Happy New Year! It’s been a rainy start to the year with swims in a bay of questionable water quality, full of the detritus carried down storm drains. But it sure is beautiful! I’ve resolved to post once a week this year, which should be a huge upgrade from the once-a-year I posted last year! Unlike… Read More Happy New Year
On our drive down to the bulb for our swim this morning, Kim and I joked about the coming winter, the plunging water temperatures. “I can’t wait for my antidepressant to return,” I said. “I know,” she said, “I need my euphoria drug.” Many think we are crazy for loving the cold water as much… Read More Keep Swimming
I have two major goals that implicate swimming in 2024. Number one is to finish my year-of-swimming memoir, which I spent last year busily working away on. Sometimes I think it’s nearly finished and sometimes I think I should throw it in the garbage. Number two is to make a temperature blanket: Each day I… Read More New Year New Swimming Schemes
Bleary-eyed with jet lag and the particular bodily displacement that comes from traveling such a long distance in such a short time, I arrived back in the stormy Bay Area ready to take my last plunge of my year of swimming in my favorite place: the Albany Bulb. It was pouring with rain as our… Read More 365 Days of Swimming
. Angie joined me for one last 2022 sunrise swim at the Albany Bulb. Later today I’m off to England for some much colder swims. I’ll miss this place that has brought me such joy this year and was glad she saw me off with such magnificence this morning. Each sunrise swim is a surprise.… Read More One Last Sunrise for the Road (Day 353)
In order to accommodate World Cup Final viewing this morning, Arwen, Sheila, Kim and I met for a swim at the Albany Bulb at 10:30. Except for evening swims, it was the latest any of us have gone for a dip at the bulb. I usually opt for the Marina or Keller for mid-day swims… Read More Lazy Sunday (Day 352)
Today we had a cheerful holiday swim gathering at the Albany Bulb. Lots of swimmers came out, which seemed extra special because the numbers have been dwindling lately. It was great to swim with a big crowd again. There’s nothing like watching a dozen people brave the cold and go paddling off in all directions. … Read More Celebrating (Day 351)
Today was a lovely swim at sunrise with friends. It’s rare that Sheila, Arwen, Angie, and I all manage to swim together these days and so it always feels special when it happens. A frigid wind blew as we got into the water and with each wince and groan, I thought, it’s going to be… Read More Greeting the Day with Friends (Day 350)
Today I swam with Marcia, Wendy, and Tonya down at the Albany Bulb. They are all faster than me and, while I can just manage to keep up in warmer months, I didn’t even try today. At 50 degrees, I prefer to take my time. It’s still nice to be out together and to begin… Read More Back Stroke (Day 349)
As is so often the case these days, I swam into the sunrise this morning. Sometimes as I’m setting off in the dark, I wonder why we keep planning these early swims and then I remember that we aren’t necessarily changing our patterns, but rather, it’s the sun that’s changing hers: rising a little later… Read More Another Sunrise (Day 348)