Back outdoors on the Menu: Cold Water

Date: Friday May 13th, 2011
Air Temperature: 74 Degrees
Water Temperature: Blind Random,  who knows for sure!
Swim Distance: 2000 Yards
Swim Time: 28 Minutes
Location: The Lap Pool

The Lap Pond gives me a brisk welcome on Friday the 13th, 2011

2 Months Rushed by...
 It is almost 2 months since I was exploring the beaches and bays in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, when I arrived back from fighting the current in San Francisco Bay I had a new punch in my stroke, it was a " swim for your life effort" and I brought it back to my pool training and it was fun, faster times than I had swum before, yes like a kid in a candy store. The weeks went by fast and it wasn't long before the monotony of long pool swims crept back in, 40,000 meters per week,40,000 meters per week, each week rolled into one, will this winter ever end?

Spring Arrives....
 Winter held on until the bitter end here in Vermont, but finally Spring burst out, this week has been sterling, clear blue skies, sunshine and a warmth in the air.
 Yesterday after 3 stellar days I convinced myself it was time to take a drive to the lap pond, I threw in the Turtle thermometer and studied the water, dark, cool, and what is that, a jelly fish? I took a closer look, it looks like jelly fish alright but it isn't, it is a big clear glob of what looks like hundreds of little bugs, " I do hope they are not mosquitoes!", I say to myself." I'll worry about that when I come back to swim".
 Turtle said, 62 degrees for a water temperature, I can hardly believe it, I zip away excited at the prospect of a Friday the 13th swim tomorrow.

Dawn and the Day is a real Beauty
 I can't believe I am finally swimming outside today, new scenery, weird little jelly like cocoon things to look at and multiple fish jumping, yes I am going to have lots of company swimming today.
 I decide a lunch time swim is the way to go, I dig out the 2 piece swim suit to get maximum cold exposure on my mid section, get lathered with lotion and off.




Cap, Goggles, Ear Plugs and favourite towel

  The sun is warming me as I drive to the pond, I park and lolly gag my way down to the edge, turtle goes in and I start fiddling around with my towel, my cap, my goggles, my sun glasses, I lay out my shorts, T shirt and fleece jacket, I fold them neatly, too neatly...yes I am stalling big time! I laugh at myself, " time to get this show on the road", I fish out turtle who has taken it upon himself to get a head start, he has floated defiantly away from the shore, I wade out " Oh dear, this is not 62, turtle" , I say as I feel the cold envelope around my legs, I have no doubt that turtle was telling the truth, it did feel balmy and warm on the surface a sure fire 62 degrees BUT, underneath it is cold, " well old girl, you know you are going to swim today regardless, do you really need to know the temperature below the surface is...hmmmm NO, just go for it", and I do.
 Turtle was tossed aside and I am in and swimming, in with the weird clear jellies of bug like things, in with the jumping fish, and I am loving it!
 10 strokes, WOW this is like a tempid pool, another 10 strokes WOW this feels not so tempid, WOW this feels like I am swimming on ice, you get the picture... balmy, icy, balmy, icy, yes it is blind random, some parts feel dreamy other parts frigid.
 "Ok 10 laps I can do it, I can do it", my plan is to use phantom walls at the end of each lap, that is when you do a flip turn without a wall, you flip then kick super hard to get moving again in the opposite direction. My first turn is coming up, I get ready, "accelerate, dive down the head and FLIP, AGGHHH, ice cream headache!" When I dive down to flip the water temperature plummets, wow this is intense.

 How will I be able to last this one out? Well nothing hurts, there are the occasional warm pockets of water and I had learned yesterday that the creepy jellies were just wee polliwogs.
 A polliwog is a tadpole, they are young amphibians with no arms or legs and have dorsal fins, they swim like fish and gradually grow limbs usually the legs first followed by the arms, they respire by internal gills, lungs develop about the time the legs grow, then they start hanging out at the surface and breath air, the mouth changes, next step frog, or wide mouth frog as I like to describe frogs. I was curious to know how long frogs live, most sources say 4 to 15 years and a giant toad from 7 to 24 years, I bet they are wise frogs.

Trout Fishing
  I asked Eric what the fish were in his pond....here it a snippet from the email to him

 ....... saw the fish jumping in excitement! You do have fish right....otherwise don't know what was leaping out of the water. Anyway planning on swimming again starting tomorrow........

 His answer " 150 Trout "

  4 Laps in and I am thinking about the 150 trout, it takes my mind off dreading those frigid flip turns, I don't like driving my head down into the deep waters, I consider ditching the turns, I don't, I know I will make myself do them for the duration, may as well not lose energy thinking about it any more and I don't.

 Lap 5, Lap 6, Lap 7, Lap 8, only 2 laps to go, I swim down the pond, it feels like a technicolor dream coat where the colors are all different temperatures, blue =brrr, orange= mmm warm, red = toasty, I make a game out of it.
 Before you know it I am at the end, I see the orange canoe on the shore that my clothes are lying on, I see the polliwogs hugging the warm shoreline water, I hang in the water exhaling to let myself submerge, everything relaxes, I am pleased.

 Out of the water, dry off, T-shirt and fleece jacket on and into the mini, before I know it I am soaking in the hot shower, purr bliss.

 Back into the pool tomorrow, next weekend a swim meet and next month Ireland!

Ireland, when ? July 1st...why? Swimming of course and lots of it!