On Sunday morning at 6am I finally went swimming in La Jolla Cove with Corina. I haven’t been swimming in the ocean for a few years and it was a bit of a shock. A couple of years ago I had a bad experience swimming while on vacation and I nearly drowned, I haven't really been in the ocean since. I am an ok swimmer, not fast but not too slow, I have good technique but at Napoleonic 5’4’’ I will never be too fast (actually Napoleon was an unnaturally tall 5’6’’). I have swam in lakes in the cold and wet summer of England and that was the last time I did any real distance swimming outdoors.
Adrenaline is a funny thing… I had waited for my first swim until Corina deemed the conditions right for me to get back into the water, Sunday was the day. I wanted to get it over with early so I found myself squeezing into my wetsuit before most people were out of bed. Yes the water was cold, I was expecting that, yes I was a wee bit nervous, I was expecting that, I wasn’t expecting to freak out every time I saw a piece of seaweed! Ever since I told people that I was going to do the Sharkfest people have been telling me about shark attacks… I didn’t think that this had gotten into my head but it obviously had…
I managed to swim as fast as Corina, but I was swimming on pure adrenaline. I would put my head down and swim for 10-20 seconds and then freak out because I saw something in the water below, get an adrenaline rush and swim faster. After a burst of sprinting I would run out of breath and then need to stop, after catching my breath I would restart, see something in the water and then freak out and then start the cycle again… My first swim only lasted about 20mins. I only went a couple of hundred meters, which is ridiculous, but at least I broke my duck.
Did I enjoy it? No. Will I do it again? Yes.
I really enjoyed lake swimming, no waves, no Alan eating wildlife, and I know that Corina loves swimming in the Cove. I will overcome my fears and I will get used to ocean swimming again.
Alan
I managed to swim as fast as Corina, but I was swimming on pure adrenaline. I would put my head down and swim for 10-20 seconds and then freak out because I saw something in the water below, get an adrenaline rush and swim faster. After a burst of sprinting I would run out of breath and then need to stop, after catching my breath I would restart, see something in the water and then freak out and then start the cycle again… My first swim only lasted about 20mins. I only went a couple of hundred meters, which is ridiculous, but at least I broke my duck.
Did I enjoy it? No. Will I do it again? Yes.
I really enjoyed lake swimming, no waves, no Alan eating wildlife, and I know that Corina loves swimming in the Cove. I will overcome my fears and I will get used to ocean swimming again.
Alan
No comments:
Post a Comment