nose plugs and flippers reminding me I'd forgotten mine along with my goggles...oye!
So, I chose to sorta kinda do the back stroke; I wasn't really ready to get my face wet. I did have my bathing cap on and that works wonders keeping the water out of my ears, because, obviously, I wouldn't be needing it for any other reason!
Swimming on my back, kicking my feet while scooping my arms out to the sides, was heaven. Felt greatly akin to what I imagine a sensory deprivation tank to be like. With my ears just under the surface of the water, all I heard was my steady breathing, and the splashing of the water as I kicked my feet. Joyous. It was joyously peaceful.
Suprising to me, I never felt winded. Thought for sure the steady use of both my upper and lower body would be a grand effort, but I was very calm and plugged my way along feeling pretty good.
Not sure how far I'd gone when I decided I should probably stop; not because I was tired, but I had concerns about overloading my arms. Really, how well would my training go if I couldn't lift a fork to my mouth?
I took a look around making note of where I'd exited the water so I could come by later with my Garmin to figure out how far I'd actually gone.
Heading back to Joe's along the beach, I, of course, ran into people I know (Remember what I said about being self-conscious in my wetsuit?). Grrr....
Tony and Karen, friends of Joe's whom I know from many a Christmas party, were out front of their home and then while I was visiting with them, along comes Brett, whom I hadn't seen in several years. Great seeing them but, again, I was in my wetsuit!
The rest of the day I pretty much did nothing. I putzed around the house and even got in a nice, little nap.
Oh, and I ate better the night before too. Roasted a chicken on the grill; had that along with some broccoli and cauliflower, and I did leave the house in better shape having had a banana, a diet coke and a toasted bun with garlic, cream cheese, a slice of bacon and homegrown tomato.
Using Joe's house and garage as my swimming, base camp is going to work out great. Easy access in and out, and I can leave my wetsuit hanging in his garage from swim to swim. Thanks, Joe!
And it wasn't about me being a little, wussy boy either, because I met a fellow swimmer, Karen, who said she'd come out the day before in her swimsuit not realizing the chill factor so she, too, was in a wetsuit, and she even had nose plugs and flippers reminding me I'd forgotten mine along with my goggles...oye!
So, I chose to sorta kinda do the back stroke; I wasn't really ready to get my face wet. I did have my bathing cap on and that works wonders keeping the water out of my ears, because, obviously, I wouldn't be needing it for any other reason!
Swimming on my back, kicking my feet while scooping my arms out to the sides, was heaven. Felt greatly akin to what I imagine a sensory deprivation tank to be like. With my ears just under the surface of the water, all I heard was my steady breathing, and the splashing of the water as I kicked my feet. Joyous. It was joyously peaceful.
Suprising to me, I never felt winded. Thought for sure the steady use of both my upper and lower body would be a grand effort, but I was very calm and plugged my way along feeling pretty good.
Not sure how far I'd gone when I decided I should probably stop; not because I was tired, but I had concerns about overloading my arms. Really, how well would my training go if I couldn't lift a fork to my mouth?
I took a look around making note of where I'd exited the water so I could come by later with my Garmin to figure out how far I'd actually gone.
Heading back to Joe's along the beach, I, of course, ran into people I know (Remember what I said about being self-conscious in my wetsuit?). Grrr....
Tony and Karen, friends of Joe's whom I know from many a Christmas party, were out front of their home and then while I was visiting with them, along comes Brett, whom I hadn't seen in several years. Great seeing them but, again, I was in my wetsuit!
The rest of the day I pretty much did nothing. I putzed around the house and even got in a nice, little nap.
Oh, and I ate better the night before too. Roasted a chicken on the grill; had that along with some broccoli and cauliflower, and I did leave the house in better shape having had a banana, a diet coke and a toasted bun with garlic, cream cheese, a slice of bacon and homegrown tomato.
Using Joe's house and garage as my swimming, base camp is going to work out great. Easy access in and out, and I can leave my wetsuit hanging in his garage from swim to swim. Thanks, Joe!
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