I met up with Arwen at Keller Beach this morning. We were greeted by a turkey vulture eating the carcass of something (we didn’t investigate what) that had washed up on the beach. It was a creepy way to start the swim, but once we got into the water (and past the eelgrass), things improved… Read More White Rocks (Day 253)
I’m posting this late because right after my swim, Angie and I had to make Shepard’s pie for a hundred people. It was hard work and there wasn’t a second to sit down until after the dinner, at which point I was drinking wine and celebrating our accomplishment. Now, yesterday’s swim seems like a long… Read More Unplanned Distance (Day 252)
Today’s takeaway is that two miles is a lot of miles. Simple math would tell you that two miles is twice as far as one mile, but today that did not seem true. Angie, Gabe, Kim, and I set off from the Albany Bulb at 7 this morning with the aim of swimming the two… Read More Two Miles is a Long Time (Day 251)
This morning I did my Lift and Sprint class before my swim. I’ve extolled the virtues of this class here before. I love it. It’s fun (an adjective I rarely use to describe exercise unless it’s swimming) and the time flies by even though I’m working hard. But there is one part I don’t love:… Read More Meat-Suit Meet Water (Day 250)
It’s the day after Labor Day; the day that should be the first day of school; the day that will always feel like the first day of school to me. Today is the day that says: summer is over, get your shit together. So, with the intention of setting myself up for a productive day,… Read More Peaceful Waters (Day 249)
Greg, one of our lovely Albany Bulb swimmers, put out an invitation on our google group to join him for a Labor Day swim in Bolinas this morning. I was intrigued by the idea, but having never met Greg, I didn’t think I would go. Then, yesterday, I found out Rosemary was going. I want… Read More Bolinas (Day 248)
Calm waters greeted me at the Albany Bulb this morning. I joined a big crowd of 8 o’clock swimmers: All of us, it seems, wanting to beat the crowds who will no doubt be descending upon the bulb later today, seeking respite from the heat. We swam straight out for a half hour. I counted… Read More Swimming Saves Labor Day Weekend (Day 247)
As the heat began to descend on Berkeley this morning I escaped to Marin where several of the Albany Bulb swimmers were meeting for Caz’s birthday swim at Heart’s Desire beach on Tomales Bay. It was a perfect morning, impossibly blue sky and clear water. The beach was still pretty quiet when we arrived and… Read More Moon Jellies (Day 246)
Sheila and I plunged in at the Albany Bulb again this morning. We got there too late for the 8 o’clocks, so we went by ourselves. The water was even more clear than yesterday; transparent and green even from the start. It felt like a celebration to swim in water that looks as it should… Read More Even Clearer (Day 245)
While I’m swimming there always comes a point where I start to think about what I will write in my blog that day. Today I thought, I’m going to combine yesterday and today into one blog. Then I thought, You can’t do that! It’s cheating! And then I realized that this whole daily blogging and… Read More Clearer Waters (Day 243 & 244)