I spent this weekend swimming at Aquatic Park in San Francisco Bay. The water temperature was reportedly 53 degrees but there were fluctuations in the way it felt from morning to evening and in different parks of the swimming area. On Saturday morning, Jack and I swam a few loops around the park and a few loops on the buoy line (about 3 miles). We saw a very large sea lion at the opening that appeared to be looking at us but probably was more interested in looking for fish. In any case, our close encounter increased our speed on the second part of that lap as we sped back towards the shore. We met the same (I'm assuming the same - but have no idea if it really was) sea lion that afternoon when we met up with Susie and Orin for an escorted swim around the breakwater. When we got out past the break water the sea lion came cruising by us again just as a boat of people started yelling "shark". The water also took on a very fishy taste. I imagine that it's the taste of sea lion bad breath.
On Sunday, I swam with Stephanie for 2 loops and one down the buoy line. After we sat in the sauna with the South End Rowing club members that had just returned from their bay bridge swim. That afternoon, I returned for a short swim (2 loops) and even shorter sauna.
By Monday, the whole experience was becoming routine (morning swim and sauna, eat, run, afternoon swim and sauna) I had really become hooked on the cold salty water followed by the hot dry sauna. I was feeling comfortable in the bay waters but no matter how comfortable I continued to have a very predictable reaction. After 30 minutes the fingers on my left hand separate. After 1hr the fingers on my right hand do the same and my speed slows down as my dexterity is impaired. I have tried drinking hot liquid, turning my arms over faster, kicking my feet, and even thinking really hard about re-gaining control of my hands but none of that has been very helpful. This weekend I tried to just think about using my forearm as a paddle and not worrying about my flopping out of control fingers and useless hands. Knowing that I could hop out of the water and walk into a warm shower and sauna made it much easier to not worry about the cold and just enjoy my time in the water and the opportunity to swim with friends.
