a swimmer tri-ing
My training buddy and I were standing at water’s edge in San Francisco’s Aquatic Park today, when not 5 yards away, a harbor seal was scouting the beach.
I know what you’re thinking – you’re in San Francisco, wouldn’t that be a sea lion? Nope, nope, nope. I promise. It was absolutely a little harbor seal’s face staring back at us from the cold water.
Continue reading “Training Recap – July 25”
It was 2 days after I had registered for the Sandman Triathlon in Aptos, California (August 2).
And you know what was discovered the day before that? Fifteen great white shark pups hanging out around the Cement Ship – the focal point of the Sandman swim. You hear pups, and you may think, aw, cute, babies.
THESE BABIES ARE 7-8 FEET LONG.
Don’t get me wrong – I love sharks. What a truly awesome animal. But I don’t really want to swim through a herd of baby great whites during this triathlon.
Did you get a good workout in today? I got to swim in Aquatic Park in San Francisco with an old teammate. He’s training for a Channel Crossing (as in, English Channel) – whoa. That’s a little long for me! And he’s training to follow real open water rules. As in no wet suit.
Fortunately, that means he’s training at a pace that I can keep up with.
*Frisson – A moment of intense excitement; a shudder (don’t worry, I had to look it up)
How do you feel about open water swimming? It seems like it’s a really divisive topic – people hate it, people love it, people hate-love it… Regardless of your feelings, “frisson” definitely captures the feeling of the open water.
My first open water experiences were brief, poorly planned excursions with my swim team in Santa Cruz. Hanging out on the beach, a coach would suggest we swim out to the buoy and back. I hated it. So cold! So scary! So not-what-I-wanted-to-be-doing-on-my-day-off!
