First Bay Swim of the Year

Aquatic Park, the hills in the background is the Marin Headlands and Mt. Tam.

After getting in the pool last Friday and confident that my swimming skills were still there - where I left them since mid-September of last year, I proceeded with my plan to join my tri-club at Aquatic Park this morning. Ooofff it was a late night and getting up early after a big day of running on Saturday just bites (6.5 hours on the trail, 2.5 of it in the form of hill repeats). However, I really wanted to get on with my first bay swim of the year. Flaking would have felt good initially (more sleep) but I would have woken up pissed and felt like a loser. Not a good way to start my swim season. So off I went.

I was up late the night before because of a Team in Training fundraiser which started at 10PM. I managed to get out by 12:30AM and only 2 beers for the 2.5 hours that I was there but I was starving when I got home. All this running is going to send me to the poor house with all the food I eat and all the eating out that I do.

I couldn't have picked a better day to go. It was gorgeous out and the water was the perfect temperature, cold when you get in but something you could warm up to. What made it even more pleasant was that there was no current, no ebb or flood. San Francisco Bay empties (ebb) and fills (flood) twice a day. For our swim the bay was in that transition state between that two, neither ebbing nor flooding, what they call "slack". I've been out there when the current was strong, it can get hairy, especially when you're a slow swimmer like me. You add swells to the current then you have yourself a small adventure, like trail running vs road. One time we were outside the wall, the current was behind us pushing from behind - we were flying. However there were swells, a ship had passed by and there were these rollers rolling through. The swells would roll through us, hit the wall, then roll back on us. You were either swimming downhill or uphill while being pushed from behind with the Golden Gate Bridge in view - amazing. If you can swim in San Francisco Bay, triathlon swim course are a breeze - at least that ones I've done.

Anyway it was a beautiful day and my partner Chuck was just the same speed I was. We cut the course workout:) Otherwise we would have been there all day, we did manage to exit the mouth of Aquatic Park for a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yesterday it was running across the bridge to the headlands, this morning it was bobbing up and down in the bay, days like this make me feel like my life is a vacation. I'm sure Monday will take care of that euphoria:)